Beadle's Pocket Library No. 414

This pulp magazine issue features the opening of "Dasher Dick's Dead Lock" by J. Milton Hoffman, a western adventure serial. The story follows a seventeen-year-old cowboy named Mark Ludington, who rides across the Nebraska prairie and is chased by three ranchers from Print Olive ranch. They suspect him of cattle theft, but when his horse stumbles and throws him, they capture the unconscious boy. Binding him to a tree surrounded by dry grass and kindling, the men prepare to execute him by fire as punishment. A rough-looking stranger intervenes, shooting all three ranchers dead in succession. He frees the boy, who reveals his alias is "Plucky Joe," a skilled cowboy scout. The stranger extracts promises of secrecy before helping him escape. The narrative emphasizes desperate pursuit, frontier justice, and mysterious survival.