Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 532

Jack Javert, the Independent Detective This January 1889 issue features the opening of a serialized mystery titled "Captain Cinnabar in New York" by Captain Howard Holmes, a prolific pulp author. The narrative introduces Lucy Lemon, a fourteen-year-old girl, who visits detective Jackson Javert's office to deliver a summons from her employer, Mrs. Juliette Jansen. Lucy reports finding an unconscious dwarfish man with unusually long arms in Jansen's parlor and describes her employer's cryptic reference to "The League" striking a devastating blow. Lucy also shows Javert an anonymous letter signed "Fortune" proposing a mysterious scheme involving espionage at Jansen's house in exchange for wealth. The story then shifts to scenes involving wealthy New York resident Ruff Raymont and a mysterious woman calling herself "Zubiano, Queen of Sorcery," who demonstrates stage illusions and apparent skin-darkening powers, establishing intrigue among unnamed criminal associates.