Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 590

This 1890 pulp serial features "The Dark Deal at Doubledeck" by William R. Eyster, author of multiple adventure tales. Gentle Jack Armstrong, a confident gambler and con man, departs Hard-Up with his Irish valet Barney aboard a stagecoach bound for Doubledeck. En route, Jack encounters Judge Haddington, a wealthy mining magnate connected to the Gray Mare Mine, and the mysterious Lillian Lord, a handsome young woman carrying concealed weapons. When Haddington dismisses Jack as a worthless drifter, Jack reveals he owns stock in the mine—initially claiming twenty-five shares, then correcting himself to twenty-five hundred shares in a competing venture. The narrative establishes Jack's remarkable ability to read people and anticipate danger, while foreshadowing conflicts involving road agents and the "Copper Caps" at Doubledeck.