Jimmie Dale was a master safe cracker who was wealthy, but committed crimes for the thrill. Jimmie's father owned a company which produced safes and other locks, giving Jimmie a great familiarity with safecracking at a young age. He never actually stole anything, but broke into homes, stores, and public buildings at night, leaving behind a gray diamond paper seal. Unfortunately, he was discovered one night, while breaking into Marx’s jewelry store, and he accidentally stole a pearl necklace in his hurried escape. The unidentified witness, known as the Woman in Black, blackmailed Dale into working for her, and set him against the Underworld of New York City. The woman, calling herself the Tocsin in letters sent to Dale to inform him of what actions he ought to take to stop different crimes. There is never any explanation how she gains such incredible knowledge of every crime, every house and every criminal and even how she knows everything about Dale, though she too has an underworld identity. In the first story, she had left him alone for a year with no new cases. She soon makes up for lost time.

Dale discovered that an organization called the Crime Club was controlling New York, and he dealt with the members, one by one, simultaneously looking for the Woman in Black. Chapter 20 of the first book explains all about the Tocsin and the evil Crime Club, an organization of master criminals with their fingers in most things crooked. Eventually he discovered that his mysterious blackmailer was a beautiful young woman named Marie LaSalle, who had infiltrated the underworld herself as "Silver Mag." Shortly afterwards, the Magpie, a criminal, discovers that Larry the Bat is the Grey Seal, spreads the word, and a mob of criminals race after him to kill him. He is cornered in his Sanctuary, with the Tocsin but as it burns down, they manage to escape and it is believed that both are dead. Afterwards, Jimmie Dale uses the new identity of Smarlinghue, another dope fiend and a poor artist in the second book, and he has a new Sanctuary. He has spent six months building up trust in his new identity with the Underworld. After finishing off the Crime Club, Jimmie and Marie developed a relationship. However, someone wants the Tocsin dead and instead of a life together, she goes on the run thinking if she stays with Dale, he will be killed too. She sends more letters for more missions to Dale and the Underworld finds out the Grey Seal is still alive. After some more adventures, she explains all in Chapter 22 (second book), and after the villain is finally killed, they escape in a boat together for hopefully a new life together.

Dale wore a gray suit and hat, a black silk mask and a "wide leather belt filled with small pockets,” and each pocket filled with the tools he needed. He frequently carried a gun, but rarely shot anyone and never killed anyone. Though Dale carries a gun, he does not kill, not even when a thief stole a letter before he read it and learned his identity. It is mostly used as a threat. He disliked violence and preferred to lead his opponents to their doom through more cunning and sophisticated manipulations.

Educated at Harvard and with a house on the expensive Riverside Drive, Dale is a member of the very select St. James Club, having inherited a lot of money from his late father when he sold his safe making business. Dale was about six feet tall, muscular and clean shaven, with dark eyes. He was a skilled cracksman, mechanic and painter. He was also a master of disguise and a good actor. His alternate identities included Larry the Bat, and Smarlinghue, a junkie artist. His hideout was called the Sanctuary, and he was attended by his butler Jason, and his tough and devoted chauffeur, Benson. The Sanctuary was later burned down by the Crime Club. In the earlier stories and a later story in the second book, he has an old friend, Herman Carruthers, editor of the (morning) News-Argus newspaper, a source of information and someone who hopes to expose the Grey Seal's real identity one day. The newspapers criticise the police hard for their continued failure to capture the Grey Seal.

* ''The Adventures of Jimmie Dale'' (1917)
* ''The Further Adventures of Jimmie Dale'' (1919)
* ''Jimmie Dale and The Phantom Clue'' (1920)

*''Jimmie Dale Alias the Gray Seal'' (1917)

*The Gray Seal was possibly the first character to leave signature trinkets at the scene of a crime.
*The Gray Seal, a masked man who posed as a criminal to learn about his enemies, may have been an inspiration for The Green Hornet.

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Dale Wikipedia]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0008149 IMDB]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020228024209/http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/pulpsg.html Pulp Heroes Encyclopedia]
* [https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=1715 Mystery File]
* [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Jimmie_Dale Wikisource]

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