The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1909-08-19
DETECTIVE STORIES.
Little Things as Aids In Solving
Problems In Crime.
THE VALUE OF SMALL CLEWS
"in All My Experience" Says Polio,
Sergeant Cuff, One of WiIkie Col
Inns Creations, "a Have Never Ne
Met Such a Thing as a Trifie."

If you ask some London publisher!
they will tell you that no book sells Sc
well as Il detective story and that PEG
achievements Of Edgar Allan Poe's
| Dupin. Gaboriau's Lecocq and Tabare
| and the redoubtable Sergeant Cum OF
| Wilkie Collins.
These men were the forerunners OF
Sherlock Holmes, and their feats OF
| criminal tracking were as remarkable
as those achieved by the famous char
acter created by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle. Perhaps the least known f.
Cuff. who figures in The Moonstone'
Cuff looked for clews I'm trifies. In
vestigating n smear on newly paint
ed door, he was told by the superin
tendent who had the case I'm hand that
1t was made by the petticOats of the
women servants. The superintendent
said petticoats were trifies.
"ln all my experience along the
dirtiest ways Of this dirty little world,
replied Cuff. II have never met such
thing as IL trifie yet. We must sec
the petticoat that made the smear. and
we must know for certain that the
paint was wet
Lecocq. the beau ideal Of the French
detective. was wont to explain his de,
auctions to assistants. just as Sherlock
Holmes did to his friend Watson. In
the story Of File No. 49, safe has
been robbed. There is a scratch on
the door Of the safe which seems to
have been made by the key slipping
from the lock. But Lecocg explained
that the paint was hard and that the
scratch could not have been made by
the trembling. hand Of the thief letting
the key slip.
He therefore had an iron box made
painted with green varnish, like the
safe. As Lecocq inserted the key he
asked the assistant to endeayor To pre-
vent him using the key just AZ he was
about to insert IL In the lock. The as
sistant did SO. and the key held by
Lecocq, pulled aside from the lock
slipped along the door and traced upon
it a diagonal scratch from top TO bot
tom, the exact reproduction Of the one
shown In n photograph Of the safe
Thus Il was proved that two persons
were present at the robbery - one
wished to lake the money and the
other to prevent It's being taken.
In the play Sherlock Holmes. the
detective. with the aid OF an accom-
plice. raises an alarm Of fire at the
house OF the LArrabees, during the ex-
element OF which he is able to inves-
tigate the mystery OF the purloined
documents.
A somewhat similar incident occurs
In Edgar Allan Poe's The Purloined
Letter" when Dupin. having obtained
entrance to the house Of a minister
Of the state who had purloined let
ter Of great importance from a lady,
wished TO take 1t from ifs hiding place
"a card rack over the mantelpiece-
and substitute a fac-simile. While
Dupin was talking to the minister
there was a sudden report OF a pistol
beneath the window. followed by fear
full screams and loud shouting. The
minister rushed to the window, and
while his attention was thus distracted
Dupin took the real letter and substi-
tuted the false one which he had pre-
pared. Needless to say. the diversion
had been created by Dupin's assist
ants.
Although THE Adventures Of Sher-
lock Holmes" somewhat overshadow
the.stories of other detectives which