Soft Hand, Sharp; or, The Man With the Sand

# Catalog Description

Soft Hand, Sharp; or, The Man With the Sand, a western serial by William R. Eyster, appears in this November 1881 issue of The New York Weekly. Herman Knox, a hollow-cheeked man of uncertain age, arrives in Dog Hole with his daughter Kate, a frail but steady-eyed young woman. They are fleeing from pursuers—Knox mentions a mysterious letter warning him of the "Red League," led by a man named Page, and hints at an unspecified danger threatening Kate. Deputy Sheriff Tom Hayes encounters them at the Big Dam Hotel and offers assistance. When Knox asks for fast horses to escape, Hayes suggests visiting Madam Pharisee, a mysterious woman who operates mustang trading and apparently runs a faro gambling establishment from her fortified adobe house. The narrative emphasizes danger, mysterious pursuers, and concealed identities in frontier setting.