Starlight the Sparkler Sport

# Catalog Description

The Stranglers of the Silver Slope by Jos. E. Badger, Jr. is a crime/adventure serial occupying the lead position. The narrative concerns a midnight raid on a mountain encampment where wealthy Martin Kirkwood and his family are attacked by a band of organized stranglers led by a masked man calling himself "Jack Ketch." The raiders brutally assault the camp's cook Barney O'Shea, beat Martin Kirkwood unconscious, and attempt to strangle him while kidnapping his daughter Lorella and son Allen. The gang searches the tents for treasure but finds only modest amounts of cash. Allen, bound and gagged, recognizes the leader as his cousin Ralph Innes despite the disguise, hurling accusations of murder and vowing revenge. The masked leader denies the identification, insisting he is genuinely "Jack Ketch." Brother and sister are forcibly abducted into the night as the raiders flee the scene, with Lorella traumatized and Allen seething with rage and suspicion.