Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1908-08-28
The Red Headed Policeman
Copyright, 1851

man was pdcluB Ills Uedl III a SStbain
American city of 100000 inhabitants a
woman called TO him from the steps OF
a house and reported that soon after
daylight that morning. just as she
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 wiWodw. She had
screamed out. and the animal had fed.
Later in the day she had seen the
monkey frisking about on the roof OF
the shed attached to the house next
door, into which a stranger, who was
evidently a foreigner. had moved three
or four days before. He was a la
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 it to and fro. III 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
but of their seven sensesT"
TITS an Italian, ma'am, who is your
new neighbor," answered the police
man. 81 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 fly from
his own 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 a bold burglary In the
neighborhood. 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-four hours, and then came
what the police and press called a
"wave" of crime, though it was strict
ly confined to despoiling private resi-
dences. In some cases 1t was impossi-
BILE to 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. 1t reached the point where the
chief of police was asked to resign as
a man utterly untitled for the place.
In return he bounced two of his de-
tectives because they could not pick
up clews where no clews had been
left. Then the red headed policeman
sat down to dQAeRnnnnkhinking.LHc
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:
$50 it's you, is it? I've been wait
ing a whole week to ask you If it's the
habits of monkeys to go to bed like
honest folks at night and get up at
a reasonable hour In the morning or
whether they are philandering all over
town after midnight and coming home
any time before daylight"
ain the wilds of Africa, ma'am"-
began the officer, but was interrupted
with:
"But these are not the wilds of AZ
RIGA. I've been doing some watching
for these last few moonlight nights. l
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.
II can't say, sir, but it's a matter
that bothers me. l thought I'd speak
of it and let it bother you"
1t did bother the red headed police
man for the next hour. Then he con-
suited with his superiors, and as a 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 go 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. 1t was felt certain that
he was the mysterious burglar, and a
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 a
boy solved the whole case.
Two blocks distant from where he