Deadwood Dick Library No. 16

This installment of *Deadwood Dick and the Warriors of the Sun-God* opens in the Black Hills mining town of Quartz City during a masquerade ball at Pretzel Pete's tavern. Corduroy Charlie, a young and muscular stranger, arrives with a mysterious wagon guarded by an Indian driver and Chinese workers. Confronted by ruffians led by the bullwhacker Jem McTurk, Charlie defends himself verbally, then enters the ball where a masked woman invites him to dance. McTurk strikes him during the dance, prompting a pistol duel in the street. Charlie shoots McTurk twice, wounding him both times. The masked woman then escorts Charlie to her cabin in the valley to tend his wounded arm, removing her mask to reveal long brown hair. She warns him that McTurk belongs to a dangerous criminal group harboring some local mystery, advising him to remain vigilant.