Beadle's Pocket Library No. 149

About this issue

This 1886 Beadle and Adams story by Charles Morris follows the titular protagonist through criminal intrigue in New York. In Chapter I, set on a winter evening, Bob Rockett encounters an ill-dressed man at Joe Cracker's eating house who recognizes him with menacing familiarity, later muttering that Bob helped send him to prison six years prior and vowing revenge. After supper, Bob and his associate Roger proceed to an illegal gambling saloon operated by Harry Blake. The chapter culminates in an intense poker game where Bob, desperate and facing ruin, wagers increasingly against Roger's steady luck. The stakes escalate to hundreds of dollars before Bob plays his hand despite emotional distress. Chapter II shifts setting to an upper New York residence where social guests engage in chess and flirtation, introducing a young woman named Grace and a gentleman named Paul. The excerpt cuts short mid-question.