Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-12

and all. Inasmuch as Mr.. Jirketts' habits
| are eXcellent-he smokes only an occasional
| cubeb and his only beverage is cambria tea
| 1T is predicted that he will quickly ingra-
tiate himself both with the men fOr'ard and
the officers aft of the revenue cutter to
| which he will be assigned. Several of the
lo-cent magazines are said to be already
outpldding each other In their attempts To
| obtain first call on the literary output OF
Mr. Jinketts. for il is reliably stated that
| all of his manuscripts are To be revised and
| corrected by an exalted parsonage whose
| name II were superfluous to reveal in this
| connection"
Another Literary Light.
| No. 3-'It is stated. unon the most relia-
BILE authority that l. NJ. A. Awkshaw, a
young man of Keokuk. Iowa who under the
nom de plume of Old Cap NaIlem' has con-
| tributed a number OF thrilling detective
| stories to the Hearthside Pal. is presently
TO De appointed an officer in the secret serv-
I've, Tor the purpose OF obtaining material
Tor series of fascinating stories appertain-
| ing to the work OF that interesting organi-
| cation. to be published by 35-cent maya
zine which recently published a most nota-
! Bile contribution, anent the Hibernan hero
| tales. written by the most eminent meri-
can. Mr.. Awkshaw, who is a progresses
| ing youth of nineteen-he bought Lis first
razor at a fire sale of those useful articles
4 =
since his earliest boyhood, been DESTROYS of
obtaining place with the secret service.
/ his ambition in that direction having been
fired by his earnest perusal OF the notable
works OF Old Sleuth and other noted writers
in the same literary domain. At the age OF
thirteen Mr.. Awkshaw became enrolled as
a member OF what is known the national
detective force His way of attaching him
self to this force exhibits the doggedness
or his purpose. He saw In country week
ly an advertisement setting forth that the
national detective han f,,,a r4A
at Cedar Falls, Neb., was then organizing.
| and that bright. ambitious youths could be-
come full-fiedged members of the force by
RENTING a dollar, together with their
names and addresses.
Young Awkshaw did not possess the
dollar at the time. but so sincere was he
In the conviction that his life avocation
was to be that of detective that he forth
with started In to earn the necessary dol
lar. This he did by collecting junk. such
as old iron. bottles and rags in his native
town, by cutting grass shoveling snow,
cleaning up back yards and doing other
odd jobs for the period OF nearly eight
months. At last he had earned the coveted
dollar. which he sent on to the headquarters
at Cedar Falls. Neb, OF the national detec-
tive force. and he was the proudest youth
in Iowa when, In the course OF a few
weeks, he received a small zinc badge
stamped National Detective Force" to-
gether with printed circular setting forth
that he was regular member. In good
standing. Of that great organization, and
thus empowered to trail and to hound and
to round up all the criminals he wanted
to. Thenceforward young Mr.. Awkshaw
practiced tracking many OF the desperate
criminals-chicken thieves and the like-who
infest the country around Keokuk. He per-
sisted, despite the fact that his efforts to
track these desperadoes to their lairs were
not at all appreciated by the town consta-
Bile of keokuk. who. not belonging to the
national detective force himself was natur-
ally jealous of any member OF that power
tul and exclusive organization.
A Spank on the Pulse.
ION one occasion. during these energetic
youthful days. Mr.. Awkshaw caught a
man about his own age-fourteen-red-
handed in the act of shooting at a pigeon
with a bean shooter. and. although con-
siderably smaller in stature than this
criminal, he at once attacked him with the
bravery of lion. His bravery. however,
availed him naught, for the criminal de-
posted quite a singing spank upon young
Mr.. Awkshaw's pulse and departed for
his home. Such setbacks, however. did not
discourage the young man. who went right
forward with his sleuthing career, I'M
hindered by all obstacles. On another oc-
casion he grappled with an aged crone,
whom he caught in the act of stealing
honey from a beehive late at night-late
for Keokuk, that is, for the hour was a
quarter past S-but he permitted her to go
her way when she proved to him, beyond
question, that the beehive was her own.
The aged crone sufficiently petulent
however, to administer chastisement upon
the person of the youthful detective be-
fore he left her yicinage. 1t was not long
before he was writing his famous old
Cap Nailem' stories for The Hearthslde
Pal. He often earned high as 50 by
writing these stories, which short af-
fairs of only 100000 words or so. Becom-
ing convinced that Keokuk was not
large enough sphere for his activities, he
went to Kansas City and endeavored TO
obtain a position upon the headquarters
detective staff Of that city by exhibiting
his badge showing him to be a member
of the National Detective Force but 1t is
a well-known fact that Kansas City is
in the state of Missouri, and he was I'M
successful In this quest. Then the idea en-
tered his mind of attaching himself to the
secret service of the United States govern
ment for the purpose of obtaining material
for writing purposes, and now this matter
has been arranged for him. 1t is known
that he obtained his appointment through
the fr1endlineSs of a very high parsonage.
Yesterday afternoon he was turned over
to Mr. John Wilkie, the urbane chief OF
the secret service, and Mr.. Wilkie gave
lighted with his new staff acquisition, al
though Mr.. Wilkie, being nothing OF n
plagiarist, did not say that he was de-
lighted. 1t Is understood that Mr.. Awk-
shaw will be assigned to the clever group
of secret service sleuths having in charge
the work Of detecting and extirpating
counterfeiters 1t is deemed that Mr.
Awkshaw is best fitted for this branch of
the service, for the reason that he knows
all about the counterfeiting business
having once been victimized by being
given a lead nickel in exchange for a dime
which he rendered in payment for a glass
of pink lemonade at a circus in Keokuk"
CLARENCE L. CULLEN.