Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 127

"Wild-Fire, the Boss of the Road: or, The Wolves of Satan's Gap" by Frank Dumont This serialized western romance opens in Helena, Montana during silver boom times. Fred Gordon, a young man grieving his fiancée Edwina's poisoning death, has been deliberately corrupted by his rival Donald Stone—lured into gambling with embezzled funds. During a high-stakes faro game, Gordon exposes the dealer's cheating (cards waxed together), recovers his losses, and holds the gambler at gunpoint. Stone, witnessing Gordon's escape from his revenge scheme, grows enraged. The situation erupts when Edwina herself—inexplicably alive—bursts into the room fleeing pursuers and collapses into Gordon's arms. Stone, who orchestrated her poisoning and apparent death, reveals he holds power in the region and has kept her captive. He attacks with a knife while his accomplice advances, but sympathetic miners promise Gordon fair one-on-one combat support, forcing Stone to hesitate.