Thunderbolt Tom; or, The Wolf-Herder of the Rockies

This issue of Beadle and Adams' dime novel (November 9, 1880) contains "Thunderbolt Tom; or, The Wolf-Herder of the Rockies" by Harry St. George, author of "Hickory Harry" and similar frontier tales. The serial follows the eponymous young hunter, whose reputation ranks alongside Kit Carson and Grizzly Adams, as he investigates mysterious wolf howls in a mountain pass. Tom infiltrates a remote cabin where he discovers a conspiracy: a giant wolf-herder named Wallace, a vengeful smaller man called Colorado, and a mysterious masked man called "Colonel" have captured a golden-haired woman and plot to murder Thunderbolt Tom by throwing him into a pen of starving wolves. Colorado harbors particular hatred, bearing a branded "thief" mark from Tom's previous encounter. After eavesdropping from the cabin loft, Tom dramatically announces his presence and leaps through the trap door into the room below.