Beadle's Dime Library No. 775: King Dandy

About this issue

This 1875 Beadle and Adams dime novel contains "The Silver Sport; or, The High Kicker of Salt River," a Western romance by Albert W. Aiken. The narrative opens when Sheriff John Kellerhan and Alexander Murray attempt to seize the Red Elephant Mine near Crested Hill, Arizona, from Mexican adventurer Michael Fronteras, who refuses to surrender despite a court judgment. Following a brief parley under truce, violence erupts; Kellerhan's rifle shot kills Fronteras. The fallen man is revealed to be the half-brother of Oriana Marshal, a beautiful young woman Murray had courted in New York. She swears vengeance. The chapter concludes with the arrival in camp of a striking stranger dressed as an accomplished gambler or "sport"—pale ringletted hair, silver-plated revolvers, and elegant attire—who draws considerable attention and suspicion from the townspeople.