The daily Alaskan., 1908-05-06
The Red Headed Policeman
Icopyright. lsS.l

| daylight that morning, JuSI us sut had awoke and was making ready to get up, she had been frightened half to death by the sight of a large mon key at the open winodw. She had screamed out. and the animal had hed, Later in the day she had seen the monkey frisklng about on the roof of the shed attached to the house next door, Into which stranger. who was evidently foreigner, had moved three or four days before. He was a man of middle age. and there was an old woman with him. probably to act as housekeeper
 And I'm asking you, sIr," continued the woman as she raised her hand and waved 1t to and fro, If it's the law in America that a foreigner and an old woman and a rascally monkey can move in next door to a respectable widow woman, who has paid taxes for the last fifteen years, leaving the mon- key to run at large and scare people out of their seven senses%
 "Its an Italian, ma'am, who is your new neighbor," answered the police man. "I was jabberIng with him the day he rented the house"
 Then he's in the hand organ busi- nesS?'
 "Then he's not, ma'am. He's in the count business. He's had to hy from his oYn sunny skies to save his life. You ought to be proud that you have a live count living next door"
 Three or four days later the police heard at the station to which be was attached of bold burglary In the nelghborhood. A burglar had entered by a second story window and made a haul Of money and jewelry, and no clew had been left behind. This bur glary was followed by another within twenty.tour hours, and then came what the police and press called wave of crime, though 1t was strict. ly confined to despolling private resi- deuccs. In some cases 1t was impOsst- blc % tell how entrance had been eff fected. In others 1t was plain that an open window was the route.
 Of course the detectives Investigated, and of course when no arrests follow. ed they got a roasting in the newspa- pers. It reached the point where the chief of police was asked to resign as man utterly united for the place. In return he bounced two of his de- teCtlves because they could not pick up clews where no clews had been left. Then the red headed policeman sat down to do some thinking. He thought of many a thing before he fol- lowed the line down to the widow who had told him about the monkey.
 Then he began to scratch that red hair and think the harder and finally decided to take a walk around on Sands street and see if the count still occupied the house He reached the house of the widow first. Again she was standing on the steps. At sight of him she descended to the walk and said:
 "So it's you, Is 1t? I've been wait Ing a whole week to ask you if it's the habits of monkeys to go to bed Ike honest folks at night and get up ct a reasonable hour in the morning or whether they are phllandering all over town after midnight and coming home any time before daylight"
 Tn the wIlds of Africa, ma'am"- began the officer, but was interrupted with:
 "But these are not the wnds of Al. rIca. I've been doing some watching for these last few moonlight nights. didn't know but the Black Hand would be coming for the count next door. I've seen the monkey come and go half a dozen times He comes and goes by way of the shed roof"
 And what of 1t. ma'am-what of It?" asked the officer.
 "I can't say, sir, but It's a matter that bOthers me. l thought I'd speak of 1t and let 1t bother you.'
 It did bother the red headed police man for the next hour. Then he con suited with his superlors, and as re- suit two detectives were sent to inter. view the count They didn't succeed In their purpose He and the old wom- an had skipped out in a hurry an hour before their arrival. People who had seen them so said that they had no monkey along with them. In fact, the animal was discovered on the roof in the sunshine and fast asleep, but es- capped capture. It was felt certain that be was the mysterious burglar, and Q watch was set on the premises. He came not back, while during the next ten nights there was a burglary every night to mix things up again. Then Q boy solved the whole case.
 Two blocks distant from where the count had lived an old tomcat had retired to a stable to die in peace. In his wanderIngs tts monkey had come across him and being full of sentiment, had sought to make the fe-