Earle Ashley Walcott. Blindfolded (1906) 400 pp. Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens.
Giles Dudley arrives in San Francisco to help his cousin, Henry Wilton, in a “delicate” and “dangerous” business venture. But, before Wilton can explain the nature of the plot, he is murdered. Dudley witnesses the murder and catches a glimpse of the face of one of the killers. He also bears more than a passing resemblance to his cousin and is mistaken for Wilton by nearly everyone he meets. At the encouragement of the police, he assumes Wilton’s identity and is soon caught up in a variety of situations that he knows little or nothing about: the kidnapping of an unknown boy, a high-stakes stock deal, and a war between two rival gangs (one of which he is the leader). Before he unravels the mystery, the action takes him from Chinatown to the Stock Exchange, from Oakland to Livermore. Originally published serially in The Reader. Available in full-text online from Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7788
Settings: San Francisco (Stock Exchange, Chinatown), Oakland, Livermore
Baird & Greenwood 2507
Hubin
Herron