Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 774

This Beadle and Adams dime novel (No. 774, May 2, 1892) features "The Strange Case of Captain Scudd" by William G. Patten. Private detective Calvin "Clear-Grit Cal" Carter is summoned to Captain Scudd's aristocratic New York mansion, where the captain's nephew, young Charley Thornton, has been found dead in the captain's locked private office with a bullet in his brain. A revolver lies three feet from the couch where the body rests. The puzzling circumstances involve Captain Scudd claiming ignorance of the death despite being locked in the room with the corpse when his wife discovered it. Carter begins investigating, examining the weapon and noting suspicious details—particularly the corpse's position and the hand placement—while questioning the family physician, Dr. Andros. The captain appears genuinely distressed, revealing that Thornton, his ward, had been financially dependent on him and somewhat wild. Carter prepares to interview Captain Scudd further to unravel whether this is murder or suicide.