Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-05-31
A GOOD DETECTIVE STORY.

This spirited detective story is
contributed to Golfers Weekly bv
John E. WilMe, chief of the United
states secret service. Mr.. Wilkie be-
gins his story by telling of the diff
culuos which attend the discovery
ana arrest OF counterfeiters by the
tinted states government. 1t is not
the 'uoalols' or passers OF counter
I,lu money who are most wanted. put
10 uIcdh up the business 1t 10 uuc,s-
soIy ~ discover me pant ana nnu
uuu VINO are me memuels Oh me gang
NuU mdhU the queer. 1t Is often
necessary loi detective " WORK nm
SUI INTO the commence Oh me cuuu-
juIIcIers, as 1t Is onIy III TINS way
mat the location Oh the mil can 'pe
uAuu. ms nina Oh Mo1k Is caueu
IUpn6, ana IL ICquIie 60 men Vi great
auuIJy ana aIeIJness.I
something less than twenty years
ago, WnUn COuuJelleIung was noun
Isnlng industry III the central West,
established a reputation as "a daring
ana successful roper and when the
ulu-tlmels III the service get together
IL isn't long before some one Is re-
minded OF some stirring incident in
the early eighties in which Bob"
hobbs prayed a star part. Perhaps
one OF the most famous of these
achievements was the capture of Tom
Conner down in Harrison county, In
diana, in 1883. The southern part
OF the state had been suffering for
months from the operations of what
was known as the "Houchin" gang
Hobbs and another operative named
hillian had "roped in" with the
HOuchins and had learned that the
supplies of coin were obtained from
Conner, a native desperate who lived
in an adjoining county. Killian, who
was on intimate terms with the
younger members of the family, had
accompanied one of the boys to Com
er's retreat, and from him Hobbs
had learned much of the local sur
roundings.
Captain Edward Abbott, now of the
Cleveland district of the secret SER
vice division, was in charge of the
operations in Indiana at that time,
and Hobbs and another officer were
sent over to Huntingsburg to pick up
a fellow named Phillips, who had been
connected with the Houchins. 1t was
his intention to then lay plans for the
capture of Conner. However, it
CHANGED that all his plans were upset
by an unexpected incident. Hobbs
and his partner captured the man
they went after, and when they were
about to take the train Hobbs insist
ed on remaining behind. You take
this fellow back to Cap Abbott" he
said to his companion, land tell him
that | have gone after Tom Conner
and his wife. I'll get them or they'll
get me. Tell him not to worry, and
he can expect to hear from me in two
or three days" Abbott was amazed
when he received the young officers
message, and it was his opinion that
Hobbs had gone to almost certain
death. 1t seemed to be generally ad-
mitted among the officers that the
only way to get Conner was to surprise
and overpower him, and that, GER
tainly, could not be done by one man.
However, Hobbs was beyond the
reach of a telegram, and Abbott could
only hope against hope and wait for
news.
Leaving the town behind him early
next morning, and following the road
which had been infinitely described
to him by Killian, Hobbs proceeded
through the woods skirting the high
way until within five or six hundred
yards of the Conner house. Then,
by a detour, he approached the clear
ing up the wind" to avoid giving the
dogs any intimatiOn of the presence
of a stranger, and, climbing a tree
from which he had a fair view of the
place and it's surroundings, awaited
developments. Presently man
came leisurely along the highway,
shotgun carried easily in the hollow
of his left arm, walked up the winding
pathway, and entered the house
Hobbs knew instantly from the de
scriptiOn given him by Killan that
this tall, rugged native with the mas
sive shoulders was Conner.
Scrambling down from his perch
Hobbs unpinned his official badge
placed it with his revolver and hand
cuffs in his handkerchief, and hid the
bundle in the leaves at the foot of the
tree, marking well its location. Then
working his way around and back
through the woods to Frenchtown, he
had dinner, talked timber" and
loafed until the middle of the after
noon. Again he started for Corners,
this time boldly keeping the road, and
on reaching the clearing turned tow