The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-05-03

Il was taught my business" said ths
old detective
Il went into Bliffin's office a green
hand. The first job he gave me was
to trap gang Of counterfeiters. Coun-
terfeiting is risky business, and thosa
engaged in it are therefore extraordi-
narily wary. They must have place
in which to manufacture and to get
rid of the stuff when manufactured.
To do both of these without getting
caught is difficult and it makes them
very skillful in covering their tracks
"Bliffin told me that a certain dis
trict was being flooded with spurious
coins and notes. | was to go and To-
cate the plant. | didn't know how to
begin. so he told me to find out some
persons who had recently come into
the neighborhood. | was also to go
to the postoffice and learn if any mail
was being delivered to any suspicious
person. | did as | was told and after
several days hunt was discouraged
went to Bliffin and told him there was
bur one person who had moved into
the district. so far as | could find out,
and there wasn't anything suspicious
about him. He lived alone, it is true,
In a small house he had rented and
had put in what furniture he needed
on the installment plan. Since he was
the only newcomer had watched him
especially in the matter of his mail
He went out in the morning after the
postman had delivered his letters.
reading them on the street, and when
he had finished would tear them up
and throw the fragments anywhere l
picked them up, put them together and
read them. There wasn't one in which
there was anything discriminating.
Let me see some of them said
Bliffin.
II showed him two or three letters
had pasted together. He looked them
over and said:
"'There's your man.
What do you mean by telling me
that one who doesn't care who reads
his letters is my man?'
1.-TWO of them have been written by
himself to himself He has torn them
up and thrown them on the street to
be picked up by greenhorn detectives
you could have knocked me down
with a feather. | didn't say anything
went back and rented room across
from where the suspected man lived.
One morning ! rose rather early and
stood at my window A milkman
drove up to the house opposite and de-
0F
the milk and handed the milkman the
can he had left the day before. |
watched the house for week. then
went to Bliffin and told him hadn't
got any further He was working on
some papers at the time and without
looking up from them asked me to tell
him anything had seen. mentioned
the milkman
You mean the postman. said the
inspector
mo. the milkman'
"'That's the way the man you're
looking for gets his mail
~ said milk
"'And | say mail
"'How did you come to think of
that?'
"'Oh, experience, suppose. You'll
find the mikman is newcomer
II went back to my room to think
out plan for capturing some of that
mail. But couldn't find way to do
this except by letting the young man
know it, This would spoil my game
| concluded to capture the outgoing
mail l watched for my man to go
to letter box to drop in a letter
When he had done so stood by the
box. not permitting any one to drop
in anything more, and when the post
man came along | showed him my au-
thority and demanded the letters In the
box. There were ten of them and |
took them to my room, steamed them
and found one agreeing to turn over
green goods to countryman. | kept
this letter and dropped the others in
the box.
1.-THE countryman was to call at a
certain house not far from where the
young man lived at a certain hour on
certain day. Bliffin told me that In
the house referred to the stuff was
made. Why he thought so didn't
know. He seemed to see things ahead
without even thinking about them.
would have sworn the plant was in
the house where the young man lived.
1.-The matter at this stage was taken
out of my hands. Bliffin sent man
to the house where the countryman
was to call for the queer supported
by enough men to surround the prem
Uses. They captured the gang. finding
the machinery for making the money.
Another force went to the house Of the
young man ! had been watching and
captured him also. Among other
things taken was one of the milk cans.
1t was made with a false bottom, ca
pable of containing quite a sizable
mail. The milkman was not captured
but of course he was one of them. as
Bliffin had predicted. His milk wagon
didn't belong to any especial firm,
though he did carry some milk in 1t.
This was the beginning of my In
struction under Inspector Bliffin.
gained more in one year under him
than would have gained in ten years
alone. But it took me many years to
snow things instinctively without
stopping to reason them out. One
thing learned on that case. Ever
after If a suspect tried to act as if he
didn't care | felt pretty sure he did
care. II he didn't he would act like
any other person under similar sircum-
stances"
Taking Ones Own Pulse.
Being able to take" ones own