Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-01-21
A PARIS MAN HUNT.

stretches of waste space are traversed by,
unfrequcnted roads and sparsely dotted
with rickety novels or the ramshackle'
buildings of trumpery manufactures, in,
this No Mans Land lies the Moulin de la
Galcttc, a public ballroom frequented by
rogues of every caliber and %ruffians of the
purest water. On u Sunday night the
place is at its liveliest. The cream of Pa
risian rascaldom swarms down to 1t from
the alleys and courts of Montmartre proper,
the hideous Sums Of La Villette, or trainps
up from the Notifications and the dens of
Saint Ouen. 1t is the worst spot in all
Europe.
There are people who venture into this
seething caldron of blackguardism out of
curiosity.
If any such were present on a particular
night not long since, they could scarcely
have failed to notice a typical specimen Of
the rough who sided in and out through
the jostling, dancing, yelling throng with
that SLOUGH and that roll Of the hips and
shoulders SO characteristic of the Partisan
cutthroat.
In a word, the picturesque rutlian was
got up in what the habitues Of the place
would admit was the pink of fashion. But
there was no knife in the ample folds of
his belt, which merely concealed a piece of
~pasteboard, bearing a cipher message to
the effect that its bearer was Inspector
Woo of the Paris detective force.
Woo sauntered round, eying a number
of old acquaintance, to whom, however,
he was quite unrecognizable. Several of
these worthless were "wanted, but they
could wait. Woo was out this evening
after far bigger game, game that as yet he
had not sighted. Indeed he had no great
hope Of running 1t to ground or he would
not have committed the imprudence Of be-
ing alone. He had just looked into the
Moulin de la Galette on the off chance.
He was beginning to think that he might
as well be leaving when u particularly
noisy crowd in a orner of the ballroom
attracted his attention. A number Of cou-
pies had ceased dancing and were throng-
Ing round a quartet that were executing a
wildly eccentric quadrille amid the ap.
plauding howls of the spectators. Woo
elbowed his way through the ring of on
lockers till he was able to catch a glimpse
of the dancers. What he saw made his
lips part in a smile of satisfaction. He
had run across his men. But his smile
vanished In an instant. The task before
him was no laughing matter. The whole
band was there-its chief and his three
satellites. They were a villainous crew to
look at, and they looked no whit worse
than they were. 'From information re-
ceived" the police had the best reasons to
believe that Il recent series of revolving
crimes could be traced to them. 1t was
for these that they were wanted"
Woo lit a cigarette and thought out his
plan of campaign. 1t was soon settled,
and he started to execute the preliminaries.
BY law the police have to be present at ev-
cry public place of entertainment in Paris.
At the entrance to the ballroom sat two
sergeants dc vile in uniform, elbow to ell
bow, on a bench. Woo, suddenly the worse
lapsed on to q vacant seat at their side. A
whispered word gave them the cue, and
they stared stolfdly at the wall opposite,
while the detective muttered his instruc-
tons beneath his breath. Back in the
ballroom Woo had nothing to do but wait.
The evening advanced and the company
thinned. When the proprietor began to
put the lights out, the gang decided to
make a move. Woo fell into line with
them as they crossed the hall. He could
sec the two policemen standing ready on
each side OF the door, and from a sign they
gave him he knew that they had sum-
moned assistance.
The band struggled through the en-
trance, the chief and one Of his companions
at its head. This latter man was carrying
a drover's stick shod with iron. As the
pair stepped out of the building Woo with
a stride closed up with them, snatched the
stick away, thrust it between the legs of
the chief and tripped him up. The police
sprang in, and in a second the melee was
general.
The chief once on the ground, Woo had
hoped to nail him there. But the man
was too quick for him. In an instant he
was IN his feet again and had whipped out
his knife. Again the stick was useful. 1t
fell with a whiz on the hand lifted to
strike, and the chief dropped his weapon
with a yell Of pain.
For II moment he hesitated whether he
would fly at his assailant's throat, but no
thought better of it, turned and bounded
across the deserted road, Woo at his heels.
For a minute the race was along the road
way. Then the chief yaulted a low fence
and started away over the open ground
that covers the greater portion of this
northern slope Of the hill of Montmartre.
The steep incline is divided off into gar
den plots, and the race soon became a
steeplc chase. The hunted man leaped an
other fence, crashed through a hedge and
doubled around a wall. Here Woe lost
him for an instant, but, thanks to the
moonlight, sighted him scudding, bent
double, along a ditch. Little by little the
detective gained ground. His man had
drunk enough and danced too much. Sud
denly the desperate stopped, and Woo saw
why. The ruffian had CHANGED IN a hoe
left with other gardeners tools on a wheel
barrow he had happened to pass. Thus
armed, he shouted, "COme near and l
brain you!" The plot Of ground they were
in was being used for the cultivation Of
choice vegetables. 1t was covered with
scores Of round glass shades to keep the
plants from the cold, shades about as large
as a moderate sized 1lowerpot, and with a
protuberance at the top to allow them to
be easily handled. An idea occurred to
Woo. Instead of slackening his pace he
came on at q run as II he meant attempt
ing to rush in beneath his mans guard.
But W or three yards from the chief he
stopped short, picked up a shade and
hurled 1t at the criminals head. There
was a smash Of glass, a sort Of scream and
one of the terrors of Paris rolled over with
III ugly wound In his skull. The hunt
was at an end. London Mail.
SlOper's Eloping Girls
The six daughters Of a Sydney man
named Sloper cloped in turn. This is the