Ashton-Kirk, Secret Agent
(Penn Publishing Co., 1912)
Mean streets of Philly. International intrigue. Cold-blooded murder. Just a few phrases to describe this second entry in John T. McIntyre's "Ashton-Kirk" crime series. When we last did business with Mr. Kirk, it was in the matter of coin-collector Hume, discovered murdered on the floor of his antique store. This was covered in Ashton-Kirk, Investigator. As we enter the second volume of the series, we find Kirk no longer working on an exclusively private case. As the book's preface tells us, Uncle Sam now has need of his services. This, of course, makes him a secret agent-- and hence the title. So grab your trench-coats and flashlights, kiddies, and let's get started. There's dirty work afoot tonight.
The case begins when Ashton-Kirk and his assistant Fuller receive a call from Philip Warwick, the secretary of Dr. Morse-- an eccentric English scientist. While residing in England, Dr. Morse received a number of threatening communications, accompanied by cryptic drawings done in different colors. Then his house was broken into several times. Fearing to be the object of criminal harassment, he flees to America with his secretary, Warwick, his niece, Stella Corbin, and an old French housekeeper, Nanon. They take residence outside Philadelphia, hoping to be rid of the trouble. But the harassments start afresh. Finally, Warwick hires Kirk's services, thinking a gumshoe may get to the bottom of things.
But two days after Kirk takes the job, Dr. Morse is found dead in his library, shot through the chest. Philip Warwick immediately goes into hiding, and Stella Corbin now shows resentment toward the detective's investigations. Sifting through facts, Kirk soon finds that Dr. Morse served in the Russian military during the Russo-Japanese war, and that he there gained possession of a potent U.S. military secret through a Russian spy. This secret, contained on a special document, is the object of intrigue of both the Japanese and Russian governments. It is concealed in a red scapular (Catholic religious amulet,) of which it is presumed only Morse knew the location. Since his death, several individuals have been trying to locate it. All undercover, of course.
Morse has a neighbor named Okiu, who's working for the Japanese secret service. Also, a strange Pole named Karkowsky appears to be interested in the document. Then the Germans are trying to get in on the deal. Finally, it turns out that somebody has found the paper and is willing to sell it to the highest bidder. Who has it? And who'll grab it up? the Russians, Germans, or Japanese? The U.S. Secretary of State gives Ashton Kirk carte blanche to retrieve the document and head the criminals off at the pass, thus saving the United States from nasty diplomatic complications. Using his elaborate skills as a criminal detective, Kirk unravels the chain of circumstantial evidence, learns the identity of the killer, and starts closing in on his target-- the man with the stolen document. But his enemies are watching him with circumspection, and ready to pounce. Will Ashton-Kirk defeat the foe and save his country in time?
This novel, originally titled Ashton-Kirk and the Scarlet Scapular, shows a marked improvement to Ashton-Kirk, Investigator. Greater attention is paid to the prose style. The plot is executed with more finesse. Albeit the denouement is complex-- maybe a little too much so. Along the way so many clues are dropped, that the tying of them together during the last 50 pages forms an intricate labyrinth a bit bewildering-- or so it seemed to me. However, the time and attention paid this work by its author are strikingly evident in the manner in which the mystery is solved. It shows traces of real expertise. It occurs to me that only a professional story-teller could have tackled the project the way it's been done.
As a plus, the book may have value for students of criminology. McIntyre was well-schooled in the forensic science of 1912. In one episode, Kirk takes a blood-smear from the crime scene, subjecting it to a complex analysis. This is gone into with elaborate detail. Then, too, he carries some interesting gadgets. Mind you, this was before the days of finger-printing, so don't expect anything too fancy. Nevertheless, the way he goes about pinpointing the criminals is really worth examining. Although not everything he does makes sense, there's a method to his madness. And this method is valuable as a picture-book.
The plot also contains scenes of tough guy action-- something absent from the previous novel. At one point, Kirk battles it out with a Japanese henchman-- of all things an ex-wrestler! In another scene, he and an unknown opponent grapple in a dark room, and our hero is bumped on the head with an improvised blackjack. This sets him back only a few hours, though. For his endurance is equal to his acumen. The book is fast-moving, with little diversional material. For all that, it is evenly paced. All in all, the story is a good square meal. Few romantic undercurrents here. Strictly ham and eggs stuff. Nevertheless, it makes for a good stop-and-go read which'll keep you rumbling till the next station looms in sight. In our case, that next station is Ashton-Kirk, Special Detective (1914), which is on the rack-- to be reviewed shortly.
It's too bad this book isn't more accessible-- humdinger that it is. However, you can still pick up used copies for around $20. And I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a good crime tale. I've got a decent copy of the original Penn edition, which has illustrations by Ralph Boyer. The front cover of this book can be seen at http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2006-03-16/cover.shtml. Link referred to is an article entitled "Noir Town: The Hard Life of John T. McIntyre, the Legendary Philly Novelist Nobody's Heard Of." It offers some valuable insight into the author and his fiction, which is worth looking into. True, McIntyre was no literary artist of grand dimensions. He had a certain depth of talent, however, and his works are the kind that stick to you. You can't get them out of your system. And after reading books like Ashton-Kirk, Secret Agent, I'm not so sure I want to.
--B.A.S.
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