Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1918

Notes: Story features Sir Richard Losely and Lobangu. Sexton Blake and Tinker don't appear until the final chapters. This is an abridged reprint of a serial that appeared in UNION JACK issue 727 to 756 (1917-18). Unusually, this issue was printed in landscape format.

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Notes: Glory Gale surreptitiously watches as Sexton Blake and Detective-Inspector Martin lead a raid on the home of a notorious international criminal. Inside, John Moran, also known as "the Hawke," is telling a young and rather reluctant counterfeiter about a woman he has seen and fallen in love with. They are interrupted by the raid, and Moran's gang of counterfeiters is rounded up, though the Hawke himself manages to get away, as does his companion. The latter bumps into Miss Gale and proves to be her younger brother, Keith. She gets him away and, after he expresses a desire to go straight, gives him shelter. A month later, Moran blackmails Keith into inviting him as a guest to the Gale's surrey cottage. He is there for two weeks before Glory is visited by Markham Dean and his relative, Sir Charles Wildridge. At Dean's appearance, Moran becomes consumed with jealousy. The two men fight and Moran departs, vowing revenge. He also plans to burgle Sir Charles ... a job he demands that Keith helps with unless he wants his criminal past revealed. With a crook named Red Haney, they break into Wildridge Grange but are caught in the act by Sir Charles. A struggle ensues during which the old man falls and hits his head. Moran then puts a pre-arranged scheme into action through which Glory discovers Keith's role in the affair. She and her brother believe that he is responsible for Sir Charles's murder. Moran promises Glory that he will save Keith from the gallows if she'll agree to marry him. With extreme reluctance, she gives her consent. The next morning, Dean summons Sexton Blake to the scene of the crime. The criminologist, with D. I. Martin, discovers that the Hawke is involved, as is Glory, but the young woman absolutely refuses to speak about it. Martin is the first to uncover Keith Gale's part in the crime and is able to track him down and arrest him. Meanwhile, Blake, disguised as one of Moran's old henchmen, locates the Hawke and hears the full story from him. Unfortunately, the detective's cover is blown and he only escapes thanks to a timely air raid. Red Haney, injured by a falling bomb, is arrested, but Moran gets away. The next morning, unaware that her brother is now in custody, Glory meets Moran at a registrar's office. Before they can wed, Blake, Tinker and Martin swoop in. The marriage is prevented but Moran flees to Markham Dean's office where he fights a duel with the newspaper man. The investigators catch up with him in time to prevent him killing Dean. The Hawke is led away in handcuffs. In the following weeks, Red Haney commits suicide in his prison cell, Moran is sentenced to ten years, and Keith Gale to four. Later, though, Keith escapes from Bleakmoor Prison and Sexton Blake ponders the possibility that Glory Gale helped him. She did ... and he has now joined the Army under an assumed name.

Trivia: Blake dons his chain mail undershirt again.

Detective inspector Martin is fifty years old. He expresses regret at having once saved the Kaiser from an anarchist’s bomb.

Fenlock Fawn receives a couple of mentions.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Glory Gale.

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Notes: Story features Hon. John Lawless. It was later adapted as a non-Blake story (he was replaced by Ferrers Locke) and appeared as WAR IN THE DESERT in THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY second series issue 289 (1930).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer.

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Notes: Story features Count Ivor Carlac, Professor Kew and Hon. John Lawless.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: After being released from prison, 'Larry the Badger' is approached by Theodore Ranger, a bank manager who wants to hire him to rob his own bank in order to conceal his illegal 'borrowing'. Larry agrees to the plan and recruits a team for the job. On the day they break in, accompanied by Ranger, they find two safes. Ranger tells them to crack the smaller one, as the larger doesn't contain any worthwhile booty. Larry misjudges the explosives and nearly blows his own head off. Injured and burned, he collects the cash and makes his getaway, leaving Ranger behind. Next morning, it's discovered that both safes have been rifled, thermite having been used to break into the larger one. The police suspect that young called Valentine Thorne, a cashier at the bank, may be an 'inside man'. Thorne happens to be engaged to Ranger's daughter, so he stands to lose everything if found guilty. Inspector Martin is assigned the case but quickly pays a visit to Sexton Blake after being stumped by the fact that two different methods were used to open the safes. The subsequent investigation follows a twisting and turning path with many a red herring to deceive Blake, Martin and the reader. However, when a certain person emerges from the tangled web, the question changes from 'who?' to 'how?' ... George Marsden Plummer is in town!

Rating: ★★★★☆ This is a classic whodunnit tale that sees Sexton Blake at his most Holmesian. It's been said that Blake hasn't the deductive powers of his Baker Street neighbour ... this story proves otherwise. His eye is sharp, his wits are sharper and he pieces together a solution to the mystery with great style. There are some truly touching moments in this story when Plummer becomes very inward-looking and wonders what his life would have been like had he not crossed to the dark side. He seems like a man in search of redemption. There's a hugely entertaining court scene towards the end of the adventure in which the accusing finger finally points at Theodore Ranger. The poor man is absolutely flabbergasted to find himself under suspicion. Indeed, he soon supplies a completely cast-iron alibi. But didn't we witness him at the scene of the crime? Well, as we know, Plummer is a master of disguise ...

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Hon. John Lawless.

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Notes: This was rewritten under the same title in SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 708 (1940).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: While in the region of the Clyde shipyards, Sexton Blake is called upon by Ferrers Lord to investigate the sinking of his yacht. Descending to the seabed in a submarine, the detective, his assistant and the mystery millionaire don diving suits and cross to the sunken vessel. They find that one of its hull plates has vanished. It was not cut nor blown up but seems to have simply dissolved. Their exploration is interrupted when Tinker is swept into the net of a passing fishing trawler and dragged away. He manages to slice through the mesh and, abandoning his weights, floats to the surface, losing consciousness on the way. Fortunately, he is spotted and rescued by Ferrers Lord's men. Sexton Blake discovers that a number of ships have recently been lost in a manner identical to Lord's and starts to investigate the suppliers of metal hull plates. One of the companies is located near the village of Sandywick where, earlier, Blake had had a run-in with a character named William Rexon. Rexon is paid by an eccentric individual known as Mr Stiles to keep a pump running at an abandoned coal mine. Stiles, who is assisted by a Mr Silk, has the insane notion that he can turn coal into diamonds and is considered, by the villagers, to be a harmless lunatic. One night, Tinker sees Stiles and Silk replacing hull plates that are packed onto a goods train with ones taken from their mine. When they spot him, the youngster finds himself cornered in the mine and, in attempting to escape, is swept away by an underground stream. Blake, who in fighting Rexon gained his respect and friendship, visits him at the pump to ask for his aid in searching for Tinker. While he is there, the pump grinds to a halt — something is blocking it! Hearing a cry for help from the shaft, the detective descends into it and finds Tinker, who tells him about Stiles and Silk. Realising that the two criminals are German agents, Blake, accompanied by Rexon, tackles and captures them.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Professor Phineas Gorges and his secretary, John Carruthers, who is engaged to the professor's daughter, Victoria, return from Thebes with the mummy of Ramen-Ka. The morning after their arrival, Gorges is found on his study floor, nearly dead from a stab wound in his back. Carruthers is missing. The wounded man informs Detective-Inspector Coutts that the mummy had been stuffed with Ramen-Ka's crown jewels and that Carruthers had attacked him and made off with them. But when Victoria commissions Sexton Blake to look into the matter, the detective finds a wealth of contradictory evidence. It's not until he receives a visit from Dirk Dolland that matters become less confusing. Dolland explains that he had been following Max Marx, a thief who had cheated him during a shared heist. He had witnessed Marx burgling the Gorges house and saw him get away with the mummy's jewels. Following the lead, Blake corners Marx in a hotel room. The crook admits to stabbing the professor and the detective hands him over to the police. Blake and Coutts go to question the recuperating Gorges to find out why he had accused Carruthers of the crime but when they reach the house Victoria informs them that her father has gone missing. The mummy has also vanished. Blake discovers that the professor has taken the mummy to a cottage he owns 23 miles out of London. He, Coutts and Tinker driver there and witness Gorges lowering the mummy into a well. Blake realises that the bandaged figure is actually the corpse of Carruthers — who had been murdered by the professor during a fit of lust brought on by the discovery of the jewels. Gorges falls into the well and makes a full confession while lying on his death bed.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer.

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Notes: A department store named Harsell’s offers premium bonds and is almost overwhelmed by the response. On the night after the first day of the promotion, the store's strongroom contains millions in sales. When this fortune is stolen during an air raid, Sexton Blake is called in. He discovers that a vehicle disguised as an ambulance was used for the robbery. Further clues point to Blintworthy & Co. as the supplier of the sacks used to carry the money away. Tinker is sent to the merchant to find out who purchased them but finds the riverside warehouse empty but for one man, Bilson, who assaults him and takes him captive. Tinker escapes and returns with Blake to the warehouse where they explore the river, suspecting that the ambulance might have been discarded in it. As a mist descends, Bilson and his gang attack, and Blake, in the water, loses track of Tinker. The detective swims to safety unaware that the youngster is once again in the crooks' clutches. Imprisoned, Tinker sets fire to his cell's door, batters it down, and makes his way back to a pub near the Blintworthy warehouse. There, he is reunited with Blake and they discover that the landlady is sheltering Blintworthy himself. The sack merchant has deserted from the Army to see his sick son. He confirms that he sold Bilson some sacks then rented to him the warehouse shortly before being called up. After deserting, he'd hidden for a short while in the building and had witnessed the crooks loading the sacks into rubber bags and then into the ambulance, which they subsequently pushed into the river. Now, Bilson returns to the riverside. Blake knocks him cold. When the villain regains his senses, he is arrested. The stolen money is recovered intact from the river.

Trivia: Blake works with Detective Dedgard of Scotland Yard and a visiting French detective, Monsieur Jules Duvoyer, though neither are particularly necessary to this tale.

There are some nice historical details for the modern reader, such as the fact that London still had many wood-paved roads during the First World War.

According to this author, there is a lounge behind Sexton Blake’s consulting room. There's also a not-altogether-clear suggestion that the Baker Street house has a landlord, while Mrs Bardell functions only as the housekeeper.

The head of Scotland Yard is named Sir Austin Maclade. He must be the predecessor (or one of them) of Chief Commissioner Sir Henry Fairfax.

An anti-aircraft battery is located close to Blake’s home.

Tinker apparently loathes spirits and all forms of alcohol.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ E. J. Murray demonstrates that he is perhaps the most hard-boiled in style of all the pre-New Order Blake authors.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: A series of robberies seem to mark the reappearance of Dirk Dolland aka The Bat in London. Detective-Inspector Coutts manages to catch the ace cracksman's lady assistant, The Butterfly, but when Sexton Blake visits her in her cell he finds that she's an imposter. A telegram from Dolland confirms this; someone is committing burglaries in his name. Coutts allows the woman to go free, hoping to follow her to her criminal partner, but she gives him the slip. Blake, meanwhile, traces her to an address in Chiswick. Watching the house, he spots Dolland. He follows the cracksman into the premises and finds himself held at gunpoint by a criminal named Sam Salton and his henchman, Max. They bind him hand and foot and leave him in a drainage-sewer where he is attacked by rats before being swept out into the River Thames by a flood of water. Swimming to a nearby tug-boat, he hears through its porthole Salton, Max and a man named Jepson plotting to burgle the Universal Bank. Blake returns to Baker Street where Coutts is waiting for him. The two men fetch a squad of policemen from Scotland Yard and head for the Universal Bank, which they surround. Blake enters the building but is captured by the Salton gang and locked in a safe. Just as his air is running out, the safe is opened by Dirk Dolland. The Bat had eavesdropped at Salton's Chiswick house and had learned of the villain's plan to rob the bank. He had been hiding in the next room when Blake arrived. The detective thanks him and tells the gentleman cracksman to flee before Coutts and his men raid the premises ... but too late, Coutts bursts in and claps handcuffs onto Dolland. Leaving a constable to guard his prisoner, Coutts leads his men, with Blake in tow, up to the roof in pursuit of Salton. A gunfight ensues and the criminal falls to his death. When the group re-enters the bank, they find that Dolland has escaped. Blake can't help but feel pleased.

Trivia: Detective-Inspector Coutts introduces himself to a fellow police officer as Jim Coutts during this story.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: The story features Sir Richard Losely and Lobangu.

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Notes: Septimus Smythe, the youthful secretary to Professor Jordan Cane and, like his employer, an expert in the field of antique porcelains and china, discovers a genuine Vlao vase among a set of fakes in a bazaar in Tunis. The companion to the one owned by Cane, it is worth £10,000. He purchases the vase for £10 but it is subsequently stolen by a man who calls himself Guy Cavendish. Weeks later, after Professor Cane learns that his secretary is penniless and stranded in Tunis, he receives a visit from a man named Theodore Flax who has with him a genuine Vlao vase. Cane buys it for £10,000. Later, an American millionaire named John D. Rogan purchases two genuine Vlao vases from a young man named David Lascelles. Sexton Blake, Tinker and Detective-Inspector Coutts respond to a call for help from Professor Cane's butler. Cane has been knocked unconscious by an intruder and his two Vlao vases have been stolen and replaced by imitations. The following day, Blake receives a call from Rogan. He, too, has been attacked and his vases replaced. Blake realises that both men have fallen for the same swindle — a fact that becomes even more apparent when Septimus Smythe finally arrives home to reveal that he, too, has been robbed of a vase. The detective is quick to surmise that Cavendish, Flax and Lascelles are all one man — Dirk Dolland aka The Bat! The ace-cracksman's brand of cigarettes put Blake on his trail and he arrives at Dolland's flat in time to find the young crook being attacked by a Hindu. The detective knocks the assailant out and learns from The Bat that someone else has been responsible for the crimes against Cane and Rogan. Dolland had, indeed, sold the genuine vase then substituted it for a fake ... but the subsequent robberies were nothing to do with him. The Hindu reveals that he was the thief — he was trying to recover the original vase on behalf of his master, the bazaar owner. Dolland and the Hindu escape (Dolland, a considerably richer man) but the vases are left behind for Blake to return to Cane and Smythe.

Rating: ★★★★★ A brief but thoroughly enjoyable tale.

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: With this issue the price rises to 1½d.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: When a Chinese prince, Ching-Lung, purchased the coastal estate of Barras Magna, he became a generous and popular landlord. Now, he has mysteriously vanished from his bedroom. His solicitor calls in Sexton Blake, who discovers that the prince is friends with Ferrers Lord. He also finds evidence that the prince was spirited away on a German U-boat and, unable to do more, returns to Baker Street. Weeks later, he receives a summons from Lord, who claims that Ching-Lung is being held prisoner in the Chinese province of Kwai-hal. Blake and Tinker voyage to New York, take a train to San Francisco, and are met by Tom Prout, one of Lord's crew, who sails with them to Nagasaki where they rendezvous with the American millionaire's new steam yacht, Perilla. A revolution has broken out in Kwai-hal, with Ching-Lung's cousin, Lal Sen, claiming the throne. He has the financial backing of a German, Colonel Von Greisler, whose gunboat is guarding the principal city. Lord is on the outskirts of the city, supporting Ching-Lung's allies as they fight to regain control but he is hard pressed. The Perilla travels upriver and, the next day, is attacked by an enemy vessel, which it successfully destroys. A communiqué reaches Blake in which Lord explains that he and his forces are dug in but have run out of food and are close to defeat. Von Greisler, he writes, intends to incite a war between China and Russia. Blake takes the Perilla full speed ahead into the fray. Amid the shelling, Lord gets a package to his yacht. It contains Ching-Lung's royal robes. Tinker uses them to disguise himself as the prince and is revealed to the crowds on the city quayside. Ching-Lung's supporters are thus given fresh hope and manage to drive the rebels from the palace. Ching-Lung is being held in a fortress on an island twenty miles up the river. Blake makes his way there and penetrates the stronghold. He locates Lal Sen and Von Greisler and listens as the former drunkenly confesses that he intends to flee to Paris taking with him the rest of the money with which Germany sponsored the rebellion. Furious at the betrayal, the colonel lashes out and is shot dead. Blake confronts Lal Sen and has Ching-Lung released. The prince is restored and his cousin is exiled to England where Blake can keep an eye on him.

Trivia: There's a nice scene in which Blake allows Tinker to do the investigating. It gives a real sense of how the detective trains his assistant.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Ferrers Lord and takes place at Calcroft School.

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Notes: A criminal named Chauncey Deacon is desperate to escape from justice. With Sexton Blake and the police in hot pursuit, he turns to Laban Creed for help. When they find themselves cornered, Creed promises Deacon that, if the criminal goes to prison, he will find a way to break him out. Deacon is captured while Creed makes a getaway. Some four weeks later, in early March, the LONDON ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY publishes an article describing Sexton Blake's home life. He is furious about this and tears a strip off Mrs Bardell when she admits that she allowed a reporter into the house. Though ostensibly a friend of Blake's, it turns out that this man was an impostor. Blake lets the matter drop and, the next day, he stays out of the house apart from a brief return to take Pedro to the vet, where he leaves him. Over the course of the ensuing week, as he searches for any sign of Laban Creed, Blake remains in a dour mood, barely communicating with his assistant. When he does, eventually, recover, his behaviour still puzzles Tinker, who notices subtle changes in his guv'nor's habits. The youngsters suspicions are aroused even further when Blake sends him to watch a house where Creed's men are known to gather. The mission proves to be a trap from which Tinker barely escapes. Later, while Tinker is out, Pedro escapes from the vet and returns to Baker Street where he takes a dislike — as does Mrs Bardell — to a visitor named Montague Drayne. Furthermore, these feelings seem to extend to the detective as well. Siding with the hound, Mrs Bardell finds herself arguing with Blake too. Tinker returns and is attacked by the two men, tied up and carted off to the house he'd been watching earlier. It is now clear that 'Sexton Blake' is a disguised Laban Creed who, pretending to be a reporter, had earlier discovered from the landlady all of Blake's habits. A child helps Tinker to escape and, as he does so, he sees that his guv'nor, who was imprisoned in the basement, has also broken free. They return to Baker Street with Detective-Inspector Widgeon and there capture Creed and Drayne. Blake then pretends to be Creed and sets out to capture Chauncey Deacon, whose release from prison the two crooks have arranged. While he's away, other members of Creed's gang raid the Baker Street house and free their leader. Blake catches Deacon but Creed and Drayne remain at large.

Trivia: Tinker introduces this story and gives a very full description of his and Blake's domestic life, which is worth reproducing verbatim. You can read it here. As with so many of the stories from this period, there is inconsistency with Mrs Bardell's first name. In some issues she is 'Emily', in others 'Martha', and in this, she is Mrs Betsy Bardell.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This can be considered a prequel to the Criminals' Confederation story arc. Blake and Tinker are due in America on business but before they sail they're approached by a shifty-looking lawyer who commissions Blake to act as courier, transporting a small black box full of legal documents across the Atlantic. The detective accepts the job and the following day he and his assistant are aboard the Lustania bound for the States. Also aboard is a heavily disguised Detective-Inspector Coutts who's on the track of a jewel thief named Joe Banks. When a passenger's emerald necklace goes missing, the culprit seems obvious but then Banks is murdered and the case becomes much more complex. The thief was strangled in his cabin — which was locked on the inside. A card left behind by the mysterious murderer reveals that Mr. Reece is out to revenge himself upon those who previously defeated him. But why Banks? The answer becomes clear when Blake realises that the thief's cabin-mate is Dirk Dolland aka The Bat. Dolland was the target; Banks had been killed by mistake. When Coutts is almost done away with by the same inexplicable method, Blake realises that he himself is also a target. The expected attack comes, catching the detective by surprise and he is almost defeated. After a last-minute escape, he joins forces with Dolland to catch the culprit. They identify their man but he jumps overboard rather than allowing himself to fall into their hands. Mr Reece, as ever, remains unseen — the guiding hand behind the crimes. Reaching America, Blake and Dolland part company on good — though wary — terms. But, after handing over the black box to a man who meets him at the docks, the detective receives a letter from Dolland which reveals that the stolen emeralds had been hidden in it and were now in the hands of The Bat.

Trivia: Mrs Bardell has an uncle. Detective-Inspector Coutts's first names are John William (elsewhere he's George).

Rating: ★★★★★ A truly entertaining tale marred only by the fact that Tinker sleeps through most of the action scenes!

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Ferrers Lord.

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Notes: While eating out in one of London's French restaurants, Sexton Blake notices a man who seems to want to approach him. However, as the man gets to his feet, he collapses and is found to be dead: shot with a silent air-gun. Pushing through the crowd that gathers around, the detective retrieves a note from the man's fist ... but half of it has already been grabbed by an unknown person among the onlookers. The note seems to warn of imminent danger and suggests that full details have been sent to Blake by registered post. When he returns to Baker Street, Blake finds that his postman has been murdered on his doorstep, apparently by a woman whom Mrs. Bardell had let into the house. The registered letter is missing. Later the same evening, a man named Frederick Ross consults the investigator. He believes that his eldest brother is being slowly poisoned by his own secretary and wants Blake to come to their house in High Wycombe to look into the matter. The detective realises that the story is fabricated and that a trap is being set. He decides to purposely walk into it, and so agrees to go, bidding Tinker to stay put. Sure enough, upon arriving at the house, he is taken prisoner and discovers that he has fallen into the hands of Mr. Reece. He is locked in the cellar where he finds another captive: Dirk Dolland aka The Bat. Dolland explains that he had stolen an emerald which Reece had himself wanted. He and his assistant, Mademoiselle Miguet, known as The Butterfly had been captured and Dolland was tortured but refused to reveal where he had hidden the gem. One of Reece's men, who owed a debt to Mlle Miguet, allowed her to write a letter pleading for Blake's help. When he tried to deliver it, he was murdered in the restaurant by Ross. Miguet had managed to get free and fled to Baker Street only to arrive in time to witness Ross killing the postman and retrieving the letter. Mr. Reece, who remains unseen throughout, now instructs Ross to kill the two men. The villain leaves them standing on a precariously balanced plank of wood with nooses around their necks. When a candle burns through a rope, the plank will collapse and they will hang. This happens just as Tinker and Inspector Coutts lead a raid on the house. Blake and Dolland are saved, but the gang and Mr. Reece get away.

Trivia: Blake reveals that he first met Coutts, who was a Detective-Sergeant at the time, in Frascadero, one of London's French restaurants.

Rating: ★★★★★ Another excellent lead up the the Criminals' Confederation story arc.

Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: The Red Raiders by Anon.

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Notes: A train is halted by three masked gunmen and one of its passengers is abducted. He takes with him a japanned box but leaves behind a portmanteau. Hon. John Lawless visits Sexton Blake and proposes that the affair is a put-up job with all the participants in the know. Blake disagrees. Upon examining the portmanteau, he finds a shaving-pot with a partially scratched-out inscription. It enables him to identify the kidnapped man as Tom Barles. At Barles's address, he interrupts two men searching the house. They flee but he recognises one as Count Ivor Carlac. Mrs Barles reveals that her husband has been in South America for four months. She shows a letter sent by him from Liverpool the day before. In it, Barles stated that he was on his way home and notes that he brought with him two Malacca canes, which are currently stored safely at the Liverpool train station. Mrs Barles also tells Blake that an old man had called the previous week to see whether Tom had returned. The detective deduces that this was Sir Francis Whimmel, a wealthy industrialist. When he visits him, he arrives just as Sir Francis is engaged in a tussle with an old woman who's been watching his home. The woman, after failing to stab him, makes off. Blake quickly realises that she was, in fact, a disguised Professor Kew. Sir Francis tells the detective about Eric Barles — Tom's brother — who, in South America, discovered a cheap process through which to toughen steel. Eric, while under threat from rival and unscrupulous companies, sent his brother Tom to give Sir Francis a sample of the metal. Tom, a film-maker, was then funded by the industrialist to record the smelting process on celluloid. He was on the way home to show the results when he was abducted from the train. The next day, Tinker and Lawless, not having heard from Blake, go to see Mrs Barles and, on the way, are followed by Carlac and Kew. The woman's house has been ransacked. Tinker is attacked by Kew but the crook is driven off by Lawless. Tinker locates the villains' hideout but they've booby-trapped it and he is overcome by gas. Lawless again comes to the rescue. Tom Barles is found and released. He reveals that his japanned box contained a dud film and that the real one is concealed in the two Malacca canes. Blake has already realised this and recovered the items. He now gathers police to ambush Carlac and Kew. Unfortunately, Lawless and Tinker's untimely arrival spoils the scheme. The master crooks get away.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story, which is recounted by Tinker.

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Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker are roused in the early hours of the morning by Detective-Inspector Coutts who wants them to come to Scotland Yard to identify a prisoner. They accede and are surprised to find that the Yard man has caught Dirk Dolland, The Bat. But the cracksman seems strangely dazed, as if drugged. After giving a positive identification, Blake and Tinker begin walking home. In Hyde Street, they hear a cry for help and, by following a trail of blood, find a man stabbed in a large house. A club-footed man appears on the scene and flees in a car when the detective attempts to question him. Blake and Tinker appropriate a vehicle and give chase but their quarry crashes and is killed. However, when the detective examines the corpse he is astounded to find that it is not his man! At some point, the club-footed villain had run over a bicyclist, put the body in the car, and sent it careening off the road while he made a getaway on foot. Blake returns to his own vehicle only to discover that it — and Tinker — have vanished; the lad obviously kidnapped by the villain. The detective takes the train back to London and, at Baker Street, is met by Coutts who despondently informs him that The Bat has escaped. Blake tells Coutts of his own adventure and is surprised to hear that the police have not learned of the stabbed man ... which means he might still be at the house. The two men race to the scene of the crime — and upon arrival Coutts declares that this is the very house where he had arrested Dolland the night before. Inside, they find Tinker bound to a chair; but the residence is otherwise empty. The detective and his assistant return to Baker Street where they are surprised to find The Bat waiting for them. He explains that he had first met the club-footed man when the latter commissioned him to steal jewels from the safe in the Hyde Street house (this belongs to a man who is currently abroad). He had done the job but his employer had then drugged him, left him there, and tipped off Scotland Yard — thus his arrest. Dolland gives Blake a clue which leads the detective to identify the club-footed man's hideaway. He tips off Coutts who leads a raid and rounds up the criminals. Captive among them is the stabbed man, who was the Hyde Street house owner's secretary. The Bat, meanwhile, eludes the police once again.

Trivia: Blake owns and plays a Stradivarius.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Story features Cavendish Doyle.

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Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: Under orders from a Harley Street specialist, Sexton Blake has been on a two-week holiday in the West country, accompanied by his assistant, Tinker. Upon his return, he finds that London is in the grip of a massive crime wave. Detective-Inspector Coutts brings worse news: Chief Commissioner Sir Henry Fairfax has been kidnapped and sixteen members of the London Metropolitan Police Force have vanished! Coutts has discovered that at least six expert cracksmen must be a part of the gang responsible; six men who were recently released from prison and who then disappeared without a trace. Blake decides to replace a bobby on his beat near a bank that has yet to be robbed. The move pays off; that night the bank is broken into and Sexton Blake vanishes! Tinker, following up his Guv'nor's investigation, follows a cracksman who has just been released from gaol. He sees the man approached by Frederick Ross, and trails them to a metalwork factory. Here he is captured and presented to Mr. Reece. This is the first time he has ever seen the criminal mastermind in the flesh. Reece has the lad imprisoned in a cell. Unknown to Tinker, Sexton Blake is in another cell nearby after having been knocked unconscious by the bank raiders. Blake escapes and frees Tinker, the missing police constables and Sir Henry Fairfax. They fall upon the gang and take them into custody but, after Blake and Reece confront one another, the brains behind the operation escapes.

Trivia: Once again, Sexton Blake is under doctor's orders to take it easy after overworking to the point of mental and physical collapse. This story dates itself as beginning on August 17th (though the year is given as '19—').

Rating: ★★★★☆ Although this isn't the first Mr. Reece story, it does mark the first time the criminal and Sexton Blake meet face to face. This tale can be considered a prequel to the Criminals' Confederation series.

Notes: Sexton Blake receives three visitors; representatives from the London, Paris and New York police forces. The leader of this deputation, Detective-Inspector Sark of Scotland Yard, informs him that Detective-Inspector Coutts has been suspended from duty due to his lack of progress with regard to the apprehension of The Bat. Dirk Dolland has been running rings around him for two years; now Sark has taken on the case instead... and he wants to know everything Blake knows about Dolland! The interview is interrupted by a telephone call from the gentleman cracksman himself. Dolland informs Sark that he intends that very night to steal the Danesby Murillo — a valuable painting owned the collector Simon Kneller — and he challenges the Inspector to stop him. That evening, the three policemen, Blake, Tinker and Kneller stand guard over the painting. When the house catches fire, they find themselves trapped on an upper storey. Fortunately, the fire brigade arrives and a fireman ascends a ladder to their window. Between them, Sark and Blake hand him the painting to take to safety. Before they can climb out and follow him down, more firemen burst into the room. Their chief declares that the fire was faked with smoke bombs and incendary chemicals. Furthermore, none of his men had been up a ladder to the window. The man Sark and Blake handed the painting to was The Bat! Hours later, when Sark leaves the scene of the crime, he hails a convenient taxi and promptly finds himself kidnapped and rendered unconscious. Sexton Blake, meanwhile, visits the Chief Commissioner, Sir Henry Fairfax, at Scotland Yard and learns that Sark had indicated to his superior that Coutts was in collusion with The Bat. Their meeting is interrupted when a taxi arrives with Sark tied up in the back; a mocking note from Dirk Dolland pinned to his coat. Sir Henry begins to tear him off a strip but is interrupted once again, this time by the arrival of Inspector Coutts. He has a parcel with him which had been delivered with instructions to take it to Sir Henry. It turns out to be the stolen painting. Coutts has also brought with him the man who delivered it ... and, despite the disguise, that man turns out to be The Bat. Coutts makes the arrest, redeeming himself and winning a £4,000 reward. Blake realises that Dirk Dolland has deliberately let himself be caught in order to help Coutts.

Trivia: Blake's club is named 'The United States'. Detective-Inspector Coutts, at this stage of his career, lives at No. 54 Wyatt Road on the opposite side of Westminster Bridge from the Houses of Parliament.

Rating: ★★★★★ A superbly written and very entertaining story with a surprise ending — The Bat in police custody!

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: A police detective named Durant has been missing for two days. Then Detective-Inspector Coutts receives a telegram from the man, sent from the Essex village of Cattenham. In it, Durant claims to be on the trail of something big and requests that Coutts should bring Sexton Blake. Coutts, Blake, Tinker and Pedro arrive at Cattenham late in the evening. There is no sign of Durant at the local inn where he's supposedly lodging. Tinker turns in for the night. The two detectives go for a walk and, on the periphery of the grounds of Deepgrange Manor, are startled to hear the roar of a lion followed by a terrified scream. A police constable runs out of the darkness and tells them that he saw a man climb over the wall into the grounds of the manor. The estate belongs to Sir Henry Carles, an explorer known to keep wild animals on his property. Blake picks the lock of the gate and the three men enter the overgrown gardens. They find the corpse of Durant; he has been killed by a lion. Sir Henry arrives on the scene and helps them carry the corpse back to his house. He shows them his lioness — now returned to her cage — and Blake examines her claws, noting that they are clean. While the constable remains behind to take charge of the body, Sexton Blake and Detective-Inspector Coutts return to the village inn. Blake hears that Durant's papers are in his room and asks the landlord to show him to it. It's locked from the inside! Hearing someone within, the detective breaks down the door but stumbles in the dark. He just catches site of a figure leaving through the window. Using Pedro, he tracks the intruder back to Deepgrange Manor. There, in the pitch dark, Pedro runs off after something. Alone, Blake is suddenly confronted by two glowing green eyes. Believing the lioness is about to attack, he falls backwards just as claws rip through the front of his jacket. Then he hears Pedro return to attack the creature and see it off. Sir Henry approaches and Blake hides. When the man has passed, the detective heads for the Manor where he finds a man bound to a chair. This turns out to be the real Sir Henry. The imposter is his evil half-brother, Raven, who has been torturing him and stealing his money. But the guiding hand behind Raven's actions belongs to Mr. Reece! Blake calls the police then hides behind a curtain. Raven returns accompanied by Reece and they begin to force Sir Henry to sign a cheque. But Reece has no further need of Raven and poisons him. Suddenly, the police arrive in force and Reece is cornered. But he threatens them with a glass ball holding nitro-glycerine. They back off and he runs from the room, throwing the bomb in behind him. It bounces harmlessly on the floor: a mere decanter stopper! Blake discovers the truth behind the 'lion' attacks (which is given away by the story's title!). Mr. Reece remains at large.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ A tale of fairly inconsequential events that occur in a single night and which Tinker sleeps through.

Notes: Story features Matthew Quinn.

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Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: Four months ago, Dirk Dolland gave himself up to the police to save the reputation of Detective-Inspector Coutts. Since then, he has resided in Moorlands Prison. But now, the priceless Canvey diamonds have been stolen and a card signed 'The Bat' is left behind. Sexton Blake believes that Dolland's partner, Mademoiselle Mignon aka The Butterfly, is responsible. Later that afternoon, Coutts turns up at Baker Street bearing a written invitation for himself and Blake to dine with The Bat. They keep the appointment and are astonished to find themselves with Dirk Dolland, a man they know for sure to be in prison. Coutts arrests him and they all go to Scotland Yard where Dolland's identity is confirmed by fingerprints. Coutts is sent by Sir Henry Fairfax to inspect the 'other Dolland', so he and Blake travel to Moorlands Prison where, to their complete amazement, they find their man — every bit as genuine as the one they left in London. The two detectives board a train back to the city with Dolland handcuffed to Coutts. They are taking him back so that they can examine the 'two Bats' side by side. Much of the rest of the train is filled with a theatrical company, touring a play named 'Convict 77', which, by coincidence, is Dolland's prison number. Upon arrival at Paddington, the carriage doors open and a swarm of men dressed in prisoners' uniforms swarm out, engulfing Blake, Coutts and Dolland. In the confusion, the handcuffs are cut and The Bat vanishes into the throng. Blake realises that they've been bamboozled by a clever scheme dreamed up by The Butterfly to secure Dolland's release. Tinker falls foul of the escapee and finds himself accompanying The Bat and The Butterfly as they flee to Dover. He listens as the lady crook reveals how she trained a man to impersonate her partner and how the fingerprints had been faked. Then he is dropped of by the roadside and watches as the car drives the pair off to freedom.

Trivia: In previous stories The Butterfly's real name was Mademoiselle Miguet. In this tale it has suddenly become Mademoiselle Mignon.

Rating: ★★★★★ A really excellent tale.

Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story, which is narrated throughout by Tinker.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This is a prequel to the Criminals' Confederation story arc. Blake and Tinker are present when a man is found dead in the street. He is identified as a writer named James Jenner, who lives nearby. When Blake accompanies the police to the man's flat — No.6 — at Clanmere Mansions, they find that it has been ransacked and there is a dead man on the floor. Next morning, Tinker reads in the paper that the Mallinan Diamond has been stolen. Before he can engage his guv'nor in conversation about this, Detective-Inspector Coutts arrives and they return to the crime scene only to find that the flat has been searched again. The mystery has them all puzzled and, late that night, Blake once again returns to No.6 where he encounters a masked intruder. The man escapes via the back door. Blake leaves by the front but someone else is there; they assault him and knock him cold. Later, Tinker is awoken by tapping at his bedroom window. Outside, the same masked man that his guv'nor had seen is clinging to a drainpipe. He instructs the lad to go to Clanmere Mansions then slides to the ground and makes off. Tinker follows the instruction and finds the unconscious Blake. After reviving the detective, they prepare to leave when they suddenly hear morse code being tapped on a pipe — an S.O.S. from the flat above! They creep up the fire escape and, peering through the window, they see tied to a chair the masked man — it's Dirk Dolland aka The Bat! And his captor is Mr. Reece! Blake and Tinker attack but Reece gets away. After Dolland is untied, he explains that this flat — No.7 — is his. He had been approached by a man whom Reece had commissioned to steal the Mallinan Diamond. The villain intended to cheat Reece and wanted Dolland to help him dispose of the gem in return for a cut of the profit. The Bat agreed. But when the man, pursued by Reece, arrived at Clanmere Mansions he had accidentally gone to the flat beneath Dolland's and thus Jenner had become caught up in the business. The thief had forced Jenner to impersonate him in an attempt to put Reece off the scent but Reece had killed first Jenner then the thief. Since then, the master criminal had repeatedly searched the flat for the missing diamond. Dolland had eventually found it and now returns it to Blake who allows him to go free. Both men vow to hunt Mr. Reece and make him answer for his crimes, no matter how long it takes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This can be considered the first part of the largest Sexton Blake story arc ever: the Criminals' Confederation. A man is hit by a train but Sexton Blake deduces that he was dead already — it's a case of murder. Hidden in the man's clothing, he finds a priceless diamond earring. Footprints at the scene lead him to a secluded and empty cottage on Canvey Island. There, he finds the stub of a cigarette — the scarce brand smoked by Dirk Dolland aka The Bat. A bullet crashes through the window and creases the detective's skull. Tinker pursues two men, one of whom he recognises as Dolland. They get away in a boat. Back at Baker Street Blake uses a secret phone number once given to him by Dolland to try to make contact with the master cracksman. His call is answered by Mademoiselle Mignon who worriedly admits that Dolland is missing. Detective-Inspector Coutts arrives and informs Blake that the dead man has been identified as a lawyer named Lewis Rogers. He used to work for Lord Dunton, who turns up as Blake's next visitor. The Lord explains that the famous Dunton diamonds had always been kept in Roger's safe but when Dunton had decided to sell them the lawyer had been very reluctant to hand them over. Eventually he did and Lord Dunton took them away only to discover that they were imitations. Later, Lord Dunton reports that his wife has disappeared. Blake tracks her to Dover where she confesses that she had had the fake diamonds made while she pawned the real ones to cover her gambling debts. She's conspired with Dolland to try to cover up her indiscretion but it all went wrong when Rogers was killed and the real diamonds stolen. Sexton Blake returns to Baker Street and finds Dirk Dolland waiting for him. The Bat hands over the diamonds which, at great personal risk, he has retrieved from the man who stole them. This man was also responsible for the murder —and his name is Mr Reece! The criminal master-mind had escaped from Dolland on a tugboat which was then wrecked at sea with all hands presumed lost. Mr Reece, it would seem, is dead.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: A banker is forced to flee from Petrograd after receiving threats. He has no choice but to leave behind his daughter, Moyra, who is then abducted by Ilia Raspovitch, a Bolshevik who has plundered the bank, stolen from his comrades, and now intends to flee to England. Sexton Blake and Tinker set out to intercept him at Murmansk. There, they get on his trail, and Tinker witnesses him discussing with a friend how the stolen money has been stashed in a location south of the port. The two Russians argue and Raspovitch shoots the other dead. He flees, is cornered in a warehouse, and battles with Blake until a fire breaks out. Amid the ensuing confusion, he escapes. Some days later, word reaches the detective that the man has been seen in a nearby village. Blake sets off with a unit of soldiers under his command. They are attacked by Bolsheviks but make it through, and at the village Blake is happy to meet an old acquaintance, Michael Masloff. This man tells the detective that Raspovitch has gone to stay with his uncle at a chateau not far away. Masloff leads Blake and his soldiers to the place, which proves to be a well-guarded compound. Tinker slips in and spies on a room in which a marriage ceremony between Raspovitch and a drugged Moyra is about to happen. Blake leads an assault, interrupting the ceremony, but the villain escapes on a sledge with the girl and the stolen money and heads back to Petrograd. Blake, Tinker, and Masloff disguise themselves as peasants and follow. After a perilous journey, they arrive in the capital. Here, Masloff makes enquiries and locates the house where Raspovitch is hiding out. With assassins dogging their heels, he, Blake and Tinker set off to rescue the girl. Masloff is injured, but the detective and his assistant reach the house and overpower the villain. Bolsheviks arrive to reclaim their money. They allow Blake and his friends to take the girl to a Swedish ship, on which they can head home. They then shoot Raspovitch dead.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake teams up with Nelson Lee in this story.

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Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker are in Sussex having just finished a case. While Blake enjoys a social evening with the local police inspector, Tinker takes the man's children to a circus. While there, a performer named Durand is murdered by means of a poisoned dart. This occurs in his caravan during a perfomance by the circus's strong-man, Waldo the Wonder-Man. Another member of the circus troupe — a named Fletcher — is accused of the crime and the evidence against him seems overwhelming. However, Tinker is convinced of his innocence and fetches Blake, who agrees. He sets a trap for the real killer and, that night, chases a shadowy figure who is plainly trying to get rid of evidence. Though the man remains unseen, when he is tackled by Blake and Tinker, he picks them up and throws them into a river. This display of strength points to Rupert Waldo and, when Blake goes to London to consult Scotland Yard's fingerprint records, it emerges that the strong-man is an escaped convict named William Waldron. While Sexton Blake is away, Tinker pays a visit to Nelson Lee and Nipper at nearby St. Frank's. This proves fortunate because when Blake and Detective-Inspector Lennard attempt to arrest Waldo, the criminal starts a fire and escapes on a goods train, despite being badly burned, as well as shot in the leg. Blake telephones Lee who organises the local police to stop the train as it passes near St. Frank's. Waldo is captured and demonstrates that in addition to his immense strength, he is incapable of feeling pain. Later, he escapes from police custody and goes on the run, promising, in a letter to Blake, to begin a crime spree.

Trivia: This tale is recounted in first person by Tinker. Christmas issue.

Trivia: This was anthologised in THE CASEBOOK OF SEXTON BLAKE (2009).

Rating: ★★★★★