Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 928

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (No. 928, August 5, 1896) features "Old Sobersides, the Detective of St. Louis; or, the Crook-League Lay-Out" by Joseph E. Badger Jr., a detective adventure serialized in multiple chapters.

The story opens in a St. Louis hotel dining room where Ross Montgomery, a well-dressed gentleman, encounters Austin Bainbridge and his companions. Bainbridge, drinking heavily, makes inflammatory public accusations that Montgomery harbors African American ancestry and is a fugitive from South Carolina. When Bainbridge physically attempts to examine Montgomery's nose to "prove" his racial identity, Montgomery strikes him down with a single punch. Bainbridge, recovering quickly despite the blow, publicly declares his intention to expose Montgomery as a "runaway slave" and vows to destroy his reputation throughout the city. The narrative establishes a conflict involving questions of identity, social status, and honor in post-Civil War Missouri.