The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1907-10-25
My Amateur
Detective Work.


crime does not seem to be prevented
[ By the rigor OF the punishment at
tached But 70 punishment can equal
the suferings of parent at the kid
mapping Of a child The night We miss
Z ed our Harry and knew that he had
Z been kidnapped was the terror Of my
[ life. have been shipwrecked, have
seen those l have loved die, l lay sll
night severely wounded on a battle
field. but none of these has approach
ed my sufferings At knowing my child
was in the hands OF men who would
murder him If it became their interest
TO do SO.
With the letter that came TO me de-
handing a ransom, after the shock
that the threats in It occasiOned,
found occupation and in occupation
some relief. resolved to conduct the
case myself, permitting the police to
work independently. The public, nat
orally interested, must know what is
being done to recover a kidnapped
child. and the news given out, being
published in the papers, keeps the kid
rapers well informed OF their enemy's
movements. l therefore sent inquirers
to the police for information and kept
my own counsel. ghe letter l an
swered myself, assured the writer he
could deal with me directly more safe
II than with any one else and proceed
ed to negotiate with him for my boys
return.
/ received several letters one after
another in tolerably quick succession.
They were dirty things, written by an
lhterate pers6n.- The third one l re-
ceived was esntainef in an envelope
that had had no mucilage on the en-
yelope, and it had been sealed by past
ing. The sealer had made a mussy Job
Of It, getting the paste smudged on
the envelope, and had pressed down the
flap with his thumb, leaving a faint
imprint. Added to this, a hair had got
in under the flap and was held there
by the paste.
l handled the envelope very gingerly
to preserve the thumb imprint and
softened the paste about the hair till
was enabled TO extract 1t entire. If
the writer of the letter could be cap
tured. the thumb mark or the hair, or
both, would serve to identify him.
treasured them. but said nothing about
them 10 any one.
We had settled on the amount / was
to pay for my boys liberty, but nei-
Their the kidnaper nor l was able 10
suggest q method Of payment salts
factory TO him. l was obliged TO wait
while he thought out a plan for a
transfer Of the funds. Meanwhile l
was at work. l bought the best micro
scope l could find and examined the
hair. 1t was a red hair and had been
dyed, having grown a sixteenth Of an
inch since the dyeing. l had been
warned in the letters I had received
that If any attempt was made to track
any one calling at the postOfice for
mail the boy would be killed. But
now, having evidence to identify the
kidnaper, desired to locate his where
abouts. therefore hired a man to
take position at the postofice and
shadow any one calling for my letters.
He tracked a girl about twelve years
old to an alley. where she disappeared.
On two other occasions he tracked the
same girl TO the same alley, but some
means had been invented TO conceal
her entrance 10 any building.
l now hired a detective TO go into
that alley and look out for a man
with q dyed beard. He went in there
as 4 Jew peddler of the lowest order.
While he was at work the kidnaper
settled upon a plan by which l might
pay the ransom. | was TO drive to a
certain road on a certain night and at
& certain crossing would see q red
lantern, a signal protecting q hole in
the road. | was 10 leave the money
in q cigar box l would find beneath
the lantern. If / did this my boy
would be left on the street where he
could find his way home.
On the veS day received this let
ter my detective came TO tell me that
he had found man with a dyed mus
tache occupying room he rented by
the week. The detective had tried to
get into the room and had failed
indeed, he could not get near it, being
ordered away on the story below it.
His information he had got from the
janitur of the building.
All now depended upon whether my
detective had spotted the right man.
He said he had scrutinized every per-
son living in the alley, which was but
two blocks long, and had been q good
while finding even one man with dyed
hair, so he felt very confident. At any
rate l decided to appeal to the police
TO arrest the man. 4 number Of plain
clothes men under guidance Of my de-
IecIive went 10 the building he desig-
mated and assembled to the roem occu-
pied by the suspected man. The first
policeman was stopped on the floor be-
low by a watcher, but the other police
men coming up forced their way.
Kicking open the door Of the room
they sought, there was my dear little
boy asleep on q crib mattress on the
floor, a man being in the room with
him. This man had dyed his hair and
mustache q blue black easily distin-
guishable. Both men were taken to
the police Office and their thumb i'm
print taken. The thumb mark Of the
man with dyed hair corresponded with
the ARK on the letter sent me-
The keenest pleasure is relief from
main As no one can know what I SUI