Sexton Blake Bibliography: 2009

Illustrator: None

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker are in Africa on a mission to rescue Sir Richard Losely, Governor of Musardu and the Bambarra hinterlands, from a slaver named the White Death. While on reconnaissance around the slaver's camp, Tinker is captured. Blake establishes contact with an African warrior named Lobangu who, though working for the slaver, is sympathetic to the white man and determined to kill the White Death. The two of them sneak into the camp in the guise of buyers and create the illusion that a British taskforce is attacking. The diversion is successful and Sir Richard, Tinker, Lobangu and Blake make their getaway during the confusion. A thrilling canoe chase and gunfight ensues until the fugitives reach safety. Learning that the White Death intends to travel into unknown territory where a dwarf tribe, the Marani, guards mountains veined with priceless rubies, Blake determines to reach the territory first to set a trap. Lobangu lays a trail, to give the impression that they are fleeing, in the hope that the villains will waste time following the diversion. The group then begins a fast march to the distant mountains, allying themselves with friendly tribesmen along the way. Upon reaching the rocky heights, Blake and Losely parley with the Marani and have soon gathered a small army. They set an ambush for the White Death and attack his safari as it enters a rocky gorge. Soon all the slaver's men are dead and only he remains. Sir Richard challenges him to one-to-one combat. They fight with scimitars and the White Death is killed.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 171 (1907) (see that issue for further notes), which was also reprinted in an abridged version in THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 246 (1913).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: Sir James Collier has mysteriously disappeared from his bedroom after an evening spent entertaining guests. He was due to play football for Derby against the Crimson Ramblers, a team touring from abroad and comprised of Americans, French and Germans. Without him in the squad, Derby lost 8-0; a win for the Rambers' which means that, in a month, they'll play against England. The Ramblers' principle strikers - Courcy, Blitzen and Eclair - had been among Sir James' guests, so Blake decides to investigate them and the rest of the team. He and Tinker travel to Nottingham to watch a match. After it (a 10-0 drubbing for Nottingham), Blake spies on the team manager, Raymond, and comes to the conclusion that some kind of scam is underway, though how it works he cannot fathom. Later, Tinker's nosiness gets him into trouble. He is kidnapped by Raymond, Courcy, Blitzen and Eclair and taken to an abandoned mine. Lowered into a shaft, he finds himself in the company of a fellow kidnap victim: Sir James. The two of them, over a period of three days, explore the mine in the hope of finding a way out, nearly dying of thirst in the process. Blake, meanwhile, having discovered that Tinker is missing, believes that Raymond may have killed him. Breaking into the manager's hotel room, he discovers the secret of the rambler's winning streak. However, he is caught red-handed by the footballers and soon finds himself being lowered into the mineshaft too. By this time, though, Tinker and Sir James have escaped and they rescue the detective. Knowing the secret of the Ramblers' success, Blake now seeks to reproduce it. For days, he sweats in a workshop on Sir James' estate while the latter, with Tinker, practices soccer and conducts secret negotiations with the Football Association. Finally, Blake is ready and, when the match between the Crimson Ramblers and England begins, the crowd is astonished to see that three unknowns are in the home side squad. They are even more amazed when these three (who are, of course, Blake Tinker and Sir James) lead England to an incredible 30-0 victory! The Ramblers are exposed as cheats and, having been required to return the fortune in gate money that they've made, they are kicked out of the country.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 169 (1907).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: George Marsden Plummer, a detective at Scotland Yard, is the rightful heir to the title of Earl of Sevenoaks and the fortune that goes with it ... or, at least, he would be had an accident of birth not placed two others in line before him. Covering his movements with a series of masterful disguises, Plummer visits the first of the men, who having no idea that he is in line to a fortune, works as a coastguard. Plummer informs him that he belongs to an aristocratic family before, under the cover of a thick fog, pushing him over the edge of a cliff. But unknown to the villain, his victim drops into the sea not far from a boat in which sit Sexton Blake, Tinker and Pedro. They rescue the stricken man and nurse him to health. Meanwhile, Plummer has visited the current Earl of Sevenoaks and murdered him. The police are called and put one of their best officers on the case ... Detective-Sergeant Plummer! With Blake now involved, Plummer is forced to pretend an alliance with him while actually attempting to throw him off the scent at every opportunity. Soon, though, the Baker Street detective realises the truth and a battle of wits and disguises commences. Blake gets battered over the head and shut in a burning house, while Tinker is drugged and nearly drowned, but, ultimately, Sexton Blake wins the day and Plummer is thrown into prison, vowing to escape at the first opportunity.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 222 (1908) (see that issue for further notes). The story had previously been reprinted in THE DREADNOUGHT issue 27 (1912) and in PENNY POPULAR issue 50 as HUNTER AND HUNTED TOO (1913).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: The adventure begins aboard the PALETA but the descriptions and illustrations of the ship make it plain that it’s the TITANIC in all but name. You can’t mistake those four famous funnels. Blake and Tinker are travelling to America to give evidence in a trial. Also aboard are a young naval officer called Richard Champney and, unknown to him and in disguise, his disreputable cousin, Hildred Nairne. These two have been rivals for the love of the beautiful Dulcie Romanis but it was Champney who won her hand. When the Paleta strikes an iceberg and begins to list in the water, very few of its passengers or crew believe that the problem is serious. But soon it’s a case of ‘Abandon ship!’ As the women and children crowd into the lifeboats, Blake catches Hildred Nairne stealing a pearl necklace from a cabin. They engage in a fierce fight but Nairne makes his escape. Later, he sneaks up behind Richard Champney and pitches him overboard and into a lifeboat. After the sinking, the story heads off into what often feels like an Arthur Conan Doyle yarn (the writing style is surprisingly similar). Richard Champney, seen ‘jumping’ into the lifeboat, is accused of cowardice. His father disowns him and Dulcie Romanis sends him a white feather and calls off their wedding. Humiliated and unable to shake off the stigma, he disappears. Blake discovers that the young man has joined the army under an assumed name and is serving in India. The detective, Tinker and Pedro set off in pursuit and are soon fighting alongside Richard against rebels led by his cousin. Of course, the villain is eventually defeated and the lovers reunited.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 464 (1912). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: Three Englishmen have learned that a secret Chinese society named The Brotherhood of the Golden Beetle intends to bring Europe under the heel of the Orient. Two of these men return to Britain before the Brotherhood is aware of their knowledge. The third, Sir George Halliday, is hunted but appears to get away. The leader of the Yellow Beetle, Wu Ling, calls a meeting at which he announces his attention to travel to London to kill the three men and begin a campaign of terror. But unknown to him, Sir George is not only still in China but is spying on that very meeting! Weeks later, in London, Godfrey Carslake, who is engaged to Halliday's daughter, summons Sexton Blake after finding Sir George dead in his study. At the scene, Pedro goes wild and chases a yellow beetle from the room. Even though Halliday's death seems to be from heart failure, Blake thinks otherwise and begins researching rare poisonous beetles. Soon he has a close encounter with one of the insects which is placed in his bedchamber by one of the Brotherhood. He is saved from death by Pedro. Tinker, meanwhile, surprises Wu Ling when the Chinaman enters the Baker Street house on some nefarious mission. The villain escapes but Tinker follows him to the house next door to Halliday's. There he is captured and taken to another premises where he is condemned to the 'Room of Glass'. Halliday's daughter is also kidnapped, to be held until all her father's papers, which may contain details of the Brotherhood, are handed over. Sexton Blake follows with the police in tow. He wins a fist-fight against Wu Ling and rescues Tinker and the girl, narrowly avoiding a swarm of deadly yellow beetles. Most of the oriental gang are rounded up but Wu Ling escapes and manages to destroy Halliday's papers, leaving Blake unaware of the Brotherhood's purpose.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 507 (1913). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: While in an illicit gambling den, Dirk Dolland aka The Bat learns that an American railroad tycoon named Cyrus C. Crag wishes to buy a painting, the Corottzi Venus, from Colonel Eustace Roden. The Colonel refuses to sell despite being offered £100,000. It just so happens that Dolland is currently illegally occupying a property just four houses away from Roden that belongs to Bernard Mellish, a man currently in New York. Dolland shares the residence with three criminals: Nicholas Mark, a forger; Brandon Delmas, a crooked lawyer; and Dr. Stephen Stone, a drug-addicted medical man. The four crooks invade Roden's premises and keep him and his servant prisoner upstairs. Dolland, in the guise of Mellish, visits an insurance agent and uses forged documents to insure the Mellish house and the painting for a £110,000. He then makes himself up as the Colonel and sells the painting to Crag. A few weeks later the Mellish residence, supposedly with the painting inside, is burned to the ground and the insurance is paid. When the real Mellish is found to be abroad, Sexton Blake is called in. He goes to interview Colonel Roden, arriving at the same time as Detective-Inspector Coutts who has received an anonymous telegram instructing him to search the house. They find the Colonel and his servant tied up. When Roden discovers that his painting has gone, he explodes with anger. But then Cyrus Crag arrives and accuses the Colonel of selling him a fake. Blake begins to unravel the swindle. His investigation leads to Paris but there he falls into the hands of the gang. Unknown to The Bat, Delmas places the detective into a chamber which slowly fills with water. At the last moment before he drowns, Blake is rescued by Dolland. In return, he allows the gentleman thief to escape while the rest of the gang are rounded up.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 698 (1917).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: None

Notes: Artist David Stone is a man who possesses extraordinary physical strength. He also lives a double life. By day he works as a cabinet-maker, using the alias 'A. Long'. On Saturday nights he goes to his strangely designed house off Edgware Road — where lives his misshapen brother — and he changes into evening clothes. He then proceeds to a secret gambling club, where he and the other members wear masks to keep their identity secret. On the night this story begins, he is casually noticed by Sexton Blake, who is also in the club. Had the detective followed Stone when he leaves, he would have witnessed him breaking the neck of a fellow club member named Geoffrey Howland. Next morning, the death is reported as an accident. The detective receives a visit from a man named Bramwell Chester, who claims that Howland was murdered and the same fate awaits him. He tells how twenty years ago he and Howland were part of a wild group who lived in the Latin Quarter of Paris. One night, one of the group, John Hasford, had been arrested for the murder of a model, Helene Merchardier. The rest of the group — Joe Thurlston, Ricardo Gospert, Freddie Buckford (now Lord Baymore), and another model, Camille Desmoulins — believed his claims of innocence but conspired against him. He was sentenced to a life term on Devil's Island, where he became known as the Black Eagle. Now, Chester has heard that Hasford escaped from the penal colony six months ago. He also informs Blake that Gispert and Thurlston have recently been killed and they, Buckford, Howland and Chester, all received notes stating that H is free — the guilty shall pay. Blake investigates and realises that Hasford and Stone are one and the same. He goes to Paris and finds Camille Desmoulins in the beggars' quarter. She is a drug-addled wreck and confesses to the murder of Helene Merchardier. Returning to Baker Street, the detective finds himself confronted by Stone. He tells him that he's discovered the truth and that the years on Devil's Island were unjustified. He allows Stone to go free.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,048 (1923). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: Unknown

Notes: This story marks the first appearance of Sexton Blake's most charismatic opponent, Zenith the Albino. Zenith's entrance is typically dramatic. Blake, Tinker and Pedro are staying in a seaside hotel having just finished a rather uneventful case. Late one evening during a ferocious thunderstorm, the gas lights die, plunging the room into darkness. Tinker gets up to relight them but is halted by a voice: "Leave it to me." The lights are restored, revealing the albino. The villain claims that he is the person responsible for a spate of recent crimes and is visiting Blake merely to make his acquaintance. The discussion is interrupted when the police arrive. The albino makes his escape with the help of some henchmen and the subsequent action-packed car and speedboat chase provides the modern-day reader with a delicious line: 'Events move pretty rapidly when one is travelling at thirty miles an hour ...' Zenith separates from his cohorts and is followed by Blake while Tinker trails three of the henchmen into a riverside alleyway where they mysteriously vanish. Blake, having learned that Zenith is running an international crime ring, joins Tinker and deduces that the warehouse adjoining the ally is used as a clearing house for stolen antiquities. But when the police batter down the door and rush in to make their arrests, they find the place abandoned. Zenith has outfoxed the great detective! Later, Blake and Tinker return, landing a plane on the warehouse's roof. Zenith captures Blake and leaves him to die in cold storage. Tinker rescues him but, the following day, Zenith bombs their Baker Street apartment. Surviving, but faking his death, Blake sets an ambush for the albino and his gang. Zenith gives them the slip. Later, he turns up at Blake’s apartment disguised as a soldier and tries to poison the detective. But Blake sees through the make-up and a fight ensues before Zenith takes flight. His next disguise, though, is far more ambitious. He enters Blake's rooms in the guise of Mrs Bardell! This time Blake is ready for him and the albino only just manages to evade capture. In the end, then, neither detective nor criminal emerges from the duel triumphant. The story closes with a personal ad in the Times: 'S.B. - To our next meeting! - Z.'

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 837 (1919) (see that issue for further notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: This is the first of a short sequence of tales in which Sexton Blake pits his wits against Marston Hume, a man who could be considered one of the first super-criminals of the saga (only George Marsden Plummer preceeds him). Hume is a very well-respected criminal lawyer; cold, calculating and immensely skillful. Physically he is described in terms that could also apply to the Blake of the 1920s: tall, spare but athletic, with chiselled features, a thin-lipped mouth and hair which recedes over the temples. The story itself is entirely devoid of action and takes the form of a conversation held between Hume, Blake and two others in a gentlemen's club. They are discussing the death of Hume's aunt; a woman who was so afraid of burglars that she went to extraordinary lengths to secure her house. But despite these precautions - the bolts, locks and alarms - someone managed to enter the house undetected, murder her in her bed and make off with some valuable jewellery. Hume, who stands to inherit his aunt's remaining fortune, describes in great detail how the crime might have been committed. Blake is in complete agreement with his theories because he knows that the methods described were, in fact, the ones employed... by Marston Hume himself! Furthermore, he realises that murder was the motive rather than robbery. Hume, he deduces, wanted the inheritance not the jewels and has disposed of the latter so they cannot be traced back to him. Hume is aware that Blake knows he committed the crime and intellectually taunts the detective with the fact that no proof will ever be found. They part with Blake vowing to one day catch this most cunning of criminals.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 545 (1909).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Illustrator: Arthur Jones

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 is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 794 (1918).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: The second encounter between Marston Hume and Sexton Blake centers around the theft of a large diamond. Once again, the two men encounter one another in the club. Hume is reading a newspaper and notes that the Bara Diamond is due to be delivered to Belgium, where it will be given as a gift to King Leopold. Several days later, the diamond is snatched en route without the courier noticing until the time of delivery. How this was achieved is a great mystery for every precaution had been taken; a decoy was sent to distract any thieves who fancied their chances, while the diamond itself was hidden in a camera carried by a seemingly uninvolved tourist. Blake informs Bathurst that he is convinced that Hume committed the crime and determines to find out how. Once he has deduced the method, he visits Hume to confront him. Cool as ever, Hume practically admits to the crime but without presenting the detective with any solid evidence. Once again, Blake is helpless and cannot prosecute. To add further insult, Hume later sends him a token which is proves his guilt... though not in a way that can be used legally.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 546 (1909).

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Illustrator: Val Reading and Arthur Jones

Notes: American Secret Service man Bryant Kennedy visits Sexton Blake at Christmas and enlists his help. He has been investigating how vast numbers of illegal Chinese immigrants have been entering the States and the trail has led him to England. After he departs, the Duchess of Carrisbrooke arrives and asks Blake to investigate the disappearance of her daughter, Sybil, during a trip to Cardiff. Probing the girl's past, the detective is told that, while the family were in China the previous year, Sybil had rejected the attentions of a man named Dr Li-Fuang. Blake quickly learns that this man is, in fact, Prince Wu Ling. During Christmas dinner with Mademoiselle Yvonne, Blake discusses the case and, unknown to him, she decides to help by trying to get herself kidnapped the same way as Sybil. The detective makes her a gift of a fabulous Chinese carved jade sphere, then departs. The sacred sphere was once handed from emperor to emperor until the Ming Dynasty gave way to the Manchu, at which point it was lost. The detective leaves a letter warning her to keep it hidden, for it would be much prized by Wu Ling. Yvonne places it in a small chamoise bag which she wears on a chain around her neck. She then travels to Cardiff with her uncle Graves and puts her plan into action. Meanwhile, from the Eastern Queen, docked in that same city, Dr Huxton Rymer comes ashore intent on investigating the disappearance of Sybil, for whom a huge reward has been offered in the newspapers. He witnesses the kidnapping of a girl and learns that she is to become the wife of a Chinese governor. She, along with thirty-nine illegal Chinese emmigrants, is taken aboard the Eastern Queen where Rymer finally sees through the disguise and recognised her as Yvonne. A fortieth emmigrant joins the ship and it sets sail across the Atlantic. This fortieth Chinese is, in fact, a heavily made-up Sexton Blake and he is quick to notice Rymer's presence. As the voyage progresses — and with Yvonne's yacht Fleur-de-Lys carrying Tinker, Pedro, Kennedy and Graves not far behind — Blake overhears Rymer proposing marriage to Yvonne, who summarily rejects him. He also manages to find a way for her to pass to him the sacred sphere for safekeeping. At last the ship reaches Canada and its human cargo is transferred to another ship, bound for America. Blake manages to get a note to his allies, who follow. In American waters, the Fleur-de-Lys attacks. During the terrific battle that ensues, Rymer gets away with Yvonne as his prisoner. Discovering the route along which Sybil had been sent, he follows the trail to Boston. In that city, Prince Wu Ling and his lieutenant, San, interrogate Sybil in an attempt to discover the purpose of her father's diplomatic missions to China. She tells them nothing and the interview is interrupted by the arrival of Rymer and Yvonne. Wu Ling immediately sentences Rymer to a lifetime of slavery as a consequence of his past betrayals. His encounter with Yvonne, though, is disrupted by yet another arrival: Sexton Blake. Blake informs him that the place is surrounded by Kennedy's Secret Service men and demands the return of both women, the closure of the illegal immigration route and the handing over of sixty-eight immigrants. In return, he will allow Wu Ling to go free. The prince has no choice but to agree to this arrangement. Yvonne then begs Blake to plead for Rymer's release. Wu Ling refuses the request, so Blake exchanges Rymer's freedom for the sacred sphere.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 529 (1956).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sexton Blake announces to his friend Bathurst that he finally has indisputable proof of Marston Hume's crimes. It seems a financier named Maxwell has been found dead at the bottom of a lift shaft. He had been in receipt of a report about a mining company; an exposure of its crooked dealing and unstable finances. This report was missing and, near the corpse, the detective had discovered a cuff-link belonging to Hume. Furthermore, Hume was seen leaving the building shortly after the murder by a man named Simmons. The criminal has made £32,000 selling shares in the mining company and Blake is convinced that Hume killed Maxwell, stole the document, and used the knowledge gained from it to make his gains on the stock market. With Bathurst, he visits Simmons' house intending to take the man to see Hume in order to make a positive identification. That will be enough to charge Hume with the murder. But the two men find Simmons strangled to death. They race to confront Hume who is relaxing with a friend. Blake accuses him of the murder, which he pinpoints as having occurred at 4pm. Unfortunately, Hume has an iron-clad alibi; his friend confirms that they have been talking together since 3.45pm. The detective is defeated... not knowing that, in fact, Hume had fooled his rather absent-minded friend by tampering with the clock hands before later returning them to the correct time.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 547 (1909).

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Illustrator: H. M. Lewis

Notes: George Marsden Plummer follows an elderly man named Jesse Kells home from a race meeting after noticing that he's been passing counterfeit notes. He forces Kells to admit that he's printed a hundred thousand pounds worth. Plummer beats him unconscious and steals the money. Some days later, Sexton Blake finds himself in receipt of forged notes. He learns from Detective-Inspector Lurgan that a number of banks have found that they've inadvertently distributed counterfeits. Blake begins to investigate and quickly establishes that Plummer is active in England again and has exchanged some of the notes he stole from Kells with the real thing by impersonating a bank employee named Melton, who has since been charged with passing out the forgeries. Believing that Plummer will check to see whether Kells is still alive, Blake sends Tinker to keep watch at the hospital. The lad spots the criminal and trails him, reporting back to his guv'nor that his quarry met with another bank employee, a man named Charles Teen. Plummer visits Teen at his house, overpowers him, leaves him tied up in the attic and uses his talent at disguise to take on his identity. All this is witnessed by Blake who sets a trap at the bank the following morning. However, when Teen escapes and races to the bank he accidently ruins the detective's plan. Plummer flees but is followed by Tinker. Realising that he's being tailed, he turns and attacks, choking Blake's assistant before throwing him into the Thames. Believing that he has committed his first murder, he flees. Led by Pedro's nose, Sexton Blake arrives at the river bank and, believing Tinker dead, sets the bloodhound onto Plummer's scent. The master-crook, overwhelmed by fear of the hangman's noose, gets drunk and, when the detective catches up with him, they engage in a terrific fist fight. Blake is knocked out and Plummer escapes. Blake learns, upon regaining consciousness, that Tinker is alive and well.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 473 (1912). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sexton Blake is called to meet with Sir Richard Courtland, permanent secretary to the head of the Design Department of the Admiralty. Sir Richard has noticed that plans and papers are being tampered with in his office and, as he is about to be entrusted with top secret documents concerning new naval defences, he is understandably worried. The documents will be stored in his large safe and despite the fact that the building is well-guarded by police patrols, he is convinced that they will be stolen. Blake discovers that Sir Richard is being spied upon from a property on the other side of the street. He arranges to spend the night in the office and, from his hiding place behind a door, observes as someone breaks in. The intruder proves to be none other than Marston Hume. The villain uses duplicate keys to open the door and the safe and begins rifling through the various papers. Taking some to examine by the light from the window, he passes out of the detective's sight. The next moment, the door shielding Blake is slammed shut and locked. It takes some time before Blake manages to attract the attention of the caretaker, who releases him. The detective takes a cab, rouses Bathurst from his sleep, and orders him to keep a watch on Hume's residence. Later, the two men enter the apartment and Blake confronts his opponent, demanding, at gunpoint, the return of the plans. Rather than hand them over, Hume drops them into the fireplace where they burn, thus destroying any evidence against himself. But Blake sees a camera in a corner and realises that the criminal has photographed the documents. He puts a bullet through it, shattering the plates. Now the two men are "quits".

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 548 (1909). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: Arthur Jones

Notes: The Colonial Office is concerned that there's been no word from Sir Godfrey Haverleigh, who is en route to Tatua, an island near Australia, where he is to take over Governorship from General Rudolph Mantley. Tatua is half owned by Britain and half by Germany. Sexton Blake is asked to investigate. He visits Sir Godfrey's chambers and discovers signs of a struggle. Upon leaving, he is shadowed by a man who turns out to be butler to the Duchess of Warlowe. Blake then discovers that Sir Geoffrey's luggage was loaded at Marseilles onto the Marga, a yacht owned by the Duchess. Realising that the woman's son, the Hon. John Lawliss must be behind Sir Godfrey's disappearance, the detective books passage aboard a liner and sets off in pursuit. Meanwhile, the Marga, with Sir Godfrey locked in one of its cabins, arrives at Tatua and Lawliss goes ashore in the guise of his prisoner. There he finds that General Rudolph is a hopeless drunkard, thanks to brandy supplied in bulk by the Germans. Much to the General's displeasure, Lawliss immediately usurps his position. The next day, the new Governor heads off to inspect the boundaries of the British territory. When Blake arrives on the island, he quickly realises that the new man is an imposter. He also surmises that the Marga must be hidden nearby and so sets off in search of it. He finds it anchored in an inlet, rescues Sir Godfrey, and then learns from the yacht's captain that Lawliss is somewhere upriver. While the detective searches for him, Lawliss meets with a Tatuan tribe who are officially under the guardianship of the British Empire. However, since a landslide altered the course of a river, the Germans have expanded their border and incorporated the tribe into their territory. They are now levying heavy taxes. Lawliss plants charges to destroy the dam — a direct solution to the problem that would never happen were he to leave it to the red tape of officialdom (as represented by Sir Godfrey). However, before he can detonate the explosives, Blake arrives. Lawliss explains the situation and the detective, approving of the young adventurer's good intentions, sets off the explosion himself, thus restoring British territory.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 554 (1909). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sexton Blake informs Bathurst that Marston Hume has taken an isolated studio in Fulham. The detective is sure that the criminal is up to something and keeps watch on the premises over the next four days. Nervous tension and chain-smoking cause Blake's health to suffer until, finally, the case starts moving when Hume buys a ticket for passage to Constantinople. Blake rests while Bathurst takes over the stake-out. Unfortunately, Hume gives him the slip for three hours early in the morning. Bathurst returns to the studio where a witness tells him that Hume had returned in an inebriated - or possibly injured - state and was helped into the building by his chauffeur. Bathurst reports all this back to Blake. A few days later, Mrs. Soames calls on the detective and asks him to find her husband. Mr. Soames had just been released from prison and, upon arriving in London, was picked up by a chauffeur and hasn't been seen since. He had served time after being found guilty of destroying or hiding the Will of a certain Mr. Margison. He insisted on his innocence and, as Blake investigates, it becomes apparent that Soames had been set up by Hume so that the latter might profit from the money which, in the absence of the Will, was automatically bequested to Margison's nephew. Now, it seems, Hume is trying to do away with Soames before the truth comes out and the detective is certain that the 'drunk' man seen by the witness was actually Soames and the chaffeur Hume. Blake and Bathurst race to the studio where they find a note waiting from Hume informing them that he has left for the continent a day earlier than he had planned. Of Soames, there is no sign. Blake appears to have a near breakdown at this point; laughing hysterically and looking like a broken man. He reveals to Bathurst the reason for his shock: Hume has disposed of the body of Soames in a bath of acid.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 549 (1909). See that issue for further notes.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: Unknown

Notes: Story features Sir Richard Losely.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 672 (1916).

Unrated

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Lady Molly invites Sexton Blake to a party; a gathering of friends over a period of days. She also invites Marston Hume, little suspecting that the two men are deadly foes. Throughout the course of the party, the two men attempt to outvie each other in billiards, shooting, piquet and socialising, with Blake usually coming out on top. But much to his disgust, he soon finds his opponent transferring his attentions to the hostess. The detective warns Hume to leave within the next three days or face having his past crimes declared in front of all the guests. A couple of days later, Lady Molly receives a beautiful Louis Quinze snuff-box in the post. The accompanying letter states that, as she is a well-known collector of such things, she may like to buy it. Apparently, there is a trick in the manner of opening it. Molly tries but cannot move the lid. She requests help and hands the box to Marston Hume who is equally unsuccessful. Next, she gives it to Blake. He opens it, managing to avoid the booby-trap which would have plunged a poison needle into his finger. But later, while demonstrating the mechanism to another guest, he is nudged by Hume and his finger is pricked. Later, in his room, the detective is stricken. He just manages to call his valet and Colonel Maxwell, giving them instructions to help treat him, and thus cheats an otherwise certain death. In the morning he reveals to Colonel Maxwell that Hume had been responsible for the poisoning. Maxwell determines to throw Hume out of the house but finds that the villain has already bolted.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 550 (1909).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Illustrator: H. M. Lewis

Notes: Two thugs approach Professor Kew and ask him to remove a bullet from their colleague who was shot during a robbery. Kew agrees and finds the wounded man — Gilbert Dykes — to be a cut above his companions; a gentleman, in fact. The bullet is duly removed but the professor realsies that Dykes has consumption and will die soon anyway. Three months later, Lady Marjory Mountjoy hits on a novel idea for a fund-raising party. She has a small model ambulance built into the back of which her guests will deposit jewellery. The items will be auctioned off to raise money for hospitals. Kew learns of this and employs Dykes in a scheme to rob the ambulance of its cargo — what he doesn't realise is that Lady Mountjoy and Dykes are old acquaintances. The robbery goes without a hitch — the body of the ambulance, filled with jewels, is replaced with an empty copy. When this is discovered, Sexton Blake, who is a guest at the party, begins investigating. Unknown to him, Tinker witnessed the swap, followed Dykes, and has fallen into the hands of Professor Kew who has paralysed him with a drug. The next morning, worrying about his assistant's absence, Blake discovers evidence which points at Dykes. He also learns that his suspect is Lady Marjory's cousin and that they had been childhood sweethearts. Meanwhile, Tinker is taken to a hospital where Kew advises that a brain operation is necessary to cure him of the paralysis. The patient is wheeled into an operating theatre where, fully conscious but unable even to blink, he listens in horror as the surgeon decides that no anaesthetic will be required. Sexton Blake tracks down Gilbert Dykes who confesses to his crime and reveals Kew's whereabouts. The detective confronts the professor who, cornered, offers a deal: he will prevent Tinker's death at the hands of the surgeon and return the stolen jewels in return for his freedom. Blake agrees to these terms and Kew telephones the hospital to stop the operation. Tinker is rescued and cured of his paralysis. Dykes attempts to revenge himself but before he can reach Kew his illness overtakes him and he dies.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 525 (1913).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Mr. Rawn, a crooked financier, asks Blake for protection during the course of a nefarious deal. Blake gives him a point blank refusal ... until he realises that Marston Hume may be involved. Having changed his mind, the detective moves to Rawn's mansion and settles into his role of bodyguard. With his employer being an enthusiastic motorist, Blake soon finds himself being driven around the countryside at high speed. One day, they stop at a tavern and, while the detective is distracted by a telephone call, Rawn is given instructions, ostensibly from Blake, to drive home. Once he sees that the financier has gone, Blake gives chase and finds the car, empty, by the side of the road. Rawn has been abducted! Blake realises that Hume has snatched the man and will deliver the financier to his enemies in return for a large fee. He deduces that a small yachting club on the nearby coast is the most likely drop-off point and races there in a hired vehicle. Hume has already come and gone and Blake finds Rawn in the hands of two thugs. A brief brawl ensues, the heavies are overcome, and Blake takes Rawn home. The detective regards the case as a draw; he confounded Hume's scheme but, once again, the villain got away.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 551 (1909).

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Illustrator: J. H. Valda

Notes: An aristocratic family with a curse, a perilous marsh, and a hideous beast bringing death to those unfortunate enough to encounter it. There's a definite touch of Hound of the Baskervilles about this one. But of course, it's Blake not Holmes, so H. H. Clifford Gibbons throws in as many extra ingredients as possible: a thrilling aeroplane chase which ends in a mid-air collision, a lake-bottom hideaway which floods with our heroes trapped inside, a raging inferno and plenty of fist fights. The story begins with Warrender, a hulking great man, observing the comings and goings in a disreputable drinking den. In fact, he is a leading West End actor studying for a role. But things get out of hand and a fight erupts during which he retrieves a roll of canvas. To his amazement, it's a painting by Van Dyke; a portrait of a beautiful girl. He takes the painting to Sexton Blake who immediately recognises it as the recently stolen property of Lord Carham. Blake, Tinker and Warrender set off for the Fens, a large expanse of extremely flat land in the east of England. The author does a great job of creating a still and silent, mist enshrouded landscape. Before they've even had a chance to meet him, Lord Carham is murdered, his chest punctured by huge wide-spread claws. And through the mist, Blake captures a glimpse of a hunched, animal-like figure. It is, the house servant tells them, the gnomid, a legendary creature that has cursed the Carham family for generations. A painting of it hangs on the wall, hidden behind a tapestry. Every time the painting is shown, so the legend goes, something terrible happens. Incidentally, the artwork on the cover of this edition of UNION JACK is a superb rendition of the monstrous beast. Before Blake has time to investigate further, there's another shock. A girl comes crashing through the glass of the patio doors. Fortunately, she is not badly hurt and is able to explain that she was on her way to an appointment with a local landowner when she was chased by the creature. Bizarrely, she bears an uncanny resemblance to the girl in the Van Dyke portrait. How does she relate to the mystery? What is the creature? And who's behind the deadly conspiracy? Of course, Blake gets to the bottom of it (and, simultaneously, to the bottom of a lake).

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,362 (1929). The story had previously been reprinted in DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 342 (1939).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sir Richard Lawley calls Sexton Blake to his offices. Lawley is involved in a company called Tuxon, which harvests various resources from a chain of small islands. Someone, it seems, is selling off big blocks of shares, causing the company to become unstable as rumours spread suggesting that the business may have been adversely affected by the recent Hayti earthquake. Blake is certain that Marston Hume is the man behind a scheme; making money out of the false information. He visits his opponent and provokes him into an attack which ends when Blake snaps handcuff's onto Hume's wrists, binds his ankles and locks him in the bedroom. Later, Bathurst arrives with Lawley who declares that the company is about to collapse. Blake points out that this is based on the false rumours spread by Hume and recommends that Lawley buys up as many shares as possible. For a day and a half, the detective holds Hume prisoner and at the end of that time the true state of affairs regarding the islands comes to light. All is well and rich new deposits have been discovered. The upshot of this is that the company prospers while Hume is financially ruined. Blake frees him ... and leaves Hume with murder in his eyes.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 552 (1909).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: Sexton Blake, Tinker, Pedro and Detective-Inspector Coutts are on the scene when a burglary occurs in a London residence. Blake is attacked and nearly crushed in the vice-like clutches of the invader. He fights free but cannot prevent his unseen assailant from escaping over the rooftops. The crook drops a gold medallion engraved with mysterious heiroglyphics. On the way home, Blake unknowingly has the back of his coat sprayed with scent by a mysterious stranger. At Baker Street, Pedro reacts to the spray by attacking his master. The detective realises that his clothes are the subject of the dog's wrath, rather than himself. That night, an ape climbs in through the detective's bedroom window. He shoots it dead. The next day, hoping for help in translating the writing on the medallion, Blake sets out to visit the explorer John Fade who, with Dirk Dolland, has just returned to England. He finds both men trapped in the cellar of their house. They explain that they were shut in there by an ape which had ransacked their rooms in search of a gem-encrusted idol. Fade tells the detective that he and Dolland had been on an expedition to a remote country named Khurdan in the Himalayas where they'd discovered a tribe of 'missing links'. These were ruled over by an evil man named Dr. Satira who intended to rob the tribe of its precious jewels. After being held prisoner, the adventurous pair had escaped and stolen the idol. Now Satira is on their trail to get it back. That evening, Sexton Blake sets a trap and corners an ape, a 'missing-link' and Satira. The doctor throws a vial of scent at Blake but the detective shoots it and the liquid drenches Satira. The ape goes wild and kills its master before Blake shoots it dead. The missing-link attempts to escape but is captured by the police. John Fade realises that the dead man is wearing a mask — he's an indian, not Dr. Satira at all. The evil ruler of the ape-men is still at liberty.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,206 (1926). The original story was also rehashed as a part of DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 278 as THE SINISTER DR. SATIRA (1938).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sexton Blake, chatting with Bathurst, ponders the whereabouts of Marston Hume, who he had sent "into the gutter" two years ago. Their conversation is interrupted by a visit from Mrs. Sherringham, the mother of a young man named Emile who had gone missing some few days earlier. She informs the detective that on the day of his disappearance, Emile apparently withdrew £3,000 from their joint bank account. Blake feels certain that the man who did this was actually Hume and promises to investigate. Visiting Scotland Yard, he learns that the dead body of Emile has been dredged up from the Thames. The lad, a fencing enthusiast, had been murdered by a foil thrust into his neck. Knowing Hume always works alone, the detective deduces that he must have a house near the river bank, else he could not manage to get the corpse to the water. Blake identifies the most likely house and finds his old fencing tutor living there. The man discloses the fact that Hume had occupied the house for a while and had fought many fencing bouts with a young student, Emile Sherringham. Hume had promised to teach Emile a particular trick; one which the fencing tutor now shows Blake. It ends with the foil's point hard against the detective's neck. This, then, is how Hume killed the boy before forging his signature to withdraw the £3,000. What's more, as there is no proof against him, Marston Hume has got away with the crime ...

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 603 (1910).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: None at present.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,182 (1926).

Unrated

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: After spotting Marston Hume in a taxi cab, Blake follows him to a dilapidated house on the river front. Hume invites him in and they talk as the villain calmly eats his supper. Blake lays out a long list of crimes before the man and warns him that he will call Scotland Yard and have Hume arrested. His host denies any complicity in the various thefts and murders ennumerated - particularly protesting against any involvement in the more recent crimes. Blake is dubious until his opponent reveals that for the past year he has been completely blind. He shows the detective letters from eye specialists, each one proving that an obscure disease has robbed him of his vision. Suspecting forgeries, Blake telephones one of the doctors — who he knows well — and learns that the blindness is genuine and incurable. The detective leaves, still suspecting a trick, and as he descends the stairs they suddenly spin sending him plummeting into the river. At the same time, Hume shoots at him from the top landing, the bullet grazing Blake's skull, rendering him unconscious. He is picked up by river police and quickly nursed back to health. With the men in tow, the detective returns to the house only to find that his quarry has eluded him by fleeing through a skylight. Evidence left in the room suggests that Hume's blindness had been faked by means of narcotic eye drops. There is also a note: 'Dear Mr. Blake. It gave me great pleasure to watch you from my window here taking your midnight dip. What a curious hour to select for a swim on a cold night like this! I would have saved you the trouble, if I could, but my recent eye treatment seems to have affected my sight. I fear my aim was none too good. Pray accept my apologies. — Marston Hume.'

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 604 (1910).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: Recently promoted Detective-Inspector Grimley has been given the task, by Sir Henry Fairfax, of watching over London's West End nightclubs. In one of these, the Puce Lobster, he is observed by Derek 'Splash' Page mingling with various socialites, including a petty crook named Baltimore Smith and his girlfriend, Meg Brady. Grimley then has a private meeting with the club's owner, Lady Melisande, and happily takes a bribe to turn a blind eye to the 'goings-on' at the club. However, when Detective-Inspector Coutts leads a raid on the premises, Grimley realises that he must take action to protect this source of income. The next day, Sir Henry receives a letter from Lady Melisande in which Coutts is accused of blackmailing her. Banknotes found in his pocket — planted there by Grimley — support her statement. Coutts is suspended from duty. Meanwhile, his wife, Jane, keeps secret from him the fact that her nephew, Harry Lawson, has run up gambling debts and has got in with the wrong crowd. In desperation, she decides to ask Sexton Blake for help but when she arrives at Baker Street the detective and his assistant are out. Meeting Mrs Bardell for the first time, she soon finds herself pouring out her troubles to that worthy woman. Mrs Bardell decides to loan her the £30 requested by Harry — keeping it a private matter 'of housekeeping' between them. While this is happening, Coutts is wandering the streets of the capital in a state of shock. When he sees his nephew in conversation with a petty crook named Benny Silver, he follows them to a notorious club which is frequented by the Contrini Gang. He drags the youngster out. One of the gang, 'Whoosis' Wally, telephones Grimley and is told to follow Coutts. Grimley informs Sir Henry that Coutts is frequently seen with the gang. A week later, various socialites from the Puce Lobster club gather at the home of explorer Gillie Carew for a party. A fight erupts between Carew and the Hon. Ivor Trelawney. Carew is later found murdered and Trelawney's girlfriend, Monica Travers, is accused. Splash Page takes this news to Sexton Blake, who is in the middle of hearing about Detective-Inspector Coutts's troubles. He informs them that Grimley is on the case. Blake goes to the crime scene in time to witness Grimley arresting Miss Travers. The Yard man also arrests Baltimore Smith for possession of a firearm. After examining the crime scene and observing the depth to which a sprig of parsley has sunk into a block of butter, Blake forms his own ideas about the death of Carew and passes this information to Coutts. He then receives a visit from Meg Brady who is furious that Grimley has arrested Smith. In revenge, she spills the beans about all the bribes the Detective-Inspector has received and reveals that she overheard him plotting with Lady Melisande to frame Coutts. That evening Coutts is attacked by 'Whoosis' Wally but overpowers him and frog-marches him to a police station. The next morning, at Scotland Yard, he uses Blake's information to prove that no murder actually took place — the parsley being the key evidence for this — and exposes Grimley's crimes. Grimley is arrested.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,519 (1932).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: R. J. MacDonald

Notes: Sexton Blake and his friend Bathurst are spending the weekend with the latter's rich aunt at her mansion in Wiltshire. On their way to play golf, they see a small crowd gathered outside a house which is guarded by two policemen. They stop and speak to Jenkins of Scotland Yard who informs the detective that Daykin Travers, a rich eccentric, has been killed on the nearby railway line. The body was found at the mouth of the Great Bridge Tunnel. But there's something strange about the case ... the Travers' boots are clean, so how did he get from the house and along the muddy path to the railway? Also, the tracks run through a very deep cutting which is protected by a high spiked fence at the top. So how did he reach the rails? Even more mysteriously, the train thought to have hit the man has no bloodstains on the wheels. Bathurst agrees to take a note from Jenkins to the police station at Salisbury, leaving Blake at the house to investigate. Nothing appears to have been removed from the premises and there are no apparent motives for murder but Blake finds evidence that Travers received an unexpected visitor during the night. He also discovers that, despite appearances, a considerable sum of money has gone missing. A row of dilapidated cottages behind the house provide the next clue; in one, an upper floor window is surprisingly clean. From it, the study in which Travers' kept his safe can be watched. The detective makes inquiries and learns that an old man had rented the room, leaving the day before the 'accident'. He deduces that this is the same man who had visited Travers last night. A poker in the fireplace, strangely free of dust, tells more of the story: the visitor used it as a murder weapon. After bludgeoning Tracers to death, he carried the body to his car, cleaned up the house, removed the money from the safe, and drove to the Great Bridge Tunnel. Blake now follows in his tracks, driven by Bathurst who has returned from his errand. The detective tells his friend that the evidence points to one man: Marston Hume. In a railway siding at a goods yard, Blake finds what he was looking for: a train waggon covered with a tarpaulin which is splashed with blood. Hume had tipped the body off the bridge and onto the train. It was dislodged as the vehicle exited the tunnel at the other end. Blake calls Scotland Yard and a search for Hume begins. He is found in a south coast hotel. Blake heads there for their final confrontation.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 606 (1911).

Rating: ★★★★★

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: When Mademoiselle Roxane Harfield and her mother are cheated out of the business that had been built by the now dead John Harfield — the twenty-seven thousand acre Harfield Lumber Concession in New Brunswick, Canada — the shock kills Mrs Harfield. Roxane makes a vow of vengeance on the eight men responsible for this. Five years later, one of them — Harold Carruthers — visits Sexton Blake. Carruthers is in London on business but his secretary, Miss Harrison, has disappeared with sixty thousand pounds of his funds. He then received a written message, purportedly from John Harfield, which acknowledged the receipt of money owed. While Carruthers is in the Consulting Room, Blake receives a telephone call; a female voice advises him not to take the case. Upon leaving the Baker Street house, Carruthers is followed by Tinker and both are captured by Roxane. She explains to the crooked businessman that she was Miss Harrison, his secretary — a clever disguise — and that she has planned for five years to revenge herself upon him. Now she reveals that while in his employ, she has slowly ruined him, leaving him with barely any resources. Some time later, while searching for Tinker, Sexton Blake is called to Bow Street Police Station by Detective-Inspector Thomas. There he finds that a ragged and heavily doped man has been brought in — a man who keeps speaking his name — and that man is Carruthers. Puzzled by the deepening mystery, Blake walks into a trap and is captured by Roxane. He finds himself with Tinker aboard her private yacht, La Brise, where he is told the full story. Though he sympathises with Roxane's history, she has, nevertheless, broken the law and Blake insists that she must return the sixty thousand pounds to Carruthers. Unable to accept this, Roxane tells the detective that he and Tinker will be handed over to a Berber tribe on the shore of Morocco. They will 'keep him out of trouble' until Roxane's campaign of vengeance is completed. When Blake attempts an escape, Roxane trips down some stairs and is knocked unconscious. The detective, rather than fleeing, remains and nurses her back to health. She puts him and Tinker ashore at Tangier, handing him the money she had stolen. However, by the time Carruthers receives it, he is deeply in debt and has to hand it over to his creditors. He leaves England a broken man.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issue 1,378 (1930).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: Sexton Blake and Bathurst arrive at the Quay Hotel with two Scotland Yard officials. They examine Marston Hume's car and find evidence connecting it to the Great Tunnel Bridge murder (see previous issue, above). Blake then interviews Hume, who is being held in the manager's office by two constables. The detective lays out his case against the renegade lawyer, with the latter explaining away every point. But when Blake produces one of the dead man's collar studs, which he discovered on the floor of Hume's car, it finally seems that the game is up. The villain appears to suffer a fit, frothing out the mouth and falling into a state of complete paralysis. A hotel guest who is also a doctor is called and, after checking the stricken man, he rushes back to his room for drugs. Suspicious, Blake follows him and sneaks a look inside the doctor's room while the medical man returns to Hume. What he sees convinces him that the doctor isn't genuine. He races back to the manager's office where finds his worst suspicions fulfilled: the man has helped Hume to escape. Blake and Bathurst give chase in their car and finally catch up with Hume's vehicle on the seafront. The villain makes a run for it but Blake tackles him and they fight on the brink of a cliff. The struggle ends when Hume puts a bullet through the detective's arm and they both topple over the edge. Blake's fall is broken by an outcropping of chalk. Marston Hume fares less well and plummets to his death. His body is carried out to sea by the tide.

Trivia: This is reprinted from THE PENNY PICTORIAL issue 607 (1911).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: (G. H. Teed) At two in the morning, an electric alarm arouses escaped-convict Morgan Gilson from sleep, warning him that an intruder is on the stairs of his house in Petty France, Westminster. Gilson is expecting this raid. The intruder is caught in a trap at the top of the stairs. Without a word, Gilson gags and handcuffs him and carries him down a flight of steps concealed behind the range in the basement. A tunnel takes him to the bank of an underground stream. Dumping his prisoner in a punt, Gilson steers the craft through a cavern-like opening and leaves the bound man in a cellar built into the tunnel wall. He then climbs a well-like shaft and emerges in a courtyard at the back of a house. This is but a shell of a building, measuring six feet from front to back. Passing through the dummy house, Gilson gains the street and hurries to Baker Street where he consults Sexton Blake. Like Gilson, Blake has also been expecting the raid. He and Tinker follow Gilson back to the dummy house and down to the cell. But here they find that the prisoner has gone. The three make their way up to Gilson's house. In the kitchen, they find a dead monkey. On the stairs is the unconscious form of Mademoiselle Roxane. Suddenly shots are fired at the detective!

(Gwyn Evans) Hit in the shoulder by a bullet, Sexton Blake collapses into Tinker's arms. In the ensuing confusion, whoever fired the shot escapes and Mademoiselle Roxane disappears. Tinker suggests calling the police but Gilson and a strange old hag of a housekeeper — known as 'Ma Gilson' — won't hear of it. Gilson is then dumbfounded to discover that his parrot, Anastasia, has been stolen ... and with it, his 'combinations'. Later, Splash Page receives a dead parrot in the post. Around its neck is a note, which reads: "Sorry Miss, wrong number!" Intrigued, Page takes the bird to Baker Street where Sexton Blake is in consultation with Gilson. The reporter and Gilson recognise each other — Gilson with alarm — but neither says anything about this to Blake. Suddenly, a man appears in the doorway of the Consulting Room. "Give me back my parrot!" he says. "I am Robinson Crusoe!"

(Robert Murray Graydon) 'Robinson Crusoe' turns out to be Dirk Dolland who is staying at Sexton Blake's house because of his knowledge of the identity of a mysterious Mr Brank, the same individual who is threatening Gilson. Stutz, Gilson's escaped prisoner, is delivered to Baker Street dead in a coffin. This is his punishment for blundering. Suspecting that Gilson is concealing something, Blake, Tinker and Splash Page follow him to Hamright's livestock shop. They miss Gilson but find Hamright murdered. Beside him is a gramophone, still running though it has no record on it. On the wall is the imprint of a hand with a thumb and five fingers. Another alarm takes them back to Gilson's house. They find Detective-Inspector Coutts unconscious in the hall. Through a secret panel they catch a glimpse of Pedro with Mademoiselle Roxane's hand in his mouth. A shriek of fear sends Blake and Co. back to the top of the stairs.

(George N. Philips) In the hall below is Brank, the Doomsday Man, and Mrs Syms — aka 'Ma Gilson' — Gilson's deranged housekeeper. Brank is about to throw a gas bomb but Blake shoots it out of his hand. It smashes and the gas is released. Brank escapes while Blake drags Detective-Inspector Coutts clear of the fumes. It is too late for Ma Gilson, though — she dies. Blake takes Gilson to task and gets from him a broken gramaphone record which had been retrieved from Hamright's. It is the 'Spring Song' and the first few bars are very worn and scratched. Blake believes that birds — including Anatasia — have been trained to speak at the sound of the music. There are six, all trained by Brank to repeat the combination of a hidden safe — with Anastasia being the only one to have learned the complete formula. Blake and Co. return to Hamright's to try the record. A parrot starts to gabble meaningless words in response to the music. Then a shot rings out and the bird falls dead.

(G. H. Teed ) A short gunfight ensues. Blake and Tinker drive the attacker — a man named Stiletti — into the shop's yard but when they follow there is no sign of him. A macaw in the shop begins squawking Brank's name and the phrase 'stop the water'. When Splash Page tries to stop the bird's racket, it attacks him and escapes from the shop. Blake finds that Gilson has also fled. Blake, Tinker and Splash return to Baker Street where Detective-Inspector Thomas is waiting. With Coutts hospitalised, Thomas is taking over and wants to know what is happening. Tinker notices that the body of Stutz has vanished. Then a phone call comes from Scotland Yard ... Dirk Dolland has been found in a coffin in a warehouse! Tinker, though, notices through the window Dolland arriving in the street below. Knowing that he will not want to be questioned by Thomas, he gestures to the ex-cracksman to make himself scarce. Dolland does so. Meanwhile, a woman named Madam Casanova receives a visit from Mademoiselle Roxane, who has with her the unconscious grey parrot thought to be Anastasia. Roxane explains that it was her maid, Anna, whom Pedro had grabbed in the secret doorway. She was wearing a dress that used to belong to her mistress, thus confusing Sexton Blake. Now Roxane intends to revive the parrot and play it the Spring Song. Before she can do so, Gilson turns up and declares that Stiletti has tried to kill Anastasia. He also claims that he — Gilson — knew Dirk Dolland on Devil's Island. At that time, Gilson had been known as 'Robinson Crusoe'. He manages to mumble a bit more — something about a macaw — then drops unconscious to the floor.

(Gwyn Evans) Mademoiselle Roxane summons Sexton Blake to Madam Casanova's flat in Petty France. He arrives with Tinker, Splash Page and Dirk Dolland. Dolland reveals that it was he who sent Detective-Inspector Thomas on a wild goose chase by phoning and claiming that 'Dolland has been found in a coffin'. He also reveals that it was he who removed the body of Stutz. A recap with further explanations follows. The story so far: Morgan Gilson, an escaped convict from Devil's Island, has sought the aid of Sexton Blake to protect him from a criminal leader, Mr Brank aka The Doomsday Man. Brank is out to get from Gilson the combination and whereabouts of a safe in which are hidden the proceeds of a colossal bank fraud carried out by Brank's gang, but for which Gilson was wrongfully imprisoned. Frimley, a member of the gang who had tried to double-cross Brank by hiding the money, made a dying confession to Gilson on Devil's Island, telling him the safe was somewhere in an underground waterway beneath a house in Petty France, London, and that the letters and numbers of the combination have been learned by a parrot named Anastasia. Moreover, in the safe are proofs of Gilson's innocence in the frauds. Brank and his agents — Stiletti, Stutz and La Rocque — followed Gilson to London and it was they who raided the Petty France house, which Gilson had taken over from Frimley's old housekeeper. They also approached Dirk Dolland to enlist his aid in opening the safe should they locate it. Dolland refused, and to avoid reprisals lodged temporarily with Sexton Blake. Dolland and Splash Page have thrown in their lot with Blake on Gilson's side against Brank. Already Mademoiselle Roxane has allied herself with Gilson, and, during the raid by Brank's men on the house, she secured Anastasia. The parrot reveals its secret — the combination. The next step for the friends is to locate the safe. Now seated in the house of Madame Casanova, a friend of Roxane who is in their confidence, they are startled by a thunderous knocking announcing the arrival of the police, whom both Gilson and Dolland wish to avoid.

(Robert Murray Graydon) Gilson and Dirk Dolland hide in Madam Casanova's cellar while Detective-Inspector Thomas, with two constables, begins to search the house. Accidently activating a secret door mechanism, the two fugitives fall into a secret passage which leads to the waterways beneath Petty France. There they find a secret chamber and a passage which they think may lead to Frimley's hidden safe. While exploring, they hear a fiendish chuckle ... and suddenly the chamber begins to flood! Meanwhile, up in the house, one of the police constables is found knocked cold ... and Anastasia has been stolen by Brank's men! Blake returns to Baker Street, having arranging to meet Mademoiselle Roxane later. However, on the way to the assignation, Roxane is kidnapped by Brank.

(George N. Philips) Brank threatens to torture Mademoiselle Roxane unless she reveals the whereabouts of the safe and the combination to open it. When she resists, he reveals that the ugly and insane crone known as 'Ma Gilson' had once been a beauty until she found herself in a similar position to Roxane. Stiletti holds her still and she notices that his hands are five-fingered — meaning that it was he who murdered Hamright. Brank begins to cut her ear but is interrupted by the arrival of La Rocque, who informs the gangster that he has drowned Gilson and Dirk Dolland in the underground waterways. Brank is enfuriated by this, as by flooding the chamber in which the two men had stood, La Rocque may have uncovered the hidden safe but had failed to check. The two men start to fight and Roxane takes the opportunity to start a fire before climbing out of the window and into the next room. Meanwhile, Sexton Blake has traced her to the house and arrives to find it burning. He enters and discovers La Rocque — mortally wounded with a dagger through his chest. Of Roxane, though, there is no trace. Having been informed by the dying La Rocque that Dolland and Gilson are dead, Blake goes to Gilson's house and there finds both men very much alive!

(G. H. Teed ) In addition to Gilson and Dirk Dolland, Tinker and Splash Page are in Gilson's house. Gilson and Dolland explain that the flood had driven them up through an opening and into a part of the tunnel system that Gilson was familiar with. From there it had been easy to find their way back to the house. Blake realises that Brank and Stiletti may be trying to access the underground waterways via the dummy cottage. Believing that they are still holding Mademoiselle Roxane captive, he and his friends race to the peculiar premises and pass through it into the tunnels below. There they encounter the villains and a gun battle ensues. Amid the confusion, Roxane attempts to escape but is recaptured. The two parties then become separated and Blake and Co. get lost in the maze of passages. They come to a waterfall and the detective, reaching through the water, finds a stopcock which turns off the flow. There, in the wall beyond, they see the safe!

(Gwyn Evans) Blake and Co. begin to make their way back through the tunnels. However, their route is blocked by Brank and Stiletti who fire their guns at them and threaten to kill Mademoiselle Roxane. Under cover of darkness, Blake plunges into the water and allows it to sweep him alongside Brank's position. He then leaps upon the criminal and beats him almost senseless. Branks falls into the water and is carried away by the current. Blake and Tinker pursue Stiletti. Maenwhile, Dirk Dolland carries the exhausted Gilson up to the dummy house and out onto the street where he is dismayed to find himself facing Detective-Inspector Thomas.

(Robert Murray Graydon) With Gilson unconscious from exhaustion, Dirk Dolland finds that he must face Detective-Inspector Thomas alone. To his suprise, the police official finally drops his obstinacy and sees events from Dolland's point of view. In fact, he insists in going into the underground waterway system to find and help Sexton Blake. However, when he opens the door of the dummy cottage a fist knocks him senseless. Brank is inside! The gangster points a gun at Dolland. Brank had been rescued from the flowing waters by Stiletti but, during that rescue, Mademoiselle Roxane had escaped and fled into the tunnels. Among the dark passages, she finds the one that leads to the wall safe. Using the combination she memorised from Anastasia, she opens the door. At that moment, Brank and Stiletti arrive, leading Dolland at gunpoint. Mademoiselle steps back from them, inadvertently entering the safe. The door swings shut, sealing her within. Blake, Tinker and Splash Page arrive. Brank informs them that Roxane will soon run out of air.

(George N. Philips) Held at gunpoint by Brank, Sexton Blake tries but fails to open the safe. Dirk Dolland also fails. However, he states that if he had his safecracking tools, he would be able to do the job. Brank won't allow him to fetch them, so Dolland gives the gangster the details of where to find them and Brank departs, leaving Blake, Tinker and Splash Page in Stiletti's custody. Page takes the opportunity to talk Stiletti into believing that Brank will kill him rather than share the millions in the safe. The gangster has already killed the Stutz and La Rocque, so Stiletti is quick to realise the truth of Page's statement. When Brank returns, Stiletti tries to shoot him but the gangster gets off a shot first and Stiletti takes a bullet between the eyes. Blake jumps Brank and, in the ensuing struggle, the crook's machine gun fires into the wall and roof of the tunnel and causes it to collapse. Tinker, Dolland and Page are half buried on one side of the landslide, Brank and Blake on the other. When the floor collapses under the struggling pair, they plunge down into a deep pool.

(G. H. Teed) Tinker, Dirk Dolland and Splash Page dig themselves out of the rubble. While Dolland starts drilling air-holes in the safe in an attempt to save Mademoiselle Roxane, Tinker and Page dig through the earth and bricks to get to Blake. Eventually, they find the detective and Brank — both dead! Desperate attempts to resuscitate Blake fail. Tinker then has an idea. Taking a small jar of nitroglycerine from Dolland's safe-cracking kit, he cuts one of Blake's veins and rubs a few drops in, causing it to enter the detective's bloodstream. This kick-starts his heart, and Blake recovers consciousness. Meanwhile, Dolland hears Roxane's voice from within the safe.

(Robert Murray Graydon) From inside the safe, Mademoiselle Roxane tells Dirk Dolland the combination. The strongbox is opened and she is liberated from its confines. The stolen money is found within along with detailed records of when, where and from whom it was stolen. Furthermore, proofs of Gilson's innocence are found, bringing the adventure to a satisfactory conclusion.

Trivia: This is reprinted from UNION JACK issues 1,516, 1,517, 1,518, 1,519, 1,529, 1,521, 1,522, 1,523, 1,524 (1932) and 1,525, 1,526, 1,527, 1,528, 1,529 (1933).

Rating: See original episodes for ratings.

Illustrator: Eric Parker

Notes: It is the evening of the 18th December and, in response to an article by Sexton Blake, published in a newspaper, in which he claims that criminals have neither a sense of humour nor sportsmanship, a challenge has been issued. A crook known as the Christmas Cavalier has issued a statement in which he tells Sexton Blake that, this very night, between 10 p.m. and midnight, he will steal the detective's jade tobacco jar from the mantelshelf in the consulting room. If he succeeds, Blake must donate a thousand pounds to a hospital; if the crook fails, he will donate a similar sum to the charity of Blake's choice. Splash Page 'phones and asks if he can send a press photographer named Slade over to take pictures of the jar and the consulting room. Blake allows this. As the press man gets to work, Tinker becomes increasingly jumpy, suspecting that the photographer might be the crook. But Slade simply does his job then departs. Next to arrive is Detective-Inspector Coutts. When he reaches for the jar, Blake pulls a gun on him. With the Christmas Cavalier being a master of disguise, anyone could be the crook! Tinker identifies a tattoo which proves that Coutts is who he says he is. The Yard man storms out indignantly. A few minutes later, a female reporter tries to trick her way into an interview with Blake. She also comes under suspicion and is ejected from the house. Blake, on edge, next accuses Tinker himself of being the Cavalier! Finally, as midnight strikes, the truth is revealed ... and only a cunning turnaround performed by Sexton Blake — who is also a master of disguise — can prevent the crook from winning his challenge! Defeated, the Cavalier happily writes a cheque — which the detective asks him to make out to Mrs Bardell.

Trivia: This is reprinted from DETECTIVE WEEKLY issue 95 (1934).

Rating: ★★★☆☆