Beadle's Dime Library No. 892

This November 1895 issue of *The Countryman Detective* contains the serialized story "The Strangler," credited to Albert W. Aiken, author of the "Joe Phenix" novels. The narrative follows Lawrence Paddlewick, a mysterious stranger posing as a journalist seeking rest, who arrives at the Oldharbor Hotel on Long Island. After overhearing the landlord discuss an orphan named Irma Allison, Paddlewick realizes she is actually Elizabeth Allison Marmaduke, a woman he has pursued for fifteen years. The story features encounters with multiple characters: Irma, who shows dramatic talents in village productions; her elderly, wealthy protector; and Oliphant Strong, a young man acquainted with Paddlewick from his hotel clerk days who now manages a country store. Tensions escalate when the protective woman discovers Irma and Strong together, threatening to expel the girl from her house.