Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-04
DAILY STORY
MY AMATEUR DE-
TECTIVE WORK.
lOriginal.]

the next thing to and in some cases
equal to murder. This is right, though
crime does not seem to be prevented
by the riGor of the punishment at
tached. But no punishment can equal
the sufferings of a parent at the kid
mapping of child. The night we miss
ed our Harry and knew that he had
been kidnapped was the terror of my
life. l have been shipwrecked, l have
seen those | have loved die, l lay alH
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 ransom, after the shock
that the threats in it occasioned.
found occupation and in occupation
some relief. l resolved to conduct the
| case myself, permitting the police to
work independently. The public, nat
| being done to recover u kidnapped
| child, and the news given out, being
published in the papers, keeps the kid
napers well Informed of their enemy'S
to the police for information and kept
my own counsel. The letter I an
| swered myself, assured the writer he
could deal with me directly more safe
ed to negotiate with him for my boys
return.
l received several letters one after
another In tolerably quick succession.
They We're dirty things, written by an
illiterate person. The third one l re-
ceiyed was contained in an envelope
that had had no mucilage on the en-
| Yelope, and it had been sealed by past
| ing. The Sealer had made 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
l was enabled to extract it 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 TO any one.
We had settled on the amount l was
to pay for my boys liberty, but nei-
Their the kidnaper nor l was able to
suggest method of payment salts
factory to him. l was obliged to wait
while he thought out plan for q
transfer OF the funds. Meanwhile /
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 l had received
that If any attempt was made to track
any one calling at the postoffice foI
mail the boy would be killed But
now, having evidence to identify the
kidnaper, l desired TO locate his where
abOutS. | therefore hired a man tC
take position at the postoffice and
shadow any one calling for my letters
He tracked n 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 to any building.
l now hired detective to go into
that alley and look out for mar
with dyed beard. He went in there
as Jew peddler of the lowest order
y While he was at work the kidnapel
settled upon plan by which | nigh
pay the ransom. l was to drive to :
certain road on a certain night and n
certain crossing would see rec
lantern, signal protecting hole fl
the road. l was to leave the money
in cigar box l would find beneath
: the lantern. If l did this my DO!
t would be left on the street where h,
:. could find his way home
{ On the very day l received this let
). ter my detective came to tell me tina
n he had found a man with dyed mus
y toNhC SttuIS LIZ al lOoili Ile II,
Y the week. The detective had tried t,
] get into the room and had failed
e indeed, he could not get near it, bein!
f ordered away on the story below il
!, His information he had got from th
: janitor of the building.
;, All now depended upon whether m.
:, detective had spotted the right man
I He said he had scrutinized every pei
j son living in the alley, which was bu
two blocks long, and had been a goo
while finding even one man with dye
hair, so he felt very confident At an
l. rate l decided to appeal to the polio
Ir to arrest the man. A number of plat
Il clothes men under guidance of my dc
e tective went~to the building he desie
. mated and assembled to the room occu
r pied by the suspected man. The frs
policeman was stopped ON the floor be
low by watcher, but the other police
men coming up forced their way
Kicking open the door of the ROOF
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