The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-18
EXPERIENCES OF
THE SHADOW
Victim of An Amateur SIeuth
Gets Wise
OFFERS TO HELP HIM OUT
Lad Tries Detective Work In Greater
New York-Was Flat on His
Back and Had To Do
Something.
OFFERS TO HELP HIM OUT

From the New York Telegraph.
He was still a young man, and though
he had knocked about the world in va
rious capacities and had other and more
interesting claims to distinction, he was
proudest of the fact that he was wise
We came out of one of the prominent
restaurants near Forty-second street and
Broadway and, looking up the street, he
said:
See that guy sitting in the cab?"
yes"
Hes a shadow" and my wise friend
pulled contentedly at his cigar after the
fashion of a man whose mental alert
ness and visual sharpness made him able
to declare that Sherlock Holmes had
nothing on him.
by what process of deduction?" was
the inevitable question.
when we came out of the door here
he was staring steadily in this direction
but the moment he saw that we were not
the people that he was waiting for he
throws UP the paper and is energetically
reading yesterdays news upside down."
'Ergo?"
ergo, 1t is safe to assume that there
is man In that restaurant or perhaps
a woman, that he is shadowing or trail
Ing or following, as you choose to make
It,"
The reasoning was so plausible the con-
illusions so dogmatically uttered-and so
interesting-that I suggested to Walter
that we walk back and give me another
opportunity to look at the individual
whose mysterious business was so palpa-
bic to the one on the inside
"Well take the other side of the street
and get a better look at him under full
SAIL" was the reply. in tone that indi-
Gated pleasure at my interest In his dis
covery.
t. 1.A h
keeping an eagle eye on the door, and
when he was quite sure that the people
coming out were of no interest to him,
ducked back of his paper until they had
passed him.
"And he is a detectivei" unused, as
we passed on. He doesn't look bit
like William Gillette, Kyrle Below or
w. H. Thompson" thinking of the three
famous detectives" of the stage.
why should he? He only gets So a
day or something like that. But at that.
] don't think he Is a particularly bright
member of his profession, for as rule
they know enough to carry today's paper.
How did get the fact that he was car
rying yesterdays paper? You see, Fl. H.
Rogers died the day before yesterday.
and of course the large picture of H. H.
was up at the top of the page in yester-
day morning. paper Now, when l come
out of the restaurant and find large pic
upward, and man on the other side of
the paper is pretending to read the same,
] know that he has the paper upside
down and that 1t is yesterdays paper.
Yes?" s.. as ev
You're something of a sleuth your
self" was the more or less obvious COM
ment
II had two experiences with 1t some
years ago when l was good deal of a
kid I wasn't more than Is when land
ed in New York, and after having two or
three jobs that lasted hardly more than
month each, found myself fiat on my
back. used to get up every morning at
o'clock and answer every want ad. that
didn't need stamps. from office boy to
partner with $1,000 l had my own idea
about A the latter, but that's another
story BY o'clock / would be through
with my daily correspondence and start
in making personal applications at places
that attracted my attention as wandered
about.
I got lots of offers at 81 and IS week
generous, publc-spirted citizens, who
said that they admired my face and want
ed to encourage an ambitious lad-and
when l found that l couldn't raise the
ante I would leave them, telling them
that would write and ask my father II
he would let me work for that amount
of money Wise stall that for kid,
eh? You see, I didn't know but that per-
haps in a week or 30 I might be glad to
get even a. SO I didn't want to leave the
stingiest offer on earth GOLD.
well, one morning saw q sign De-
tectives.' 1t hit my eye all in a heap.
and just gave my blood little stirring.
] had no more idea Of what they did In
those offices than I had of flying, for,
like most youths of my age, all that
knew about detectives was gained from
Az IF hat
had swallowed. But up I went boldly,
opened the door just a tribe less bravely,
and, with oozing courage, told the clerk
who came to the gate that I wanted to
see the boss. and finally landed, almost
on the verge Of collapse. in an inner room
occupied by the head Of tho Arm, as
afterward learned, a bearded man with
a sharp eye. and yet a rather kindly
manner.
"You want a jobT he said finally,
after looking me over critically, that
having been the message that I had sent
in.
Yes, SIR
"How old are you?
'Twenty-one,' I lied promptly.
What have you 'done?'
1T enumerated about q half dozen things
and when he told me. quite seriously.
that I was very versatile, / believed
him. The next question, DO you know
anything about this business?' nearly got
me into trouble for l came nearly say
ing that I did, whereas the rule Of the
agency it seems, was not to take men
who had been employed at other places
of SIMILAR kind. Luckily I told the
truth. He looked me over again and I
squared his eye all the time, and think
that is what finally settled the matter.
He told me to wait a minute, went out
side and came back with the assistant
manager.
do you want to go to work now? he
asked. / nearly fell off my seat. I was
taken outside by the assistant manager
had to tell-which was the truth--that I
didn't belong to any secret orders, my
religion, ETC., and then was nearly bowled
over with excitement and JOY when I
was told was to get 81 a day.
But in my mind all the time was the
burning, ravishing question. What was
going to do? The application blank
that I filled out simply asked questions
II told nothing-so that during all this
time I was in the greatest suspense, for
nfC0RD,S VITAL
REST0RAT