San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-06-29
The Story q Detective Told.

"lll tell you OF an incident never
reflect on without regret" said retired
old detective, the other day, while recit'
ing some OF the stirring occurrences OF
the early days of San Francisco.
"The life of a detective is not one OF
excitement merely. 1t is sometimes
crossed with events as wild and startling
as ever gave coloring to romance. No
emotion, no passion or phase OF charac-
ter is hid from us. We learn to play up
on the feelings, the hates and affections
of men and women as unerringly as the
pianist on his instrument. While the
casuist would hesitate to take advantage
of this, the necessities we are under
compel US to omit no opportunity which
may lead us to success.
81 say this because the incident am
about to relate reveals what woman
will do when excited by jealousy or
thirsting for revenge.
ave were on the track of a man who
had robbed Havana jeweler of al
most incalculable wealth. He had
fled his native island, and we were
informed by the Cuban authorities
that in all probability he had
made his way to this coast. At that
time this city was full of Cubans and ad-
venturers from all parts of the world.
One couple, peculiar from all the rest,
excited the attention of the then limited
fashionable world, and became the pets
of society. Their lavish expenditure
and almost Eastern magnificence of APP
parel and equipage excited the admira-
ton and envy, it may be, of their fash
ionable acquaintance. They, too, were
Cubans. The man, inheriting all the
peculiarities of the Spaniard, was, in
personal appearance, a type of his race.
"But 1 can not describe the woman
that passed as his wife. She was the
most beautiful creature ever saw-the
idea of the poet, when he painted the
dark-eyed maiden Khorassen, was
realized in her person. She seemed to
me like some living, beautiful idol for
men to worship. The tint of the olive
was on her brow, and in the dark,
luminous eyes wealth of affection; but
they told, too, of spirit resentful of in
Justice, and fierce in wrath as the glare
of her native sun.
"By the devious path we pursued
when on the trail of the criminal, we
traced our man' to this city. We knew
he was here, and we scare he'd for him
necessarily. But, as if to baulk our
exertions and put to shame our efforts,
this is all we could learn. The Span
lard was the only person who answered
the description of the criminal. But
what folly to suspect him!-the petted
courtier of society---the millionaire---he
would only have laughed our suspicious
to scorn. But still we hung around
him. By a strange magical influence,
it was impossible to divorce ourselves
from the belief that he was the party
we were in search of. This constant
attendance at the places he frequented,
this lowering around the sphere in
which he moved, made us acquainted
with the fact that his wife was unhap-
ply and ill-treated by her husband.
"He had begun to neglect her, and
pay assiduous court to fashionable
mynph du pare. One night we saw
him enter the theater with the fair
American, and entering private box
was paying her the most devoted at
tention. Shortly afterward woman,
whom we at once perceived was his
wife, but evidently disguised, entered,
and passing around the dress
circle took a seat directly facing
him. By a strange coincidence
she was right by me. She looked at
the couple in the box long and earnest
ly; her face, which we could see from
our position, gradually changed to an
expression of the most fearful and vim
dictive passion l ever beheld. Accus-
toned as was to every phase of hu-
man emotion, it appalled, me. At last
she arose and left the theater, followed
by an attendant. Now was our time. l
got up as quietly and was by her side
when she reached the street. was de-
termined on a stroke of policy, which,
if l read her countenance Alright, would
place the nan in our power. If was
mistaken, it could do no harm. Actu-
ated by the impulse, L placed myself in
f,o,t ,,f how o,,J ,oica1 my hot