The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-18

I didn't know whether was going to be
a clerk or regular detective which l
knew they must have In the place. though
l saw nothing but typewriters about.
Have you any money? asked the
assistant, when 1 had completed what
was supposed to be my autobiography.
l didn't stop a minute In telling the
truth about that, and thsn-well, talking
about your Ell Dorado and that Grecian
dame that struck the shower Of gold
II seemed to me that I had her beaten
a mile. / signed a receipt and was
handed four crisp S bills. You will need
some expense money in this operation,
was the only explanation that I was
given.
Uptown the assistant and I came and
on the way he got me into corner of the
car and whispered my first inkling into
the great and mysterious business. 1 was
to shadow a man named Blank and go
with him, no matter where he went, and
1t was duly impressed on me that If lost
my man my job was over. you'll do 1t
all right, though, he said, confidently,
and then gave me number OF really
valuable tips and some examples OF his
own methods of working the difficult
cases that he had tackled, and how he
had behaved when in tight places. Among
the many other things that he dweit on
during this lecture were how to get on
and of street cars with your trail with
out letting him in. what to do when he
lodged around street corners. the value
of the other side Of the-street shadow,
etc. Did drink 1t all in? Well. guess
I did. 1t was one Of the most Interesting
half hours mat I ever spent In my life,
and I had four crisp = notes IN my
pocket to do 1t all with, at that.
Opposite the old Coleman house we
found the operative Gas they called their
sleuths), the man that was to relieve.
He had been on duty for "a hours, though
when we came along he was as bright as
q dollar and you never would have sus-
pected It. It seems that 1t was their lack
of men and their desire to relieve this man
that had led them to fall so easily for me.
He turned over to me photo Of the man
and gave me q description that was
minute In the extreme. From the very de-
scription of him he would have been an
easy man to pick out in a mob-six feet,
brown close-cropped beard, etc. / felt
fairly confident, and when they told me
that 1t was his habit to go to the theatre
each night, and taht II he did was to
go with him. l agreed that If this guy
got away from me l never deserved an
other chance in the world. Twenty dol
lars in my pocket a detective and my
job was to follow man who went to the
theatre every night. Ha! ha! Geo! didn't
I laugh to myself inside though from my
face you would have thought that I was
the original Stephen Merritt.
"They went away finally, my fellow
workers, after giving me lot of whole
some advice, suggestions, admonitions,
etc.--and 10! I was a ,sleuth. That's the
way | felt. I went into cigar store.
keeping one eye on the hotel entrance
across the way and bought whole lot
of 10-cent cigars-six of them, I think. Up
to that time don't think that I had
smoked more than three cigars in my life
but was anxious to break one of those
aves and see II they were real. Then
with ono OF those 10-eenterH stuck in my
face. 1 followed all of the instructions
that had reoeived-walked up and down
the block. spent much time looking in
show windows always with one eye on
the hotel entranee). bought newspapers,
had my shoes shined and entered into
other and many little bits of activity that
were supposed to make my insistent ap-
pearance on the block less noticeable.
About o'clock in the afternoon. after