Forgotten Stories: "One More Thrill" by Carroll John Daly (1921)

You know Carroll John Daly. He's the Race Williams guy. The guy who beat Dashiell Hammett to the punch (by about fifteen minutes) with the first hardboiled detective story. That now-famous detective story, "Three Gun Terry," saw light in the May 15, 1923 issue of Black Mask, but Daly had at least a dozen stories published prior to that, and "One More Thrill," might just possibly be his first. (If you're aware of an earlier one, please shout it out!)

"One More Thrill" appeared in a funky little newspaper called The Chicago Ledger, dated August 27, 1921. The cover pic of that issue (below) is from eBay, where someone's offering it for a mere $124.50. The text featured here is from the story's second appearance, in the Jan. 1934 issue of Thrill Book, one of those wink-wink nudge-nudge "peppy" mags that were popular with long-pantsed boys back then. It was posted for posterity by the good folks at The Pulp Magazine Project.

Thrill Book borrowed the title illo from the Ledger, but the cartoon was apparently their own.