 | #225 "The Star of Delhi"
Vol. 38, No. 3 Published: 07/01/41 Submitted: 12/31/40 under the same title Author: Walter Gibson Review date: Dec 29, 2006 |
THE STAR OF DELHI was originally published in the July 1, 1941 issue of The Shadow Magazine. A huge sapphire known as the Star of Delhi is at the center of murder. Not just one, but multiple murders. Horrible, grotesque deaths caused by a strange unknown poison. The Shadow will be tested to the utmost in this strange tale.
This is one of those pulp adventures of The Shadow that fills in some of the gaps a little. It adds a little more detail to the background of our hero and his agents. And that raises it slightly above the standard 1941 pulp fare.
The subject of The Shadow's power of invisibility always intrigues me. In the pulps, that power is not a hypnotic one, even though the radio series portrayed it as such. But in 1939 and 1940, the four novels featuring Shiwan Khan gave us a clearer idea of how the gurus of Tibet accomplished the feat of invisibility without putting anyone into a trance. In this story, a year later, author Walter Gibson continues the concept and explains:
"Using the system of remaining absolutely immobile, with even his thoughts fixed, The Shadow was practicing the ways of the Tibetan mystics."It was their belief that such concentration could produce the equivalent of invisibility. Through experience, The Shadow had demonstrated that complete immobility did reduce an observer's chances to almost nil.
"It produced the semblance of a power through which he could cloud men's minds; and many of The Shadow's enemies had sworn that he had suddenly appeared in the midst of a lighted room before their startled eyes.
"Only a few could claim that they had seen The Shadow vanish, for the simple reason that it was much more difficult the other way about. Though The Shadow could fade rapidly into darkness, he required ideal conditions if he sought to remain on the very ground, unnoticed. Once crooks saw The Shadow, their minds became too excited to be readily quieted."
Notice the use of the term "cloud men's minds." This was an intentional reference to the radio show's standard opening. And yet, at the same time, it's made clear that The Shadow does not possess the power of invisibility. Just the semblance of that power - the illusion, or false appearance, of the power. The story makes it clear that THIS Shadow lacks the power of true invisibility, but some of his opponents believe he possesses the actual power. And so the pulp and the radio characters interweave a bit closer and closer.
Since most of these pulp stories were written by Walter Gibson, they had an amazing consistency. Unlike some other pulp tales where many different authors were involved, this series could gradually build up characterization for the agents and their master. The little things we learned about them were not contradicted later by a different writer. So if a small fact is mentioned in one story, we rarely find anything contradictory later. If we read it, we can take it as gospel. One such thing is that Margo Lane's coupe's horn plays a musical chime of "East Side - West Side." A nice touch, even though I don't remember it ever being mentioned in another story.
And speaking of Margo, it's been claimed that Walter Gibson introduced her to the pulp magazine series reluctantly, due to pressure from fans of the radio shows who wondered about her absence. It's said that, at least at first, she was only there as a damsel to be rescued. It's claimed she was not a competent agent. That belief seems to be overblown, considering that here in only her second magazine appearance she's described as both brave and competent. "Not that Margo was short on nerve; she could take care of herself in a pinch." Those are Gibson's exact words.
An interesting fact about Margo. When we first met her in the pulp series, two weeks earlier in the previous issue "The Thunder King," she was sitting at the Hotel Metrolite lounge sipping on a Mirage cocktail. Exactly what is a Mirage cocktail, I've always wondered. It's explained in this story that it is a pinkish drink that looks quite powerful, but is actually non-alcoholic. All which goes to assure us that agents of The Shadow would never want to be caught with sluggish reflexes or senses. You never know when they'll be needed.
Two weeks earlier, in her debut in "The Thunder King," she didn't know that Lamont Cranston was actually The Shadow in disguise. In this story, she knows! Early in the story, we are told "Margo also knew that this man who posed as Lamont Cranston was actually The Shadow." And a little later, "He had a way of treating The Shadow as a different personality than himself, even though Margo had long identified them as the same."
Then, strangely enough, in future magazine stories she would have no clue that The Shadow disguised himself as Cranston. And sometimes she wondered if there was a connection, while The Shadow took pains to mislead her. Other times, she assumed Cranston was an agent of The Shadow. This dance went round and round for some months, until she consistently was aware of the dual identity. This is one of the few cases where consistency was lacking for a while. But only a short while.
So, let's get down to the story. This one is about a secret society of six men who meet in hoods and robes. They are the Secret Six. They do not know the identity of each other, except for the leader in whose house they convene their secret meetings. Wealthy financier Armand Lenfell is that leader.
These six men do not meet for sinister purposes. No, they are not a criminal organization. They are a group of philanthropists who are trying to aid foreign refugees. Keep in mind that war was raging in Europe at the time. This organization is set up to buy valuable gems from the unfortunate refugees and give them a fair price on the possessions they are forced to sell.
You might ask yourself, if they are on the up-and-up, why the secrecy? Why the black hoods covering their faces? It doesn't really make sense, and is never really explained. I guess it just made for good pulpy reading.
Anyway, this syndicate of six has come into possession of the huge sapphire known as the Star of Delhi. Once famous as the principal gem in a Hindu rajah's crown, the Star of Delhi had undergone a century of travel and transfer, leaving slaughter and rebellion in its wake. Now the Secret Six own it. And so, what do they decide to do with it? Cut it up, of course! (Shake your head in disbelief.)
The Secret Six figure that cutting up this huge one-of-a-kind sapphire into six smaller, common sapphires is a good idea. And these are supposedly men of wealth and good judgment? Is it just me, or does this strike anyone else as a bad idea? A very bad idea!
The way they figure it is this. There have been a series of jewel robberies lately. And because of the robberies, they fear that potential buyers of the refugee gems won't trust them. Those American buyers might fear the refugee story is false, and the valuable stones are actually stolen gems. To instill trust in their customers, they figure that they'll cut up the Star of Delhi into six pieces, and make rings for each of them. Each member of the secret society will wear a ring containing a star sapphire from the famous Star of Delhi. And that will mark them as men of integrity. Or, if you ask me, it will mark them as men of stupidity! But it's pulp, and it's not necessary to make perfect sense, so we just go along with the concept... begrudgingly.
They contact Roger Sherbrock, a lapidary - that's gem-cutter to you and me. He cuts up the Star of Delhi and makes it into six rings. The Secret Six get their rings, and they're happy. Fools! I guess ignorance is bliss.
Anyway, Roger Sherbrock disappears. Was he kidnapped? Did he voluntarily steal away? Where is he? Why did he disappear? All these questions become even more critical when the six men under the black hoods begin to die horrible deaths. Eyes glazed and glaring, faces grinning and bloated, bodies frozen like stone. The signs point to certain poison. But how? And who's behind it? Yes, this is a job for The Shadow!
The Shadow receives assistance from his usual gang of agents. There's Margo Lane, of course, in her second magazine appearance. Here, she gets to don a disguise; something that was usually the prerogative of The Shadow. She gets to dress up as a bejeweled Hindu princess, the niece of the Rajah of Lengore. Not bad for only her second time out. The only other person in this story who gets to use a disguise is The Shadow. He appears, as he so often does, as Lamont Cranston.
Other agents appearing here are Harry Vincent, one of The Shadow's oldest agents, in terms of service, taxi driver Moe Shrevnitz who is starting to be referred to as Shrevvy, and Burbank, the contact man who always seems to be on duty. Also appearing is Dr. Rupert Sayre, who is The Shadow's own personal physician. He's not an agent, but is certainly a friend of The Shadow. And let's not forget limousine chauffeur Stanley. He's not an actual agent, either. But he unknowingly serves The Shadow. And appearing for the law are the famous twosome, Police Commissioner Ralph Weston and ace detective, Inspector Joe Cardona.
The only gadget appearing, if it can even be called a gadget, is the little flashlight with the colored lenses. The Shadow whips it out to blink signals to his agents. Green causes Moe's taxicab to come in The Shadow's direction. Red flashes mean to drop from the trail. The special flashlight is seen in many of the Shadow stories. No sign of any other interesting gadgetry like the rubber suction cups or explosive paste.
One final thing that caught my attention. Smelling salts. In one scene a secretary faints, and Margo produces some smelling salts. What's with that? Did everyone back in the 1940's carry smelling salts on their person, just in case? They seemed to appear in stories and movies with great regularity, as though it was a common item in women's purses and men's pockets. I do remember them, myself. Back in the 1950's, when I was a kid visiting the doctor, I remember getting woozy after an injection. (I hate needles.) The doctor pulled out some smelling salts and waved them under my nose. The strong stuff made me instantly alert. But that was in a doctor's office. Did people actually carry them around in their personal possession? And does anyone carry them today? Maybe people don't faint as readily, anymore. Hmmm....
I did like this story. As mentioned previously, this one is above average for a 1941-era story. It's a fun story, a tale of theft, betrayal and murder. Adventure along with The Shadow as he finds the mysterious source of the poison and stops the reign of terror before even more innocents die. Just don't try to follow the logic of cutting up that fabulous stone into six pieces. Keep repeating, "it's only pulp, it's only pulp."