Detective Story Magazine, April 16, 1927

Detective Story Magazine, April 16, 1927. This weekly issue features crime and detective fiction. The novelette "Three Lights on a Match" by Paul Ellsworth Triem follows Monte Duncan and Lee Keller, two criminals planning a mail train robbery at a grade crossing. Keller has recruited Duncan by describing how the train stops nightly for safety checks, providing an opportunity to board, overpower the engine crew, and force the train to stop at a highway crossing where an accomplice waits. The story references the real De Autremont brothers' failed 1923 train robbery. Duncan suggests recruiting a woman named Dolly along with the muscular Bull Purvis to intimidate rather than kill the train crew. The narrative concludes with an ominous moment—possibly the superstition surrounding lighting three cigarettes with one match—as Lee Keller lights cigars for the gang members. The issue also includes serials, short stories, and articles on criminal history.