Beadle's Dime New York Library No. 623

# Dangerous Dave: A Fight with Foes from the Grave

Beadle & Adams Dime Novel, October 1, 1890

Featured story: "A Fight with Foes from the Grave" by W.H. Manning, a detective serial set in pre-Civil War Virginia (1852).

The narrative begins with ambush robbers Drake Hodge and Black Tuck attempting to waylay a traveler on a swamp road. The victim is rescued by a mysterious stranger with a club, who drives off the assailants. The rescuer is revealed to be "Dangerous Dave, the Never-Beaten Detective," posing as Walter Vincent, a secretary hired at Thornholm Lodge. He's working undercover for unknown investigative purposes. Dave confides in Captain Ned Norcross about his assignment: Roland Thornholm, the estate's owner, has mysteriously demanded education despite his ignorance and aversion to study. Dave has already encountered Veva Crapo, Roland's beautiful cousin and the dog-owner from the road, creating romantic complications. The story shifts to Dave's nocturnal investigation of the Lodge's abandoned wing, searching through an old cabinet in a dust-covered portrait gallery.