Might and Main Library, No. 56: Winning His Rights

# Museum Catalog Note

Winning His Spurs; or, The Fortunes of Vernon Craig, attributed to "One of the Boys," is a mystery-adventure serial appearing in this 1907 issue of The Winner Library. The narrative concerns the murder of wealthy Vernon Craig, stabbed through the heart on his son's sixteenth birthday. His cousin Joshua Vernon, recently released from a twenty-year penitentiary sentence, is the obvious suspect after quarreling with Craig over inheritance and questioning the legitimacy of young Vernon Craig. A lawyer, Mr. Derstgate, takes the boy as ward while a private detective shadows the cousin. The detective, however, falls asleep while watching Joshua meet with four disreputable former college graduates in the woods. They prank him with reward posters announcing "$500 Reward" for the murderer's capture. The serial interweaves mystery, family melodrama, and comic relief, examining questions of inheritance, legitimacy, and justice.