The Nine of Spades appeared in the April, 1938 issue of Adventure. The byline is Pierre Chaine and Georges Surdez. I have no idea who Pierre Chaine is but we all know by now that Surdez’s specialty was tales of the French Foreign Legion. The story is quite remarkable for in only fourteen pages Surdez captures so many elements of the Foreign Legion ethos–the swaggering bravado of elite fighters, their rivalry with other French units, their camaraderie, honor and self-sacrifice, and their dark lust for strong drink that is so often their undoing. This one is purely, 100%, the work of George Surdez. (…and thanks to “eric” for the scan.)
NOTE: Sorry for being so tardy on posting to this blog. We had another death in our small family that hit pretty hard and it was appropriate to take care of more pressing matters first. My mother-in-law lived with us for well over 20 years and will be greatly missed but now her pain is gone and she is in a better place.
Mon Legionnaire 