Bowery Boy Library No. 40: Bowery Billy At Coney Island or The Bunco King.

In this tale by John R. Conway, Bowery Billy and his friend Thede Marston head to Coney Island so Thede can see a girl he’s just met. Thistle Tom, another friend of Billy’s, drives them down in his boat. Once at the island, Thede slips away to find his girl while Tom and Billy deal with two men who want to steal Tom’s boat. A fistfight ensues, and soon after Tom and Billy subdue the other men, Tom disappears. Read the novel to see the surprising finish!

Although most of the story takes place along the outskirts of the park, Billy and his friends remark on Luna Park as a “wonderful park,” describing it as “a scene of beauty and enchantment unequalled in its way by anything in the world.”

Full text of the story can be read by clicking on the picture to the left.