Beadle's Dime Library No. 711

This Beadle and Adams publication (June 8, 1892) presents the opening chapters of "The Mystery of Madeline Miggs" by Captain Howard Holmes, a mystery-crime story featuring detective Dan Damon, called "Gilt-Edge Dan."

The narrative begins with Epsom Tibbets, a shrewd money-lender in lower Manhattan, who receives a veiled woman seeking to borrow five hundred dollars against valuable diamonds. After Tibbets recognizes the woman as someone named Miggs from his past and temporarily leaves to post a letter, he returns to find her stabbed to death in his office—the diamonds and her bag gone. Tibbets summons the nearby detective Dan Damon, a thirty-six-year-old investigator described as possessing keen perception. The detective examines the body, notes she has been "daggered," and begins questioning Tibbets about Miggs's identity and the circumstances of her visit. The chapter concludes with Damon returning to his nearby office, where he finds a mysterious young girl named Clova waiting.