The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1899-12-28

tail and l found that the man under
my bed" was Doc Pippin. He said he
was living in Denver; so was |, and in
few days he came in to see me. He
came often, and told the best stories
l had ever heard. He was thin and
pale, and l noticed that he coughed
and pounded his left lung when he
did So
Doc went to Chicago and became ac-
quainted with a we'll known detective.
He was offered employment, accepted
it and was sent at once to a small
town in Illinois to find out band OF
thieves who were stealing hogs and
robbing shops. If Doc had tried, he
could never have become a good dress
err Even clothes that were made for
him didn't tit, and he wore his hat
crosswise, like the leading man at a
French funeral. His appearance upon
this occasion was in his favor, and
he was not long in forming the ac-
quaintance of the toughest lot of loaf
ers in the town. They liked Doc, as
every one did who knew him, but it
was long time before they would
trust him. Docs money gave out, and
he tried to borrow, and the gang gave
him the laugh. ''Git out and turn
trick-work," said one Of the men.
what can L do? Show me and then
watch me-" said Doc.
''See that jay ridin out of town.
said the tough, nodding down the
road where lone horseman was going
away with the sunset on his back.
"Well, he's goin out to his place in
the country-goes every Satday night
and comes back Monday-hold i'm up
Doc knew the man, as he knew near
ly every man in the place, by the de-
scription given him at Chicago, and
by the middle of the following week
this wealthy citizen had been notified
from headquarters that he would be
held up on the next Saturday night.
Doc was at his post, and as the lone
horseman came down the road the
highwayman stepped out from the
shadows of a jack oak and covered
his man. That night the gang drank
up the best part of $3.50 and voted
Doc "a dead game TOUGHER"
The verdancy of the gang he had to
deal with made Docs work compare
lively easy He invariably drank gin
and water, and by simple trick that
a child ought to have detected-the
trick of drinking the water and leav
ing the gin-lie was always sober
/ When the proceeds of Docs raid had
been expended together with the 81 re
ceived for the Jays" watch, the ganf
t determined to rob a hardware store
{ The job had been undertaken once bu
:. had failed. The time arrived, the store
! was entered and when they were al
In Doc ducked down behind thu
l counter and reached the rear end O
the store. Now a big bulls eye wa
|, turned upon the gang, who arose from
9 their work to look down the dark bar
rels Of a half dozen shot guns. One o
the gang, seeing Doc with the sheriff
party, made a play for his pistol bu
the sheriff showed his shotgun We
nearer the robbers face and said
softly, "Be quiet" and he was calm.
Young Pippin's success in this nov
celebrated case won for him the fu
: confidence of the agency and before b
had reached Chicago other importan
work was mapped out for him, but
the surprise of the agency he refuse
to accept another assignment.
81 could not bear,' he said to M
"the thought of living a whole life ths
was a lie-to appear always to be ths
which 1 was MOTTO mix and ming
constantly with the wicked of tn
much happiness. 1t is a great and In
portant work which ought to be don
but it is not for me-"
Returning to the west again Pipp
in entered the service of Uncle Sam as
y. railway postal clerk.
It Finding letter in the mail marke
at to me he took his blue pencil and wro
at on the back of the envelope, Hello
Id DOOR. NJ. SIP and l knew then tn
i'll he was in the railway mail service.
s. 1t was some time after the receipt
IF this brief message that the meetil
lie in the sleeping car, already referr'
a to, occurred and it was during /
rk many visits to me at Denver that
related the detective stories herein I
n told.
as How Is it," 1 asked one day, 'th
,e, you are assistant superintendent of t
mail service In the west when you q
ng under 80 and new, comparatively ne
ut at the businessr'
I'm Hard luck" said Doc, smiling sad
It coughing and humping his chest