Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-04-05
in the way Of police detectives ii

years, has taught me that, If yol
really want one of them to he'll
i you, the first thing to do is to asl
/ him to breakfast to that mea
| which is eaten at III or II O'Clock
and which bears a strong falnil!
likeness to AN elaborate Englisi
luncheon. accordingly asked th'
/ individual under whose care haC
been put, to come with me to break
fast at a certain restaurant In tho
Place du Havre, where, having Q
weakness for sole q Ia Fernando
one Of the specialties of the house,
usually eat my midday meal when
staying in the pleasantest of Euro
pean capitals. My companion
promptly accepted the prOffered
civility, and, as we logged thither
in tiacre, / explained to him the
nature of my business in Paris, and
how anxious i was to recover the
lost bonds for my friends without
letting the public know that the
latter had been robbed.
The detective said that he did
not think there would be any diff
Guilty in the matter. He hoped,
and, indeed, he believed that, if the
bonds had been pawned or pledged
in Paris, he could find out without
much difficulty where they were (;
that no respectable firm would take
in pledged bonds f.om an individ-
ual they did not know; that thOse
firms who did business of this sort
would advance very small portion
.F /
was prepared to pay a little more
than had been advanced, the bonds
would no doubt be recovered. Thus
talking we arrived at the Place du
Havre, and both did full justice to
the excellent breakfast placed be-
fore us. After coffee, cigars and
chasse, we separated, my cOmrade
walking with me as far as the Grand
Hotel, where he took leave, prom
ising to see me about five O'Clock
on the afternoon of the next day, at
the hotel where | was lodging, the
Rue de PArcade. During our walk
between the Place du Havre and
the Grand Hotel, was anxious TO
see whether my companion
was recognized by the several
sergeants-de-ville that we met on
the road but nothing of the kind
took place. No one, whether of the
police or not, appeared to have the
slightest idea that this individual
was anything more than one OF the
well-dressed lOiterers who may be
counted by the thousands in Paris.
He was well dressed, but not in any
way dandified and from the crown
of his hat to the sole of his boots
there was nothing whatever about
him that spoke of his profession. III
/ had been asked to guess who he
was, should have said he was
clerk in some merchants Office or
bank, and that although not veal
thy, he was tolerablye prosperous
and well-tO-do man. His manners
were good and free, without being
he spoke to me as being
quite my equal, and yet with moth
ing but what was savOred with true
French politeness. His willingness
to help me was expressed more az
if he was anxious to show kindness
and civility to a foreigner than as If
he expected to be in any way re-
warded for what he did. He never
in any way so much as hinted at
money or moneys worth being
needed to carry out his work, and
when spoke of the expenses he
would incur in making this inquiry
and of my willingness to place
funds in his hands for that purpose,
his answer was, "Those are matters
which you will arrange by-and-by
with the chief. ! am only acting
under his orders" "
After leaving the detective officer
whose services were thus placed at
nv disposal, / walked back by the
to the Medicine, on my
way to the Rue de PArcade. Hap
pening to pass a linendraper's shop,
and noticing some socks which took
my fancy, | went in to look at them.
Not being certain about the size,
and whether or not they would fit
me, the woman of the shop very
civiIly offered to send round some
pairs of different sizes from which
/ could select. l gave her my adj
dress at the hotel, which was but a
short distance off, and / had hardly
arrived at the Bedford before one Of
the walters tapped at my door and
that man had brought
me some socks to look at from q
shop on the boulevard.
desired that the man should be
shown up. He brought his parcel
in with him, and stood facing me-
he undid it, talking about the
of the few strangers that
were in Paris, and the usual gossip
of the would-be civil Paris shop
man. did not look at him very
fixedly, but noticed that he was a
man of about thirty years of age,
with full black beard and mustache,
black and somewhat long hair, and
although not fashiona-
bly,, dressed. He showed me seve-
raj pairs of socks, which / measured
with some of my own from my
portmanteau. i selected a dozen
pairs, but demurred at the price he
asked me, which was more than
double what l should have had to
pay in the most fashionable West
End shop in London. We argued
the point amicably together, and
when / produced 100-franc note
to pay him, he said he
had no change, but would go down
to the bureau of the hotel and ask
for what he needed. / state these
particulars to show that the man
was some time in my room, and !
that we had a considerable amount |
of conversation together. As he
was turning to 60 out of the door,
he all at once pulled off his wig, his
beard and his whiskers, and stood
revealed to me as my travelling
from Dover to Paris.
He grinned with delight. as having |
scored one in the three points he |
had to make to win his bet, For
nv part / was so astonlshed Icould |
hardly speak, The disguise had
heen perfect, and the manner in
which he had followed me from the
which short half-hour
before had no idea. of entering
was SO astounding that / told him
at the time he deserved to win the
game from what he had already
done. But this would not satisfy
him. A Frenchman, no matter
what his occupation may be, inva-
riably takes pride i'm his work and
this detective was as proud Of hav-
ing outwitted me as q general would
be of having gained agreat victory.
He resumed his wig and beard so as
not to excite surprise In the people
of the hotel, and going with him
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