Beadle's Dime Library No. 714

This issue of Beadle & Adams contains the opening installment of "Gabe Gall" by Wm. H. Manning, a Western crime drama set in the mining town of Shadow Shaft. The story concerns two embezzling bank agents, Leland Sherwin and Major Ward Fearing, who have misappropriated company funds for a failed speculation scheme. Philemon Bond, a bank inspector, arrives to audit accounts and collect outstanding money they cannot repay. Facing disgrace and prison, Sherwin contemplates the revolver on his desk while awaiting Bond's interrogation. That night, Bond arrives and stays at Sherwin's home as a guest. The following morning, Bond has mysteriously vanished from his bedroom, discovered absent by the household servant John Brown. Sherwin, upon being questioned, appears deeply dejected. The narrative suggests impending crisis with hints of darker implications surrounding Bond's disappearance.