Sexton Blake Bibliography: 1939

Notes: This is a reprint of a serial that appeared in PILOT from issue 99 to 108 (1937).

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Notes: This is a reprint of a serial that appeared in PILOT from issue 118 to 129 (1938). It was also reprinted in the NEW ZEALAND CHUMS ANNUAL (date unknown).

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Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 70 THE STATIONMASTER'S SECRET (1919).

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Notes: This tale might come as a surprise to modern readers as it deals with a subject more commonly encountered in the New Order Sexton Blake Library: drug addiction. Sexton Blake helps to set up a drug rehabilitation clinic and among the addicts he sends there is a young woman named Edna Waine. She tells him that there is a mastermind behind the recent increase in drug dealing; a man known only as Mr Swazi. Blake's investigations reveal that a tea shop is a cover for a major opium den run by Israel Salman and an American, Luke O. Travers. Disguised as an addict, Tinker gains access to the den and finds there Glory Gale. She reveals that her newspaper is doing a big story about the drugs trade and she is there to collect information. Unfortunately, she and Tinker are overheard by a Chinaman, Looey Wu, who informs Salman and Travers that the den has been infiltrated. The villains capture the young couple and call Markham Dean and Sexton Blake to warn them that unless they cease their investigations Gale and Tinker will be killed. Blake responds by allowing himself to also be captured while secretly laying a trail for Pedro. In the hands of Detective-Inspector Martin, the bloodhound follows his master's trail to the secret den and, just as Blake and Tinker are being gassed, Martin and the police come to the rescue. Salman and Travers escape and hire a thug to kill Blake. However, the detective overpowers his assailant and forces him to talk. He identifies 'Mr Swazi' as Harvey Dacre, a man who had previously asked Sexton Blake to find his lost daughter. When Blake realises that the girl in question is Edna Waine, he takes Dacre to see her. Filled with remorse, the drugs baron agrees to expose the whole trade. Travers learns of this and murders Dacre before then falling into a trap set by Blake. In the ensuing struggle, Salman is shot dead and Travers is captured (later to be sentenced to death). A statement left by Dacre allows Blake to finally smash the drugs ring.

Trivia: This is a reworking of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 71 THE HIDDEN MENACE (1919) by John W. Bobin. The review is based on a reading of that issue. It was also rewritten by Donald Stuart as THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 690, using the original title, THE HIDDEN MENACE. That issue and this were both published in October this year.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: While returning from the Russian front with a bullet wound in his side, the Hon. John Lawless rescues the governor of Leyford prison from two escaped convicts as they attack him and his daughter on a train. Lawless makes off before he can be thanked and visits Sexton Blake, who, seeing the condition of his friend, insists that Lawless should rest up. The detective lends him his country cottage in Dorset, which by coincidence is close to Leyford. In that town, Professor Kew and Count Ivor Carlac are plotting to break a prisoner named Melvale out of the prison. He is an ex-bank manager who stole a hoard of jewels from one of his clients. The stash was never found, but Melvale has made a deal with the two master-crooks — if they get him free, he'll take them to where the money is hidden. Kew and Carlac fool Lawless (who has never met them before) into believing that Melvale is an innocent man, and he rashly agrees to help with their scheme. Impersonating a guard, he liberates the banker only to then find himself knocked unconscious. When he recovers, he's wearing prison garb. Mistaken for the convict, he tries to get away but falls into thorn bushes that scratch his face. He is taken to the prison hospital where, in Melvale's cap, he finds a map of the Norfolk Broads, with a particular island marked. Kew, Carlac and Melvale have escaped to Norfolk where they are keeping an eye on the escapee's wife, who they believe to be in possession of a copy of the map, which shows where Melvale buried the money — he can't remember the location without the map. They find it difficult to approach her, though, because Tinker is also watching. The prison governor and his daughter encounter Sam, who is looking for his employer, Lawless. When Lawless passes by in a chain gang, Sam exposes his true identity. Lawless tells his story to the governor and is told to team up with Sexton Blake and catch Melvale within three days. Upon learning that Blake and Lawless are on their way to Norfolk via train, Kew and Carlac switch the points on the track to cause a head on collision. Tinker, on a bridge, sees the two locomotives heading for each other and jumps into the coal tender of one, giving a warning blast on its whistle, bringing it to a halt, and saving the day. Blake and Lawless pursue the criminals into the Norfolk Broads but, after a pitched fight, Kew, Carlac and Melvale get away. They make it to the island and retrieve the jewels. Blake follows but the crooks set the reeds on fire and he only just escapes. The villainous trio start to make their escape in a powered canoe but Melvale betrays Carlac and Kew by pitching them overboard. Lawless and Blake give chase in a motorboat but are stopped by the river police who inform them that the channel ahead is mined. Melvale is blown up and the jewels are recovered. The fate of Carlac and Kew remains a mystery.

Trivia: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 29 THE CAT'S PAW (1917). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and Vali Mata Vali. This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 285 THE CRIME OF THE CATACOMBS (1931).

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Notes: Posters asking ARE YOU PAUL CYNOS? suddenly appear all over London. It turns out to be a publicity stunt by a new story paper entitled Sensations. Between twelve and one o’clock, twenty men made up to accurately resemble Paul Cynos will roam the streets, each with £100 in his pocket. Any person who approaches, asks “Are you Paul Cynos,” and shows an issue of Sensations will receive five pounds. Blake realises that for that hour the real Cynos will be free to go wherever he wants. Detective-Inspector Coutts, having already mistakenly tried to arrest Cynos only to find that it was an imposter, accompanies Blake to the magazine’s office. The editor flatly refuses to end his marketing gimmick. Later, after Blake has identified him as a well-known crook, he sets fire to the office and flees. That night, Cynos disguises himself as Chief Commissioner Fairfax and is let into Scotland Yard by Detective-Sergeant Siburn, who happens to be one of his sons. Siburn telephones the various district stations, gives the addresses of houses supposedly identified as Cynos’s hideaway, and orders that large numbers of policemen should be gathered to raid the places. Next, Cynos plants a time bomb in Scotland Yard’s wireless room. A little later, Sexton Blake receives a telephone call from Judge Swain, who had overseen Cynos’s trial. Swain is convinced that he’s in danger. Blake and Coutts race to his house where they find that he has died of fright. Cynos appears and tries to shoot Blake but his gun jams. He escapes. By now, all over London, large teams of policemen are raiding the supposed hideaways and are finding nothing. While they are thus diverted, Cynos’s gang pulls off a number of big bank robberies. The bomb then half destroys Scotland Yard. With the police crippled, Blake vows to catch Cynos within the next eight hours.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,327 ARE YOU PAUL CYNOS? (1929). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★ A brilliant story!

Notes: This story features Gilbert and Eileen Hale and is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: This story features Mr. Walker, the 'genial junkman'. Syd Walker was a character made popular on the radio — a rag and bone merchant who was perpetually "bumping inter some queer 'ow-d'yer-do's". He most famously contributed to the hit show BAND WAGON, where he would punctuate the comedy of Arthur Askey and "Stinker" Murdoch with a brief sketch in which the chief character would end up in a seemingly insoluble dilemma. Syd would then ask "What would you do, chums?", inviting the audience to send in their answers. The sketches were scripted by Ernest Dudley (who became known as the "armchair detective"). This story was a major scoop for THE DETECTIVE WEEKLY, combining the incredibly popular radio star with Britain's most written about consulting detective.

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Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,285 THE VICTIM OF THE VELDT (1928). It would also be rewritten as THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 4th series issue 430 SAFARI WITH FEAR (1959).

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Notes: This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 325 THE GREAT DUMPING MYSTERY (1932).

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Notes: This is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 247 THE MASKED KILLER (1930).

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Notes: Continuing where issue 330 left off, this story tells how Waldo the Wonder-Man deals with the first of Sir Rodney Drummond's three blackmailers. Oscar Maitland owns an antique shop ... and Waldo makes his acquaintance by crashing a motorcyle through its window! Sexton Blake, meanwhile, has looked into Sir Rodney's past, discovered that he was blackmailed, and has realised that Waldo is after the culprits. Later, at an auction, Maitland is outbid on an item by Lord Blackwood. Waldo has been tailing the antiques dealer and witnesses his annoyance. That evening, he telephones Blackwood and, imitating Maitland's voice, he makes vague threats. He also calls Maitland himself, this time posing as an American millionaire, and makes an appointment to see him. Maitland, excited at the prospect of a new wealthy client, invites Waldo into his home and is promptly drugged. While he sleeps, Waldo burgles Blackwood's house, stealing the item he won at auction and leaving evidence that suggests Maitland committed the crime. Inspector Lennard of Scotland Yard arrests Maitland despite Blake's scepticism. Waldo, aware that the detective is convinced of Maitland's innocence, decides to get Blake out of the way for a month or so while he completes his mission against the three blackmailers. Breaking into the Baker Street house, he forces Blake and Tinker into his car and drives them to the Chase where they are to be held prisoner. However, the detective persuades Sir Rodney to dispense with Waldo's services and walks free, intending to find proof of Maitland's real crimes. This he does but before his evidence can be used, Maitland, who is out on bail, is poisoned to death by his fellow blackmailer, Simon Kern.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,220 THE AFFAIR OF THE PROFESSIONAL AVENGER! (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★ The momentum builds nicely in this second instalment of the tale and the banter between Blake and Waldo is particularly entertaining. These two enemies like and respect one another; it's only their different view of life that keeps them on opposite sides.

Notes: Story features Dr. Huxton Rymer and Mary Trent. It is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 272 THE CRIME ON GALLOWS HILL (1931).

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Notes: Newspaper editor Charles Matthews receives a letter from May Cubitt in which she claims to be a friend of the person to whom he has referred. He has no idea what it means, and before he can investigate, his office is invaded by a small Japanese man, who says the name “May Cubitt.” This individual pulls a knife on a second arrival—Oyani, lieutenant to Zenith the Albino—only to have his arm broken before being hauled away. The next morning, Sexton Blake is told about both incidents. He identifies a personal ad to which the Cubitt letter alludes and perceives that it is addressed not to “the Editor,” but to “Mr. Edinger.” In addition, he traces an address in connection with it. There, he meets May Cubitt, who informs him that the friend in question is named Margaret Oakley. She moved away some time ago, and her whereabouts are currently unknown. The detective learns that Charles Matthews’ father was recently killed while unsuccessfully defending a Chinese mandarin during the looting of Nanking. The mandarin’s Japanese servant escaped the assassination with a quantity of jewels. Blake surmises that this was the man who visited the editor before being removed by Oyani, and that the jewels were a reward intended for Matthews. He traces Oyani to a remote location where he and Tinker battle with a leopard before confronting Zenith. The Japanese servant has committed hara-kiri and the albino now has the gemstones. The detectives are overwhelmed by Zenith’s men, among them Oklahoma Sam and Three a.m. Smith, and are locked inside the hull of a wrecked ship. When the tide rises, they will drown. After a daring escape, they are aided by a fisherman, before then intercepting Zenith as he is leaving the island. Blake and the albino engage in a tremendous fist fight, but the crook makes a getaway, leaving the jewels behind. The criminologist delivers them to Matthews, explains the coincidental connection with Margaret Oakley and Mr. Edinger, and has the fisherman presented as a witness to Detective-Inspector Coutts. The fisherman, however, turns out to be Zenith in disguise. Blake, aware of this all along, prevents the crook from a final attempt at the jewels, but fails to prevent him from fleeing the scene.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,240 THE CASE OF THE FRIEND OF MAY CUBITT (1927).

★★☆☆☆ One of the lesser Zenith yarns, this suffers from an uninspired and somewhat confusing plot, a dearth of Zenith scenes, and the over-used and unbelievable disguise motif.

Notes: Story features Splash Page. It is a reprint of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 271 THE DEATH SIGN (1931).

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Notes: In the third-part of this four-issue story, Waldo the Wonder-Man begins watching the second of the three blackmailers he has vowed to put out of business. This man, Hubert Rorke, is a moneylender and he's currently putting the squeeze on a Mr Douglas Hamilton. Waldo learns this from the victim's daughter, Doris. In order to draw Rorke and his fellow-villain, Kern, out into the open, Waldo impersonates Sir Rodney and gives an interview to the press in which he claims that he's opening up his London home and abandoning his life as a hermit in order to wage war on unscrupulous moneylenders and stockbrokers. The real Sir Rodney is horrified to read this and immediately calls for Sexton Blake's protection. Meanwhile, Rorke has left his office after a hoax call from Waldo. The Wonder-Man takes the opportunity to rob his safe. Upon his return, Rorke finds a 'Mr Buckland' waiting for him. Buckland, who is of course Waldo, claims to be acting on behalf of Mr Hamilton and pays that gentleman's loan off in full ... buying back the mortgage deed on Hamilton's property from Rorke with the money he's just stolen! Later, Waldo visits Blake and tells him what he's done. The detective approves but is concerned when, after Waldo has left, he receives a telegram from Doris Hamilton informing him that her father has disappeared. The old man, who has yet to hear that Waldo has solved his problems, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown and has wandered aimlessly away. When Blake arrives, he uses Pedro to track Hamilton's route, which leads to the nearby home of Sir Rodney. There Hamilton is found and, thanks to the detective's medical skills and to the news that his loan has been repaid, he quickly recovers his mental health. Back at Hamilton's home, Waldo has arrived to find everyone gone. Then Rorke turns up determined to get back the mortgage deed by hook or by crook (mostly by crook!). Waldo weights what appears to be the deed (though it isn't really) with a stone and throws it into a slimey pond before leaving. Rorke tries to recover it but starts sinking into the mire. By the time Blake arrives on the scene, the villain has died of fright.

Trivia: This story is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,221 THE CASE OF THE SECOND BLACKMAILER! (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★ Another first class tale from the ever-impressive Brooks. In this episode there's the sense that Waldo is considering changing his ways, regretting the fact that he usually operates on the wrong side of the law, but, ultimately his buccaneering spirit wins out. A year before Leslie Charteris created Simon Templar (when this story was written), Brooks was way ahead, giving Waldo all the breezy scampishness of the Saint ... and then some!

Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,252 THE MYSTERY OF THE MASTER CROOK'S MESSENGER (1927).

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Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,291 THE LEGION OF THE LOST (1928).

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Notes: The morning after a night of severe thunderstorms, a mysterious female telephones Sexton Blake and informs him that he might find something interesting at a specific spot on Wimbledon Common. Intrigued, Blake goes there and discovers, in an area overlooked by Simon Kern's house, the burnt remains of a man who has been struck by lightning. Kern is the last survivor of the three blackmailers who Waldo the Wonder-Man has been hunting. However, it appears that he is safe, for evidence found on the charred corpse suggests that the dead man is none other than Rupert Waldo! Detective-Inspector Lennard is called to the scene and, with Blake and Tinker, follows a trail leading from the body to Kern's house. They find the place in disarray; obviously the scene of a fierce fight. According to the housekeeper, Kern is upstairs asleep but when they go up they find his room empty. The gardener informs them that he saw Kern leave ten minutes ago, although he admits that he can't be certain it was his employer he saw. Blake forms the theory that the dead body is, in fact, Kern, while the man seen leaving the house was Waldo — who murdered Kern, diguised the death as a fatality by lightning, then planted evidence of his own identity on the body. The detective and his assistant return to Baker Street only to find Waldo sitting comfortably in their consulting room! He tells them the real story: the body was that of a by-passer who was genuinely struck down by the storm. Waldo took advantage of the situation by planting evidence to make it look like he and Kern had confronted one another with the argument culminating in Waldo's death. The plan, he hoped, would lead to Kern being hanged for murder. Now, though, the blackmailer is on the run. When Waldo reveals that Sir Rodney Drummond has gone abroad, Blake surmises that Kern has probably taken refuge in The Chase, Sir Rodney's fortified country house. He and Waldo decide to join forces in order to force Kern to confess his crimes. At The Chase, they take on roles as the ghosts of the blackmailer's former colleagues, Maitland and Rorke, terrifying him into the admission that he poisoned Maitland. In consequence, Lennard makes an arrest and Waldo's mission is completed. Having enjoyed himself so much, Rupert Waldo now starts wondering whether life might be better on the right side of the law.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,222 THE LIGHTNING-FLASH MYSTERY! (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★☆ A nice climax to an excellent sequence of adventures but one that suffers slightly in comparison to its forerunners; the denoument feels slightly too hurried. Nevertheless, the initial mystery — is Waldo dead? — works wonderfully ... and his growing conviction that, just perhaps, it's time to be less of a villain and more of a hero is both touching and intriguing.

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 that ends in a mid-air collision, a lake-bottom hideaway that 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. Unfortunately, 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. 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. 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: The artwork on the cover of this edition pays a nice little homage to the original UNION JACK cover, which can be seen in the picture frame.

This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,369 THE GNOMID (1929). The review is based on a reading of that issue. The original story was also was anthologised in THE CASEBOOK OF SEXTON BLAKE (2009).

Rating: ★★★★★ There's plenty of chasing, shooting and fighting in this adventure, with Warrender getting a big slice of the action, proving to be a strong, resourceful and likeable character. Unfortunately, this means that Tinker gets rather pushed into the background. You even forget he's there until he pipes up and says something. Nevertheless, The Gnomid is an excellent and highly entertaining example of Blake at his best.

Notes: Story features Zenith the Albino. This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,216 THE AFFAIR OF THE WERE-WOLF (1927).

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Notes: The author is the son of John W. Bobin.

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Notes: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 1,300 THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF THE REJUVENATION CLUB (1928).

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Notes: Financier Jacob Thornhill catches a bedraggled and down-on-his-luck Dr Huxton Rymer breaking into his safe. Rather than turning him over to the police, Thornhill commissions Rymer to do a job for him in Costa Rica. In that country, some weeks later, Britisher David Grieg arrives to take possession of a banana plantation he has purchased on Negrito Island — but finds that a Spaniard named Sancho has already claimed it. Sailing to the island, Grieg meets with Sancho and learns that the Spaniard bought the island a month ago from its owners, Thornhill and Meyer. Grieg, though, purchased it six weeks ago from a man named Gilbert, who had been an agent for Thornhill and Meyer. Sancho claims that Gilbert is a crook and has swindled Grieg but invites the Britisher to stay on the island for the night. During the hours of darkness, Grieg is awakened when a deadly snake is thrown onto his bed from the window. He survives, little suspecting that Sancho had arranged the attack. The next morning he leaves the island but, en route to Costa Rica, is thrown overboard. He is picked up by a ship bound for Bristol and, from there, makes his way to Baker Street. Sexton Blake, taking up the case, disguises himself as Grieg and visits Thornhill and Meyer. He is informed by Jacob Thornhill that Gilbert is considered a criminal and had no right to sell the plantation. However, Blake catches sight of Gilbert in the building. Back at Baker Street, he instructs Grieg to return to the Carribean, not knowing that Thornhill wants this and has sent Gilbert there to team up with Sancho in order to kill the young Britisher. All parties gather at Negrito Island — Blake and Tinker disguised as natives, and here the detective learns that his opponent, Sancho, is none other than Dr Huxton Rymer. During the night, Blake creeps into Rymer's house and steals papers which prove his and Gilbert's guilt. However, the black foreman of the plantation, intent on thievery, also sneaks into the house and, when Blake runs for it, gives chase. The two engage in a terrific fight which the detective eventually wins only to find that the noise has attracted Rymer and Gilbert and he must now face them. He manages to knock Rymer unconscious after a fairly fought boxing match but is then, in turn, sent into oblivion when Gilbert, in an unsportsmanlike move, strikes him with the butt of a pistol. Tinker and Grieg arrive in time to overpower Gilbert while Blake recovers and Rymer escapes. Gilbert makes a full confession. Thornhill finds himself facing criminal charges and Grieg finally gets his island.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 591 THE MYSTERY OF THE BANANA PLANTATION (1915). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: Police Inspector Bragley is puzzled when a fourth girl, in as many days, is found unconscious in Aylesbury Square. Like the others, she is taken to a nearby doctor, Professor Kew, but, once recovered, refuses to speak of her experience. Bragley doesn't know it but all four girls have been Kew's 'guinea pigs', testing a narcotic he has developed. The inspector visits Sexton Blake and tells him about the case. The detective begins investigating. When Kew learns of this, he decides that, as this is his first foray into crime, he should test Blake. He therefore sends him an anonymous note which reveals that, at the Ranee of Magwar's ball, he intends to steal her priceless emerald necklace. He challenges the detective to prevent this theft. At the ball, a dissipated young nobleman, Lord Alpineby, who is under Kew's power, gives the Ranee a gift of a small ivory casket. When she opens it, fumes from the narcotic send her into a trance. Alpineby leads her into the garden and leaves her there. Kew then takes the necklace and makes off, though not without his shadowy figure being spotted by Blake. Next day, the detective goes to Alpineby's flat to question him but finds him vanished; and there are signs of a struggle and traces of the drug. He takes the latter to a chemist for analysis but the substance isn't recognised. Blake is referred to the expert in such matters — Professor Kew! — and during the subsequent interview quickly recognises him as the man behind the crimes. Blake sets Tinker to keep watch on the criminal and the lad follows Kew to a house where Alpineby is imprisoned. He sends a note to his guv'nor shortly before falling into the hands of the villain. Blake comes to the rescue and also recovers the emerald necklace but Kew gets away to fight another day.

Trivia: This is a revised version of the first Professor Kew story — THE AYLESBURY SQUARE MYSTERY — which appeared in UNION JACK issue 511 (1913).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: Story features Count Ivor Carlac and is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer. This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 644 THE CIRCLE OF STEEL (1916).

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Notes: In Australia, eight men — Ike Vineburg being foremost among them — swindle a ranch owner named Mrs Cartier out of all she possesses. Shocked by her losses, the woman collapses and dies. Her daughter, Yvonne, realises that a swindle has occurred and vows revenge on the men. Months later, disguised as a male jockey, she joins Vineburg's stables and rises through the ranks until she is given the task of riding in the Melbourne Cup. She purposely loses the race at the last moment, costing Vineburg thousands of pounds. Having herself won a considerable sum, Yvonne sets sail for Europe. Six years later, aboard her yacht — which is captained by Captain Vaughan and has Hendricks as Mate — she plans with her uncle, Jack Graves, running a vigilante campaign against all men of Vineburg's type. By this time, the villain in question is operating as a jeweller in London under the assumed name of Bechstein. With his finances pressed to the limit, he seeks credit on a valuable pearl necklace only to be informed that it is fake; the original has been stolen. In desperation, he calls Sexton Blake. Yvonne discovers this and visits the detective in the guise of an elderly nun. Blake is immediately suspicious and sends Tinker to follow her when she leaves but she turns the tables and captures the lad. Blake's investigations lead him to an isolated farmhouse known as the Grange where Yvonne has her underground base and here he too becomes her prisoner. The next day, they make their escape while Yvonne, disguised as Tinker, visits Blake's Baker Street office to search for the evidence against her. The detective and his assistant arrive and a long car chase ensues, leading them to Yvonne's moored yacht where, once again, Blake and Tinker are taken prisoner. Yvonne offers the detective the chance to join her campaign. He refuses but, when she tells him her full story, he offers a truce providing she gives up the pearl necklace. She does so and they part both feeling strangely stirred by their new-found relationship. Bechstein/Vineburg commits suicide before Blake has a chance to return the pearls.

Trivia: This is a revised version of the first Mlle. Yvonne Cartier story — BEYOND REACH OF THE LAW — which first appeared in UNION JACK issue 485 (1913).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: A clergyman named Cyril Baylaine approaches Sexton Blake and asks for assistance in defeating a gang of opium smugglers. He tells the detective about an attempt on his life by a Chinese man named Chan. Blake gives Tinker the task of tracing this villain and the lad meets with quick success: Chan is lodging at a hotel with Captain McVietch, whose ship will be used to transport opium from London to Hong Kong. Tinker applies for a position with the crew and is accepted. Meanwhile, unknown to Blake, the leader of the drug smuggling gang is none other than Count Ivor Carlac, who now makes a bold move by kidnapping Baylaine, leaving a forged letter to convince the detective that the clergyman has simply gone abroad for a few weeks. This plot comes to light when Baylaine's mother visits Blake, claiming that her son has vanished. The Baker Street detective follows clues to McVietch's vessel. He boards it using the letter of acceptance that Tinker had been given by McVietch. In the hold, he finds the missing man. Instructing the prisoner to hold fast, Blake escapes just as Carlac comes aboard. While this is happening, Tinker follows Chan as the opium is moved to a barge which sets sail along the Thames to rendezvous with McVietch's ship. Reunited, the detective and his assistant, together with the Thames Police, take possession of the barge and then of the ship. All the criminals are captured apart from Carlac, who makes a daring escape. Baylaine is freed and the smuggling ring is broken.

Trivia: This is an abridged version of The Opium Smugglers from UNION JACK issue 472 (1912). The notes are based on a reading of the original.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: A Brazilian minister commissions Sexton Blake to help restore the former president of Santa Lucia to power. Fillipi Malia was deposed by Lopez de Garcia who is now denying Brazil the privileges it had previously enjoyed. With a loan of £500,000 in bullion, the former president is ready to depart Britain for the small South American republic ... but then assassins attempt to kill him. They are prevented from doing so by George Marsden Plummer, who happens upon the murder attempt. However, the master crook then throws in his lot with the assassins, convincing them that if they help him to usurp Garcia, he will share the wealth of the country's silver mines with them. Disguising himself as a sailor, Plummer bribes his way into the position of second mate aboard the ship that will carry Malia across the Atlantic. It will also carry the ex-president's daughter, Rosina, whom Plummer has fallen in love with. To his dismay, Sexton Blake also joins the passengers. Days later, as the vessel nears its destination, Plummer's men strike and the ship is captured. Plummer is shocked to discover that the man he had thought to be Blake is, in fact, a cleverly made up actor named Will Alton. With the detective's whereabouts unknown, Plummer continues with his plan. He makes himself up to impersonate Malia and informs Rosina that she must act as his daughter to protect her imprisoned father's life. He then leads the 'revolution' and overthrows Lopez de Garcia. The chief of the silver mines proves to be a Britisher named Jack Leyland and Plummer is quick to spot that this man is a rival suitor for Rosina. When the loaned bullion turns out to be nothing but lead, Leyland and his men realise that they won't be paid and so refuse to work. Plummer takes Leyland captive but in doing so he reveals his identity to a watcher: Sexton Blake. The detective, with the real bullion, has travelled to the republic on a yacht and is now observing the master criminal. The two confront each other but Blake is overpowered and is sentenced to death by firing squad. Tinker radios to the yacht for help and rescuers arrive just in time to save the detective. Plummer is captured and Malia restored to power. Due to the progress made in the country under Plummer's dictatorship, he is allowed to go free. Leyland and Rosina marry.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 475 THE CASE OF THE £500,000 LOAN (1912). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Continuing her campaign against the men who cheated her mother, Mademoiselle Yvonne Cartier sets her sights on Mortimer Todd. In this she is aided by a new ally, Dr. San Lo. He comes to her rescue when Sexton Blake spots her at a theatre and tries to follow her taxi as she departs. San Lo pours a substance onto a tyre of Blake’s taxi, which causes the rubber to rapidly deteriorate. Having evaded the detective, Yvonne and her Uncle Graves pose as a millionaire and his niece and lease a house near Manchester, close to where Mortimer Todd has his large cotton mill. They quickly ingratiate themselves with him and Todd starts to romance Yvonne. Meanwhile, an employee named Jack Layton shows Todd a new and more efficient method for dying cotton. Todd says he’ll consider it but vows to cheat Layton by patenting the method himself. San Lo purchases a large quantity of cotton from Todd. He then uses the substance that rotted the taxi tyre to ruin the shipment, which he sends back, demanding immediate replacement or the payment of damages. Yvonne, in the meantime, breaks into the mill one night and employs acid to sabotage all the machines. She also steals money from the safe, along with the documents that outline Layton’s invention. As she departs, she's pounced on by Layton, who was passing the mill and saw her torchlight. She holds him at gunpoint, leads him to the house that she and Graves occupy, and imprisons him in its cellar. The next morning, Todd discovers that he is on the brink of ruin. When he hears that Layton is missing, he feels certain that the young man is responsible for the wrecked machines and theft. He hires Sexton Blake, unaware that the detective has already been asked by Layton’s fiancée to look into the young man’s disappearance. Blake immediately becomes suspicious of Todd. After noting the similarity between the way the rejected cotton is rotted and the way his taxi tyre deteriorated, he sends Tinker to investigate San Lo. Yvonne learns that Blake is in the area and sends a couple of men to capture him. They, however, are driven away by Pedro. In London, a disguised Tinker spies on his quarry but is caught and identified by Graves, who has him bound and gagged and left in a sewer to be eaten by rats. Blake realises that Yvonne and her cohorts are driving to the capital. He follows, searches for San Lo, and—thanks to Pedro—discovers and saves Tinker. He then catches the Chinaman and Graves and has them arrested. Yvonne doubles back to Manchester where she thinks she is now safe, what with Blake being in London. He, however, has anticipated her. He swoops, she is arrested, and later she's sentenced to five years in prison. Layton is set free and regains his documents. Todd is ruined.

Trivia: This is a reprint (possibly abridged) of UNION JACK issue 492 On the Brink of Ruin (1913).

Graves is unusually heartless in his treatment of Tinker. It’s hard to believe they ever became friendly after this!

In this story, which was originally published in 1913, Tinker can neither speak nor understand Chinese. By 1927, according to the same author, he is fairly proficient at the language (see, for example, The Adventure of the Yellow Beetle, THE UNION JACK issue 1,224).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: This is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: With help from Uncle Graves, Hendricks, and Captain Vaughan, Mademoiselle Yvonne Cartier escapes from prison, having served six months of her sentence. She recuperates in Cairo, then sets her sights on the next of those who ruined her family, a man named Gorgon “the Money King” Kelly. He is awaiting a shipment of gold worth two hundred thousand pounds as repayment for a loan he made to an Egyptian business concern. Yvonne has it intercepted, and Kelly receives boxes of lead instead. He commissions Sexton Blake to investigate, but also hires another private investigator, who implicates his secretary, Marian Powers. Yvonne sets up in an office from which she can spy on Kelly. By reading his lips, she gains knowledge of all his crooked activities on the stock exchange and is able to make a fortune by undercutting his every move. Despite Marian being engaged to a young man named Arthur Bentwood, Kelly is intent on marrying her for the purpose of gaining control of securities of which she is unaware, they having belonged to her now deceased father. When she turns down his proposition, Kelly imprisons her in his house. He then removes Blake from the case, but this serves only to make the detective suspicious. Arthur Bentwood consults Blake about the vanished Marian. Meanwhile, Tinker has followed Kelly to his house but there falls into the man’s clutches and is held captive with the young woman. Blake investigates Kelly and discovers his schemes. When he realises that Yvonne has manoeuvred the financier to the brink of ruin, he agrees that if she returns the stolen gold, he will give her 24 hours to get clear. This, however, after they have first worked together to save Marian. Kelly realises the game is up and prepares to flee, but Blake and Yvonne arrive, and Pedro downs the crook. Tinker and Marian are rescued, Kelly is arrested, and Yvonne returns to her yacht.

Trivia: This is a reprint of UNION JACK issue 495 SETTLING DAY (1913).

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: This is believed to be a revised version of an older story (as yet unidentified).

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Notes: Sexton Blake, Tinker and Pedro are taking a break in the countryside when a car speeds past. Blake recognises its passenger as the most dangerous crook in Europe: the Hooded Stranger. He sets Pedro on the vehicle's trail, which leads off the road, across a field, and into a haystack. Taking hold of the handle of a plough, the detective discovers it to be a lever that causes the haystack to rise, revealing a hidden elevator. While Pedro stays behind, the investigators descend into an underground stronghold. It is filled with tanks. The Hooded Stranger's gang pounces and Blake and Tinker are captured. The villain orders that that they be taken to the Bottle, where he will test his new gas.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: With reports of Sexton Blake's death spreading, the Hooded Stranger is free to put his scheme into action. Disguised as an old man, he goes from door to door distributing cakes of soap. However, unknown to him, Blake and Tinker escaped from the blazing plane and have entered his underground fort where they observe as a fleet of tanks leave. Commandeering one of the vehicles, they follow the convoy. Meanwhile, in wealthy houses across London, the cakes of soap are releasing a powerful sleeping gas. As hundreds of people fall unconscious, The Hooded Stranger's tanks arrive. A huge burglary is about to be committed!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: The Hooded Stranger uses the crane to lift the tank high off the ground and states his intention to drop it, killing Blake and Tinker. The detectives leap and catch hold of the crane's grab as it lets go of the tank. The Hooded Stranger tries to shake them off but they climb the rope and shin down the jib towards the crane's cabin. The villain flees as soldiers arrive and round up his gang. Sexton Blake finally corners him but finds himself standing on a plank above a long drop with his opponent on the other end ... the Hooded Stranger only has to step off and Blake will plunge to his death!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Blake and Tinker leap onto motor bikes and pursue the Hooded Stranger. The crook drives to a monoplane, boards it and takes off, intending to take the bomber plans to Etland to sell to its dictator, General Bomgas. A week later, Sir John Charters, head of the British Secret Service, visits Sexton Blake at his Baker Street home. He asks the detective to go to Etland to investigate General Bomgas's activities. Upon their arrival in the remote country, Blake and Tinker are held at gunpoint and escorted to a large prison camp.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Having pursued the Hooded Stranger to Etland, Sexton Blake discovers that General Bomgas already has the new British Secret Bomber under construction. The Stranger reports to Bomgas that the two Britishers have escaped in stolen uniforms. The general orders the hanger to be searched. Blake and Tinker hastily retreat and find themselves in an underground vault where explosives have been stored. The Baker Street man begins to unscrew the cap of a giant bomb.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: To avoid the dynamite train, Sexton Blake pilots the plane beneath the bridge, smashing both wings off and crash-landing into the river. As the current sweeps him towards a waterfall, General Bomgas and the Hooded Stranger gloat over their possession of the plans for the secret British bomber. Blake uses a rope as a lasso and manages to hook a tree stump. However, it's not enough to save the plane from toppling over the edge of the falls. Meanwhile, Bomgas announces that he will construct five hundred of the bombers.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Bomgas speeds away, sending Sexton Blake sprawling. A soldier tries to capture the detective but is overpowered by Tinker and King Boris. Blake and his assistant head after Bomgas while the king goes to rally his followers. Meanwhile, Bomgas and the Hooded Stranger lay a trap for Blake. However, Blake out-wits them and seems to have finally cornered the villain. But then, Bomgas presses a secret button...

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Sexton Blake bombs the cave in which General Bomgas is hiding, trapping him inside. He then flies on in pursuit of the Hooded Stranger. Bomgas's men start digging their leader out but, while they are thus occupied, King Boris captures Zomberg Aerodrome. Blake flies over the Hooded Stranger's tank and lowers a grapple hook. It catches but causes the plane to dive. Tinker crawls out of the cockpit and cuts the line.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker watch as Bomgas's tanks enter the ocean and disappear beneath the surface. King Boris arrives by plane and flies the two detectives to a nearby sea fort which they intend to capture in order to find diving gear. Blake uses a crane to smash a large piece of equipment into the fort. Bomgas's men run out ... straight into King Boris's oncoming troops.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Sexton Blake and Tinker overpower a sentry who's standing guard at an entrance to Bomgas's undersea fort. However, before entering the metal monolith, they decide to investigate the wrecked ship which seems to be of so much interest to Bomgas's men. They are spotted by the General and the Hooded Stranger but, with most of their men at the wreck, there's little the villains can do. The detectives look into the ship's hold where they see the enemy unloading a cargo of British machine guns. Blake closes and locks the doors on them, trapping them inside. He and Tinker then head back to the sea fort.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Blake and Tinker are trapped in General Bomgas's undersea fort with water rising around them. They take shelter in one of the general's sea-going tanks. The Hooded Stranger gloats that soon their air will run out. Meanwhile, outside the fort, Bomgas's men seek to escape from the sunken wreck in which Blake trapped them. Using one of the guns they had come to salvage, the men blast their way out and return to the fort, opening its exterior doors. This gives Blake and Tinker the chance to dash for it in the tank. As they speed away, Bomgas sends sea-fighters in pursuit.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Bomgas's underwater aeroplanes fire at the tank driven by Sexton Blake. The detective drives into a cave for shelter. When a killer whale attacks the 'planes, Blake takes advantage of the diversion and steers up a slope towards the surface. However, enemy tanks are in hot pursuit.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: As Sexton Blake and Tinker emerge from the sea in the underwater tank, they spot a gunboat nearby. It belongs to King Boris, who is fighting to regain the throne from Bomgas the dictator of Etland. As he welcomes them aboard, far below, in the steel fort on the sea bed, Bomgas learns of the detectives' escape. He directs the fort to a position beneath the gunboat and from it a huge metal claw extends and clamps shut on the keel of King Boris's vessel. Slowly, the claw drags the boat down!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: King Boris uses his ship's anchor to haul the tank in which Sexton Blake is trapped from the mud on the ocean floor. General Bomgas guides his sea fort towards the tank, attempting to crush it. At the last moment, the tank breaks free of the mud and Blake manages to start its engine. The General sends out a sea-fighter — a sort of underwater plane — after it. The tank is hit by gunfire and begins to flood.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: With their sea tank safe beneath General Bomgas's undersea fort, Blake is forced to drive along beneath it in order to stay under cover. On advice from the Hooded Stranger, Bomgas steers his fort towards Secret Island. However, as the huge craft passes over a cleft in the sea bed, the smaller vehicle beneath falls into it. The fortess emerges onto the island where Bomgas discovers that Blake has vanished. Undeterred, he shows the Hooded Stranger his extenive base hidden inside the island's central crater.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Running out of air, Blake and Tinker struggle to steer the tank onto the shore. It emerges from the water into a raging storm and is smashed onto sharp rocks. The detectives manage to crawl out and find themselves on an island. Meanwhile, General Bomgas introduces to the Hooded Stranger his inventor, Doctor Krim. Krim demonstrates his robots. Realising their power, the Hooded Stranger leads a rebellion against Bomgas. The robots subdue the general's men, leaving the Hooded Stranger free to use Krim's inventions as he embarks on a new career as a super-pirate.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: The Hooded Stranger strands General Bomgas on an island, unaware that Blake and Tinker are on it. They overpower the general and retrieve from him the stolen plans. They are then rescued by King Boris in his gunboat. Back at his base, the Hooded Stranger discovers that the plans are missing. Desperate for money, he embarks on his first act of piracy. The sea fort goes forth and, in the Mediterranean, a merchant ship is attacked by a ghostly galleon — the Phantom Pirate!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: The Phantom Pirate draws close and, inexplicably, the merchant ship begins to sink. Its crew escapes in life boats. Once they are clear, the ship rises in the water. On the ghostly galleon, the Hooded Stranger orders his men to board the merchant ship and plunder it. They are awe of the criminal and his wonderful scheme. The Phantom Pirate is attached to the sea fort and it was the latter's grappling claws that had pulled the merchant vessel down! Next morning, in London, Sexton Blake reads a report concerning the attack. He employs a team of engineers to build something.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: Sexton Blake shows Sir John Charters, chief of the British Secret Service, the remarkable sea-speedster he has had built. The Hooded Stranger, meanwhile, returns in the sea fort to his secret island where he and his men share out the loot they've gained through their acts of piracy. Blake and Tinker adopt new identities, becoming Professor Snodgrass and his assistant, and set out in their new machine, having told the newspapers that they are on a voyage to the bottom of the sea.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: My copy is missing its cover.

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

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Notes: Story features R. S. V. Purvale.

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Notes: Story features Granite Grant and Mlle. Julie.

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Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 108 (1927).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Captain Dack.

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Notes: Sexton Blake, Tinker and Detective-Inspector Thomas visit the Green Parrot club, which is an outlet for illegally brewed liquor. After obtaining a bottle of 'moonshine' whisky from the club, Blake sends Tinker to the Leeds factory where the bottle was made. When mysterious lorries arrive to pick up a cargo of bottles that match the one used for the illegal booze, Tinker stows away aboard one of the trucks, which is then driven to a secret location. There, he is spotted and knocked unconscious. He's recognised by Reggie Fetherston, who orders him put aboard a barge with the bottles. The prisoner and cargo are then transported to a secluded gorge and carried into a complex system of caves where huge stills are producing the illegal whisky. Here also are Algy Somerton and Archie Pherison; the whole operation is run by the Three Musketeers! The criminal trio lower Tinker into a cave shaft that opens into unknown depths. He has light and food for just three days. After two days have passed, Sexton Blake heads north in the Grey Panther to search for his assistant. He follows the trail and ends up captured by the crooked trio. They brutalise Pedro in front of the detective before throwing the bloodhound into the shaft. Blake goes into a berserker rage and attacks the criminals and their gang but is overpowered and lowered into the darkness. At the bottom of the shaft, he finds Pedro and, after a while, Tinker. Seeking escape, they follow the course of an underground stream until, eventually, they are sucked into a whirlpool and swept up into pool on the surface, near Whitby. They visit the local police and gather a large force of men to raid the crooks' base. The gang is caught and arrested but the Three Musketeers escape. However, they have not taken Pedro's nose into account and the vengeful hound soon tracks them down. The trio are arrested and their villainous career finally comes to an end ... at least until 2014, when I recounted their next criminal escapade in THE SILENT THUNDER CAPER (SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY, 6th series, issue 1).

Trivia: This story has a haunting scene in which Pedro, at Baker Street, senses Tinker's peril ... and so does Mrs Bardell! This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 82 (1927). The review is based on a reading of that issue.

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: None at present.

Unrated

Notes: My copy is missing the cover.

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Gunga Dass. This is a reprint of THE RIDDLE OF THE AMBER ROOM in THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 102 (1927).

Unrated

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features Gunga Dass.

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Notes: Story features Ted Flanagan.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: A tale of Trouble Nantucket. This is a rewrite of SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 102 THE CASE OF THE BURMESE DAGGER (1919), which was written by Andrew Murray.

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Notes: None at present. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 116 (1927).

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Notes: Story features R. S. V. Purvale.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 112 (1927).

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Notes: Story features Gunga Dass.

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer and Vali Mata-Vali. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 144 (1928).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This is a rewrite of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 1st series issue 71, which had the same title but was written by John W. Bobin. Another reworking of the original story was published this same month (October 1939) as THE MYSTERY OF THE DOPE DEN in THE BOYS' FRIEND LIBRARY 2nd series issue 691 (see top of this page for that issue and a review based on the original tale).

Rating: ★★★★★

Notes: None at present.

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Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 145 (1928). Story features Julia Fortune.

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Notes: Story features George Marsden Plummer. This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 147 (1928).

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Notes: None at present.

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Notes: Story features R. S. V. Purvale.

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Notes: Story features R. S. V. Purvale.

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Notes: This is a reprint of THE SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY 2nd series issue 151 (1928).

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Notes: The first three parts of this serial were published in WILD WEST issues 48, 49 and 50 (see above). When that paper amalgamated with THE THRILLER, the serial continued. Blake, Parker and The Phantom Sheriff tread water as the pit floods. The English detective climbs the side of the pit and releases the barrier at the top. He lowers a rope to his companions. The Sheriff is concerned that, with his waterlogged face mask slipping, his true identity will be exposed. So as he climbs out he punches Blake unconscious then runs off into the night. Parker cannot revive Blake and races off for help. He encounters his master, Roger Quintin, who instructs him to take a train to New York and to write to Blake from there to inform him that Quintin is in the city. The fugitive hopes that this diversion will keep those hunting him away for a vital six months ...

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Blake is revived by Kit Halsam and Sandy Hicks. He instructs Hicks to dress up as Simon Quayle in order to set a trap for the enemy. Smiler Macguire, meanwhile, is torturing Red Butte's post office clerk for information about the old prospector. One of his mob arrives and tells him that he has spotted their quarry. The villains race off and capture Quayle (who is actually Hicks). They take him back to their ranch with Blake and The Phantom Sheriff shadowing behind. As the two heroes prepare a diversion to enable their entry into the enemy base, Blake pierces the Sheriff's disguise and realises that he's Kit Halsam.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and The Phantom Sheriff rush the house and see, through a window, Hugh Crale and Smiler Macguire with their prisoner, the disguised Sandy Hicks. When the two lawmen are cornered by four of Smiler's mobsters, they trick the gang boss into shooting his own men. They then hold their enemies at gunpoint. Crale reveals that Hicks possesses a scar which identifies him as the real Roger Quintin. Blake is amazed by the fact that he had unknowingly asked Roger Quintin to impersonate himself! Suddenly all the men present collapse after Crale breaks open a vial of gas. Holding his breath, the dastardly Englishman pulls his cousin, Quintin, from the room and, taking a car, drives away having first set fire to the building. When Quintin recovers, Crale questions him about the Colt pistol he had brought with him to America. Inside it, he reveals, is a key to his father's treasure. But Quintin claims to have sold the weapon many years ago. The prisoner breaks free and knocks the villain senseless. He then returns to the burning house and pulls a figure from the flames. It's Smiler! he rushes back in to find Blake and The Phantom Sheriff ...

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Roger Quintin pulls Blake free of the burning house. He then rushes back in and finds Kit Haslam. Not realising that the latter is also The Phantom Sheriff, he re-enters the building to search for the lawman. Overcome by smoke, he passes out and when he recovers finds himself tied up in the back of a car driven by Smiler Macguire. The gangster boss takes him to another hideaway where he proceeds to torture him for the whereabouts of the Colt revolver. Quintin refuses to talk. One of Smiler's last surviving men arrives and tells him that Parker has been captured at the railway station. When the old butler is threatened with torture, Quintin cracks and reveals that the pistol is hidden back at his hotel. Meanwhile, Blake deduces that the criminals will probably search the hotel and tricks Hugh Crale into going there... straight into his trap!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Notes: Sexton Blake and The Phantom Sheriff find Roger Quintin and Parker tied up in an isolated shack. Quintin tells the detective and lawman that he has been waiting for the twenty-year limit to end which would mean he could not be arrested for the murder of Sydney Crale. There's just half a year left to go. He also tells the full story of the night of the murder. Blake reveals to him that Sydney had been strangled from behind... which suggests that Quintin was not the killer. That evening, Hugh Crale breaks into the closed hotel and finds Kit Halsam searching the office. Halsam spins a yarn about being broke and wanting the key to millions which he's heard is hidden in a Colt revolver somewhere in the hotel. He tells Crale that he's found evidence that the sly Englishman was the murderer of his cousin Sydney and suggests they work together to get the money. Crale falls for the trap and admits to the killing. Realising that he is cornered, he pulls a gun and shoots at Halsam. A shot rings out and Crale collapses, wounded. Sexton Blake emerges from hiding, a smoking gun in his hand. Smiler Macguire and his remaining men arrive and break in to search the premises. They trigger a booby trap left by Blake and are all overcome by gas. The Colt is recovered and given to Quintin who, with Parker, accompanies Blake on the voyage back to England. Crale commits suicide in gaol, leaving a signed confession.

Rating: ★★★☆☆