Introduction   On Racism   Epigraphs   A History of the Pulps   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z   

Glossary and Character Taxonomy  Breakdown by Country of Origin   Bibliography   Table of Contents    The Best of the Encyclopedia

Gardiner, Captain. Captain Gardiner was created by Allen Robert Dodd and appeared in Captain Gardiner of the International Police (1916).

In the far distant future of 1975, "sixty years after the last and most terrible European war," the world is ruled by the International Federation. A few decades ago the Federation dissolved all the nations–there was an imminent threat of another world war–and put the world’s population under the Federation’s rule. The International Police is the enforcement arm of the Federation, and Captain Gardiner is the International Police’s best agent. Unfortunately, there is no war or threat of war to be seen, and various groups are agitating to reduce the International Police's power or dissolve it all together. Fortunately for Gardiner, there's always the threat of the "Orientals" to keep him busy. Gardiner and his superior and sidekick Major Wilkie are sent on an top secret mission to Peking; the Chinese and the Japanese have been plotting war against the white world, and Gardiner's job is to steal the plans.

Wilkie and Gardiner visit Wu, the last descendant of the Manchu emperors and the most prominent Yellow Peril character in the novel. Wu had promised to sell Gardiner and Wilkie the plans, but instead he double crosses them and traps them in a deadly pit with no possibility of escape. Wilkie commits suicide after instructing Gardiner to hide the plans (Wu had given the pair the plans before plunging them into a pit) inside his stomach after he's dead. Unfortunately, Gardiner is then put to the Question and tells all. Another agent is forced to retrieve the plans, and as the International Federation declares war on the "Orientals" Gardiner is released by Wu and resigns from the International Police. The Federation wins, in large part due to the work of "Lt. Col. Smith," (Gardiner in disguise), who is a great help to the Federation both on the front lines and from headquarters. Gardiner eventually lives down his failure and is absolved by the Federation, which restores him to his former position.

Table of Contents / Annotations / Blog / Books / Patreon / Twitter / Contact me