H Bedford-Jones

John Solomon, Supercargo H Bedford-Jones

John Solomon, Supercargo is the second volume of master pulp writer, H. Bedford-Jones' John Solomon saga, which would go on to span eleven novels and numerous short stories from the 1910's into the 1930's.
Finding himself nearly penniless overnight due to a Wall Street crash, Frederick L. C. Harcourt, Viscount Ratcliff, receives an offer to host an archaeological excursion to East Africa on his yacht, the Daphne. Dr. Sigurd Krausz is an eccentric one, but he pays well, and agrees to crew the ship with his own men, provided Harcourt enlists a chief officer and engine room crew.
Having taken a liking to Cyrus Hammer, a cattle-boat worker recovering from a tragic divorce, Harcourt offers him a junior partnership in the expedition, and the two are soon joined by one John Solomon who insinuates himself into the crew as the supercargo, in charge of obtaining the supplies and documents needed to ensure a smooth voyage.
The trip proves anything but smooth when one of the offices is found murdered and everyone becomes a suspect!