Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 289

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (May 7, 1884) presents "Flush Fred's Full Hand: Life and Strife in Louisiana," a river serial by Edward Willett, author of Mississippi Musk and Buck Farley.

The story opens aboard the steamboat Sabine navigating a treacherous, swollen Mississippi River. Professional gambler Fred Henning wins at cards, then visits the pilot house where pilot Sam Byrne attempts the dangerous Paddy White's chute during moonless darkness. When Byrne suddenly collapses—apparently from a brain hemorrhage—Henning seizes the wheel. Though no pilot himself, he relies on river knowledge and leadsmen's soundings to navigate the shoaling bar, pushing the boat over in full steam. Successfully piloting past the danger, Henning earns passengers' admiration and a fund raised for Byrne's widow.

Among his admirers is wealthy Louisiana gentleman Leon Delarosse, a recent card-game opponent, who introduces his nephew Paul—a French-educated, sinister-looking young man who resents the outsider's acclaim.