Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 863

# Deadwood Dick, Jr.'s, Bombshell

This 1894 Beadle and Adams publication presents the opening chapters of Ed. L. Wheeler's frontier adventure serial. Deadwood Dick, Junior, and his partner Pete Parrot arrive at a cottonwood grove to meet Bessie Reynold but encounter an ambush by Captain Blue-beard's masked band of outlaws instead. The gang, disguised to appear identical, attempts to capture the pair and extract information about Reynold's revelations. When offered freedom for disclosure, Dick and Pete refuse. They execute a coordinated escape, diving beneath horses and firing from cover, killing three gang members while forcing the masked bandits—including Captain Blue-beard and Lieutenant Whiskers—to retreat. After the gunfight, they inspect the bodies, discovering the disguises conceal their true identities. Bessie Reynold arrives to warn them, having escaped her captors. The serial promises further danger as the determined outlaws threaten continued pursuit.