Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 727

Mad Madge, the Outlaw Queen This railway romance serial by Col. A. F. Holt, titled "Mad Madge, the Outlaw Queen," follows Express-messenger Roy Noble aboard a westbound train carrying valuable cargo. Noble worries about his responsibility for a substantial shipment including $100,000 in treasury notes consigned to Richville National Bank. His assistant Tim Tupper dismisses concerns about train robberies, noting that gang activity has been quiet since Nick Norman's outfit was eliminated. A cryptic development emerges when an elderly man boards the Express car with a pine coffin supposedly containing his deceased brother "Bill." After departure, the "corpse" proves surprisingly animate: the coffin features a concealed hinged door operated by an internal spring mechanism, revealing a slender, youthful figure inside—apparently a criminal agent positioned to steal the valuable shipment during the night journey. The deception suggests organized criminal intent targeting the treasure.