The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-06-19
5el'ft Mis&ellunlJ.
THE LUCKY HORSE SHOE.

If Detective Sergeant Collie had az
rived sooner he might have been able
to discover Il workable cew, he thought
but when he was called in the burglary
was three days old. 1t was only after
the local police had done their best
and failed that they applied to Scot
land Yard for help, and that the clever
detective sergeant was sent to Bour-
geoisville.
BY that time the local police, under
the able direction of Inspector Doodle,
had succeeded pretty we'll in oblitcr-
ating everything which mi ght have
served as a clcw to the sergeant
Enough, however, still remained to
show him that the burglary was no.
the work of amateurs, but of profess
ionals. The way in which Mr. st.
John-Smith's powerful plate safe had
been forced was really a charming piece
of workmanship, and excited the de-
tective's warmcst admiration, and the
rapidity and noiselessncss with which
the massive silver plate had been re-
moved, and the rcccption-rooms strip
ped ofthcir Misunderstanding paint
ings, bronzcs and other not easily por-
table articles-proved the person CON
cerned to possess the highest and rarcst
skill known to the trade.
Although Sergeant Collie thought
he might hav> been able to do some
thing had he been called in Immediate
ly, yet he full V recognized that it was
no great discrcdit to the local police
that they had failed to trace the guilty
persons. 1t was clear that from the
first there was little to indicate who
these were. Not single suspicious.
Looking man or woman had been seen
in the ncighhorhood for weeks. and vet
| it looked as if those who committed the
burglary had thorough knowledge not
merely of the country about. but also
of the house and the habits of its in
mates. Not a single SuSpicious-look
| ing vehicle had been seen on any oftht
roads about the pillaged house. or, in
| deed, about BourgcoiSville, or the vii
lagc, as it was called which was near
| ly a mile distant. on the night of tn,
burglary, and vet the number anG
weight of the articles were such as
to render it highl V improbable they
were carried off without the help of {:
vehicle of some sort The policeman
whose beat lay along the London road
off which the pillagrd mansion was sit
natcd. had seen the ordinary number
Of vehicles during that night, but they
all obviously belonged to "carriar y,
people" in the nriyhhorhood Their,
WAS not Il van, doc cart or other liI>cI,
conveyance among them.
Sergeant Collie spent Il whole fort
night searching for anything that might
promise Il clew to the solution of tn,
| mystery. He examined and cruSs-cN
amncd Mr. st .Iohn-Smith' : numerous
servants. He searched the grounds ot
Long lcat the plundcrcd manSion-
and of the ncighhnring houses most
minutcly i'll the hope of finding some
traces of the missing property. II,
questioned everybody who lived in th,
ncirhborhood and who within the past
month had visited the house But he
discovered nothing.
At the end of the fortnight Sergeant
Collie reported to headquarters that
he had done all he could, and had com
plctely failed to trace the criminals.
As he was convinced that further in
vcstigation on the spot-at least, for
the prcscnt-was useless, he WAS re-
called to town. Before leaving Bour-
geoisvillc he impressed on Inspector