The Sexton Blake Library #54: The Affair of the Smuggled Millions

Sexton Blake Library: "The Affair of the Smuggled Millions" This detective story by Maurice B. Dix features Sexton Blake's encounter with a French count seeking help recovering a fortune. When a mysterious French servant named Jules arrives at Blake's Baker Street laboratory announcing "Monsieur le Comte Raoul de Merency de Brille," Blake immediately suspects both are using false identities. The count arrives—a severely crippled man whose physical deformities contrast strikingly with his handsome facial features. Blake notes his sophisticated manner and cultured voice. The count outlines a convoluted affair involving pre-war French political intrigue tied to Nazi invasion warnings. He reveals a dispute over Marquise Suzanne Langtac's engagement to Jean Bartot, a notorious Paris political operative with pro-Laval sympathies. Brille claims he, Bartot, and others held meetings in early 1940 attempting to secure wealth before the German advance. Blake's questioning reveals inconsistencies and moral ambiguity in the count's account, suggesting financial rather than patriotic motives drove their actions. The narrative remains incomplete in the excerpt.