The Washington times., 1902-08-10

! through 1t.
"Did you read this article"
| And he handed me section of thet
highly colored volume with two-eoi-
uun story violently indicated with the
editorial red pencil
II did," Acknowledged. without hav-
! ing to look at the scarehead-"The
Counterfeit Cab Driver. or the Detected
Detective: How the Morning Phono-
graph scooped the Daily Telephone on
an important assignment"
Every man In the city room had ask
ed me the same question.
Well, sir" remarked the city editor.
Its up to you"
And this is what he got:
For reasons largely economical and
entirely personal l have been putting
up at-and with-a refined family
boarding house in East Thirty seventh
Street In the same house. oddly
enough. resides Miss Annette Grace.
the charming and attractive daughter
of Judge Grace. of Memphis. a young
lady OF large dramatic ambitions and
htSi &C OA -
spite OF the fact that I am employed
on this paper we are the best of friends.
Her kindly disposition toward me | do
not pretend to account for. but her an
tipathy TO the Daily Telephone is bas-
ed on an article headed High Living
and High Kicking in which Mr.. Vale
gave an untrue and libelous account OF
the accident in which she broke her an
kle while practicing the new dance she
was to have introduced in her part in
"A Stay-at- Home Girl. was not on
the staff at the time, and Vale sailed
for Europe the next day, so | was un-
able either to secure a retraction or to
punch his head. But as all the other
papers gave her sympathetic and COM
plimentary notices, her unfriendly feel
ing for this journal is perhaps not un-
natural
"A few days ago Miss Grace be-
sought my counsel and assistance. lis a
matter that was troubling her. A let
ter which had been delivered at the
theater for her had evidently been
opened and inferentially-read. 1t was
impossible to tell BY whom. The stage
doorkeeper swore that 1t had come 10
him in the same condition in which it
had gone to her. The note was from
male relative of hers who was anxious
to keep his presence in the city pro-
found secret.
He was known to people at the
boarding house and at the theater. and
so had written to her to pick him up in
her cab on a side street and go with
him to some quiet restaurant. the Cold
en- Buck, unless she could suggest
better, where in one of the small rooms
they could talk unobserved and go over
certain documents. AS he had not given
his address, she could not warn him that
his note had been intercepted and tam
pered with She would have to wait
until she met him. She was afraid that
somebody might be trying to make trou-
Bile for him. and she was not in The least
desirous of being mixed up with 1t, and
getting any more newspaper notices CT
the High Living and High Kicking "a
riety.
Il suggested that If nothing had hap
pened by the time he hailed her cab
any future trouble could be avoided by
not going to the Golden Buck. lat 10
Franks Oyster House, where each table
is in a small alcove.
"She decided to follow my advice. but
begged me to so thee, too, and III case
of any unpleasant encounter TO pat her
into her cab and ssnC her home, and
then do everything / could to keep her
name out of the papers. / agreed, of
course, and secured an assignment for
that evening which simply necessitated
my telephoniug few words to the o.
fee about IL o'clock I was greatly an
noyed by being held at the wire and
then receiving a personal message from
Mr.. Perkins that he had received a pri
vate tip that David Balcom. the missing
witness in the great Garvey will case.
was in town and might be at the Golden
Buck during the evening.
'I was to find him if possible, report
If the defendants lawyers succeeded i'll
serving any pdpcio OH MINI "HN -
make him talk Mr. Perkins added that
a boy was waiting for me at the Golien
Buck with a photograph OF Balcom, so
that | could identify him. and rung oil.
| hurried to the restaurant. found the
boy. the photograph. young man from
Browne & Brummel's Office, but no BAL
com As there were no other reporters
in sight, and it looked like beat l
made deal with the lawyers clerk to
delay the performance for few minutes
in case Balcom appeared before | ~e-
turned and chased round the corner TO
see If all was well with Miss Grace and
her uncle. But ON the way l began 10
put two and two together. and l was
not really the least surprised Wien /
looked in at FRANKS and saw Miss Grace
in one of the cubicles, to be able identity
her companion at once at David Bal |
com, the missing witness.
In about half an hour Balloon called
the waiter and paid him: AMI. judging
they were about 10 leave. slipped out
of the door The cabby was still in
and / stepped up TO The cab 20
turned aud looked into the restaurant.
and noticed that in coming out Dalcom
and Miss Grace had been Joined by a
tallish man in silk hat.