Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-12-17

Gus gratitude to the God and Giver
OF all than any DoXology:
THE world is so full of a number of
| things
1 think we should all be as happy as
| kings"
| had drifted into, rather than seri-
ously adopted, the profession of au-
thorship, but | was at all times ready
to lay aside my pen for any enter
prise that promised adventure; and
here was adventure ready to hand,
| and calling for me to make the. most
OF what it afforded. To play the SPY
| upon such Scoundrols, to "confound
! their knapish tricks and to be the
means ultimately OF. bringing them to
| justice, offered sport in plenty for my
money and would, moreover. give me
an opportunity of putting to the test
long cherished theory of mine.
This theory is that a story writer who
has attained some. proficiency in his
| art is in possession of several of the
| qualities that go to make a good de-
tective. That | shall be accused by
| some persons of talking the very
| shop which | profess to dislike is
cutie possible, but l submit that to
discuss the principles of the novelists
art is very different from discussing the
price per thousand words and the per-
| sonality of the artist.
| contend that the qualities of mind
which are necessary for the construc-
ton of a successful story are not very
different from those which are re-
| quired for the planning of a success
full crime. The novelist makes A
rough draft of his story. Just as the
criminal maps out his lines of action,
and both fill in details and fit them to-
eether in a similar way. The novelist
has, on the first blush of it, the easier
task, for he has only himself and his
own characters to manage, whereas
the criminal has other people to reckon
with; but am not sure that the novel
tst does not find his imaginary charac-
ters quite as difficult to deal with as
the criminal finds his actual folks.
And the novelist is no less liable to
discover himself 'in corner" by rea-
son of some unexpected development
than is his fellow artist; and both are
apt to court failure by neglecting to
take probabilities into account, or by
overlooking some unexpected and i'm
pOrtant factor.
Fortunately for the welfare of So
ciety, the average perpetrator of a
crime is as wanting in originality as
is the average perpetrator of a book;
and if crimes We're reviewed" in the
same way as stories, a critic might
'slate" the two offenses in almost iden-
tical words. For the COMMONPLACE
misdoer only commonplace methods
OF detection are necessary But for
the more unusual criminal more unu-
sual methods are required.
And if my theory holds good, a novel
ist-other things being equals by
no means badly equipped as a crimi-
nal-catcher
He is, to begin with, well informed
and observant, and he has-if his sue
cesses have not been entirely mere
tricious-considerab knowledge of
character. He is a psychologist, and.
given certain constitutional tendencies
in conjunction with certain circum-
precision the logical results. He has
if a capable novelist, the artists power
of entering into the lives of other peo-
pie, or creeping, so to speak. into the
criminals brain. He can put himself
into the criminals place, see as the
criminal sees, feel as the criminal feels
think as the criminal thinks. and con-
sequently can determine with consider
able accuracy the criminals probable
lire of action. He can detect the weak
roint in chain of evidence lust as
quickly as he can detect the weak
point in the probabilities of a story;
and he has the inventive and imagina-
tive qualities which are so necessary
for the construction and the following
out of theory that may account for |
an otherwise unaccountable crime.
In saying all this | am, of course. |
presupposing that the story-writer in |
question is a man of proved ability, |
and | am crediting him with capabili- |
ties to the possession of which |
should no more think myself of lay
ing claim than l should to the laure-
ateship. But by dint of a peculiarly
dogged determination, unwllingness
to admit myself beaten, some luck,
and perhaps little natural capacity,
| had been successful in one or two
similar ventures; and, on the princi-
pie that every private soldier carries
in his knapsack a possible field-mar-
shals baton, | saw no reason why I
should not enter the lists.
CHAPTER V.
SQuIRM UNDER THE COLD KISS
THAT A REVOLVER'S UGLY LIPS
PRESS TO NV EOPEIJEAD