The Deadwood Dick Library, Vol. IV, No. 51

This issue of the Half-Dime Library (No. 5, Vol. IV, February 28, 1900) features a serialized western story titled "Sierra Sam's Sentence; or, Little Luck at Rough Ranch" by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick novels. The installment follows Sierra Sam, a renowned frontier detective, and his bride Stella (formerly Angel of Big Vista), newly married in Tucson, as they arrive in Ramirz—a small Arizona mining settlement dominated by the wealthy Spanish-American Don Ramon de Ramirz. The couple receives hospitality at the Don's stone mansion. Stella expresses foreboding about their host and surroundings, while Sam maintains cautious observation. The Don and Sam visit the Casino saloon where gamblers, miners, and adventurers congregate. The narrative establishes an atmosphere of suspicion and danger underlying the Don's ostensible civility. The catalog also lists numerous Deadwood Dick, Jr. serial titles published in this library series.