Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1903

BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 12)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 478 · 3/1/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Friend or Foe? by Charles Hamilton.

Sexton Blake

Notes: Watkins gives Tattlemore (Wallace Lorimer) further information about the disappearance of Claude Henshawe. The headmaster had told the boys that a letter had arrived from Claude's people saying that the lad wasn't strong enough to be away from home. However, Watkins knows that Henshawe had no home — his parents were dead and he was left in an old uncle's care. Furthermore, no one saw him leave the school. He simply vanished. With mysteries proliferating, Tattlemore sends a wire to summon Sexton Blake. That night, he organises a food expedition. Sneaking out of the dormitory, he, Watkins and an Irish lad named Murphy, slip out of the school and into the local village. While his two companions get supplies from the shop, Tattlemore orders ginger beer from the pub. While there, he overhears Ned Garstike warning a man named Bill Fanks that their plans are in danger because the school's headmaster is prone to sleepwalking. On the way back to the school, Tattlemore notices a light moving about in the abandoned east wing. He and Watkins climb to a window and peer through. They see Claude Henshawe chained to a wall and, facing him, the headmaster!

Rating: ★★★☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 13)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 479 · 10/1/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Land of Mystery by Charles Hamilton.

Notes: Tim Tattlemore (Wallace Lorimer) and Tom Watkins realise that the headmaster is sleepwalking. When Thrashard shuffles out of the room, the two watchers enter through the window. As they file through the chain, Henshawe explains that he had been grabbed by two or three men who had imprisoned him here, bringing food every day via the window. Suddenly Ned Garstike and Bill Fanks leap in and attack the rescuers. Overpowered, bound and gagged, Tim and Tom are lowered to the ground outside and marched away at gunpoint. However, they and their captors are seen by Pat Murphy, who follows.

Rating: ★★★☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 14)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)
KING OF DETECTIVES

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 480 · 17/1/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Unknown

Notes: I don't currently own this issue but from the one that follows I can surmise that in this instalment we learn that Ned Garstike and Bill Fanks are working for Claude Henshawe's uncle, whose name is Rollickson. The two villains carry Tim Tattlemore (Wallace Lorimer) and Tom Watkins to a farmhouse. Sexton Blake comes to their rescue. Wallace Lorrimer fetches men from the village to help him and Blake arrest the two villains.

Unrated


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 15)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 481 · 24/1/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Fireman Fred by Anon.; The Sagacity of Codger by Anon

Notes: Having returned to the school, Tim Tattlemore reveals his true identity as Wallace Lorimer to the headmaster and tells him of the recent events involving Claude Henshawe. They go to the disused part of the building to find the lad but discover that he has gone. That evening, Claude, Tom Watkins and Pat Murphy reappear and explain that they had been accosted by gypsies who, after searching them for loot, had eventually let them go. Rollickson is arrested and is eventually, we are informed, sent to prison. Sexton Blake and Lorrimer follow the headmaster on one of his sleepwalking expeditions and witness him stealing from the boys' lockers. Following him to where he has accumulated all the stolen items, they wake him but then, to nullify the shock, they immediately render him unconscious with chloroform. This, it turns out, cures him of his sleepwalking habit. Lorrimer bids goodbye to his school chums and he and Sexton Blake depart. Blake shows his assistant a cable from a lawyer named Caleb Arnold. In it, they are asked to investigate the disappearance of a city merchant named James Green. It's the beginning of a new case!

Trivia: The case of Claude Watkins seems to be tidied up in great haste in this instalment — almost as if the author had become bored of it!

Rating: ★★★☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 16)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 482 · 31/1/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Haunted Lagoon by Anon.; Items of Interest (ed.)

Notes: Wealthy businessman James Greene has mysteriously vanished and Sexton Blake and Wallace Lorrimer, freshly returned from the United States to Norfolk Street, London, are determined to find out what has happened to him. He appears to have been rather a reclusive man, one who hated to be photographed. Blake interviews Greene’s lawyer, Isaac Greatorex, and together they discover a letter to the millionaire from a woman named Mabel. In it, she pleads for his help in a matter concerning someone named George. The lawyer suggests the author might be Mrs Glenwood, who was known to Greene. He then goes on to read the businessman’s will in which it is revealed that Greene expects to die penniless, as he has consistently used his money for “a special purpose.” Blake sends Lorrimer to interview Mrs Glenwood. While he is gone, a corpse is pulled from the Thames. Its face is battered beyond recognition but in every other respect it matches the missing man. Greene’s doctor, however, declares that the body is not that of his patient.

Trivia: Raggles the office boy makes another appearance.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 17)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 483 · 7/2/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Canadian Dick by Anon.

Notes: Blake learns that Greene had taken out life insurance to the staggering tune of a hundred thousand pounds. The beneficiary is his cousin, Joaquin Henderson, who lives in Rose Cottage, Bedford. Wallace Lorrimer, meanwhile, has learned from Mrs Glenwood that Greene had long ago loved her. She, however, had married another man, who proved weak and succumbed to gambling. Having lost a fortune, his wife had contacted Greene for help. The businessman had covered her husband's debt, which the reformed man, over the past ten years, had paid back. The debt is now, finally, cleared. Blake visits Joaquin Henderson and asks Isaac Greatorex to secretly observe. Afterwards, he asks the lawyer whether he recognised the man. Greatorex says no, but this is a lie.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 18)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 484 · 14/2/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Head-Hunters of Borneo by Anon.

Notes: Blake returns to London but Greatorex stays behind and approaches Henderson, making it clear that he recognises him. Unconcerned, Henderson offers the lawyer £500 a year for his silence. Greatorex agrees to the deal but it turns out to be a ruse and, the following morning, Henderson imprisons him in Rose Cottage.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 19)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 485 · 21/2/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Three Swordsmen by Paul Herring.

Notes: Blake's suspicions are aroused. He returns to Rose Cottage and finds it empty but for the prisoner, Greatorex, who he liberates. Joaquin Henderson returns and is confronted, his true identity revealed. He is, of course, James Greene. For years, Greene has been living a double life, one as the family man, Henderson, and the other as bachelor-around-town, Greene. Now he's determined to rid himself of the latter identity in order to dedicate himself to his wife and son. Though his actions qualify as fraud, Blake let's him go on the condition that he and his family emigrate to Canada. Thus ends another case.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 20)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 486 · 28/2/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Driven From Home by Anon.; The Northumberland Street Mystery (article).

Notes: This exceedingly short episode sums up the end of the previous adventure and informs the reader that Sexton Blake is on the trail of a much bigger criminal.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 21)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 487 · 7/3/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Treasure Clue By Anon.; A Burglary in the Highlands by Anon.

Notes: Blake has been asked by Julia Harrison to look into the death of her sweetheart, a carpenter named John Collingwood, who fell from the balcony of his lodgings on Divine Row, Whitechapel. It has the appearance of a straightforward accident, except for the fact that the balcony’s railing had been partially sawn through. Collingwood’s brother, Robert, meanwhile, has engaged another detective, a rather egotistical character named David Harringway. Blake sends Wallace Lorrimer to Whitechapel to quietly begin the investigation. Harringway, making much ado about his own detective skills, fails to notice that he is being followed by an elderly Jew named Isaac Cohen.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 22)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 488 · 14/3/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Brand of the Snake by Paul Herring.

Notes: David Harringway is lodging in the house next to to the one that John Collingwood had been staying in. Isaac Cohen rents a back room in the latter house, on the same floor that Colingwood had fallen from. Then, much to the landlady’s astonishment, he pays her full rent for the dead man’s old room. While continuing to shadow Harringway, Cohen spots — by the detective’s lodgings — a piece of wood and identifies it as the rail from the broken balcony. He approaches the detective and offers to buy it.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 23)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 489 · 21/3/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: From Clue to Clue by Anon.; Some of the World's Wonders (ed.)

Notes: Harringway sells the wooden rail to Cohen but is then shocked to see the old man enter the house next door. When he learns from its landlady that Cohen is renting Collingwood’s old room, he is thoroughly unnerved. Cohen, meanwhile, compares the saw marks in the rail with Collingwood’s carpentry tools and notes a match. Next, he questions the owner of the house next door and makes a list of its current and former tenants, and frequent visitors. He inspects the room that is adjacent to the one with the broken balcony, that he is now renting. That afternoon, he is visited by a road worker. This, it turns out, is Sexton Blake, and Cohen is none other than a cleverly disguised Wallace Lorrimer. Lorrimer reports that he thinks he knows who killed Collingwood but, before he can say anything more, Harringway pays a visit and asks for the piece of wood back. "Cohen" tells him that it’s already been cut up and used. The detective departs and Lorrimer reveals to Blake that he believes Harringway to be guilty of Collingwood’s murder.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 24)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 490 · 28/3/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Brother Officers by Anon.; Some of the World's Wonders (ed.)

Notes: Blake departs but, as he passes through Whitechapel, he hears a newspaper seller announcing that there’s been an arrest with regard to Collingwood’s death. The report states that David Harringway has caused one of the victim's friends, Wilfred Benson, to be arrested. Benson had lived in the room adjacent to Collingwood’s — the one now being rented by Harringway — but had left it for new lodgings on the same day as the supposed accident. Blake waits at a tram stop and sees his rival detective approaching. Harringway recognises him from his recent meeting with Cohen. Blake reveals to him that Cohen lied about the balcony railing, it wasn’t cut up, and the "elderly Jew" still has it. He says he can get it for Harringway in return for a shilling, and the detective eagerly makes the deal. Next, Blake approaches Julia Harrison and asks her to play a role in his developing scheme. After she agrees, he sends a message to Wallace Lorrimer.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 25)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 491 · 4/4/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Witness from the Grave by S. Clarke Hook; The Young Man Penny (article).

Notes: The next morning, Harringway receives a letter from Julia Harrison, with whom he is in love. She offers to meet him tomorrow afternoon, confessing that she may have previously misjudged him. In the house next door, Wallace Lorrimer, in the guise of Isaac Cohen, has also received a letter. It is from Sexton Blake, and alerts him to the fact that Harringway will be absent from his lodgings the following day. When that day comes, Lorrimer adopts a new disguise — that of a clergyman — and makes his way to Stratford, where Harringway and Harrison have their assignation. Meanwhile, Blake arrives at Harringway’s place with the piece of wood as promised. He asks the landlady, Mrs Perkins, if he can leave it in the detective’s room. She demurs, and they are soon discussing her former tenant, Wilfred Benson, who she insists must be innocent. She says she’ll tell Blake a secret … …

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 26)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 492 · 11/4/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Cave of Mystery by S. Clarke Hook.

Notes: Mrs Perkins reveals that, on the night of Collingwood’s death, Wilfred Benson attended a local fancy dress party dressed as a convict. When he returned late at night, the landlady says, she wouldn’t have recognised him were it not for that costume; something about him seemed different, and it made her feel very uneasy. At three o’clock in the morning, she witnessed him departing, still in costume, and doesn’t know where he spent the night or changed back into his ordinary clothes. She also states that Benson’s friend, the detective David Harringway, who now occupies Benson’s old room, also attended the fancy dress party in the guise of a convict. Next, Blake pays a quick visit to Benson in prison before meeting with Lorrimer who confirms, after observing Harringway and Harrison together, that the man is in love with her. The next day, Benson is officially charged, but acting on information from Sexton Blake, his solicitor is able to prove him incontrovertibly innocent. Furthermore, David Harringway is proven guilty of John Collingwood’s murder and is immediately arrested. The case is concluded, and we are informed that Harringway received a life sentence. Blake shows Lorrimer a newspaper advertisement in which Julia Harrison is urged to contact a particular solicitor’s office.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 27)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 493 · 18/4/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Peril of the Jungle by S. Clarke Hook; The Death Card by Reginald Wray.

Notes: Blake is certain that the story behind the advertisement will reveal Harringway’s motive. Back at his office, his boy, Raggles, announces the arrival of Mrs Perkins, the landlady, who had been requested by Blake to bring to him all letters delivered for Harringway. One of these is postmarked with the solicitor’s address, and Blake steams it open. The missive asks in relation to the detective’s arrest, "what is to become of the the matter that had been arranged between us?" Mrs Perkins departs and a man named Montgomery Jones arrives. He claims to have lost property amounting to a considerable fortune. Blake instructs Wallace Lorrimer to take the case while he, Blake, departs for Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

Trivia: Sexton Blake smokes a briar. He has an office cat (as he would again in the 1950s).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 28)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 494 · 25/4/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson; The Call of Duty by Anon.

Notes: Blake telephones Wallace Lorrimer who informs him that Montgomery Jones is a miser who hoards his money but has discovered £25,000 missing. Blake tells his assistant to pursue the case. He then pays a visit to the solicitor’s office from whence the letter to Harringway came and, by representing himself as that man's assistant, bullies the clerk, John Thomas, into divulging information. He is shown a photograph of a woman who almost exactly resembles Julia Harrison. It is, he's told, Miss Annie Baker, who will replace Harrison and claim the fortune that’s coming to her. Blake instructs him to continue with the scheme but to communicate via the post with him rather than with Harringway, who, of course, is in prison awaiting trial. A week passes, then it is announced that Julia Harrison has responded to the advertisement and will visit the lawyer’s office to claim her fortune the following day.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 29)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 495 · 2/5/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: A Soldier of Fortune by John G. Rowe; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson.

Notes: On a Thursday morning, Annie Baker, claiming to be Julia Harrison, arrives at the solicitor’s office to sign the papers that will secure for her a fortune of £100,000. On the point of signing, she is interrupted by the arrival of Wallace Lorrimer and three policemen. They usher in the real Julia Harrison. Annie Baker and John Thomas are arrested. They bear witness against the originator of the scheme, David Harringway, who is rewarded with a long prison sentence. Neither Baker or Thomas are charged. The latter emigrates to America to begin a new life. Julia Harrison inherits her fortune and eventually marries Wilfred Benson. The case is closed. What, though, of the new case, that of Montgomery Jones? On their way back to their off in Norfolk Street, Lorrimer explains that they’re fced with a locked room mystery. Jones’s valuables went missing from a well-secured room and there's no sign of a break in. The two detectives visit the scene of the crime, Jones's lodgings in Kensington, and are let into his rooms by the landlady, who reveals that this is the first time he’s ever given her a key, so protective is he of his domain. Blake discovers, on the outside of one of the windows, a lump of bright red putty.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 30)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 496 · 9/5/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Mutiny of the Pole Star by E. Harcourt Burrage; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson.

Notes: Wallace Lorrimer tells Blake what was stolen from Montgomery Jones — banknotes, bonds, diamonds and trinkets — all of which had been stored in a red Morocco wallet, which Jones had made some weeks ago. The detectives set off to visit the saddler who had fashioned it and, on the way, see an Italian with an obviously very well trained monkey. As they watch, the man sends his pet to the top of a street lamp to obtain a light for his cigarette. Blake tries to speak to the Italian but is given short shrift.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 31)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 497 · 16/5/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Frank Ferret's Ghost Chase by Alec G. Pearson; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson.

Notes: While Wallace Lorrimer heads back to their Norfolk Street office, Blake continues on to the saddler who'd made Montgomery Jones's Morocco wallet. The man reveals that he'd recently been asked by an Italian — Giovanni Mantellini — to make another just like it. This, it turns out, is the same individual that Blake has just encountered in the street. The saddler gives the address, and it is in the same row of houses as Jones's lodgings. Blake summons Lorrimer and instructs him to shadow Mantellini, which over the course of the next two weeks, his assistant duly does. Then Lorrimer receives a message: "Come Montgomery Jones’s — quick! Have bought a monkey. — S.B."

Trivia: It is stated that Wallace Lorrimer lives in his own lodgings, rather than with Blake at the Norfolk Street office.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 32)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 498 · 23/5/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Every Inch a Sailor by Anon.; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson; The Editor Speaks (ed.)

Notes: In the back yard at Montgomery Jones's place, Wallace Lorrimer finds Sexton Blake in full disguise, masquerading as Giovanni Mantellini, complete with that man's monkey, which (while in another disguise) he purchased from the Italian. Blake tells Lorromer to go and conceal himself in Jones's rooms. This is done, and Lorrimer notices that a red wallet has been placed on a writing table. Blake throws up a blob of red putty which adheres to the outside of Jones's window. The monkey races up the side of the house to the marked window, produces a pocket knife, levers the window open, enters, closes the window, takes the wallet, and disappears with it up the chimney.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 33)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 499 · 30/5/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Unknown

Notes: I don’t have this issue. From the next episode, it appears that in this one Blake summons two plain-clothes policemen, Stevens and Rogerson. Giovanni Mantellini evades them but is then caught and searched.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 34)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 500 · 6/6/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Fathoms Deep by Anon.; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson; The Editor's Chat (ed.)

Notes: No trace of Montgomery Jones's valuables is found on Giovanni Mantellini. He is taken to the local police station by Stevens and Rogerson, there to be charged. A warrant is issued and his apartment is searched. The stolen valuables are recovered. Wallace Lorrimer informs Sexton Blake that this will be his, Lorrimer's, final case. He is leaving the detective business to become a farmer. First, though, he will tell Blake what he has learned about the case of the Camberwell coiner.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


BOOK II: KING OF DETECTIVES
(part 35)
by Anon. (Percy C. Bishop)

THE MARVEL LIBRARY · Issue 501 · 13/6/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: The Hidden Kingdom by E. Harcourt Burrage; The Golden Lizard by Alec G. Pearson.

Notes: Spurious half-crowns have been put into circulation, and they are so well made as to be nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Five distributors have been identified and are being watched, but it's the coiner himself who is most wanted, and his identity remains a mystery. The only clue is that he owns a dog named Jacko, which Wallace Lorrimer has managed to photograph. This hound is used to deliver the coins to the distributors. Lorrimer has placed an advert in the newspapers in which, posing as an American gentleman, he expresses an interest in buying, for a considerable sum, a dog of that particular breed. This is responded to by Tom Collins, one of the distributors, who steals his employer's dog in order to sell it. Blake pretends to be the American and makes the purchase. He and Lorrimer command the dog to go home, follow it, and it leads them straight toward the Camberwell coiner. However, Collins sees this and attempts to stop them. He viciously attacks Lorrimer, who is knocked unconscious. He cannot stop the dog, though, which races to a man named Jake Cartwright, who is duly arrested and found guilty of counterfeiting. Lorrimer lies unconscious for a week. When he recovers, he is on the farm he purchased a week ago, and his wife and Sexton Blake are at his bedside.

Trivia: A heavy baize door separates Sexton Blake's "sanctum" from the outer office in Norfolk Street. Wallace Lorrimer is the only one of Blake's various assistants to have a "send off." The rest (aside from Tinker, who never leaves) simply vanish.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆


SEXTON BLAKE'S CLUE
by Anon. (Unknown)

UNION JACK · 1st series · Issue 464 · 14/3/1903 · Amalgamated Press · ½d

Illustrator: Unknown

Other content: Chris the Waterman by John G. Rowe; The Boys of St. Dunstan's by S. Clarke Hook.

Notes: This is an extremely short story billed as 'A Thrilling Melodrama of Real Life!' Sexton Blake has been trying to run a coiner to earth but has so far been unsuccessful. Standing in Vernon Crescent, he is in a deep reverie but is suddenly snapped out of it by a cry of "Murder!" The detective races into the lodging house from which the scream had come. He finds a young woman lying on a bed, stabbed through the heart, and, standing at the foot of the bed, paralysed with horror, her husband. Blake notes a pungent odour coming from the handle of the knife but, before he can investigate further, a constable enters and indicates that the husband's cuffs are covered with blood. The landlady tells the two lawmen that the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Hoxton, had lived in her house for three weeks and had never argued. Blake tells Hoxton that he knows him to be innocent. The young man tells the detective that until three weeks ago he and his wife had lived in Portugal. They had moved to England and lodged in the current residence while waiting for their new home to be prepared. But his Portuguese wife had a secret which she steadfastly refused to share with her husband and which often caused her to cry. That evening, a passing man had thrust a note into her hand which demanded her presence at King's Cross Station. Hoxton had questioned his wife but she had refused to tell him what it was all about. Later, he had entered the room and found her dead. Blake notes that the odour from the knife is not present on Hoxton's hands. But it is on the window ledge and balcony, suggesting the killer had escaped to the next door house, which has been empty for many years. The detective returns to his lodgings to work on the coining case for a while, seeking to discover a chemical process the coiner uses to add the finish to his forgeries. The results are unexpected: an odour identical to that on the murder weapon. Suddenly the two separate cases are one. He returns to the Vernon Crescent house and breaks in. Outside an attic room, he smells the same odour. He starts a small fire to lure the tenant out; it works, and he leaps upon the man and slaps handcuffs onto him. The coiner and murderer is caught! Upon a table in the room, a note reveals that Mrs. Huxton had once been a member of the coining gang but had defied their orders by leaving. Death was the sentence they passed.

Sexton Blake

Trivia: Blake has fitted out a small room in his lodgings as a laboratory.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ In style, tone and length, this is a precursor to the ANSWERS and PENNY PICTORIAL short stories that would appear between 1907 and 1913. This story seems to have been rather clumsily edited. It is almost certainly the empty house the detective breaks into and where he finds the murderer; a couple of references suggest this ... and it makes more sense, but there appears to be at least one sentence missing, leaving it unclear which house provides the setting for the finale.