As promised in a previous post, I am sharing a condensed summary of the first 29 publications (9/18/1920 to 4/2/1921) of Houdini’s School Days leading up to the final publication (4/9/1921), Houdini’s Last Great Stunt at Rathgar.
Hope you enjoy this special treat which is being shared for the first time:
Harry Houdini at the age of fifteen is sent to Rathgar, a school for troublesome boys. He is introduced to Dick Heart, a sneak, and Arthur Merlin, the First Eleven captain.
Later Heart interferes with Houdini. A fight is arranged, and Houdini quickly defeats Heart, much to the surprise of his schoolfellows.
Houdini overhears a conversation between Heart and a flashy dressed man. Heart is entrusted with money to take to the bank of Burnash. He invites Merlin to accompany him. He introduces Merlin to a billiard saloon. Merlin loses eight pounds of the headmaster’s money. Houdini recognizes the billiard shark, and plays him a game. He wins back Merlin’s eight pounds.
Houdini and Merlin are attacked in the grounds of the bank manager’s house. The burglars lock them in an empty shed. They escape, and in turn, lock the burglars in the strong room.
The Head orders Houdini and Merlin to his study for punishment, and accuses them of theft. They mutiny, and lock themselves in a class-room.
Harold Jugson, the new scholar, is introduced. Mr. Jugson, the bank manager, saves them from the doctor’s anger. The new pupils – the “Terrible Twins” – upset the school; Merlin is knocked out. Houdini challenges them to a fight.
He beats Joe Barker after a terrible tussle. They return to school through a wood, and find Jugson tied to a tree. They rescue him.
Burnash Fair is put “out of bounds.” Houdini & Co. determine to visit the fair. They meet the doctor and Heart there. Heart has set a trap for them.
Heart takes the clown’s place at the circus. On their return, to Rathgar the Doctor sends for Houdini and Merlin.
Houdini has trouble once again with the “Terrible Twins”.
Houdini and Merlin are attacked by the twins and Ginger, the school porter. They escape from the Twins’ study, and run away from school.
Houdini and Merlin meet Lord Markham. He invites them to breakfast with him.
The doctor heads a deputation to Lord Markham. He meets Houdini and Merlin, and demands an explanation.
Lord Markham makes Houdini and Merlin promise to return at once to Rathgar.
They do so, and meet a new pupil, Percy Vere, who poses as spiritualist, and claims great detective abilities.
The terrible twins Joe and Jim Barker are in trouble. Jim is ill with measles, and Joe, becoming very unpopular, bolts from school. Houdini and Merlin search for him on Preacher’s Island.
They find him tied up in a sack. They release Joe, and he tells them Flash Ben had attacked and bound him. Flash Ben returns, Houdini & Co. overwhelm and capture him.
They afterwards release Flash Ben, who goes away. Joe Barker remains on the island, hidden in a tree. Flash Ben returns at night and searches in the ruined hut. He brings forth a parcel tied up in a cotton handkerchief, which he deposits in his boat. Heart and a card-sharper named Fitz George turn at the island in a boat. They demand a share of the treasure from Flash Ben. Joe Barker escapes in Flash Ben’s boat with the treasure. He hides it among the play-boxes, and after writing a letter to his brother, starts off for London. The jewels prove to have been stolen from Lord Markham’s castle. He writes to Dr. Dickson, and suggests that Houdini, and Merlin have hidden them in a spirit of mischief. The gems are found in Merlin’s play-box.
Merlin is told by Dr. Dickson that he is under a cloud, but pending investigation he is to have his liberty. Houdini and Merlin go for a ramble towards the sea. They are captured by the pupils of Crag Castle College, and accused of attempting to set fire to a wood. Mr. Grimthorpe Jones, the headmaster, orders them to be locked in separate cells. Houdini makes a daring descent from his prison window, and escapes from his raptors on a borrowed horse. He returns to Crag Castle College disguised as an apple woman and rescues Merlin. Cycling back to Rathgar, Houdini and Merlin meet Fitz George, the billiard sharp, who tells them of Heart’s connection with the stolen Markham jewels. The “Dauntless Three” of Crag Castle College challenge Houdini & Co to a battle royal.
Houdini & Co accept the challenge and meet the Dauntless Three at the Three Beeches. Tough Ben appears, and strikes Houdini a terrible blow. They carry Houdini back to college, but Dr. Dickson disbelieves their story. He decides to personally investigate, and meets Tough Ben, who give him a shock.
Note: This info was compiled from the Merry and Bright’ book in my collection that was once owned by Harry and Bess Houdini and signed by Harry Houdini on the first page.