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From the exhibition

Midnight Mystery Stories

· January 6, 1923

Midnight Mystery Stories
This issue of *Midnight Mystery Stories* contains several mystery and crime stories. "The Midnight Capture," by M. Vincent, opens with a doctor mistaken for someone else and ensnared in a blackmail scheme involving a woman and photographer posing as a husband—the narrator reveals himself as a plainclothes police officer who arrests the notorious blackmailers. The featured serialized story is "Good Paper," by Marcel Wallenstein (Part I), centered on Ely Goddard, a banker and book collector, who visits Theodore Brunen's second-hand bookshop when Brunen requests urgent advice. Brunen reveals a mysterious pattern: over three months, various people have brought him worthless books for resale, which are then purchased for substantial sums by the same man. Each book contains coded notations on page 104—numbers followed by "C" or "M"—and names written inside the front covers. Goddard recognizes this as coded communication. Also featured are "The Killer" by R.T.M. Scott, "The Silver-Topped Stick" by W.R. Gilbert, and lighter content including a chess-themed article on legal matters and humor pieces.

Public domain (pre-1929), restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain