The Cairo bulletin., 1908-07-13
The Detective Luck

| teCtiNes rarely make reference to the
almost weird streaks OF bullhead
luck which all OF us occasionally
have in snagging people we go at
ter sa d a Headquarters sleuth who
las had lot OF experience In track
ing fueitives Seven years ago I
made a haul for which g2t the
glad word all around, and yet it was
p,ece of work that any sixteen
year-old boy with a pear shaped head
could have pulled of, given the same
/ amount OF 1000 to | shot luck that
/ drifted my way in connection with
/ the capture
( "A high flying young New York
/ chap the manager OF a branch brok-
/ erage establishment in one of the
I Tenderloin hotels got In over his
head while the boss was In Europe.
He Quilted the works, taking not on
ly the old mans cash but some tens
of thousands OF the customers
money. Then he bolted for It.
4 happened to know this runaway
so the chief tossed the case my way.
the runaway's pals | found out that
the young fe. low had often expressed
a desire to visit Japan some OIL day,
Having no other clue | determ ned TO
take a chance that he'd made for the
cherry blossom country. so | made
s-Ir
Il reached San Francisco about 10
o'clock at night, dog tired and had
myself driven to the Palace Hotel.
figuring on taking long sleep be
fore beginning the scour on the fol-
lowing day for my man,
THE hotel was jammed The
night clerk gave me the con gr n
when | scrubbed my name on the
book.
You look like your expecting TO
get three rooms and bath. ne said
to me, cheerfully. THAT being the
case, how'd you like to bunk in with
another mani
Just as soon sleep with wet
dog said I. 'Why?'
Because you've got to chum IL
you're gong TO abide with us this
time, said the night clerk. House
is stuffed and cluttered to the roof.
But | can stick you in room where
there's only one other duck New
York fellow. by the way. so youll
probably be able to make out better
with him than you might with
bunch OF native sons.
Il murmured few phrases to the
night clerk about the jayness of an
alleged town that couldn't give an
old time guest of hotel a decent
nights rest without doubling him up
with somebody else, but the c'erk
only bcamed under my grouchiness
and told me that he was doing the
pest he could for me- | told him I'd
take poke around among some of
the other hotels to see If ! couldn't !
get a room for myself, and | sta&ed !
out. All the other hotels were in !
an even worse state than the Pa ace. |
So liked back to the Palace. reach |
ing there at midnight
- Still got the vacancy with the |
New York dub?' | asked the clerk.
and he told me yes.
And you needn't take it so
much to heart, either. said the |
night clerk. Waitll you hear the
beef that New York chap will put
up when he's gently requested TO |
move over and make room for an
other
80 | went up to the room ocSl |
pied by the New Yorker, with the |
head bellEop to help me In making |
an entry OF the preempted room.
The head bellhop banged on the
door-deep SHORES were proceeding |
from the room over the transom-
but there was no reply until the bell
man had slugged the panel for about
FIVE minutes and slugged 1t hard.
Then came voice.
Hey, what the devils coming off
here, anyhow"
And | guess maybe | didn't stick
my ears forward when / heard that
fOISC. ne man L was after HdO
something the matter with his pipes
and he spoke in high raspy. shrill
tone that could have been recognized
anywhere once heard, by anybody.
The voice of the man in this room
was the voice, l would have bet a
thousand, of the man | was hunting.
Deys a gemman heah wots uh
-gwine tub sleep wifi 20 ALL call
ed out the bellhop.
III be jimswinkled If there isl
came back that piping voice from the
room in tone of considerable peev-
ishness.
Amt no help TO it, sub, sang
out the bellman. De cluk he say de
gemman done uh-gw.ne tub sleep
VT yo'-all. OPEN de do, please,
subj
Open nothing piped the man
In the room. Go chase yourself and
give us a rest. Nobody backs into
this stall while I'm in It,.
II reached out and pulled the
bellhop away from the door. Then
| put my shoulder to the door and it
went in right enough. Then |
switched on the lights-and there
was my man sitting on the edge of
the bed, regarding me with natural