St. Landry democrat., 1885-07-18

9lgneQlY tined 20 De lnV1Geu 10 Eecep"
tons and weddings, who came there
for the express purpose of thieVlng, and
| who in some instances worked IN col
fusion with others outside. In very Sc
lect lotteries this would appear to be
impossible, but these depredations had
| occurred in houses where opportunity
for such intrusion seemed SO unlikely
that the Inspector adopted the course
of sending detective to any reception
where temptations were offered to the
pilferer.
Nowadays the practice of having
| these custodians of property on hand IS
known to all prominent entertainers.
This much, too, has been found, that
since it's adoption mysterious dlsap-
pearances of je VERY and costly articles
have waxed quite infrequent. And
that is the reason more than one de-
tective sergeant now have the swell out
| fits they never dreamed of possessing,
and the curls and perfumery Of fashion
does not surprise them as much when
they encounter them as Of yore. VI
course, they have odd experiences,
some of them deeply tinctured with
romance.
One happened last winter to be in at
tendance at wedding. 1t was typical
wedding of the fashionable kind. There
was large gathering, reception by
bride and groom under great floral
marriage bells in the drawing room.
and later survey of the wedding
presents upstairs. The detective was
upstairs. He noticed there an ele-
| gantly-attired lady gazing intently at
| Jewel case. There was a jewel in it, of
course, and beauty of its kind; but he
felt it received all the admiration it
called for. When the detective
lounged in the lady foated out. Later
on she was back again when he CHANGED
to be called away. He was back again
I in twinkling, and in time enough to
notice her tip-toeing out alone. He
! slipped inside. The jeWel-box was
gone. He came out again to find her
going downstairs with her wrap on
and little hand sachel at her side.
She omitted to present her respects, but
went to call her carriage. He made up
his mind at once, and offered to assist
her down the steps. She took his hand,
he noticed, nervously, and with that he
said courteously:
Permit me to relieve you, madame, =
and took the sachel in his hand: They
had not reached the walk before he felt
the Jewel case in it. He called her car
rage, and, taking out the box, handed
her sachel back.
Pardon me, madame, but you forgot
to leave your little offering behind you.
Never mind, will replace it..
This was all he said. She never said
a word. But she sank in the carriage
seat as though she were shot. There
was no publicity. But thereafter that
lady's name was omitted from the
card-list of the house.
At a reception a detective noticed a
young man hurrying off with hand
some overcoat on: Not long after he
came upstairs without any. The de-
tective kept his eye on him, AS he ex-
pected he went into the hat-room only
to issue forth with fresh oVerapparel.
The one slipped to the door. The 9th
er made haste and popped out of the
basement. Almost in the shadow Of
the house was a common hack among
the coaches, and the young man crept
into it, 1t did not move off, though.
| It stayed where it was, and presently
he was out again. stripped once more
and bound upstairs for another haul.
The detective let him 60 and looked for
the cabby. He could not find him.
Then he quietly took no less than four
/ overcoats out of the hack and entered
the house. He waited in the hallway.
Down came the youth again, freshly
caparisoned.
'tCold night, isn't it2" said the detec-
tive, saluting him.
AZ don't think SO" returned the
other.
sEWell, it ought to be when you need
all these benjamins to your back.
The fellow tried to slip past him, but
he was in custody in tWinkling. The
strange part of it was that this young
man, who was clerk with fair salary.
had hired the hack, drove it himself to
the house and made his lightning
.changes without soul noticing him.
His gentlemanly appearance had given
him entrance without question, and the
BOBBY at the door never paid attention
to his repeated exits and entrances.
The detectives presence at these
merry-makings has caused funny COM
plications once or twice. a lady one
night, installing him for q guest, in
quired concerning pictures and brio
a-brac, about which he courteously in
formed her. Shortly afterward there
was theft of jewelry in her own home,
and at her husbands instance the self
same detective was dispatched there.
He found her strangely merry and dis
posed to treat the theft jocularly. When
he asked for information she only
laughed at him, and he went away
mystified. When her husband came