The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-01-06
A DETECTIVES STORY.
The Smartest Bit Of Roouery He
Had Ever Heard OF.


At a bohemian gathering the other
night, at which all of the guests were
expected to contribute at least one
yarn, says the New York Herald, pri-
vate detective told the following as an
example of the smartest bit of roguery
that had ever come under his observa-
ton:
"a certain physician, whose name
and address for professional reasons I
cannot reveal, had acquired both fame
and wealth by an extensive practice
and hadoften been brought prominent
ly before the public as an insanity ex-
pert in important cases that were tried
in the courts. Being man Of taste,
with the means OF gratifying it, he
surrounded himself with rare and
costly articles of bric-a-brac, curios
and antiquities which he had picked up
in his travels abroad.
lone day he was waited upon by an
elegantly dressed gentleman of engag.
ing manners and cultivated converse
tional powers. He said that he had
crossed the continent to obtain the
doctors aid and advice in case of ex-
treme delicacy. His wife, who in all
other respects was everything that his
heart could DESIRE had become con-
firmed kleptomaniac. Though his for
tune was ample to crafty all her
freaks of fancy and love of luxuries,
she couldn't keep her hands off other
peoples portable property. Even in
her own home she would purloin arti-
~ ~ 10 ~ ~ a
afmily.
ga curious phase of her disease-of
course, it could not be regarded as any
thing else-was illustrated by the fact
that within few hours of commit
ting thefts she invariably became pen
itent and abandoned herself to fits of
grief and modification, which were
none the less severe because always
followed by the restitution of ths
stolen property. Thus she was break
ing her own heart and her husbands.
He had consulted the most famous
alienists in Europe and placed his wife
under the treatme1t of some Of than,
but she still continued incorrigible.
Still, from what he had read and heard
of the success achieved by DR.. - in
dealing with similar cases, he had
been led to believe that if it were pos
sible to cure his unfortunate wife DR..
was the one man living who could
do it.
"The physician naturally felt some
what flattered by this avowal of conf
dence in his skill and, besides, felt a
deep professional interest in case SO
remarkable.
s.The engaging stranger promised to
call next day and bring his wife. nam
ing some fashionable hotel as their
temporary abode.
"True to his promise, he called next
day, bringing with him an exceeding
IL handsome and stylish woman, whom
he introduced as his wife. The physi
clan engaged her in conversation and
found her apparently just as refined
and cultivated as her husband. While
in the consulting, room she afforded
the physician practical evidence of the
overmastering power of zher affection
by pocketing several rare and costly
articles when she deemed herself un
observed.
"sYou see for yourself said the
uch-distressed husband in an aside
what terrible affliction hers is. Il
breaks forth even here. In an hour OF
two she will tell me what she has done
and experience all the grief and NOR
tification that the sanest and most
conscientious of persons could fee
under similar circumstances. l will
restore all the articles she has taker
at any hour you may choose to make
an appointment with me tomorrow
You can then consider the case in your
hands without any restrictions, ane
all your directions shall be implicitly
obeyed.'
"The morrow came and went, but th'
engaging stranger did not keep the ap
pointment, nor were the articles tina
the supposed kleptomaniac had poclx
eted returned. Within a week wa
put on the case, but never succeeded IL
getting track of theEcouple. They hat
vanished completely.
.sIt is the only case in all my expe
rience where shrewd, wide-awak
man was robbed before his very eye
under his own nose, as 1t were
without the faintest suspicion that h
was, being vietimized. It may b.
wrong, perhaps, but can't help feeling
the profoundest admiration for tn
man who had brains enough to concoc
such q scheme and sufficient audacit..
to carry it out"
CiiRED RY A FALL.