Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1908

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Count Borosky, the Russian Minister to the Court of St. James, commissions Sexton Blake to catch a Russian criminal currently loose in London. However, when the detective discovers that Paul Khaminoff is actually a political activist, he helps him to escape. A furious Borosky drops his disguise, revealing himself to be Loris Orloff — 'The White Terror' — chief of the Tsar's secret police. He vows revenge. Two years later, Blake and Tinker are on an espionage mission in Trieste and are forced by circumstances to split up. Tinker makes his way back to London. Blake, though, is captured by Orloff. When Tinker arrives home, he finds the newspapers reporting that, back in Trieste, Blake's dead body has been found and buried. The terrible shock leads to illness and Tinker is out of action for many weeks. Eventually, after making a full recovery, he returns to Baker Street where a Russian fugitive brings him amazing news: Sexton Blake is alive! The detective is being held in a Siberian prison; a state of affairs that Tinker vows to change. He travels across Europe to Moscow and books passage on the Trans-Siberian Railway. He makes allies during the journey and gains a new identity plus introductory letters to various prison officials. For a while, this ruse works and he soon sets eyes on Blake. But Orloff is onto him and Tinker ends up by his master's side, a prisoner. When a recently recaptured Paul Khaminoff is incarcerated with them, they make their first escape attempt but are caught and sent by barge to a prison island. En route, the vessel meets with an accident and the three men manage to free themselves. They now attempt to cross the bleak land to the safety of the port at Vladivostok, getting caught and escaping again many times along the way. Finally, in a flurry of wild coincidences, they gain their freedom and the White Terror gets his just desserts.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ This begins as a 'Romance' in the Victorian sense; imbued with sentiment, the workings of fate and psychic flashes. Of particular note are the heart-rending scenes where Tinker believes his guv'nor to be dead. Unfortunately, after the initial chapters, it settles into a rather repetitive series of escapes and recaptures that are too long-winded and lacking in invention.

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker arrive in the small industrial town of Creekside. When Pedro finds the body of a man named Captain Peascod in the river, the pair find themselves involved with Mr Tibblewit, the local grocer. He has two lodgers: Peascod's partner, Captain Fairlead, and the latter's daughter, Dorothy. Miss Peascod tells Tinker that she is afraid a man named Gregory Googe will steal some papers from Peascod's corpse. So Tinker follows Googe and sees him doing this very thing. The villain searches among the papers for a cheque which, according to his mutterings, he wants to tear up. Tinker causes a distraction and grabs the cheque but is pursued by the villain. He manages to hide the paper on the Rochester Bells, a barge that Peascod had owned. Meanwhile, at Mr Tibblewit's, the ill Fairlead insists that he will take charge of the barge to carry on its business transporting cement down the Thames. Blake reveals his true identity and arranges to impersonate Fairlead and take on the captaincy. Next morning, he and Tinker begin work. They make three discoveries: the cheque has vanished; their one crew member — Silas Croak — is in the pay of Gregory Googe; and there's a stowaway on board — 'Enery — a young lad who's also in thick with Googe. Blake tells Tinker that Googe has been plotting to kill his fellow members of an insurance syndicate so that he'll inherit the money. That night, the criminal smothers Pedro in wet blankets and throws him overboard. Croak then barricades Blake and Tinker in a cabin and steers the barge into a pier. He and 'Enery make their getaway in a dinghy but it is hit by a tugboat and Silas Croak is killed. The Baker Street duo manage to get free and swim for the shore where they are aided by a kindly night watchman and an urchin who has helped to rescue Pedro. The boy also reveals that he had seen Tinker hide the cheque and has recovered it — he hands it over to the detective. As far as Gregory Googe is aware, there is now just one man left in the syndicate: Mr Tibblewit. He goes to visit the grocer and is there confronted by Sexton Blake. The shock is so great that he dies of fear.

Trivia: This story features a rare early romance for Tinker!

Rating: ★★★★★ A wonderful tale with a real Dickensian touch.

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 102 in 1909 and BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 388 in 1933 (see the latter for review notes).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: This was reprinted in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 105 in 1909 and in BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 392 in 1933. See the latter issue for the review.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Blake is visited by John Browning, who has discovered himself to be the heir to a considerable fortune. The criminologist, however, deduces that the man's tale is the commencement of a tremendous swindle. Browning commissions Blake to trace his grandmother's birth certificate and offers seventy-five thousand pounds as payment for its discovery. It is plainly apparent that he intends for Blake to forge the document. The detective investigates and finds that Browning has cleverly established evidence to support his claim but requires the certificate to complete the "paper trail." He has been assisted by a crooked solicitor with whom Blake is familiar, an individual known as "Ferret." Blake breaks into that man's office and finds evidence that the true heir is a young woman, Miss Malet. The Ferret arrives with John Browning and a third man, Rorke. Blake hides and eavesdrops as the three villains discuss the girl and how Browning killed her father. Browning now instructs Rorke to murder her, too. The next day, the detective rescues Miss Malet from the criminal and has him arrested. A meeting with solicitors is arranged during which Blake is expected to show evidence of Browning's right of inheritance. Instead, he asserts that all the evidence is forged and exposes the swindle. Miss Malet is produced and named the true heir. Browning and the Ferret are arrested.

Trivia: The villain, having visited Blake in his Messenger Square lodgings, describes him as being "as poor as a rat."

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake is called to St. Rudolph's School on the coast to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a pupil named Dick Borrodaile. His initial examinations suggest that the boy departed secretly but willingly in company with an unknown companion. Following two sets of footprints which trail down to the beach, the detective finds that the boy's vanish beside a pool of treacherous quicksand. However, his companion — evidently female — seems to have continued past the quicksand, now carrying a heavy burden. Her prints continue down to the water, where they stop. Deducing that the woman has faked the death of Dick Borrodaile, Blake traces the boy to France where he finds him living happily with a kindly family. The detective returns to England and visits the boy's mother, revealing that he knows she was responsible for his 'abduction'. When he approaches the father, he discovers why: Borrodaile senior is a mad scientist who intends to use the young lad as a test subject. Blake's objection to this pushes the man over the edge and he has a brain haemorrhage. Invalided, he is committed to his wife's care.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: A young woman named Janet Ford commissions Blake to investigate the death of Andrew Craig, who had been engaged to her sister. He was the second engineer on the steamship Hotspur but, the day after the vessel returned from New York, was found drowned. It is presumed that he fell from a dock and hit his head but the last person to see him alive has stated that he was engaged in a heated discussion with a man in a fur coat. Miss Ford is convinced that Craig was murdered by that man. She informs Blake that Craig and his cousin Duncan — also an engineer and currently away on a ship named Gnome — had been working on some sort of invention for which Craig had already been offered fifty thousand pounds. She produces a letter received the morning of his death. It is from the Board of Trade and refers to the successful application for an Argosy Patent. The following day, Blake is approached by John Stephens, one of Craig's friends, who is sure Craig was murdered for documents detailing his invention. A second set of the papers were in Stephens' office safe but it has been broken into and they are now gone. On his way to see Blake, Stephens was three times assaulted because, he suggests, there is a third set of the plans which his attackers believe him to be carrying. Blake tells him that the third copy is already with the patent office. Days pass with no further incidents, then the Gnome docks with the news that Duncan has been murdered in New York. Later, Mr Gold, manager of Morson & Gold, the shipping line that owns the Hotspur and Gnome, is approached by Mr Muntz, who represents an engineering firm. Muntz promotes various mechanical innovations of a minor variety but then Gold shows him plans for a much more significant invention and offers his company the opportunity to develop the device. Munzt objects that he has already purchased the patent for the invention. Gold is left utterly shocked. That night, Blake summons Stephens and shows him that the Gnome is unexpectedly preparing to sail. They witness a man in a fur coat boarding the vessel. Surreptitiously following him, they corner him in the ship's engine room. It is Mr Gold. Blake explains to Stephens that Gold had tried to steal Craig's invention in order to save his shipping company, which has been suffering severe financial difficulty. By masquerading as Muntz, Blake had frightened Gold, who'd attempted to flee before his murderous actions were exposed.

Trivia: Blake states that he never accepts a fee from a woman.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: A transatlantic luxury liner, the Meretoria, is due to sail on her maiden voyage, carrying three million in gold for the relief of the financial stress in Wall Street. As a precaution, Sexton Blake has been invited to take the voyage. He makes friends with the purser, Mr Mason, who informs him that the bullion that has apparently been loaded is fake — a decoy to fool anyone with dishonest intentions. Blake is present when the real specie comes aboard and is secured in a huge safe. After a pleasurable voyage, the ship docks at New York. As the bullion is unpacked, Blake notices that a couple of the boxes have been tampered with. The detective claims straight away that he knows who committed the burglary. Without revealing anything further, he leads Mason ashore and into Chinatown where they force themselves into an opium den. There they find one of the passengers and his luggage; cylinders of compressed oxygen. Blake and Mason take the passenger and cylinders back to the ship and the detective reveals the hiding place of the stolen gold and explains how the heist was carried out.

Trivia: According to this story, Blake 'detests' New York.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake has had a five days' 'rest cure' — staying at home doing nothing — when he receives a visitor named Mrs Errington, who is on the verge of starvation. She explains that her husband, Charles, a chemist, is assistant to Dr Rathbone, a reclusive scientist. When he failed to come home from work one day, Mrs Errington went to Rathbone's house in search of him. Rathbone, who didn't even turn around when she entered he laboratory, spoke to her in a harsh and dismissive voice, informing her that he had not seen her husband. The woman is certain that this is a lie and suspects that the doctor may have done away with her husband in order to gain from something Charles had invented. Blake visits Rathbone and exposes him as a disguised Charles Errington. The chemist reveals that Rathbone has died from natural causes. The doctor had agreed to help fund an invention that Errington had shown him — a means to make artificial jewels — but, once the business had been negotiated, Rathbone claimed the invention for himself, cutting Errington out of the deal. They argued and the doctor collapsed and died. Errington took the opportunity to impersonate his former employer in order to retain his rightful ownership of his creation. Blake, noting that raw justice and the law can be different things, helps Errington to claim his invention and reunites him with his wife.

Trivia: Sexton Blake appears to be living a rather frugal life in what he refers to as his 'bachelor's establishment'. Six years ago, in BOOK I: THE REAL ADVENTURES OF SEXTON BLAKE (part 14) (THE MARVEL LIBRARY, issue 434) he was married. So what happened? Obviously whatever it was affected him deeply, since — for the course of these PENNY PICTORIAL stories — he is supposedly 'resting on doctor's orders' and lives away from his Baker Street home. We also learn that Blake has written a monograph about Sleeping Sickness, based on his experiences in central Africa. Since Cecil Hayter wrote a Sexton Blake story for UNION JACK entitled THE SLEEPING SICKNESS the year previous to this tale's publication, we can be pretty certain that he is the author of this story too.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Sexton Blake bumps into Nurse Elma, who had nursed him after the 'Thuringen affair. Her fiancé — Horace Harrington — is extremely ill and has been placed in her care — under Dr. Mason — but doesn't seem to be getting any better. In fact, he is deteriorating fast, despite her every effort. Blake visits the patient and notices some rather strange symptoms. As he leaves, he 'accidentally' breaks a bottle of Harrington's medicine, securing a sample as he does so. That evening he receives a letter from Elma, who reveals that Dr. Mason was furious that Blake had been allowed to see the patient. The next day, after analysing the medicine, Blake heads to club-land where he tracks down a man who shares a name with Nurse Elma's patient. Sir Herbert Harrington is an explorer who Blake had once met in Africa. At the time, Sir Herbert had been suffering from a tropical disease, with symptoms similar to those displayed by his namesake. At the mention of Dr. Mason, Sir Herbert reacts strangely and departs as quickly as possible. Later, Elma visits the detective in his Messenger Square apartment and Blake arranges with her to replace the medicine prescribed by Mason with a concoction of his own. Some days later the nurse reports that her patient is getting better, which appears to infuriate Mason.

Trivia: Sexton Blake has not visited a club for many months. This is further evidence that his health has been suffering during the Messenger Square period.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Admiral Sir Richard Thorpe informs Blake that the Navy is building a torpedo-boat harbour at Loreham on the south coast. The whole operation is secret but details are being steadily leaked to a hostile foreign power. Blake is asked to investigate. For the first couple of days, he finds nothing, but then he hears about the widow Old Merilees who lives up on the downs overlooking the harbour. Twenty years ago, her fisherman husband had drowned, and ever since she has obsessively waved a lantern at night, as if she might guide him home. Interested by the idea of lights being used to signal, Blake sails out to sea at night and looks back at the land. He observes that one of the houses is shining a red light from its window, and is astounded when that light turns green. He then discovers an unlit steamship lurking twelve miles offshore. The next day, he identifies the bungalow, learns that a photography enthusiast named Erstheim lives there with his wife, and watches the fellow as he plays on the local golf course. From a shelter on the course, Blake discovers a splendid view overlooking the harbour developments. At lunch in the clubhouse, the detective ingratiates himself with the suspect, discusses photography, and is invited to see the man's darkroom. He visits Erstheim's home and realises that red or green lights shining from the window would be clearly visible from Old Merilees' home. Inviting Sir Richard's secretary, Adamson, to the town, Blake informs him that they will catch the spy tonight. That evening, the two men venture out onto the downs. From there, while lying concealed in the undergrowth, they can see the red light of Erstheim's house. A signal is flashed from the steamer out on the horizon. Erstheim's light changes from red to green. Suddenly, a lantern is lit just a few paces from where Blake and Adamson are hidden. Held by an old woman, it is moved up and down and from side to side, plainly signalling. Blake pounces on Old Merilees, gets shot in the leg, but manages to knock the woman cold. He then removes her disguise to reveal Erstheim. The foreign agent's accomplice at the house is rounded up and the case is closed.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Joseph Bernstein, a junior partner in a financial firm involved in the diamond business, writes Blake a blank cheque to investigate a man named Merydell who claims he can manufacture diamonds. Bernstein presents two examples that Merydell created in front of him. They are pure, and now the whole diamond industry is threatened. Blake meets the young inventor, who claims that he almost ruined himself financially in the pursuit of his process but has finally succeeded and is now back on his feet. After discussing the matter, Blake admits to Merydell that he dislikes Bernstein and won't accept the commission to investigate the matter. Merydell reveals that Bernstein has attempted to murder him and asks Blake to look into it. The detective agrees ... but his fee is that Merydell makes a diamond in front of him. On the way to his new client's isolated lodgings, Blake notices that they're being trailed by a known murderer who, upon their arrival, departs. He warns the young inventor that, within half an hour, Bernstein's thugs will arrive. Merydell begins to guide Blake through the process but before it's complete an attack is launched, led by Bernstein himself. The detective foils it and forces Bernstein to sign a full confession detailing his plan to murder Merydell. He tells him that unless he pays two hundred thousand pounds for the diamond-making process, plus an annual income of twenty thousand, the confession will be handed to the police. Bernstein agrees to this. Merydell, on the promise that he'll not produce any more stones, becomes a rich man. Blake accepts a manufactured gemstone in payment for his services.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Molly O'Hara, the child of a labourer at a factory on Larkland Island, has disappeared from her home. Her father's fellow workers scour the island from end to end but find no clue as to what has become of her. After a week has passed, Sexton Blake becomes interested in the case and visits Larkland but to no avail — he can find no trace of the girl. On the way back to London, he recalls that three months previously, he'd spotted the name O'Hara in a newspaper advertisement in which a firm of Lawyers appealed for anyone of that surname to contact them to "hear something to their advantage." At the firm, he learns that a dying man named Regan, who'd made his fortune at the Klondyke, had argued with his wayward son, Patrick, and cut him from his will. He'd decided to leave his fortune instead to his nephew, who bore the surname O'Hara. Blake discovers that Molly's father is the heir in question. However, he is ill, and with the stress of his daughter's disappearance, is dying. Upon his passing, she will inherit Regan's millions, unless she also dies, in which case the money will revert to Patrick. Now that he has a suspect, the detective returns to the island and is able to deduce the villain's movements. He becomes certain that Patrick is hiding with the child over on the mainland's moors, so keeps a lookout, sure that the kidnapper will at some point make for the local village to pick up supplies. This proves to be true, and while Patrick is away, Blake locates his hideaway and finds Molly there. When the villain returns, Blake pounces. The girl is returned to her parents.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: The Duke of Freshwater commissions Blake to investigate the theft of family heirlooms and jewels. The jewels were last in use on Christmas Day. The next morning, the Duke's librarian, Haines, placed them in their cases, which he then locked in a safe. When he next removed the cases from the safe — after a house party — he found that they were empty. To all appearances, it is impossible that anyone gained entry to the library where the safe is located. Blake spends the day examining the scene and questioning the staff. He then sends messages to everyone who was present at the party to inform them that the jewels have been found. He also sees to it that an announcement is placed in the newspapers stating that the Duke is away travelling (in fact, the old aristocrat will stay in Haines's cottage on the estate). That afternoon, a fast car with two occupants arrives. Blake orders all the gates giving access to Freshwater House to be closed and locked and then fetches the duke. They stroll to where the car has tried to depart only to find the way barred. The duke's niece and her husband are inside the vehicle. Blake retrieves the stolen jewels from the petrol tank. He reveals the clues that led him to identify the pair as the crooks and explains their method.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: To shelter from a downpour, Blake steps into a house in which the contents are being auctioned off. Among the uninspiring lots, a small Chinese box comes up. Blake examines it before a Chinaman bids thirty sovereigns for it. A dealer named Louise Cohen drives the bidding higher until he wins the item for four hundred and fifty pounds, causing his opponent to faint from the stress of it. Not long after, Cohen dies of apoplexy, his business passes to his heirs, and his private collection is dispersed among his friends. One of them, Baron Von Marsden, commits suicide by taking poison. His nephew, however, doesn’t believe it was suicide and consults Sexton Blake. The detective finds the Chinese box amid the dead man’s collection of antiques and curiosities. It weighs less than he remembers and, when he is informed that it has a secret compartment that cannot be opened, he disagrees — not only has it been opened but something has been removed from it. Von Marsden’s notes indicate that “L. H.” repeatedly offered to buy the box from him. The initials, Blake theorises, belong to the Chinaman, who showed Von Marsden how to operate a secret a booby-trapped switch. It was by such means that the poison was injected. The nephew identifies the man as Li Hwen. He is found in his shop and, when shown the box and accused, uses the same booby-trap to kill himself. The contents of the box’s secret compartment are discovered ... but prove to be worthless to anyone other than a Chinaman.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: For his health, Blake stays in Helsing, Essex, where he indulges in regular fifteen-mile night-time walks. One evening, on a particularly desolate stretch of road, he encounters a group of villagers gathered around the corpse of Smithers, an old farmer and orchid enthusiast whose head has been battered in. They tell Blake that the local gypsies must have killed him for the bag of money he always carries on this night of the week, bringing it from the draper's shop he owns in the next village. Examining the body, Blake sees that it has been moved, rolled over and over. When he finds the victim's hat, he notes that it is crushed on the crown, which doesn't match the injury to the back of the dead man's head. After examining the surface of the road in both directions, the detective borrows a bicycle and sets off on it. The next morning, wet through and desperately tired, he arrives in the village and is met by the local police inspector, who reports that a gypsy has been found with Smithers' watch, though the man swears that he stumbled upon it in the forest. Blake searches Smithers' house and finds in it a perfect specimen of a priceless black orchid. He then accompanies the inspector to the local magistrate's house, where he takes particular interest in that man's car. The magistrate, Harbord, has called in a colleague, Sir Arthur Moon, to hear the details of the case. The policeman tells them that a gypsy has been arrested but the money not found. Blake hands Sir Arthur a warrant for him to sign ... not for the arrest of the gypsy ... but for Harbord! Blake explains how thw various clues have revealed the motive and method of the crime.

Trivia: Again, Blake is suffering from over-strain and insomnia.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake is contacted by the Mother Superior of the Convent of St. Agnes, who tells him that the estabishment's safe has been emptied of a treasure in jewels. Suspicion has fallen on one of the convent girls, Molly, who has vanished. The evidence against her quickly piles up and there appears to be little doubt that she committed the crime. Blake retires to the local inn to think matters over and, while there, a young man named Cyril Bourne enters in a state of high stress, downs four whiskies, throws a telegram into the fire, and departs in great haste. Blake retrieves the missive and notes that it was sent from Holland. The message is vague but is signed with an "M." The barman informs Blake that Bourne recently lost a lot of money while gambling. The next morning, the detective crosses to Harwich and sends a wire to his friend, Mr Dove. He then encounters Bourne, who appears exhausted and anxious, and who is obviously searching for the girl. Blake introduces himself. Bourne tells him that he and Molly were engaged but after he'd sent her a jewel as a gift — a gem that a boy found in the road and sold to a market trader — she had accused him of something, though he didn't understand what, and had refused to see him. Blake realises that Molly must have thought Bourne had committed the burglary. Gaining her location from the local police, Blake hastens to her and shows her a cable he has received from Mr Dove. It states that the village blacksmith has been arrested for the theft and has confessed. Molly no longer needs to shield Bourne, who is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Trivia: Mr Dove has not been mentioned in the PENNY PICTORIAL tales since the first one, MISSING! (PENNY PICTORIAL issue 428, 1907).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Blake is visited at his Messenger Square lodgings by a country man, Chapman, whose daughter, Sally, was yesterday found shot dead. It has been judged a suicide, since a pistol was in her hand, but Chapman insists it was murder. Blake's new client is the head-keeper on Squire Borrodaile's estate, a widower, who works with the under-keeper, Wright, to prevent poaching on his master's land. Wright had been in love with Sally, as was a poacher named Baird, and it had caused bad blood between the two men. Furthermore, on the night of the girl's death, after Chapman and Wright had patrolled the grounds, Wright was half an hour late for their normal rendezvous. The next morning, the detective examines the area where Sally had been found. He finds the bullet that had gone through her. The local doctor then takes him to see the body and the detective notices a band of whiteness around Sally's wedding finger. It suggests that she had been secretly married and surreptitiously wore the ring from time to time. Blake and the doctor follow the route of Wright's patrol and the detective takes particular interest in the part of it that leads past the area where the girl died. The doctor informs him that Squire Borrodaile had fallen out with his nephew, Henry, over the latter's refusal to marry an heiress whose fortune would have helped to support the estate. The young man had been given a month to agree to the marriage. If he continued to object to it, he would be cut from the squire's will. Blake, with all this information to consider, gathers the suspects, explains how and why the murder was done, and identifies the culprit.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: It's "the season" in High Society and, at and around Dangerston, a burglar is at work. Jewels have been stolen from locked rooms, and American millionaire Vansittart considers it a problem too complex for the local police. He calls in Sexton Blake. The detective discovers evidence that a French-style araiguee — "spider" — is responsible for the clever break ins. He sets a trap by having the newspapers report the presence at Dangerston of Lady Malancourt, who has brought with her the famous Malancourt diamonds. When a courting couple — Molly Tremaine and Captain Lascelles — have a slight disagreement. Molly flirts with Blake to make Lascelles jealous. Mrs Vansittart gives the detective a stern lecture concerning his unwitting role in these proceedings. That night, Blake asks Lascelles and Mr Vansittart to join him in his room, which is opposite that of Lady Malancourt, and to watch and wait with him in the dark. The "spider" strikes ... and so does Blake. Captured, the masked burglar is exposed as Molly Tremaine! The girl, not as well off as she appeared, had been using skills learned from a dishonest French tutor to increase her wealth, fearing that, if Lascelles had learned of her financial straits, he would have refused to marry her. The stolen jewels are returned and Lascelles states that he will wed Molly and take her to Canada to start a new life. Blake and Vansittart agree not to press charges.

Trivia: This was reprinted as THE FIGURE IN BLACK in THE BOYS' FRIEND issue 589 (1912) and again, under that same title, in THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series, issue 141, (1928).

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: Blake is spending Easter trout-fishing when a dead man is found in the river. He assesses the corpse and identifies it as that of a foreigner, perhaps Portuguese. Any forms of identifying mark, including clothing labels, are conspicuous by their absence. There's another oddity: at the back of the man's belt, there's an empty knife sheath. Closer examination reveals that, among the injuries caused by being swept against rocks, there are others suggestive of a violent fight. After an officious police constable arrives, Blake sets off along the bank and eventually comes to a spot where a struggle has obviously — to his keen eyes — taken place. This area provides a wealth of clues. A few days later, at an inquest, a verdict of accidental drowning is given. Blake remains in the town, observing everything, and sends a description of the dead man to his friend, Mr Dove, asking if he can identify him. Three days later, a reply comes. The man was Luiz Silva, a member of a gang of revolutionaries. Blake calls at the house of a novelist, Richard Benyon, whose physique matches the clues left by Silva's opponent. The detective describes the fight, the wound that Benyon received, and the accidental circumstances of Silva's death. Benyon, in turn, tells how his fiancée had been tormented by Silva, and how the man had, when confronted, tried to stab him in the heart. The punch that sent the villain into the river had been defensive. Blake convinces Benyon that, if he confesses to Scotland Yard, all will be well.

Trivia: "And he wrote a long letter to a friend of his in town, a Mr. Dove, who had worked with him on occasions before." This is another reference to the man who lent his cottage in Surbiton to Blake in the first of the PENNY PICTORIAL tales, and which the detective lived in until he had defeated the last member of The Triangle (issue 442, 1907), at which point he moved to Messenger Square.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake is visited by Miss Hare, who is engaged to an ex-convict known as Captain Jim. At heart a good man, Jim has been running straight for the past six months but has now been accused of burglary, his fingerprints having been found at the scene. Jim swears that he didn't commit the crime but his alibi cannot be verified. Blake examines the evidence and is particularly intrigued to see a burn-mark on one of Jim's thumb-prints. He recalls this appearing, along with the man's other prints, in a book on criminology that had been published four years previously. This leads the detective to the realisation that the prints must have been planted, since the thumb-mark is now long healed. He works out how this was done and is then able to identify — and trap — the real crook. He recovers the stolen property. All charges against Captain Jim are dropped.

Trivia: This was reprinted in THE BOYS' FRIEND issue 591 (1912).

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Detective-Sergeant Mason calls on Blake and requests his assistance in a case of assault with intent to murder. A young woman named Violet Sarel was stabbed in the chest while riding in her brougham. The weapon was a glass dagger, the hilt of which broke off and is missing. On the girl's scarf and the window of the carriage, there are bloody imprints of a tiny, withered hand. Blake examines the brougham's mat and from it gleans the various clues that lead him to a vengeful woman and her companion, the owner of the tiny hand. He explains how he identified her. She confesses, explains her motive, and commits suicide by poisoning.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake spots a secret code in the small ads of a newspaper, decodes it, and finds that it advises the removal of "Marie" from a certain house at a certain time. He goes to the appointed place at the appointed hour and watches as a man with a blonde moustache enters the house, leaves a Gladstone bag inside, then departs. An hour later, a young woman arrives at the premises. Blake quietly enters a few minutes after her and warns that she's in danger. She concedes to his supposition that she's a member of a revolutionary group that has now become suspicious of her. When she passes out in her chair, Blake realises that the man carrying the Gladstone had set up a trap whereby heavier-than-air carbonic acid gas would flood the house, the invisible cloud slowly rising from the floor. He saves the girl and adjusts the trap to ensure that, when the moustachioed man re-enters the house, he will be caught by his own deadly device. The woman, Miss Louro, is advised to stay somewhere other than her home until he gives her the "all clear" via a newspaper ad. The leader of the revolutionaries, she tells him, is Doctor Alexander Johnstone, so Blake now sets off to confront this individual, who is widely regarded as a philanthropist. Over dinner, with forced civility, the two men challenge one another. Johnstone attempts to poison the detective but Blake turns the tables causing the villain to drink his own toxin.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Five days ago, Lord Moordale purchased a cheap painting; a portrait for which he has already developed a fondness. Two days later, Simmons, the dealer from whom he'd made the purchase, offered to buy the painting back. Upon being refused, he'd upped his offer to quite an extraordinary amount. Moordale stood firm and afterwards took the portrait to Christie's to be valued. It was judged to be worth very little. The next night, two intruders were caught trying to steal it. Moordale fought them off. Now, he approaches Sexton Blake and asks the detective to find out what has made the painting so desirable. This is becomes difficult when, the next morning, it is stolen. Blake examines the crime scene and deduces that the thief was a red-haired man with a missing thumb. Visiting Simmons, he learns that the dealer had originally purchased the painting from a man fitting the thief's description. A small square of paper had been attached to the back of the canvas. Simmons still has it and shows it to the detective. A poem is written upon it and it gives Blake a notion of the painting's secret. He takes Moordale to meet a man named James — red-haired and with a missing thumb. James has the portrait but before he can say anything he is shot dead by his former partner, Mason. Blake overpowers this individual and explains to Moordale that James had been tasked to look after the painting while Mason served a prison sentence. He'd betrayed his fellow crook by selling it, little realising that behind the canvas there was a second one: a priceless work by Rembrandt.

Rating: ★★★★☆ Lord Moordale is a wonderfully entertaining character.

Notes: Lady Ulswater, who is of Italian descent, receives a letter from an organised crime syndicate known as Mano Nera. In it, a demand for twenty thousand pounds is made. Blake advises Sir George Ulswater to take his wife on a cruise and to not return until the detective has hunted down the crooks. Sir George, however, objects that his wife is starring in a charity theatre production and will certainly refuse to miss it. During the final act, she will appear adorned in her valuable pearls. These will be delivered to the theatre each evening by a bank employee before then being returned to the vault by the same man after the performances. The next night, after the play, the banker is robbed of the pearls ... but Blake had already replaced them with fakes. Unfortunately, Lady Ulswater lets this slip to the press. On the following night, the auditorium lights go out, someone yells "fire," and the real pearls are torn from Lady Ulswater's neck. Blake makes it known that these were also fake — which is untrue — and, as a result, receives a threat from Mano Nera in which twenty thousand pounds is again demanded. The detective goes to the location where the funds are to be handed over. He tricks the crooks into giving him the "fake" necklace, distracts them with a small bomb, overpowers them, and calls for police reinforcements. Arrests are duly made.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Sir Richard Langdon's brother-in-law, Horace Barton, has been blackmailing him over some old and indiscreet letters, and — as Sir Richard's wife is also his cousin, which means that her villainous younger brother will be a beneficiary should Sir Richard die — he is now attempting murder. Weird scratching noises in his bedroom at night are making Sir Richard nervous. He calls upon the services of Sexton Blake. The detective instructs him to take Barton out for the day and, in their absence, he arrives at Langdon Hall, searches Barton's room — which is above Sir Richard's — and retrieves the letters. He then discovers a morsel of raw meat on the outer window sill and a pair of metal tongs. When Sir Richard returns, Blake keeps his own presence concealed from Barton and instructs his host to go to bed early and to take with him a fishing net, two pairs of waders, and a whip. This is done, and when Sir Richard is supposedly asleep, Blake joins him, they both put on the waders, and they wait in the dark. From the room above, Barton inserts a deadly flesh-eating spider. Protected from its bite by the leg-wear, Blake kills it. When Barton sneaks in to retrieve the arachnid, Sir Richard pounces on him and subjects him to the lash until the man faints from the agony of it. Afterwards, the villain is forced to write a confession before being ejected from the country.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: An acquaintance of Blake’s, Doctor Maintree, tells him that the body of Jack Leveson, a Coldstream Guard, has been found with no cause of death discernible. The young man is known to have accepted a wager to stay overnight in an empty house on Charles Street, voluntarily locked in with the intent to disprove rumours that the place is haunted. His body was discovered half a mile from it, and when the house was investigated, it was found to be still locked—even chained from the inside … so how did he get out? Blake examines the corpse and detects the odour of methylated spirits. Next, he and Maintree spend a night in the house to see whether their presence will cause anything to occur. It does! They are attacked and almost succumb to hypnotic control. Blake, though, manages to overpower their assailant, and, leaving him tied up, discovers that he’d entered through a secret passage from the next-door residence. There, the detective finds bomb-making ingredients, including methylated spirits. He surmises that the villain is an anarchist fighting for Indian independence and describes to Maintree the motive for Levenson's murder and appalling means by which it was carried out. Before the killer can be handed over to the authorities, he commits suicide.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: This is the first in an occasional series featuring Lady Molly — The Greatest Lady Detective ... trained by Sexton Blake. On board the H. M. S. Fotrail, Admiral Sir Richard Frenton, the world's foremost designer of submarines, is enjoying an after-dinner smoke with his guest, Herr von Hocht. Challenged as to whether he can be hypnotised or not, Sir Richard bets a sovereign that any attempt would be unsuccessful. Von Hocht accepts the bet, produces a crystal ball, and asks the Admiral to gaze into it. Within minutes, his host falls into a trance. The German puts the clock back five minutes and removes blueprints for the latest submarine developments from Sir Richard's jacket pocket before snapping him out if it. Without realising that he ever lost them, Sir Richard recovers his senses and, with a glance at the time, claims victory. Von Hocht concedes that his host has won the bet and, while the Admiral is distracted, corrects the clock. Then both men go ashore to attend a ball at the house of the Mowbray family. Among the guests are Sexton Blake and Lady Marjorie Maxwell, known as 'Lady Molly' to her friends. She notices that Sir Richard is looking rather worn, which arouses her suspicions of von Hocht. Speaking to Blake, she outlines the clues that have led her to believe that the Admiral has been hypnotised and his papers stolen by the German. Lady Molly and the detective trick von Hocht into fighting a duel with Blake. The detective wins. The documents are recovered and returned to Sir Richard.

Trivia: Blake has "extraordinary" skill as a swordsman.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Lady Molly finds a message in a newspaper's 'personals' column addressed to "M. M." It requests a meeting with a person who will be dressed as Marguerite de Valois at a masked fancy dress ball being held the following day. She learns from a woman who buys and sells dresses that a rather fierce foreign lady had ordered the de Valois costume. Intrigued, Lady Molly appropriates the de Valois costume for herself and attends the ball. There, she is approached by a man dressed as a pierrot. She is asked what 'his' answer is — yes or no? Not knowing what the pierrot is talking about, Lady Molly prevaricates but, in doing so, arouses the pierrot's suspicions. He leads her out of the ball and orders a carriage, which is fetched by an eager cab boy. After a short journey, she is taken into a house and confronted by the man, whose name is Dumergue: "If you are the Princess Marie Mikaeloff, as you assert, is De Presvik, the Russian Minister, going to do as we want, or shall we have to resort to force, as in the former case?" She knows that De Presvik is considered an enemy by the Anarchist movement and realises that his life is in danger. After attempting to escape, she is identified as an imposter, bound hand and foot, and Dumergue, with an accomplice named Henri, begins to torture her for information. However, before they get very far, the cab boy climbs in through the window with a revolver in his hand. Holding the anarchists at bay, he unties Lady Molly and reveals that, beneath the disguise, he is Sexton Blake. The two of them leave the house, promising Dumergue that they will call Scotland Yard, so he had better leave the country within the next twelve hours.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Sexton Blake is in central Europe when he receives a telegram from Lady Molly Maxwell. Her cousin, Mason, an up and coming politician, has vanished while on holiday near Zurich. Blake travels there to investigate and meets with Mason's valet, Collins, in a mountain inn. The man explains that his master went mountain climbing but never returned. Collins suspicions have been aroused due to the presence in the region of some men — anarchists — who Mason had argued with some days previously. Collins has been unable to act due to his lack of language skills and fear of heights. Nervously, he leads Blake along the mountain path where he last saw his master. The detective, though, finds clues that indicate that Mason never came this way at all but went another — and following his real trail, Blake finds him dead at the bottom of a crevasse — murdered! When Blake tries to recover the body, Collins makes a slip that nearly causes the detective's death. Blake turns and snaps handcuffs on the man, revealing that he's known for some time that Collins has told lie after lie, and murdered his employer for a paltry £200.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Notes: For her birthday, Dainty Derrick receives from her father a fortune in Egyptian bonds. One of her admirers, Rupert Forbes, forges a letter which suggests that profit of £24,000 can be made if the bonds are cashed immediately. Sir Henry Derrick gives his daughter a cheque for that amount and takes back the bonds which he sends his assistant, Masters, to cash at a firm called Nortons. However, when Masters returns, the money is found to be forged. Then Norton himself turns up claiming that the bonds are also fakes. Sexton Blake is called in and immediately recognises the hand of a master forger who has been responsible for a number of financial scams in the city. Masters falls under suspicion but Blake is convinced of his innocence. After examining the evidence, and to the amazement of Dainty, Masters and Norton, Blake arrests Sir Henry Derrick. He exposes the man as an impersonator who has been acting as Sir Henry but before he can stop him, the criminal leaps out of the window and escapes. Later, Rupert Forbes arrives on business. Blake recognises him by his fingernails as the imposter and Forbes is arrested and, ultimately, given a twenty year gaol sentence.

Trivia: This story introduces Rupert Forbes and is the first of a trilogy of stories featuring the character. The second is THE GHOST OF RUPERT FORBES (UNION JACK issue 269) and the third is THE MERVYN MYSTERY (BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 96). In the latter tale, Forbes teams up with George Marsden Plummer and meets a grisly end.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: In northern England, in an area where Lady Molly's father lives, annual sheep-dog trials take place. Angus Dare is the most successful breeder of dogs and the most consistent winner of trophies. However, in recent years, since a farmer named Morris returned from abroad, Dare's dogs have repeatedly met with misfortune before the trials. Last year, his main contender — 'Ranger' — went missing. This year, Lady Molly has loaned him her own dog, Ranger's son 'Jock' ... and she wants Sexton Blake to travel with her to the trials to attempt to catch Morris in the act of sabotage. The detective agrees and, the next day, is ushered into the presence of Angus Dare on whose farm he is to stay. That night, the two men, with Lady Molly, stand vigil in the barn where Jock is housed. In the early hours, the dog becomes frantic, chewing at the doors to get out. They tie a rope to its collar and let it loose, clinging to the lead as the hound races off onto the moors. It leads them to a lump of bread, dark and sticky with a mysterious substance. Blake retrieves this and, in the morning, posts it to a laboratory in London. He insists that Dare spends the day out and about with the dog, ensuring that he is seen. Later, the detective receives a telegram consisting of one word: "Yes". He then sends Dare out with Jock to walk onto the moor a specific distance, instructing him to circle around before approaching the farm from a specific direction at midnight. Near that time, another dog, which Blake has put on a lead, becomes restless and runs outside with the investigator and Molly in tow. They allow it to run some distance before stopping and securing it with a blanket and ropes. A shout comes from the distance: Dare warning him that Jock has got loose. Multiple footsteps approach. There's a scream; snarling. Lady Molly lights a lamp and by its glow they see Jock attacking a man. Blake and Dare wrestle the dog away and discover that the victim is Morris. The detective reveals that this man had lured the animals with a South American plant extract. By directing Dare to approach the farm from upwind, he ensured that Jock would not pick up the scent. Morris, hearing Blake's dog, believed his trap had worked and approached. Blake had intended to capture him but Jock arrived first and administered his own form of justice.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake receives a summons from Lady Molly. She has discovered, through Mrs. Winter, a woman who buys and sells cast-off dresses, a gown that has a slash in it above where the wearer's heart would be — a slash surrounded by an ominous rusty brown stain (this was mentioned in THE TWO M'S in PENNY PICTORIAL issue 488). Mrs. Winter reveals that she purchased the gown as part of a mixed lot at auction and therefore doesn't know who the previous owner might have been. The style of the item suggests to Molly that the crime must have been committed ten to twelve months ago. Blake's records show only one unsolved case that might relate to it: a young woman's body had been found in a pond in the village of Arlton, Yorkshire. She had been stabbed in the heart but, strangely, the dress found on the body showed no sign of the stab wound beneath. All labels and other identifying marks had been removed. The next day, Blake travels to Arlton and finds that the only big house, where such a dress would be worn, is that of Squire Allenby. He visits the Squire and learns that, the previous November, a young woman named Lola Le Marchant, who was an heiress, had gone missing from a ball at the house. However, Lola and the body in the pond didn't match; the the face of the corpse was disfigured and unrecognisable, but the teeth were different to those of the missing girl. Next, the detective investigates the pond and an abandoned cottage nearby. He discovers that a Mexican gentleman named Juan Almeida had hired the cottage a year ago and that, shortly after he left, his housekeeper had died, apparently of fright. According to Squire Allenby, Almeida had made romantic overtures to Lola, though she was in love with her cousin, Bayard. A week later, Blake calls on the Mexican in his London chambers. The detective reveals what became of Lola, who the dead body is, and that Almeida was the murderer.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: Sexton Blake attends a Christmas shooting party at the home of Captain Maxwell. His host is disturbed because many of his guests are missing items of value. Lady Molly has taken it upon herself to investigate. During the day, while Blake is out walking, he spots two men attacking Molly some way ahead of him. She, however, is very capable of looking after herself and sees the men off. Blake peppers one with shotgun pellets for good measure. Molly reveals that the men had been hired to cause her harm; putting her out of action to give the thief time to get away from the party with the stolen items. Lady Molly knows who the thief is; and the thief knows that she knows. She tells Blake the history of the thefts and of how her investigations led to a female guest and the latter's rather ingenious hiding place for the loot. Molly feels sure that at night the woman sleeps with the stolen items beneath her pillow, so a few hours after sundown, she and Blake fake a fire in the house. Their suspect, along with other guests, is thrown into panic. Molly slips into her room, lifts the pillow and exposes the small collection of necklaces, brooches and rings. The woman is ordered to leave the house. Sexton Blake congratulates Lady Molly on the successful conclusion of her first case.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

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. However, unknown to the villain, his victim drops into the sea not far from a boat occupied by 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.

This story was serialised in THE DREADNOUGHT starting from issue 27 (1912) and abridged for PENNY POPULAR issue 50 as HUNTER AND HUNTED TOO (1913). An abridged version also appeared in the second SEXTON BLAKE ANNUAL (1940). The original version was anthologised in THE CASEBOOK OF SEXTON BLAKE (2009).

Trivia: The author, Ernest Sempill, was better known by his pseudonym of Michael Storm. A rather mysterious figure, he is thought to have died abroad in 1909. George Marsden Plummer was born in Australia in 1875 and, after moving to England, he joined the police force in 1893. By 1903, he had been promoted to Detective-Sergeant at Scotland Yard.

Rating: ★★★★★ The debut of George Marsden Plummer is a tremendously entertaining and well-written tale, leaving the reader in no doubt that a star criminal has entered Blake's world. Plummer is gloriously psychotic, his emotions switching from chilling calmness to twisted rage and back again in the blink of an eye. Cunning, intelligent, resentful and ruthless, he's a good match for Blake and by the end of the story it's impossible not to want more of him. This issue is where the whole 'Blake vs super-criminal' concept began, sending the series towards its Golden Age.

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 51 as THE FIGHTING DETECTIVE (1913).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 88 as TINKER'S PERIL and PENNY POPULAR issue 89 as THE PLOT THAT FAILED (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 54 as IN THE CZAR'S DOMAIN (1913).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. Sexton Blake is in Africa visiting Sir Richard Losely and Lobangu when he receives a telegram from the Foreign Office. An anarchist named Hermann is threatening to contaminate England's reservoirs with an unknown poison from the Abara district near Liberia. He is currently travelling there for supplies of the toxin. Blake is commissioned to stop him. The detective leads an expedition to catch up with Hermann's party and, after an initial skirmish, follows him through a subterranean passage under a mountain range and into unknown territory. Here, in a mist-laden volcanic valley, Blake and his friends are captured by the Abari; a lost tribe descended from Roman Jews. These people are ruled over by a ruthless sect of priests with whom Hermann has allied himself. They are expert chemists and demonstrate to Blake their prowess in the art of poisoning. The detective's party is sentenced to death and taken to a cliff edge to be flung into a chasm but the Abari soldiers rebel against the priests and come to the rescue. Blake pursues Hermann who has left en route for England and, catching up with him, kills him in a duel.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 53 as THE MISSING CHAMPION (1913).

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 55 as THE FRONTIER SMUGGLERS (1913).

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 56 as TRICKING THE TURK (1913).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 57 as THE KIDNAPPED HEIR (1913).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 58 as A KINGDOM AT STAKE (1913).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. The story features Will Spearing. It was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 60 as THE PRINCE'S ORDEAL (1913).

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 61 as BY ORDER OF CHANCERY (1913).

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 62 as HIS LAST CARD (1913).

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 90 as A PERILOUS QUEST and PENNY POPULAR issue 91 as AGAINST HEAVY ODDS (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 92 as A FORLORN HOPE and PENNY POPULAR issue 93 as THE HORROR OF HAYTI (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. The story features Will Spearing.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 67 as THE CLANSMEN'S FEUD (1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. Sir Richard Losely is with the besieged Matanga tribe in Africa. They are surrounded by the hostile forces of King Ubukosi, whose expanding empire has already swallowed up the neighbouring tribes. Sexton Blake, Tinker and Lobangu journey into the region with a shipment of guns. They manage to avoid Ubukosi's lookouts but it takes sham ju ju trickery from Tinker to drive away pursuing forces. Then disaster strikes when Blake's bearers desert, leaving him, Tinker, Lobangu and Pedro with thirty loads but no-one to carry them. Lobangu traps two young elephants and uses ancient tribal techniques and narcotic leaves to train them. With the elephants carrying the loads, he leaves, accompanied by Pedro, while Blake and Tinker set off as decoys. The two detectives are quickly overtaken by a pursuing party led by a rogue Belgian. They are captured and enslaved. However, it's not long before they escape with the Belgian as their prisoner. Blake fights a duel with him, unnerving the man so much that he shoots himself dead. The two from Baker Street are pursued along a river by Ubukosi's troops until they are forced over a waterfall. They survive and, after a night of exhausted sleep, awake to find that Lobangu has tracked them down. He reports that he safely delivered the rifles to Losely and guides them to the Matanga camp where they are reunited with their old friend. King Ubukosi makes his assault on the encampment but finds himself suddenly facing a well-armed opponent. He is killed and his forces are driven off.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 94 as LUCK LORING'S LOSS and PENNY POPULAR issue 95 as THE SERPENT WORSHIPPERS (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 96 as SEXTON BLAKE'S HOLIDAY CASE and PENNY POPULAR issue 97 as THE CIRCUS MYSTERY (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 98 as AT GRIPS WITH THE APACHES and PENNY POPULAR issue 99 as THE HOSTAGE (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. The story features Will Spearing. It was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 103 as A FRIEND'S DISGRACE and PENNY POPULAR issue 104 as A FIGHT FOR HONOUR (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: In Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II discusses with military officers the forthcoming naval manoeuvres that are to be undertaken in secret in the North Sea by more than three hundred British ships. He muses that the British may have become aware that the Shetland Islands would make a fine base for an attacking force. He notes that the German navy has thoroughly familiarised itself with those waters. His words are leaked to the press, and when they find their way to the British Prime Minister, Sexton Blake is summoned. The detective is ordered to investigate the extent of German influence in the Shetlands. The next day, Blake, Tinker and Detective-Inspector Spearing travel north to the islands. That night, while Blake is on the cliffs, an airship passes overhead and he spontaneously grabs a trailing rope and is swung out to sea. Climbing it, he enters the gondola, which is occupied by twelve Germans. One of them proves to be the Kaiser, who attempts to bribe the detective to remain silent about the dirigible's presence. Blake refuses and, as the vessel approaches land, dives overboard into the sea. The airship descends to just above the water to search for him, which gives him the opportunity to surreptitiously secure himself beneath its gondola. He is in that way taken to the German base on one of the small uninhabited Jersey islands where he is able to spy undetected. When he sees that one of the crewmen bears a resemblance to him, he pounces on the man, leaves him bound and gagged, and dons sufficient of a disguise to masquerade as him. Joining the other Germans, he accompanies the Kaiser to a cave that contains a chart outlining all the coastal areas of Jersey that Germany has selected to use as ports. The Kaiser makes it clear that he has no real intention to attack Britain but must have precautions in place in case international relations deteriorate. When the man Blake is impersonating is discovered, the detective flees, dives into the sea, and after a long swim is picked up by a boat containing Tinker and Spearing, who have been searching for him. They take him to the British fleet's flagship where he reports what he has seen, though he omits to mention the presence of the Kaiser. A ship is sent to the island, the base is destroyed, and the Germans are captured. Blake, Tinker and Spearing, however, smuggle the emperor away, across to the mainland, and head south by train. En route, the Kaiser twice tries to escape and is twice foiled. Then, when London is reached, he is kidnapped by Anarchists who leave him bound hand and foot in a burning house. Blake performs a daring rescue, almost losing his life in the process. He then takes the Kaiser to meet with the Prime Minister. Terms and conditions are discussed, announcements are made in Parliament, and the Kaiser heads home after having received a lecture from Sexton Blake concerning the consequences of war.

Trivia: Blake notes that he knows the Kaiser and has once worked for him and twice against him.

Blake refuses a peerage the end of this case.

My copy is missing the cover. This story was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 101 as THE IMPERIAL SPY and PENNY POPULAR issue 102 as THE KAISER'S RANSOM (both 1914). It was also anthologised in SEXTON BLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR (2020) with slight edits for racially insensitive language.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 107 as THE BLACK COUNTRY MYSTERY (1914).

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 105 as THE WALKING CRACKSMAN and PENNY POPULAR issue 106 as SEXTON BLAKE ON TRAMP (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in two parts in PENNY POPULAR issue 108 as SEXTON BLAKE'S BLUNDER and PENNY POPULAR issue 109 as TURNING THE TABLES (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 110 as NO PROOF and PENNY POPULAR issue 111 as CAUGHT REDHANDED (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 112 as THE CONFESSION and PENNY POPULAR issue 113 as A FALSE FRIEND (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 114 as THE GIPSY DETECTIVES and PENNY POPULAR issue 115 as SEXTON BLAKE'S MASQUERADE (both 1914).

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 116 as THE THREE AVENGERS (1914) and PENNY POPULAR issue 117 as ROUGH JUSTICE (1915).

Unrated

Notes: A Russian, Feodor Kauffman, flees to England with his new wife, Vera, to avoid a jealous and powerful suitor. When that man contracts cholera, he sends his agent, Michael Kars, to assassinate Kauffman, then dies before seeing his vengeance enacted. Kars forges a letter that accuses Kauffman of betraying Russian revolutionaries, making him a hunted man. Kauffman seeks help from Sexton Blake. When Tinker spots Kars watching the Kauffman’s residence, Blake pursues the villain, who, in seeing to escape, is knocked down by a motor car. The detective fools him into thinking he’s dying and extracts a full written confession of Kauffman’s innocence. Feodor’s brother, Boris, vows to deliver the confession to the leader of the Nihilists in St. Petersburg in order to get the assassination order withdrawn. Blake decides that Tinker will accompany the man, while he himself guards the Kauffmans. The only difficulty with this plan arises when Kars escapes. Tinker and Boris set off, while Blake arranges for Feodor and Vera to stay in a cottage owned by Julian Shaw (see Sexton Blake in Turkey, UNION JACK issue 232, 1908). Getting them there is problematical, as they are followed by a spy, but Blake eventually manages to shake off their shadower. Having established the Russian couple in their haven, Blake is horrified to read in the newspapers that cholera is sweeping through Russia, but there is nothing he can do to recall Tinker, especially as attacks on the Kauffmans continue despite his efforts. Tinker and Boris reach the headquarters of the Nihilists in St. Petersburg, gain a letter of reprieve, and set out on their return journey. The cholera outbreak means that they must travel homeward by a cargo ship. When the vessel arrives at the mouth of the Thames, one of its passengers is found to be sick, and the ship is put into quarantine. Boris is unable to deliver his brother’s reprieve, which is only valid if he himself delivers it. While they wait to be released, Feodor Kauffman is kidnapped by his enemies. Blake swims out to the ship, Tinker drops the papers to him in a sealed bottle, and the detective then delivers them to the Nihilists while disguised as Boris. His trick is exposed but Tinker and Boris arrive, having been freed—the ill passenger, it had been found, did not have cholera. Feodor's execution is cancelled and he is set free. Michael Kars is identified as the real spy and is executed.

Trivia: The author rather amusingly skirts around the principal symptom of cholera, instead having his victims suddenly clutching their stomachs and crying out, "I am in pain!"

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 118 as THWARTING THE HYPNOTIST and PENNY POPULAR issue 119 as THE LAST STAND (both 1915).

Unrated

Notes: My issue is missing the cover. Rupert Forbes, once a leader of society until he was discovered to be the head of an international gang of forgers, is being transported from prison to court when a train crash gives him the opportunity to escape. He takes the money and clothing of one of the crash victims, Austin Graves, and creates a new identity: Gerald Austin. In this guise, over the next twelve months, he rises to a position of power as a financial magnate. He employs Graves' niece, Dorothy Ford, as his secretary and makes romantic advances towards her, knowing that she is due a large inheritance. She rejects him, being already engaged to Donald Grey, who is the son of a casualty of Rupert Forbes's crooked dealings. Dorothy notices that Austin is a young man disguised to look older. Furthermore, she finds that he is in possession of her uncle's watch. She tells Donald Grey of this and he promises to go to Sexton Blake. However, that night, Grey is framed by Forbes for a robbery and is tricked into going abroad, where he is held captive. Dorothy visits Blake who, after piecing together the clues, is quick to conclude that Gerald Austin is behind events and is, in fact, Rupert Forbes. Meanwhile, Forbes puts into motion another scheme which deprives a baronet of two hundred thousand pounds. Blake investigates and once again sees evidence of Forbes's involvement. By now, Forbes knows that the detective is on to him and so he attempts to murder Blake but is foiled by Pedro. Sexton Blake retaliates by tricking 'Gerald Austin' into leaving examples of his fingerprints, which are then matched with those of Forbes at Scotland Yard. He then taps into Forbes's telephone and learns that the crook is planning to intercept a secret shipment of bullion meant for the Bank of England. Forbes kidnaps Dorothy and takes her to Rotterdam, not realising that Tinker has stowed away on his barge. He imprisons the girl in a cell under the house of Van Hayden, a crooked diamond dealer. Donald Grey is held in the cell next door and manages to escape with his fiancé. Blake arrives at the house disguised as Gerald Austin and is met there by Forbes, disguised as Van Hayden. The detective is exposed, captured and imprisoned on the same barge in which Tinker is hiding. The villains tow this out to sea to sink it but, under cover of a thick fog, Blake and Tinker unfasten the tow rope and make a getaway. They then fake the sinking of the barge. Believing them dead, Forbes returns to London, disguises himself as Sexton Blake, and enters the detective's Baker Street rooms to retrieve the evidence against him. Finding that the detective has foreseen this move, he leaves empty handed. With his assistant, Tony, he then travels to Plymouth to intercept the bullion while disguised as Detective-Inspector Martin. However, Blake and Scotland Yard have set an ambush and Forbes is finally captured. He receives a life sentence.

Trivia: Detective-Inspector Martin is described as being blue-eyed and a wearer of spectacles. Two of the 'street arabs' who occasionally assist Blake are named: The Weasel and Tiny. This story was reprinted in THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY issue 248 (1913). It is the middle of a trilogy which began with THE MYSTERY OF THE EGYPTIAN BONDS (THE PENNY PICTORIAL, issue 491, 24/10/1908) and which ends with THE MERVYN MYSTERY (THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY, issue 96, Sep. 1909).

Rating: ★★★★★ A long, extremely well-written and thrilling tale.

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: When Blake, Tinker and Pedro travel by train for a the day in the countryside, the detective recognises a fellow passenger as Captain Fritz Frankelbaum, who is a drug addict, a known troublemaker, and a German agent. The man has been sent to retrieve a letter from Kaiser Wilhelm that was mistakenly delivered to Emil von Otto instead of to his unscrupulous brother, Otto von Otto. In it, a plot is outlined whereby a third brother, Carl, who is in Turkey, should foment unrest that will enable Germany to annex that country. Frankelbaum kills Emil but when he makes off it is only with half the missive. Sexton Blake discovers the other half and reports its contents to the Foreign Office. He is sent on an urgent mission to the Kaiser to whom he is to make clear the consequences should the plot unfold as planned. En route to the Black Forest, where Wilhelm is hunting, multiple attempts are made by Frankelbaum to assassinate the investigator. All are defeated thanks in no small part to Emil's daughter, Thirza, who has fallen in love at first sight with Blake. The detective is granted an interview with the German emperor and, in addition to delivering the message, he also makes it known that Frankelbaum is playing his own game and cannot be trusted. Wilhelm understands that his ambitions for Turkey would now be a bad political move so writes a letter to Carl von Otto instructing him to cease operations. He entrusts its delivery to Sexton Blake. Traveling on the Orient Express, Blake is again subjected to attacks and is again saved by Thirza. When he reaches Turkey, he is captured by bandits in the hire of Frankelbaum. Tinker, Pedro and Thirza come to his rescue. Frankelbaum is killed, the letter is delivered, and political stability — what little there is of it at this point in history — is restored.

Trivia: It is made clear that Blake and Kaiser Wilhelm have met before. See, for example, The German Detective (UNION JACK issue 154, 1906).

During this case, the newspapers report that Bulgaria has just declared independence. That sets the date at 5th-6th October 1908.

Blake's red, acid-stained dressing gown has not at this point become fully established. Here, he wears a "luxurious camel-hair" one. He also has a tiger-skin hearthrug and carries a sword stick. When Blake opens his rolled-top desk, the action releases a small mirror in which he can see the room behind him.

Twice in this story, telephones are celebrated as a near miraculous invention.

My copy is missing the cover. This was reprinted in PENNY POPULAR issue 120 as A NATION'S FATE and PENNY POPULAR issue 121 as AN IMPERIAL BLUNDER (both 1915).

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: My copy is missing the cover. A Christmas issue.

Unrated