The fourth plague by Edgar Wallace

 I found this one a bit boring, honestly. There is a great story, and the biggest threat possible, but it was slow, with characters that didn’t really get to me. It was a good story, in a way, but not for me.

There’s a hero who is a bit like Sherlock Holmes in the way thata he knows stuff that nobody knows, and we’re not told how he can possibly know, just that he’s super smart. He can also always be where he needs to be, of course, knowing everything.

There is a mysterious, secret criminal organization, the Red Hand or something, very dangerous. Italian genius Tillizzini already stopped them in America, and now they are here in England.

They send threats to get money, a ‘pay or we’ll kill you’ kind of thing, but they are also frantically looking for something specific, their boss wants a very, very rare medallion. Almost unique, there’s only two in the world, made by Leonardo Da Vinci himself. one was thought to be lost and the oher is in Sir Ralph’s collection. This gang kills without a second thought.

So, the first one: a man who did have second thoughts on this whole thing, gave it to Frank Gallinford, who he knew is a gentleman. Frank will give it to Tillizzini who will keep it safe. They’ll try to kill him and fail. Count Festin will try to steal it only to fall for a duplicate. 

The second one, though, is harder to protect. Sir Ralph’s young and beautiful wife Vera is totally, passionately in love with Count Festin and will do anything for him, so eventually she steals it for him. 

Tillizzini tries to prevent this, but Festin gets it this time.

Somehow Tillizzini knew about Vera and their plan… :-/

Inside these medallionsthere’s Leonardo’s research on the plague, so now the red hand threatens the whole of England: immunity and lots of money or we’ll spread the fourth plague on this Country… It’s absurd, is what it is, of curse they can’t agree: not only there would be no Law, but there would also be no end to it. People would live knowing that at any moment they might demand something else or finallyd o it, and they’d be dead. It’s impossible, not acceptable, it would made this gang the masters of England, really unacceptable.

Count Festin also kidnaps Marjorie, because he thinks he’s in love with her, but she loves Frank. Tillizzini will free her befre having England’s full forces attack the house he’s in with his gang.

Of course Festin will die and Tillizzini be thanked for saving them all, and right at the end he reveals a fact: Count Festin was raised to be that way by a bad father, a bad man who taught him only how to be bad. Tillizzini is his older brother who hated his father and left. Which explains why they were both smart, 

But also explains the phone call from Tillizzini to Festin before starting to bombard the house. Once you know that, the phone call becomes so important, even if they say nothing of any conseguence or importance. 

Vera joined him for the end: she’s the one to tell him that he’s surrounded, to tell him the reality of the force against him, and she’s there to die with him, and it’s a powerful thing, to see her happy.

Towards the end of the attack, they go up on the roof together, and die together.

ITA La Mano Rossa