The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1899-07-27
0ne CT the Slightest Clues That Ever Pu: o
Man in Prison.

THE least thing ever heard Of that
put Il man In prison was the clue that
took me over the road between here
and New York about q dozen times in
1878, when l was an inspector liz the
postal service" said an old sleuth the
other day to another who had just told
a good story.
1T was an old case. 1t had been on
the books long while. -Four or five
good men had taken try ut It, but the
fellow was too sly, and he kept taking
letters and we could never take him.
The complaints pointed very closely to
the spot where the trouble was, but
when we got there we were complete
~ bafiled.
Il had myself worked on the job a
little and gone ut something else. In
all these detective cases II Is in nine
times out of ten Il mere chance that
leads to success. One day happened
to take out Of 4 pigeonhole in my desk
n bunch of decOy letters that had been
sent over the line to catch this sharp
rascal, who was robbing Washington
people Of their remittances to New
VI IA. ESOlucloN L Stu my Nhi-N
through the sealed joints Of IN en-
velOpe, and there. caught in a corner.
was a short black hair. lie flap OF
the envelope looked as II 1t had not
been meddled with. Yet it had been
opened and dollar bill duly marked
had been taken out and the envelope
sealed up and put back i'll the mail.
Il took that hair up as carefully as
If it had been a diamond had found.
l knew that just across Seventh street
was a friend of mine, now dead, who
had a powerful microscope. l rushed
I'D to his office and asked him to let me
use his instrument a moment. Under
the glass the hair seemed to be one
from mans mustache. l looked at it
4 long while and SO did my friend.
We agreed that it was whisker, sure
enough, and l was confident it was n
piece Of tile thief we wanted to catch.
If We had stopped there and gone after
| liln we should have failed again as
| completely as ever before. To make
assurance doubly sure l went to an
optician and he put the hair under the
most powt rful microscope he had. AL,
| most without hesitation he said: This
| is not black hair, but a red one
| dyed black. 1t is red at the end
Il looked for myself, and sure
enough it was so. went back to the
office, put my desk in order, got all the
| data in this case, and that night started
| over the line to New York once more
| We were satisfied the thief worked be
tween Philadelphia and New York, sc
l took it easy until l got to the Della
ware river. Then 1 got down to bust
ness. l saw every man that handled
through pouches from there on to New
York, and I took mental photograph
of every mustache in the service be
tween Philadelphia and New York.
looked for black mustaches and TO
red ones, and I was especially inter
ested in any that had the least sign o
being dyed. At Trenton found a rec
mustache, but went on to the end o
the route still looking for another o
that shade. found none. That chal
was my man. l came back home, an
for a week played toss and catch wit
him, sending through his hands pei
haps fifty decoy letters, some wit
stamps in them. some with dollar bill
and some with money orders. In les
than two weeks we had him, and II
went over the road for two years an
eight months. and the trouble stopped
at all began with my finding tina
one little stubby hair in the corner G
that envelOpe."-Wash ington Star.