Evening star., 1905-11-11
HOTEL DETECTIVES.
Kept Busy Watching Bogus and For
getful Ones.

getful Ones.
From the Kansas City Times.
You got no business here I'll hike right
down an tell Chief Hayes or Halpin you re
loafin' in hotel. Git outr
Not me. I'm a respectable man. I'm no
bum. y bull
Git out.'
'Thinkin' t drive every honest man out
NV every honest house in Kansas City. Ye're
up again 1t this time. ye"--
Cit out!"
| Not loud word. Not an angry gesture.
The guests grouped and struggling in the
| hotel lobby were unconscious of the little
tragedy-trfvfal, but still tragedy-that
| was being enacted by the hotel counter yes
| terday afternoon. The one man, small dap
per. well dressed, his pink cheeks flushed
| with anger. his eyes blazing with excite
| ment, stood in front of the hotel register,
| the pen twirling in his twitchng fingers
| The other plainly dressed. wearing a soft
| black hat. with quiet face and watchful
| order.
| For the last time. skin: git OUT
The pen was dropped as large and forid
| man hove up TO the register and the dapper
| fellow moved softly away and backed up
| against the screen. He looked feline He
| swore with f1uency under his breath
What you got to do with It anyway? I'll
see Halpin You were reduced anyway
know you"-
"That'H do. I'm not there now. I'm
| out. I'm hotel detective Ctr
| The dapper man said no more. He threw
| up his chin in defiance and padded across
| the lobby and then through the heavy
ocors into the cold. indifferent streets
The hotel detective lit a cigar. That's
the way of it, he said. " Skin Murphy
! he was. Cleverest hotel thief in the west
! I've stalled him off here, but he'll get into
one of the older hotels and clean up some
| of the guests jewels before the week is out
| for sure. Come all the way from Chicago
| to see the horse show and get busy / ex-
pected him sooner. He registers as an ord-
| nary guest and looks quite the gentleman,
doesn't he? But he was just a common
| slum child kid of the Chicago cutters.
| Where he got his refined looks from i can't
| tell
DO you get many of his kind in hotels?''
asked his friend.
| only when shows are on Most of our
| work is taking care of guests. There are
| about thousand of them coming and going
| every day in the two hotels we look after.
| And then there are nearly 700 employees as
| well. SO you It's a busy and wealthy
| town we live in. But the carelessness of
people is surprising
An excited woman crowded up to the
| counter and aSsailed the clerk
MY coat! My coat has been stolen. 1t
was fur lined and cost me-ah, $500. left
| it in my room, I'm sure 1 did. 1t could
| only have been one OF your
The hotel detective interrupted her Your
| coat is behind the counter. lady. | saw you
| leave it behind you in the drawing room
| and could not follow you quickly enough
The woman took the coat and sailed
| away, muttering angry denials.
That's how 1t goes, said the house de-
| tective, philosophically. We're just a sort
| of male nurse girl for grown-ups-Tnen as
well women. Only yesterday travelling
| salesman in hurry slipped around the
| screen and laid black leather case on the
| desk It was locked and I put it away
oil 10 hap in, ftn nfA,,
| and asked the bell captain, who knew moth
| ing about it, for the case; declared it was
| full of diamond jewelry. And il was. l
| gave him the case back. l didn't hand out
| any advice. What was the use? But you
| see, were kept busy by one thing and an
other all day. And the servants? Well, to
| tell the truth, they give very little
| trouble when you consider that there are
Ee arly 100 OF them"
| He threw his cigar butt into the cuspidor
| and moved away. But | like 1t better than
| city work. man gets very tired of in
durable criminals