The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1907-04-25
THE REPORTERS
STORY

II think / must have been born on
Friday" said the disconsolate report
err, as he dropped into chair near
the window In a downtown hotel re
Gently.
"A blue envelope In the mail box
suppose?" said his brother scribe.
mo, was not fired-at least, i was
on the. pay roll when left the Office,
said the first speaker.
For two days." he continued, 81
have been turning every angle to dig
up a story. To-day l got the first line
on it, and / worked like a trojan
Ten minutes ago l met the fellow who
knows the whole story. He laughed
and showed me some newspaper clip.
pings-the yarn was published three
weeks ago."
How long have you been in the
newspaper gamer" asked the other
man, as he slid little further down
in the comfortable chair.
Three years." was the reply, "but
this is the first time ever got on
such a sidetrack as this"
Cheer up, old fellow. Let me tell
you a story-a true one-that hap
pened to me five years before you be-
came a cub
"One afternoon" he continued, IAN
anonymous letter came to the city
editor. 1t told of woman held pris-
'oner in Chinatown. Beyond stating
that the writer had seen her in a
third-story window, and, further, that
the writer shrank from publicity, there
was no clew to the writer. Parrish,
who has long since quit the newspa-
per game, was assigned to the story
with me-"
What do you make of this letter.
said he, as we stood at Harrison and
Clark streets.
Past me- said l, ready to get rid
of the assignment.
LOOK again. said he. Can't you
see that it was written by a woman?
1t is written with a stub pen. 1t is
written on business stationery, and
the woman who wrote it is not accus-
toned to writing with a stub pen. 1t
was written from an Office building,
from an Office that is on a floor lower
down than the tenth floor"
How do you make that eut?'
said /.
We'll, the stationery you will al
low. The finger print shows the girl
got ink on her fingers, then left its
imprint when she folded the letter.
At the top here is about one-third of
the last line on the letter head. Note
the left end of that line-three figures
or three letters are partly left on the
margin. Ninety to one those are fig
ures denoting the room number. Do
you follow me?'
Il replied that ] did.
Nov, three figures being the con-
lecture, the room must be between the
first and the tenth floors of the build
ing from which this letter came. The
rest of that line shows seven type
,sases. Naturally. let us conclude that
is the remnant of the buildings name
"a seven-letter name
go ahead said II.
'Chinatowns back windows can be
seen from Dearborn street only. The
writer of this letter is employed in an
office in building the name of which
contains seven letters-that building
is on the west side of Dearborn street
and also north of Harrison street.
True enough, but how. are you
going to find the building and the
room and the girl who wrote the
note?'
1--WE are going to make a canvass
of Dearborn street for building with
seven letters in its name A very
easy job, inasmuch as we have only
one block to cover. This paper is a
peculiar blue. Janitors sell waste pa
per, you know, and when we locate the
building we locate the janitor Ask
him from what Office paper similar to
this has come
"'Clever idea said I.
"To locate the building was an easy
matter. A half dollar got the infor-
nation from the janitor. There were
four rooms In the building from which
pdpCI VI ouNh a tin6C nou COuuC. VIC
Of these rooms had window with
west view and was on the eighth floor.
I'm that room we found young wo
man Of perhaps %. Parrish and
walked in. He did not mince words
with the girl.
Kindly point out to us the window
In which you saw that girl-a prison
er in Chinatown
1.-THE young woman gasped. But
she was not to know how we located
hes. When assured that she would
not be involved in any stories that
might come of 1t she pointed out the
window"
81 saw her in the window several
times, said the young woman, and
for a white girl to be in Chinatown is
These are the glasses
used. They belong to the boss" who
uses them at the race track
Let me have them, said Parrish.
HE turned them on the window
where the woman was seen. Half an
hour later the woman appeared. He