Beadle's Pocket Library No. 61

About this issue

This issue of Beadle's Half-Dime Library (Vol. 5, No. 98, 1885) features "Corduroy Charlie, the Boy Bravo" by Edward L. Wheeler, subtitled "Deadwood Dick's Last Act." The narrative opens in the Black Hills mining region near Quartz City during a stormy night. A muscular, corduroy-clad youth arrives by stage wagon with a Chinaman driver and an Indian attendant guarding a mysterious canvas-covered wagon. At the tavern called "The Big Schooner," Charlie encounters ruffians led by the bullwhacker McTurk, who attempt to bully him but allow him passage into the establishment. Inside, a grand masked ball is underway. A masked woman invites Charlie to dance; during their waltz, McTurk strikes Charlie, claiming the woman is "his property." Charlie demands satisfaction, and the two men move to the street for a duel. The text ends as they take positions thirty paces apart, both armed with Smith & Wesson revolvers, with McTurk appearing drunk and shaky-handed compared to Charlie's steady composure.