The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-23

v1ous acquaintance with Mr.. Slifer,
stood and delivered to him "at sight"
and ION demand" and by solecism
in their business habits asked no quit
lance or receipt His physique was a
patent of nobility in which all who
stood might read power to levy taxes
and to assume possession Of his per-
sonal estate wherever he might find
It. He was on the build that led men
to follow him with their eyes and to
speculate upon the amount Of pun
ishment' he could take and could in
flict, and while they specialized they
respected him greatly-him and his
man servant and his maid servant, his
OK and his ass, and everything that
was his. .
Captain Brigstock of the -
precinct was not man, he was a
deputy divinity, and respected moth
ing except the archdeputies, his Off
cial superiors. Technically, there were
sharp limitations to his constitutional
powers over mere mortalS, but in
practice technical distinctions so sell
dom obtruded themselves upon his
notice that his sense of them was apt
to become quite vague. What the
precise occasion was OF his entering
Mr.. Slifer's domicile nobody In the
outer world ever plucked up courage
to ask him. When Slifer was asked
he said the captain had dropped in
unofficially on private business" and
added no comment beyond malign
grin. There was an impression in
the outer world that the captain had
made his visit expressly at time
when he knew Mr.. Slifer was not at
home, and that Mr.. Slifer had re-
turned unexpectedly. What was GER
tain is that the captain made his
exit from the Slifer domicile In I'M
conventional haste, and that no men,
ton Of the incident was ever made
in the public prints. He had reached
the street from q second-story win
dow, thru which he had backed with
such violence as to bring away the
sash. This was the hour of the
naughty Slifer's triumph and the hour
when the gods abandoned him.
Three weeks afterward there oc-
CURED a manifestation Of esprit du
corps among the powers that rule
which it was not pleasant to contem-
plate. Patrolman Hooper of Captain
Brigstock's precinct, had been MUIR
dered overnight while on duty, and
not only In Brigstocks precinct, but
thruout the city, the force was Of one
mind. 1t was not only that if an Off
Ger on duty Is not safe not a man
Of them was safe; there was an ele-
ment of insult and effrontery in an
something more In his associates than
personal fear; it touched their cor
porate pride.
Somebody's got to croak for this
Detective Swinton declared senten-
tiously to a group of his brother
"sleuths. II don't care If Hopper
was only fatty. He was copper,
and we fly cops have got to send
some bloke to the chair for bastin'
him. There's a push O. guns in this
town that thinks fatties don't count.
that there won't be much of kick
when one of ems keeled over, an
they'll croak some Of us fly cops be-
fore long If we don't learn 'em a les
son. It was a great bull somebody
wasn't croaked for the KILN O. Pa
trolman Stimson two years ago. Slim
son was fool right enough to go UP
against the gang that did him, but II
one of 'em had croaked for bastin
him Hooper 'ud be alive now. I tell
you, guns are just like kids when II
comes to learn 'em anything. If they
/ sect va mean business they'll crawl