The worst of all plunderers in the nation, malicious mail and express train robbers, have frustrated Indiana law enforcement for too long. The best thief-taker in Washington's secret service force, detective Wayne Winthrop, fell among them, unawares, while in disguise. A mission to derail their murderous cartel is formulated right there in the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad station, Vincennes, Indiana.

His reputation among criminals is well earned. The superstitious detail him as being in league with spirits of the air, or with the devil himself. Some say he disappears mysteriously as he appears, sometimes to roar and flash of thunder and lightning. They call him Old Electricity. A master of disguise, a skilled forger and a dabbler in phrenology.

Can Wayne Winthrop break the death grip of their lethal crime sprees, or will it be he who goes before Judge Lynch, strung up by the neck in a hangman's noose?

Copyrighted in 1881, Old Electricity, The Lightning Detective; Or, Through By Night was originally published in 1885’s Old Sleuth Library. In 1892 it was considerably expanded into a novel. This is the version preserved in this edition.

Old Electricity, The Lightning Detective; Or, Through By Night was written over 140 years ago and is a product of its time. The story has social norms, prejudices, stereotypes, and attitudes of the era that do not represent today's society or values.