Tocsin

The Tocsin is the name of a mysterious woman who surreptitiously sends hand-written messages to Jimmie Dale, the Gray Seal. The messages contain information on crimes, giving the Gray Seal a means of stopping the crimes and/or bringing the criminals to justice. In The Adventures of Jimmie Dale, the first book with the Gray Seal, the identity of the Tocsin remains mysterious until late into the story, where her identity is revealed as that of Marie LaSalle, who infiltrates the underworld through the disguise of Silver Mag, an underworld figure involved with the Crime Club. She is also described as “the woman in black”. Marie addresses the notes to the Gray Seal as “Dear Philanthropic Crook.” She also utilizes a gold seal ring, “a dainty thing that bore a crest, a bell surmounted by a bishop’s mitre, and underneath, in the scroll, a motto in French: Sonnes le Tocsin! It had seemed so apt! Ring the Tocsin! Sound the Alarm!” Jimmie Dale and Marie fall in love, though their affair is fraught with the dangers of Marie’s deep involvement with the underworld. For this reason, she continues to remain inaccessible to Jimmie, in an attempt to keep him from the danger.