Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-10
METEDRIO CAREER

Back in the seventies and eighties. when
the United States had negotiated only a
few extradition treaties, 1t came my way
to go after and fendeavor to snag lot OF
criminals r. various parts of the world"
said Charlie Heidelberg. one of the noted
detectives under the famous Byrnes regime
In New York, VINO was in Washington last
| week. "Alf sorts of schemes had to be
framed up TO land these fugitives on Amer
| lean soil. One case that I remember par
ticularly was that of a young fellow who
made the mop from New York to Teguci-
galra, HONDURAS, in 1886. In the absence
In Europe of his employer he had Quilted
the art store of which he was the man
ager. He cleaned UP $4,000 before he
bolted for 1t.
He was a good-looking chap. of thirty
or so, inclined to society stunts. Within
less than month the American consul at
Tegucigalpa-an of the American consuls
| are circularized by the police in such
cases-sprung him. The old man sent me
down to Honduras after the boy.
" This is fly. Archie, that you're going
after Mr.. Byrnes said to me when 1 was
about to start. and there's no treaty with
Honduras of course and so 1 guess you'll
have to take your time at the job and sort
OF Oil him along!
THE evening that got into Tegucigalpa
on muleback, after the rough trip over The
| mountain country from the coast, I made
| first for the consulate.
He's swinging high the consul told me-
and tonight he'll be attending a swell al
fresco fete at the home of one of the ex-
| ministers Of former cabinet who went out
of office with so much loot that he hasn
got through counting 1t yet: Your bright
and attractive boy is brushing up 20 the
eX-Secre tary'S only daughter and he have
a pretty fair chance to get away with the
marriage if he wasn't so badly wanted
Besides that, he's got hold of some rafting
good gold-mining concessions that he S
talking of working
Il got the consul to send messenger to
the ex-minister Of the cabinet for an in
vitation to the evenings fete for me, ana
the messenger brought the invitation back
all right. l brushed up at the hotel and
climbed into my evening rig, and then,
about o'clock. the consul and I were
driven to the fete in his rickety old caloosh:
The consul introduced me to the host, and
then we slid around to get peek at the
young man I was after.
I'VE found him waltzing with his rich
hosts daughter, and from the goo-goo
glances they were ladling out to each other
II looked like a sure-enough case or an
early splice for that pair. The party broke
up at 2 o'clock in the morning, and after
a lot of languishing good-byes with his
! hosts daughter the young fellow made ms
way to the open barouche that was waiting
for him. 1 hoped away from the consul
side and got alongside the barouche just
as my man was stepping into It,
Room 1OT dnOIneT III tlciS, HiaeS'
asked him.
He stared at me in the dim light Of the
road, and then he laughed good-na turedly.
There's always room alongside of me
for man that talks English, he SAID yet
IT, Going to the hotel?
Yes l said, and l stepped into the
ha rouche and sat down with him
1.-The stars look pretty close to the
ground down here. don't they said l;
pointing upward, after the carriage had
logged along a bit. They seem to be
whole lot farther away up in the states:
BY the way and L turned and looked
straight at him in the light of the street
lamp that we happened to be passing, how
States?'
He was a wise boy, and that was enough
for him. Bio shifted around in his seat and
stared at me for a long time.
"'Oh. l see he said, and then he stared
at me some more-we were approaching
the better lighted district of the place
Say he said. as neared the hotel,
If 1 go along with you, you won't peach
on me down here-won't say word?'
"'What fpr?' said l. What would be the
good of that2' nj ...
'supposing ], buck and refuse to go?' he
said to me, then.F~
".Oh, nothing I replied. except that I'd
make sort of an inland beach comber of
you here Isl Tegueigalpa inside of twenty
"'We'n start in the morning. was his
prompt reply, s'on condition that you give
me your word that you won't show me up
down here. I've got some things going in
this place that ! don't want to lose out on.
Wen make it that I'm suddenly called
back to the states on business, eh?'
you're on said I, and l went to bed
feeling pretty good with myself that night.
My young man spent part of the next
forenoon making a round of calls, explain
ing that ned been called back to New York
for a month or pressing business
Then he had an hours goodbye session
with his young woman, and at noon set
out for home together just as cute as
could be.
THAT fellow was good He made quick
terms with his employer from whom he
had copied the wad by surrendering the
bulk of the money that he'd stolen The
employer then declined to prosecute him
and went west to get out of the way for
a while, and the young fellow was turned
loose.
He hustled around. as soon as he gained
his freedom, and got lot of Chicago
moneyed men interested in the gold mines
of Honduras for which he had the govern
ment concessions and just two months
after 1 had snagged him from Tegucgalpa
he was back there with flying colors ac
companed by outfit of Chicago capital
lists and mining engineers The people he
knew in Tegucigalpa didn't know anything
about his trouble up in New York. and he
married his rich girl within a month after
everything coming his way when he
drank himself into a tropical fever and
died seven or eight years ago"