Beadle's Dime Library No. 626

# "The Sealed Secret of the Copper Coffin" by J.C. Cowdrick

This western adventure opens when two passengers arrive in Zoo Zoo, Idaho: a well-dressed woman and Ducats Dion, a wealthy gentleman from Washington known as the "Yakima Nabob." At the Nevada House hotel, professional gambler Neil Atwood, recognizing Dion from Los Angeles ten years prior, slaps him with kid gloves and demands satisfaction. Both draw revolvers.

The confrontation moves to the plaza for a formal duel. As the men back away firing, Dion's heel strikes an embedded stone, accidentally discharging his weapon and wounding Atwood in the shoulder. The crowd accuses Dion of cowardly murder, but he insists the shot was purely accidental. Mine superintendent Urban Gladstone leads calls for justice. The doctor confirms Atwood's wound is non-fatal. Atwood claims Dion deliberately aimed while feigning a trip, while Dion denies the accusation, proposing they settle their dispute another way once Atwood recovers.