Beadle's Pocket Library, Vol. III, No. 32

This issue of Beadle's Dime Novels (Vol. III, No. 98, August 1884) features "Black John, the Road-Agent; or, The Outlaw's Retreat" by Joseph E. Badger Jr., author of "Yellowstone Jack."

The serial follows a stagecoach journey interrupted by a notorious road agent named Black John, who leads a masked band of outlaws. Among the passengers are two young women returning home from Eastern boarding school (May Howard and Eunice Lee), Kent Morgan, Frank Kershaw (a wealthy real estate businessman), driver Ben Cockles, and Curly (Israel Tostivan), a man with a personal history connected to Black John. The narrative builds tension as Cockles reveals that Black John seeks Curly to avenge his friend Monte Pete, whom Curly had previously killed. When the coach crosses Little Wildcat Creek during a violent rainstorm, Black John ambushes them, announcing he collects toll from male passengers while sparing the women. The excerpt ends as Black John specifically demands Curly's location.