Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1908-07-07
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 h LESSON IN
 DEFECTIVE WORK. s
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[OriSinal.1

How did l happen 10 go in'o LII" tective line? Iiwas put in it by singular coincidence.# l had DO more n idea of being sdetectivef than belns# president of the United Statcs.a1 never developed any fancy for such work' never read detective stories or took any interest in the methods. of how real cases were managed. What f'dld hear of such matters they filled me with a belief that this business of neattqinge F how Tf far a match was burned or which end of aa cigarette was lighted hrst to' gain a clew had nothing to do with tracing criminals. 4, .--q -..s=4..
 One day I was in a street car going home from a bank where l was em- ployed on a fairly good salary when l saw man tumble in his pocket f0F' change to pay his fare. A few mig
 utes later a woman picked up.a foIdeSf bill of the floor and handed 1t, to hlTHss asking him if he hadn't dropped it. He unfolded It,, cast a glance at 1t. paled slightly and handed it back to her in a hurry, denying the ownership, The woman asked one or two people sitting near if they had dropped 1t, but, they all said they thought they had not. I asked the woman to let me see 1t. It didn't take me long, backed by my banking experience, to- decide, that it was counterfeit. -t.5 10
 This was the first time l ever showed q faculty for detective work. noticed that no one showed any unusual emo ton in looking at the bill except the man who was supposed to have drop ped it; therefore there was a proba- bility that he was a counterfeiter. Blu. I said nothing, simply handing it back to the woman.
 But my curiosity had been aroused. Curious to follow up the matter, when the man who had paled got out l got out, too, and followed him at dis tance. He entered hardware store, where he purchased several articles. I didn't know what they were, but one of them was hammer with big end suitable for beating anything flat. Another was crucible for melting metals. When he went out l snatched the bill he had paid the salesman, ex- pecting to see counterfeit, but in this l was disappointed. It was good money. ~s.e-. o
 We'll. l tracked the fellow to a room at the top of business building. where he had a shop. l knocked at the door. He opened it, but did not bid %olI 1,inO to say to him and wished to go inside. He said he was making certain con- trivance that was not yet patented and no one was allowed to enter the prem ises where the work was done.
 Mind you, l was no detective. l was merely indulging my curiosity. A detective would have gone away and come again prepared to act as an off, cer of the law. I simply accused the man of counterfeiting, stating what l had seen in the car.
 He stood looking at me few mo- ments appalled,. then said, Whats Moll Brown going to give you for help ing her:'
 "I don't know Moll Brown" l re- piled, land I'm in no ones employ in this matter. I'm only doing it for fun.''
 Come in here and satisfy yourself" he said
 I went in and found an article fer sweeping floors manufactured and in process of making. Then he explained:
 ''Aloll Brown was the woman who tried to fix the counterfeit bill on me. l was intimate with her once and was to have married her, but found out she was bad and shook her. She's sworn to have her revenge"
 Resolved to follow the matter up. l took Moll Browns address. felt sure she had got the counterfeit bill from some one interested in making or pass ing if. or both, and couldn't refrain ter. l cooked up reason for making her acquaintance and went to see her, At this point began some real de tective work got her confidence and told her that l was looking for some easy way of making money. After good deal of beating about the bush she agreed to tell me where T could get some queer" to put out and gave nc the address of the man l had shad- owed. I didn't want any better proof of his story. She was bent on his ruin and would have included me if 1t suit ed her convenience l delayed about going to the man she named and con tinued to watch her.
 Accident helped me. One evening when visited her man called on her whom spotted at once. l went away. leaving him with her, and when he came out shadowed him. He went to