Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1899-06-15
A Clever Bit Of Work.

city on general principles-and most
of them are richly deserved, l don't
deny-let us give the detectives Of
the big town the credit that is right
ly due them" said a Washington
business man who does a lot Of travel
ing around among the larg. eastern
cities. They surely are men with
headpieces and with memories stored
within the same. saw pointed
instance of this the other morning. l
came down to New York on a night
boat on the Sound after a run up to
Boston. There was young chap
aboard who seemed a great deal the
worse for liquor. He was well dressed
and had general look Of grooming,
and he spent lot Of money at the
bar. | noticed that he was crafty
enough to take exceedingly small
drinks; nevertheless he appeared,
from the time he got on the boat, to
be on the verge Of drink oblivion. He
reeled about foolishly, and several of
the stewards offered to help him to
his state-room bed. He declined
these offers, and moseyed around the
boat stupidity. He invited a number
Of the passengers, myself among the
number, to take a drink with him,
but his invitations were good-natured-
ly declined. | think we all felt more
or less sorry for the young idiot, for
even in the eyes of drinking
man who is sober, a drunken man is
a decidly woebegone spectacle.
"Most of the passengers turned in
before II o'clock, when the orchestra
stopped playing in the saloon, but the
young man with the jag remained on
the deck, soggily studying the stars.
l remained up, smoking, until along
toward midnight when things were
pretty quiet in the saloon, and the
only sounds Of life came from the
mems card room. Twenty or thirty
men were in~the card room, and |
noticed the drunken youth looking
them over on his way, apparently, to
his state room. Then he went down
the line Of state rooms, reeling and
seeming to be confused as to his bear
ings, feeling at the knobs Of a num-
Der of the doors. l turned in myself
then and didn't wake up until the
boat was close to New York. | found
when | dressed and went out on deck
that there was considerable excite
ment among the men passengers over
number of thefts Of jswelry and
money that had taken place during
the night. Six of the men who had
remained late in the card room had
been robbed. When they returned to
their state rooms from the card room
they found that their small baggage
had been rifed, and, all told, nearly
thousand dollars in money and Jew
elry had been gathered up by the
thief. The matter had been reported
to the captain of the boat, and ali the
passengers, I dare say, were more or
less under suspicion except those who
had been robbed. The drunken young
man was still loaded-he appeared to
have started right in drinking again
as soon as he got up-and had a
maudin tale of lest money and dia-
monds to spring himself. 1t all
looked very mysterious. The skipper
didn't dare put his hand on any par
ticular man and charge him with be-
ing thief. The drunken chap least
of all seemed to the perturbed VIC
tins to be worthy Of even suspicion,
his condition of helplessness had been
so palpsble the night before.
when the boat pulled into the
slip in New York the purser went
ashore before any Of the passengers
were permitted to disembark and sum-
moned a detective from police head
duarters-one Of the old time thief
takers. The detective got down in a
cab in less than fifteen minutes and
took his place at the foot of the pas
senger gsngway. None OF US knew
that there was a detective there until
afterward. The passengers walked
over tn. gangway hurriedly. l was
Immediately behind the still-drunk
youth, who seemed determined, from
the amount he appeared to have drunk
already that morning, to remain in
that condition for the balance of his
life. He reeled down the gangway,
and as soon as he got his foot on the
pier his two wrists were in the grasp
of the detective.
"'Hello, Charlie, said the detective