Gentleman, then Burglar, then Detective

I'm really loving the fact that Archive.org is putting so many pulp magazines online. Apparently, they just throw them on their site and don't pull them unless a copyright holder complains, which (to be fair) is probably the only way a site like that can operate and make any significant number of items available. I imagine in a lot of cases the copyright holder of specific stories is perfectly happy to get them out there. And if Archive.org is honest about pulling something down if they get a complaint, then I suppose it's all fair enough. Besides, scanning errors and formating errors if you download from their site are prevelant enough that a properly published e-version would still be commercially viable.

Anyway, despite some of those errors, for those of us non-legal experts who simply want to read some of the wonderful but otherwise out-of-print stories from that Golden Age, the site is a treasure trove. For instance, the January 15, 1934 issue of Dime Detective Magazine contains an Erle Stanley Gardner story I had never read before.

Gardner created something like 18 quintillion characters for the pulps, almost all of whom other than Perry Mason have been unjustly forgotton. (Nothing against Perry--he's one of the best mystery characters ever created, but its too bad Gardner's other detectives, lawyers and crooks have faded into obscurity.)

"Time for Murder" features bored rich guy George Brokay, whom I'm pretty sure is a one-shot character. George inherited a small fortune and used his keen judge of character to invest wisely and gather up a larger fortune. But he's bored with this life and when he catches a skilled burgler about to blow his wall safe, he makes a deal with the guy rather than turn him into the cops.

Brokay will become a burglar as well--doing it simply for the adventure. He'll be an honest thief, returning what he steals afterwards, but he'll at first have the fun of stealing it.

But when his new partner takes him to a mansion to show him the ropes, the first thing they find inside is a dead woman. Also, there is--inexplicably--a terrified monkey in the room.

Well, Brokay and the thief know they'll be accused of the crime if they stick around and admit that they are thieves, so it is clearly time to go on the Lam. But, both to protect himself and out of a sense of responsibility, Brokay wants to find the killer. And the primary clue just might be that darn monkey!

It's a fun story, though it does depend a bit too much on Brokay coincidentally meeting another person involved in the case by almost pure chance. Brokay's interplay with the thief he partnered with (a relationship that rapidly breaks down as they go on the run) and the detective work he must do show Gardner's typical strengths as a storyteller.

The copy on Archive.org is missing a page, which is a little annoying. But it involves Brokay running from the cops and the next page gives you a convenient recap when he listens in on a police radio, so you can still follow the story. If you want to read it, you'll find it HERE.