Saki, the Clay Camel

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Saki, the Clay Camel
Start date: June 17, 1935
End date: November 2, 1935
# of strips: 120 (20 weeks)
Writer: Lee Falk
Artist: Phil Davis
Preceded by: "The Monster of Tanov Pass"
Followed by: "The Werewolf"

"Saki, the Clay Camel" is the 4th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis. This story exists in two variants, one made to span six newspaper columns, the other to span five.

Plot Summary

When Mandrake and Lothar get off the train in Beran, in northern Arabia, they are met by the police. Inspector Duffy tries to arrest Mandrake, believing that he is actually Saki, in disguise. With the help of a little magic, Mandrake convinces the inspector that he is not actually the Saki the inspector is looking for. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Duffy treats Mandrake to lunch and tells him about the mysterious Saki he is looking for.

Duffy said that Saki was the greatest thief in Arabia, if not in the world. He was a master of disguise and never appeared in the same guise twice. He could appear as an old woman, a businessman, a beggar or a prince - no one knew. He had been nicknamed The Clay Camel because he always left a small clay camel figure at the scene of the crime as a calling card.

Duffy had many stories to tell about Saki but the most sensational was a spectacular theft of a diamond. A wealthy Rajah had visited the city and with him he had a large diamond. Saki had announced that he was going to steal this diamond so the police had a thousand men on guard to protect the palace where the Rajah was. Nothing seemed to have happened and the next day the Rajah went to the airport where he kissed his wife goodbye before leaving on a plane. That same evening some servants found a man bound and gagged in the palace cellar and in his hand he had a small figure, a clay camel - the real Rajah.

When Duffy goes to pay for lunch, he discovers that his wallet is missing and the only thing he finds in his pocket is a small clay camel figurine. Mandrake decides to help Duffy catch Saki, the cheeky thief who, dressed as a waiter, had overheard their conversation and stolen the inspector's wallet right under their noses. Duffy believed that Mandrake had to visit the Thieves' Market to track down Saki, and offered to let Turo show them the way. Turo told them a little more about the mysterious and powerful Saki, and on the way to the market they passed a bulletin board with the inscription: Death to Mandrake, he of the black silk hat - Saki's bulletin board. They approached the market and were ambushed by several murderous thugs, but a little magic and Lothar's powers overpowered the thugs.

Then they became aware of a mysterious woman seemingly following them, could it be Saki in disguise? Mandrake follows the mysterious woman to find that it is Princess Narda. It turns out that both have been following each other, believing that it was Saki they were following. The master thief had tricked Narda into giving up the crown jewels by first dressing up as a conductor who recommended that the valuables be locked up as Saki was likely on the train. Then the thief appeared in the form of Prince Segrid, to whom Narda had given the jewels. And now Narda was trying to track down Saki in the hope of getting her crown jewels back.

Mandrake went to the thieves' market and entered their auction where Kate, scrub-woman, finally offered Narda's crown jewels. Mandrake managed to overpower Saki who confessed that he was also Kate and Turo, but the master villain had a bargaining chip. If Mandrake let him escape, he would get the crown jewels back and Saki would tell him where Lothar was being held. Mandrake agreed to the deal and together with Lothar they went to Narda with the crown jewels.

Duffy showed up and Narda convinced him to take care of her crown jewels for a while just in case. But what Narda and Mandrake didn't know was that it wasn't Duffy who got the jewels at all, but Saki dressed as Duffy. With the jewels in his custody, Saki comes up with a new plan. He knows that Narda is wealthy and that she has a soft spot for Mandrake. He goes to her dressed as Mandrake and proposes to her, and Narda, a little surprised, accepts. He asked Narda to pack her things and her jewels so that they could get married quickly and take the train out of town.

Mandrake discovered what had happened and took up the hunt for Narda and Saki. When he reached them, Narda was confused and couldn't figure out who the real Mandrake was. But the real Mandrake was a magician and a little magic made her understand who he was. Saki ended up behind bars and Narda got her crown jewels back. Mandrake, who has not yet fully understood that Narda has a crush on him, says goodbye and he and Lothar were ready for new adventures.

Appearances

Recurring characters

One-time characters

  • Inspector Duffy
  • Turo, a stool-pigeon - Saki
  • Kate, a old scrub-woman
  • Lizzie, servant of Narda

Locations

  • Nothern Arabia
    • Beran, a city
      • The Thieves' market


Behind the scenes

Title

  • The title for the story is lifted from the plot.

Signifiant covers

  • Brazil
    Brazil
  • Brazil
    Brazil
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Italy
    Italy
  • Spain
    Spain
  • USA
    USA
  • USA
    USA

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Brazil

France

French Polynesia

  • "Il cammello d'argilla" & "La cattura di Saki", Mandrake #29 & #30 (Comics Stars in the World 1977 or 1978) note: Italian text.

Italy

Portugal

Turkey

Spain

United Kingdom

USA

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