New Nick Carter Weekly, No. 28

About this issue

This issue contains the serial "Nick Carter at the Track; or, How He Became a Dead Game Sport." A Wall Street broker named James Wheeler seeks detective Nick Carter's help recovering twenty thousand dollars stolen from his office during a daylight robbery by two men posing as Texas investors. Rather than report the theft, Wheeler wagered the missing money on the racehorse Denver Bay in the upcoming Brooklyn Handicap, hoping to recover it through gambling. Suspecting corruption in the race itself, Carter adopts the disguise of a Western cattle drover and visits a basement pool-room on Barclay Street to investigate. There he makes a hundred-dollar bet on Denver Bay at fifteen-to-one odds. A plug-ugly tips him that Denver Bay will lose, advising he play the horse for second place instead. After a confrontation with the man becomes physical, Carter strikes him unconscious and escapes undetected. The narrative emphasizes Carter's investigative methods and willingness to engage with criminals across class lines to uncover the truth.