The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-27
HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE.
How Western Reporter Developed His
Detective Instincts.

Detective instincts.
ssI was reporter before / became de-
tective," said a fly cop TO a reporter.
'Indeed, that's the way got my start"
ssYou are not the only one, ] guess,
ventured the reporter.
so, no, it's fine school, and we're
proud OF the men who rose from the re-
portoriel ranks" smiled the detective.
"'Rose from the ranks is good" con-
ceded the reporter, "Dut tell me how you
happened TO rise.o
sWell, / was doing hotel work in
western city OF 100000 people or so, and
ell kinds of people, but / made spec
lalty Of detectives. They had fascina-
tion for me, and i often yearned to be
one of them, but / knew there wasn't
any chance until / did something I'm
their line that would commend me to
them.
alt happened at one of the hotels
where 1 used TO stop once or twice week,
not very prominent hotel. l sometimes
saw quite a swell-looking young man,
whose name, tine clerk told me, was Mar
ston, and that he was real society man,
and had money.
81 only saw him once or twice, and
I'm sure he never saw me TO remember
me, but the detective faculty in me,
whatever Ii is, warned me to keep an eye
on this young fellow, ana j did.
"About this time there was series OF
small robberies, forgeries, false pretenses
and other schemes by which somebody
was making considerable money in job
lots of from $40 TO s5Jea a whack. And the
police couldn't do thing to stop 1t.
Several mysterious disappearaDces OF jew
elry were reported. and somehow my mind
turned to Marston, but there wasn't any
reason why IL should, as far as knew,
a ts,rx fk.nra n IL ala
IN that direction.
ssOne day about noon / stopped in the
hotel and saw Marston going into lunch,
and a great idea came to me- / hurried
out and In 10 minutes / was back again
sitting In the office reading a paper. In
recourse OF half an hour Marston came
out, End carelessly lolled up against the
counter to talk to the clerk. My time
had come, and went over to the clerk.
"Here's q package said ], (which I
wish you would hold for me. It's dia-
mond worth $50, and / don't want to
carry 1t around. I'li send mp for it at
O'clock"
HOW'LL / known asked the clerk.
putting the package gave him into the
sefe, III the man that calls for IL 10 all
rightf I've got to be careful of valuable
packages.
81 wrote my name on the register in q
bold back hand, easy to counterfeit.
pare II with the signature to the order
send .
"Then / went out leaving Marston
standing almost over the register, and
having heard every word that / had said.
As for the clerk he didn't know thing
about the affair, and i didn't want him
10 until was ready.
"At $3.50 o'clock i came back, accom-
panied by detective, and we posted the
clerk, then posted ourselves behind q door
open ing into dark room behind the
Office and waited. Promptly at o'clock
very well dressed young man, quite
dude, in fact, appeared.
"sMy friend Blank, he said to the clerk
calling me by name, and presenting his
note,' lett package here today TO be
called for. and asked II wouldn't hand
you the note and get 1t for him. He said
you would understand.
"The clerk compared the signature with
the one on the register, handed over the
package, and the young man went away
with IL. The detective and i followed at
q safe distance, and after q chase of
dozen blocks the young man went into
one OF row OF boarding houses.
"We gave him 10 minutes leeway, and
followed, asking for the landlady. She
told us she had a boarder named Mayston
rooming on the second floor back, Nand
on our representing that we were his
friends, she showed us to the door of his
room, where she left u.s.
sIn response TO our knock came en- i'm
vitation to enter, which we did, and
there we found Marston. but not the
young man we had followed, who had
reddish hair, and mustacbe TO match.
This one had short dark hair, and not
much of 1t, and wss smooth-faced.
'sAt first l was fearful that had made
q mistake, and was about to apologize,
and get out, or fix up some excuse, but
the detective had more experience, and
at unce took the case out OF my bands,
and stated his business. Both of them
bluffed, but with sudden jerk the de-
tective fiipped a reddish wig out of the
emooth-faced mans coat pocket, and the
rest Of IL was easy.
''It was the sharp eye Of the detective
that saved the day, and sent a shrewd
chap 10 the penitentisry, for we not only
had MIN on the forgery, but we found a
lot OF jewelry that Marston had garnered
among his society friends. ."-Washington
Star.