Buffalo Bill's death message or, In the face of doom

About the book

At a hotel in Klamath, Buffalo Bill wakes to a mysterious visitor knocking before dawn. The message left outside his door requests a meeting at Poplar Bend, but the gold pin holding it in place suggests something more threatening than an ordinary appointment. Cudjo recognizes the ornament as resembling one worn by a train robber who previously wounded the scout. When the summons is repeated, Cody must decide how to investigate without accepting the trap on its own terms. The exuberant Irishman Michael Flynn adds another unpredictable presence to the affair. This dime-novel adventure develops its suspense through warnings, disguises, captivity, and renewed pursuit. Its heroic version of Cody belongs to popular fiction, and its racial caricatures reflect the prejudices of that storytelling tradition.

• Warnings and deception
• Popular frontier heroism
• Loyalty under threat

Why read it

The repeated summons and distinctive gold pin establish a compact mystery before the story expands into a succession of adventures.

Street & Smith Buffalo Bill series No. 194, bearing a 1907 copyright