Beadle's Dime Library No. 579

"The Master Detective's Master Stroke" by Captain Howard Holmes This detective serial features "Old Cormorant," an independent thirty-year veteran investigator operating outside official police channels in New York. When two murders occur nearly simultaneously—banker Lot Lispenard and fortune-teller Madam Medusa die from similar dagger wounds two hours apart—Cormorant assigns his six-year apprentice Louis the high-reward Lispenard case and takes the unrewarded Medusa murder himself. Visiting the Hester Street crime scene, Cormorant interviews Lisa, a young woman of mixed French-Algerian descent who assisted Medusa. He notes that both Lisa and the victim were born in Algeria, considers the coincidence suspicious, and meticulously examines the death chamber where Medusa was found stabbed while seated in her chair. The narrative establishes parallel murder investigations with competing detectives and mounting mystery.