Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 514

About this issue

This issue of the Beadle and Adams Half-Dime Library (No. 914, May 31, 1887) contains "Broadway Billy's Boodle," a serialized story by J. C. Cowdrick featuring the street boy protagonist Broadway Billy. The narrative follows Billy's discovery that a thousand dollars has been deposited in his name at a local bank by a Mr. Stidwell as reward for detective work Billy performed the previous summer. Billy resolves to earn his own way rather than spend the money. After shining shoes for a bank president named Jonas Herman, Billy encounters a fashionably dressed young woman on Broadway whom he mistakes for his friend Polly Osmond. The girl indignantly denies knowing him. Later, Billy and his companion Skinny visit Billy's mother to settle the matter by finding the real Polly, discovering she is indeed Polly's lookalike. The narrative emphasizes Billy's street-smart charm and his determination toward self-improvement despite his newfound wealth.