Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1862-01-28
ONE NIGHT IN GAMING
HOUSE,
BY AN Ex-PoLIcE OFFICER

A little more than year after the peri
cd when adverse circumstances-chief
the result Of my reckless frolics-compeIi-
ed me t. enter the ranks of the Metropoli-
tan police, as the sole means left me of pro-
curing { Oh and raiment, the attention of
one of the principle chiefs of the force was
attracted toward me by the ingenuity and
boldness, which | was supposed to have
manifested in hitting upon and unraveling
a clue, which ultimately led to the detec>
ton and punishment Of the perpetrators of
an artistically contrived fraud upon an EN-
inent tradesman Of the West end of Lon
don. The chief stnt for me-and after A
somewhat len gthened convere alton. not only
expressed admiration IF my c. nduct in the
particular matter under discussion, but
limited that he might shortly need nv SER
vice in me other affair requiring intelli-
gence aud resolution.
II think ! have met you before" he re-
marked with meaning smile, on dismiss
ing me, when you occupied different DO
sition from your present one. Do not
alarm yonrself-I havt no wish to PRIV un
necessarily into other mel = secrets. Wat.
ers Is 4 name common enough in all ranks
of society. and l may, you know" here the
cold smile deepened into an ironical ex-
preston, "be mistaken. At al events, the
testimony IF the gentleman who obtained
your admission to the fnrce-I have looked
into the matter since heard of Your be-
havior in the late busiOess-is a sufficient
guarantee that nrthIng more serious than
imprudence and folly can be laid t. yrur
charge. | haVo neither right nor inclna-
ton to inquire further. To- morrow, in
all prol ability, shall send for you"
| came to the conclusion, as | walked
| homeward, that the chiefs iniirnatiUn Of
| having previously met me in another sphere
| of life was a random and unfortunate one,
as | had seldom visited London in my
| prosperous DAYS and still more rarely
| mingled in lite society. Ny wife, however.
| to whom |, of course, related the substance
| Of the con Versat0n, reminded me that he
had once been at Doncaster during tue
races-anG suggested that he might pussi-
| bly, have seen me there. This was n sufi
! event probable explanation Of the hiut-but
| whether the correct one or not, | can not
decide. as he never atterwari alluded to the
subject, and l had not the slightest wish Il
I renew it.
Three days elapsed before received the
| expected SUNNI ns On awaiting on him
! was agreeably startled to find that | was
to be at once employed on a mission which
| the most sanguine and experit need detec,
tive Ulcers would have felt honOred to un.
dertake.
Here is written description of the
| PERSONS of this gang of lidcklegs, swindlers
| and foreigners" concluded the Commits.
siOner, summing up bis instruction. II
| will be your object to discover their pri
vate haunts, and secure legal evidence o.
4 ~
hitherto baffied, principally, | think
through the too hasty zeal of the officers
emplOyed-you must especially avoid tha
error They are practiced scoundrels anC
Z it requires considerable practice, as well as
Justice. One of their more recent victim;
is young Mr.. Merton, SOD by former
marriage, OF the DowaCer Lady Everton
Her ladyship has applied to US to extricate
him from the tolls in which he is meshed
You will call on her at five O'Clock this af-
ternOon-in Plain clothes of course-and
obtain whatever information on the sub
ject she may be able to afford. Remember
to communicate directly with me-anJ
any assistance you may require shall be
promptly rendered"
With these, and few other minor di.
rections, needless to recapitulate, Wa,
| dismissed to task which, difficult and
possibly perilous as it might prove, hailed
as a delightful relief from the weary mon
otony and dull routine of ordinary duty.
FASTENED home, and after dressing Will
great care-the best part Of my wardrobe
had been fortunately saved by Emily from
the wreck of my fortune-l proceeded e
Lady Everton's mansion. | was immedi-
ately marshaled to the drawing room
where found her ladyship and her daugh
ter-a beautiful fair looking giri-await.
ing my arrival. Lady Everton appeared
surprised at my appearance, differing, as
dare say it altogether did, from her alb
stract idea of policeman, however attireC
or disgused-and it was not until she haC
perused the note of which was the bear
er, that her naughty and inersdulous stare
became mitigated to q glance of lofty con-
descendent civility.
"Be seated, Mr.. Waters" said her lady
ship, waving me chair. This note in
forms me that you have been selected for
the duty of eDdeavoring to extricate my
son from the perilOus entanglements II
which he has unbappily involved himself
/ was about to reply-for | was silly
enough to be somewhat nettled at the noble
lady's haughtiness of manner-that | wa
engaged in the public service of extirpat
ing gang of swindlers with whom he
son had involved himself, and was there t
procure from her ladyship any information
she might be possessed of likely to forward
so desirable result-but, fortunately, the
remembrance Of my actual position, spite
of my gentleman's attire, flashed vividIy
upon my mind; and instead of permitting
my glib tongue to wag irreverently in tht
presence of right hvDorble, + bowed with
deferential aequiescence.
Her ladyship proceeded, and /, in sub
stance, received the following information