H. Bedford-Jones (1887-1949) was a prolific pulp author with over 1,000 works, and several series. His longest series featured John Solomon, a mysterious cockney ship chandler who operated in Port Said, Egypt, before World War I with a network of agents.
Strangely, Solomon is somewhat of a secondary character in his own series, with there usually being a more adventurous young man as the main character of the stories, who usually marries and settles down at the end.
I’ve posted on this character before, and pointed out that Altus Press (now Steeger Books) is reprinting this series as part of their H. Bedford-Jones Library. They had put out the first volume, and now John Solomon, Supercargo: The Adventures of John Solomon, Volume 2 is out. This story was reprinted from Argosy in 1914, and was cover featured. The artwork is used on the cover of this volume.
This one is a little different from the other stories I have read. As the story starts, we meet two of the main characters: Frederick Harcourt and Cyrus Hammer. Harcourt is a now-broke British viscount, who only owns his steam yacht. He hires American seaman Hammer to be his first mate for a paid expedition to East Africa being funded by a Dutch archaeologist. John Solomon pops up in the second chapter to offer his services as the “supercargo,” basically the person in charge of arranging for supplies on the ship.
If Solomon is involved, there must be more to this expedition! What is the Dutchman, named Sigurd Krausz, all about? And, yes, there is a girl involved, a Professor Sara Helmuth who has gone ahead on another ship. Krausz had worked with Helmuth’s father, another archaeologist, who had died recently in Portugal while doing research with Krausz. Krausz has a creepy assistant, and most of the sailors on the ship work for him.
It appears that they are looking for a former Portuguese fort where some artifacts were buried before the fort was overrun and destroyed by Arabs. But if this is just an ordinary expedition for buried treasure, why is Solomon involved? Why does Hammer see Solomon acting strangely in London before they set out, and during the voyage, why does someone kill the second mate?
Something is going on, and Hammer, the main character, is trying to figure it out before he’s killed or framed for murder. The reader will learn what it’s all about midway through the story. I had hoped for a lost city, but while it’s not that, it’s pretty interesting what is going on, and what Krausz’s part is in all of it.
By the time it’s all over, we learn the full story of what is buried, Hammer gets the girl, and Solomon will head back with them to his Port Said shop.
I look forward to the next one, Solomon’s Quest, which appeared in People’s. Don’t know anything about it, but believe it has some fantastical elements, but no idea what. Can’t wait.
