Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-09-26
DAILY SHORT STORY
WHEN THE DRUMMER CAME

land a man OF mystery. He took the
landlord of the inn up into thetgarret
and whispered:
I'm at the head of a detective bu-
reau In Chicago. The accusingt finger
points this way. l want you to be-
come a detective and assist me to IN
earth these mysteries"
The landlord jumped at the chance
Then the mysterious man called on
the undertaken. the grocer. the post
master, the blacksmith, and the aid, of
each one was enlisted unknown to/the
other.
Only one woman was taken into the
strangers confidence. That was Aunt
Sally Warner the gossip, of the vii
lage and a sister of the fundertaker's
wife. The moment the detective men,
toned mysterious crimes to her she
replied:
Yes. I've suspected for the last
twenty years that murders and other
things were going on IN this village,
but never have been able to trace
them. / will now take the trail of
these guilty wretches."
The last thing the stranger did be-
fore leaving town was to caution each
of his assistants to watch another. The
grocer was TO watch the postmaster.
the postmaster the blacksmith, and so
ON around, while all were to watch
Aunt Sally. Weekly reports Were to
be mailed to certain address, and in
case n crime was unearthed fitting
reward was to be forthcoming. The
innkeeper began his Old Sleuth duties
before the stranger had reached the
depot. His place was the only one in
town where a stranger could get a
drink, and there We're always a num-
Der of idlers hanging around. He be-
gan to run his eye over them There
was Dan Tompkins. carpenter. Dan
had the reputation of being a good fell
low. and he was always at work, but
now. as the landlord watched him
drink glass of beer, he saw that Dan
had Il suspicious look about him.
Farmer Joe Skinner. who had come
IN after pitchfork and had stopped to
wet his whistle for the dusty drive
home. was one of the county super
visors and man of property and repu-
tatiOn, but as he stood at the bar and
talked about later hugs and the want
OF rain the landlord made up his mind
that it was all discrimination and cal
culated to throw him off the scent
There was no doubt that Joe Skinner
was meditating crime, but he would be
nipped in the bud. He also had his
eye on the grocer. the postmaster and
the blacksmith, and If Aunt Sally sue
ceeded in committing burglary without
being caught she'd have to be sharper
than a fox.
The postmaster got on to a score of
things. In less than week
he and the undertaken clashed. The
received letter from Co
lumbus, o. The envelope had been
closely scanned by the postmaster, and
he had not been able to convict it of
crime, but the way the undertaken put
il in his pocket instead of reading it
at once was living proof that there
was hen on. The P. NJ. followed the
and said:
Look here, Silas Tompkins, If you
are guilty you had better own right up
and throw yourself on my mercy"
What are you talking about?" de-
manded the other.
THE finger of suspicion is pointing
ut you"
You are jackass. and If you don't
mend your ways I'll have you behind
the bars within a month"
Would be assassin
Hog thief,''
1t wasn't long before the grocer and
The blacksmith were discovered dog
ying each others footsteps at night,
4 /
there was a row in which one man got
4 black eye and another a skinned
nose. Aunt Sally had gone into the
business with great enthusiasm. She |
lad hardly got her dishes washed the |
irst morning after being appointed |
4 detective than she was out on the |
Trail.
She went over to see Mrs. johnson. |
rs she had done hundred times be- |
fore. but she had not been in the house |
i've minutes before she made a dis |
'overy she had never made before 1t |
was that Mrs. Johnson was not frank /
md outspoken. When she asked her
Z she and her husband had ceased to
nave family rows, Mrs. ]. flushed and
lodged the question. The inference
vas plain. She was intending TO pour
lot lead into her husbands ears while
ie slept.
Aunt Sally took up trail after trail
With the greatest success. She went
Ip as high as the minister of her
'hurch. and dropped down as low as
Bill Jones. who worked in a livery
table. The finger of suspicion pointed
n all directions and she had bep11n |
o doubt that the state prison would
loid all her victims. when copies of
he first weekly reports OF the five de-
ectives were sent TO almost every one
n the village. There We're Jaws and
lsticuffs and wrangies before the thing
vas understood. but the problem was
Owed at last. and everybody begged
else's pardon, and the dove
Il peace came back TO pipe her notes.
I was year before the identity Of