by the police for Brand's murder, and one of his fellow operatives, Dick Foley, leaves Personville because he is uncertain of the Op's innocence. The Op, now wanted by the police, entices Reno Starkey, a gang lieutenant, to take on the last strong rival mob, led by Pete the Finn. The last gangs are whittled down by pipe bombs, arson, gun fights, and corrupt cops gunning down the survivors. The Op tracks down Starkey, the only gang leader still alive. Starkey is bleeding from four gunshot wounds, having just killed mobster Whisper Thaler. Starkey reveals that he was the one who stabbed Brand, and that she had colluded with the semiconscious Op so he looked like the culprit. The corrupt police chief Noonan and the gang leaders are all dead. The Op blackmails Elihu Willsson into calling the governor, who sends in the National Guard, declares martial law, and suspends the entire police force. Elihu Willsson gets back his town, as promised, although not in the way that he had anticipated. The Op returns to San Francisco, where the Old Man (the chief of the Continental Detective Agency's office) gives him "merry hell" for his activities. Serial publication Red Harvest was originally serialized in four installments in the pulp magazine Black Mask: Part 1: "The Cleansing of Poisonville", Black Mask, November 1927 Part 2: "Crime Wanted—Male or Female", Black Mask, December 1927 Part 3: "Dynamite", Black Mask, January 1928 Part 4: "The 19th Murder", Black Mask, February 1928 Characters "The Continental Op", an operative from the San Francisco branch of the Continental Detective Agency Mickey Linehan, a detective from the Continental Dick Foley, a detective from the Continental The Old Man, boss of the San Francisco branch of the Continental Elihu Willsson, "Czar of Poisonville" Donald Willsson, newspaper publisher and Elihu's son Mrs. Willsson, Donald's wife Lewis, Donald's assistant Noonan, the corrupt chief of police Tim Noonan, the dead brother of Chief Noonan Max Thaler, alias "Whisper," a gambler Dinah Brand, Thaler's girlfriend Dan Rolff, Dinah's roommate and a "lunger" Lew Yard, gangster Pete the Finn, bootlegger Reno Starkey, professional thief Hank O'Mara, member of Starkey's gang Bill Quint, an organizer for the IWW Robert Albury, bank teller Helen Albury, Robert's younger sister Charles Procter Dawn, criminal lawyer Bob MacSwain, murderer of Tim Noonan Adaptations Film critics David Desser and Manny Farber, among others, have noted similarities between Red Harvest