davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

Now, then. supposing take it for granted Il 6
murder who IS the criminal: More than likely II
the who handed me this letter IL CouIdnt have
been woman. If one of them killed anybody. thc--
would be plenty OF clues; but YOU never would catch
woman voluntarily giving tip that might lead to her
undoing- No, its a man. Let me see how much
know about him.
Rapidly he jottcd down these points about his ~,.--
pect
Tall, slender with husky voice Hands STRONG, slim.
worked manual labor, but has sufficient money
try to eradicate the marks Undoubtedly OF
than ordinary intelligence but probably bit unbaaoc,
perhaps unsspccted paranoaic- WeII acquainted h
New York, and a bit OF a rounder.
II he didn't know the town pretty we'll. said BIaec
TO himself he wouldn't have thought of handing u-
that note at the time and place he did. Unc he IS
rOundcr, he isn't likely have been sitting the
table to Holden and in Churchills a three Gin.
morning. | wish | had noticed who there that
night.
Whom did he kill? Black abstractedly studied hi.
four questions, and deciding that he had taa-.c.
his mind all he could about The first two he turned 70
the third: - The mOtIvc-Whlt Is II?
I'm not going to bother about the identity o- rio
victim he said himself, until have found so"e
way OF getting line on previous occupant ot tins re.
If can get the list for the last week ought Uo- O..
have much trouble IN running them all down i-r
mOtve-of course II was woman Either woman
was murdered or a murder WAS committed tor g "o-
mans sake. In every prcmeCItatcd murder there - al
ways 4 woman somewhere If men were all monks,
there would bc murders.
Nov then for the clue, Some man killed somebody
in this very room night before last. Let me pu- myself
in the murderer place There lies the body NV
plans have thus far been successful. but prevent the
discovery of my crime l must hide the body. How.
Where"
Black glanced round the room in search Of possible
hiding places. In one corner was large clothes rr1e-
He opened the door and pccrcd within Is he had an-
ticipatcd, empty. lie walked over TO the dresser
and carefully Inspected the drawers one by onS, 'u,
there was nothing in them
The obvious thing would be TO put the body IN
trunk and ship away; but do not believe my eti"
nal would Go that 1t has been tried too many Tunes
before. and later the trunk Is always "pSH
No. he too clever for that He devised some way Tor
conccalng the body that ne believes cannot be dHCoN
cred That why he dared To give me the clue OF te
room What did nc DO with the body
Slowly he undressed and stretched himself on ire
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

e HARBOR fog wetter than rain itself blanketed
n the lower city. Great gray goblins of news
paper buildings peered with their Woodworking eyes
through a chilling mist which had swept Park Row
clean OF It's usual two clock in the morning lotercrs
With collar turned up to protect his throat and hat
The Chronicles best reporter-cane out of his Office
building and hurried toward the subway with visions
of a well earned supper up town.
From out OF the fOg-frOm nOWhere--a graV-qreen
figure loomed suddenly beside him. MI Gordon
Black il said inquiringly
Yes" he answered with a note Of impatence at the
prospect of delay.
A SLIM strong hand-with we'll kept nails he remern-
bered afterward-thrust forth enveop which he
took mechanically, wondering what it meant.
The green figure vanished in the mist. Black
found himself standing at the top of the subway stairs
gazing stupidity at the mssive strangely delivered
From whom could it be? What could it mean?
He turned TO stare after the mvstero1s 1nesscnocr
the grav-grecn man: bn he had yanisbcd as d~1,
as he had appeared All that Blacks tagged brain had
recorded OF his appearance that he was tall and
slender, that his hand slim and strong, gentle
mans hand, and that his voice was husky, perhaps
from the mist perhaps from liquor He was conscious
too OF 4 curious impression of gray-green which his
analytical mind quickly decided optical illusion
4 black hat and macintosh.
81 wish had bis face" he muttered as he
gI2n1ei perpleXedly at the letter in his hand.
He did not open it until he was seated in his train
The envelop. he observed, plain white, but of
rather better quality than ordinary OMIT his name was
neatly typed, Mr. Gordon Black, and nothing
more. As he tore ii open look of blank amaZcmcn
came into his face On single sheet of paper that
matched the envelop in color and texture were some
typeWrltten words, unaddre5sed and unsigned. which
as he read them impressed him with sense of ia
mi arity:
Clever criminals always stumble Everyone of them
however shTewd always leaves behind him sort of
clue S@neb"dy finds that clue Somebody finds the c~im
nal nat all there is the detective business That's
all lheTe IS to my business. Room 632. The GARroN
Carefully he inspected both sides of sheet and cnv,oD
Dpht on he :
strange message. Perplcxed by the familiarity Of the
phrases before him, he tried recall where he had
heard them Not until he leaving the train at
Times Square did the explanation to him They
were his own sentences, word for Word He had used
them last night as he sat at supper he and DR. Holden
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

outing of such and such an association said the boy.
But Mr.. This and That should be here by now,
persisted Hearst.
been able to come down since explained the oiceboy.
Hearst turned away sadly. For a who never
touches drop he lamented, Il seem to suffer more
from the effect of alcohol than anybody on earth.
WINDSOR MCKAY. the cartoonist, approached
v" on the street afternoon last April by dis
reputable looking beggar much the worse for alcoholic
wear The beggar wined that he needed five cents for
food Il amt ct bite in twenty y-four hours, was his
lament.
Mckay gave him nickel and, dropping back, fol-
lowed the fellow at some distance Presently he the
beggat slide into the entrance of a saloon West
36hst Hurrying he got into the barroom Just as the
beggar about to pour huge glass OF beer down his
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

throat. The fve-cent piece was still lying on he ar
With hand the illustrator gathered IN the nickel
and with the other took the glass OF beer from the
beggars hands and handed it back TO the bartender.
Mckay winked at the latter and turning 10 the ggar.
who was shaking in fear of what he thought Alch vas
going to do to him. said:
Come my man, let us go to a good saloon The
beer here is very poor
A WELL known vaudeville nono1ogist soo---5~res
L inbibeS to the extent where lOCOmOtOn be mes
marked by difficulties One evening his legs gave 1uJ
altogether and a policeman lugged him to The -.5hc
court. As 1t happened the magistrate on the 1ch
knew him we'll and let him go after getting his mise
to go straight to his hotel and stay there
But once at liberty, the nOnOlOgist forgot all 9uC
his pledge to his friend the magistrate. and started all
over again. The next night he was brought 10 urC
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27
By William Johnston
Drawing by Arthur Z. B,cher

talking the Caldwell murder mystery which he
had recently solved.
But, even 50, what the explanation? What did
the letter mean? Was it a prank of Holdens3 No.
that hardly possible. Holden had sailed for Europe
that morning. What then?
Over his chop and ale he Pondered the incident
From whom had the letter come and why had it been
delivered to him in such peculiar manner? Suddenly
the explanation dawned on him.
This a challenged
Some one, he reasoned last night had been sitting
enough to them in the restaurant to ovehear their
conversation, one who had committed a crime
Secure in the belief that he had left clue this cri
nal whoever he was. had had the daring to challenge
Black discover what he believed be an undiscovcr
able crime from a single clue. Room 6}2. the Carton
that was the clue.
Like the excellent reporter he was Black took up the
scent at once. bringing all his dcCuctivc faculties into
action Hastily calling for his check he jumped into
a taXicab and off to the Carton.
- | want room on the sixth floor he told the night
clerk OF the big hotel, NO 632 it was. think that
had before"
He spoke the number careessy, striving hide the
anxiety he felt as the clerk turned cisurcv to see ii the
room was unoCcupied. Fortunately it was. and five
inmates later, rid at last of ovcratcntiVc bellbov
Black was alone in the ready tackle the problem
the unknown malefactor had set him.
He went about he always approached the nyster-
les that SO often given him 10 solve Draw
ln@ pencil and pad from his pocket after a moments
thought, he outlined his task in four divisions or rather
IN tour questions to be answered:
The crimc-what is it?
he CRIMINAL who ~ it,
The mOtiVt-What is 1t?
The cluc-whcrc is it?
Ot course, said Black working hy process Of clim-
nation 1t Is murder If IL was arson The hotel would
be burned down If robbery the robbed person would
have complained. Ii blaCkmal, the backmacr would
be GIVING no clues for fear OF destroying the source of his
golden eggs. Not kinds of crime can be secretly
perpctraed in hotel rooms. 1t is murder, of course
y murder has been committed in this very room re-
Gently, probably within week perhaps last night. No
1t could not have been last night; for it then the
criminal overheard Holden and me talking. 1t must
have been the night before that.
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

Peters president of the famous 42d-s Country Club.
We'll, you know Joe couldn't leave the ponies
Yes. knew that" said the stranger, "and that's
why | asked
$50 he's out in St Louis at a summer garden, said
Peters, making book on a steam merry go round
CIR CHARLES WYNDHAM is an Englshman; but
- he has a deadly gift of apt retort that goes far
to counteract the opinion prevalent on this SIDE
of the water that Englishmen never see joke or
make
On his last visit America, Sir Charles had occasion
cali George Cohans partner in the producing bs-
ness Sam Harris typical theatrical district OtcebOy
received him in an office, took his card read the
name engraved it, and then after waiting his own
good time took the card inside.
Tell Sir Charles to right IN at once, SAID Har-
ris brushing the cgar ashes off bis lap
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

again. TINS time DE TWO pOlCt1HSN VT .--t-
of one. The magistrate eyed him y
fully as he appeared at the bridge, I. rp-
right by a towering bluecoat on ea-
Tut. tut, TUT" said the Se.
Drunk again, suppose
Yes, said the unabashed COM n,
as he showed his two captors for ri.
both Of them, your Honor
MO string of Broadway z~.-e
~ would be complete witt . ~
cital of what Alfred Henr L re-
corder of Wolfville epics. sai5 a--a -.r---
body asked him what nam Of man
was a certain fiOrid. f1Owery. Southern
orator and writer who had newly -.-e-
in New York.
well. III tell YOU, said Lewis SLOWLY.
hes a moonlight night.
(WHICH apt description runs neck ar
" neck with what a certain dt--r-
guished queen Of the stage called a rather
simple minded clubnan who pestered ?.
with his attentions at every posi-.
chance. She called him her sick -ee
ache"
New-York tribune., 1910-11-27

belong to broadway exactly; but
he is so we'll known along it that a story
told of him might properly belong to such
a chronicle as this. One afternoon not
long ago, he walked into the editorial
room Of one Of his papers, to find it al
most deserted.
"Where's Mr.. SO and So:" he asked
an officeboy.
He telephoned that he went to club
smoker last night and ate something that
disagreed with him." was the answer.
He said he wouldn't be down at all to-
day"
And Mr.. So and So-where's he?"
oh, Mr.. SO and So is attending an
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15
Adventures in the Hunters Paradise
By Dr. w. ]. Ansorge, NJ A., LID M r. C. S, L. RCP

| the length Of any chopbox in my pos.
session. It was left, therefore, for the
night on the top OF the boxes under
the awning Of my tent. l woke up in
the night hearing crambling noise
close to me. but too late; some hyenas
had carried of my bird, although a
night-watchman was on duty few
yards of. 1t was no comfort to know
that the hyaena must have made its
last meal. as / had freely used arse.
meal soap in preparing the skin.
My third hippo was pull; / shot
1t in Lake Albert. On a subsequent
visit to Fajao got my fourth hippo,
female. and exceedingly fat. |
wasted a number Of cartridges. miss.
ing time after time: but at last. one
successful shot below the eye sent
the huge animal splashing and strug.
Cling. with Its feet In the air. The
hippo sank mid-stream; after three
hours the body rose from the bottom
OF the river and foated. The current
carried 1t more than a mile beyond
where we expected 1t. Owing to the
serpentine curves the river makes at
this pot. we should have lost our prize,
had 1t not been for friendly native
who happened to be fishing lower
down the river at the time. He saw
the body float past and stopped 1t for
us. There was convenient inlet at
hand, where we succeeded In rolling
the huge body on to the grassy bank,
as seen In the illustration.
Some Of the hippo,fat. melted down
and strained. filled Into two large
gourds. holding a gallon or two. This
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15

or lesS solitary existence, fond oil
sport. and capable OF culling pleasure
from the gifts OF Nature which boun
tiiM Providence strews along his path
III. in addition. the traveller has good
outfit and well.arranged transport
service. he will find the few troubles
he Is likely to encounter reduced to a
minimum. With each journey one
gains some new experience, and In
proportion learns TO adapt oneself
better to the altered circumstances of
such life. OF course. what suits one
man does not suit everybody AS a
simple illustration take the routine Of
meals. Some travellers can stoS
away a very hearty breakfast in the
early morning just before they march.
]. for one. am unable TO partake Of a
heavy meal at very early hour; a
plate OF porridge is all require, and
II suits me best do not hold that a
caravan should be driven. as II 1t were
IN express train or a slave gang, with
scarcely a pause on to the next camp.
ing ground prefer to treat them as
human beings carrying heavy loads
and doing hard work; | therefore al.
ways give them half an hours rest
duriag the march. II possible near
some running water where they can
refresh themselves The break in
ihc march utilize by having a sort
III breakfast and lunch combined. This
midday meal consists OF the cold re.
,nains II last nights dinner, saving
,ihcr 10 the cook who has to march
along with the caravan like the rest
ii us.
Sometimes the halt occurs at a spot
like a shady bower In leafy avenue.
Then again. there are some men who
cannot stand either sun or heat. and
who require a midday siesta on ar
rival At camp For them 1t is import.
ant TO get the march over as early as
possible. and they do not mind march.
ing when the dew lies heavy on the
grass. and perhaps Is still falling.
Tor my part, can stand dry heat a
great deaf better than the chilling
dew, aud those who have had fever,
know how easily chill may bring on
an attack. It IL. therefore, impossible
60 lay down hard and fast rules apple.
able tn everybody under all circum.
stances
with perfect weather. running
Elrcamiets at intervals along the
march. a good road. no Illness in the
caravan. and good supply OF proyi
siuns. the march is the very opposite
OF hardship; 1t Is purely and simply
= plcasure-trip, And there are many
such days on the journey.
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15

1t made for the open plain, the pur.
suer after II. The pursuer gained
steadily on II. when the Grantii
doubled magnifcently in the nick Of
time to escape the fatal bite. be.
lieve II 1t had not been wounded and
somewhat tired by my long pursuit, it
could have escaped. But the pursuer
again drew nigh, and though the Gran.
til STAYED of the fatal moment for a
while 1t was seized at last by the flank.
Both animals rolled over and over.
The Grantii having shaken itself free,
once more dashed across the plain.
But its minutes were numbered and
this exciting pursuit ended In the
Grantii being torn down to the ground
and lying helpless. I,
Three Of my Swahilies, who had &C.
companled me, declared that only a
lion could have captured the Grantii:
and felt inclined to think 80 too as
the scene took place In full, bright
uayiisht between III ana IL In the
morning. l now fastened down hill to
dispute with the lion. or whatever the
animal might be, the Grantii which
l considered mine. At the same time,
there was the hope OF bagging the
other animal as well. As drew near,
] saw that It was not a lion, but big
brown hyaena which sneaked of when
we advanced. AS this hyaena had done
me good turn. did not hurt It, but
gave my attention to the Grantii
which had its flank ripped open and
the !ntestines protruding. The poor
beast staggered up and tried to show
fight. We seized its horns. threw 1t
down, and saved 1t further suffering by
cutting Its throat.
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15

the first zebra.steak / tasted thought
rather nice; perhaps the animal had
shot was not particularly old one.
A tough old stallion Is certainly not
a very inviting dish.
once saw on the Athi plains herd
OF Zebras. which must have numbered
hundred thousand; for, as far as the
eye could reach, they presented a
dense unbroken phalanx, with young
ones by the hundred amongst them.
| have never come across any other
species but the one known as Burch-
ellis zebra. There Is no greater risk
OF discriminating the zebra by shoot.
ing one now and again for caravan or
personal need, than there Is of wiping
of the hartebeest antelope by occa.
sionally bagging one. But once came
across a Eurasian on his way to the
coast, who shot zebra apparently for
no other purpose but to brag that he
had shot one. asked him whether
he required the meat for food for him.
self or his caravan. He answered.
mo-" and when said Perhaps you
wanted 1t for Its hide?" he again re-
piled. No" Such men must have a
very callous conscience. The zebra
has peculiar cry which sounds like
zap, zap, yap;" 1t has neither the
horses neigh nor the donkeys bray.
The hide makes handsome mat; but
! found in London that. next to the
giraffe hide, it is the most expensive
TO dress and mount. One moonlight
night at Campiya. Simba It was almost
impossible to get any sleep. owing to
the incessant call OF the zebras,
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15
The Foolish Hyaena

The "hoo.yeehoo" of the Syena every
traveller Is sure TO hear along the
greater part Of the caravan route. |
heard II already on Mombasa island
close to the hospital. Swahii porters
hate the brute, and not infrequently
they dread II quite as much as lion,
The hyena has very powerful Jaws and
can inflict most severe wound DC.
caslonally II is bold enough to venture
within the caravan lines and to seize
one of the sleeping porters. More
than one OF my men has thus been
dragged along, but owing to his
screams and the general hubbub has
been relinqulshed by the brute, II
seems more than coincidence that.
the men thus seized have invariably
been the most infirm and emaciated in
the caravan. have a personal griev.
ance against hyenas, besides the one
oil Wounding some OF my porters.
Three and a half years ago shot at
diigil magnificent bustard, quite dii.
terent TO the common great bustard SO
constantly met with between Mach.
akos and Muanl. might mention here
that the great bustard as a culinary
delicacy has been greatly overrated,
nor Is II such a very difficult bird to
shoot. OF course rife has to be
used The lesser bustard or pao is a
somewhat better bird to eat. It is
much smaller. and shot gun is pref.
erably used for It. The huge bustard
| shot at Gllgil must have been rare
bird, as have never met with another
specimen like It. II has an enormous
reddish run around the neck, and.
next to the ostrich, It was the largest
bird have seen. got It with a Mar.
tint bullet by lucky shot through the
neck. at 200 yards. The skin from tip
OF beak to tip Of toe was nearly twice
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15
Shooting for the Pot

Shooting for the pot" adds add.
iional zest to the days enjoyment.
Partridgcs and guinea.iOwls are pref.
~ frequently met with, and a very
delicious aud acceptable addition to
ones fare, The very last one shot
and meat or no meat for dinner de.
pended On lt-were partridge and a
brace ui guineaiOwls. | got them on
the wing with No s shot, which Is a
good illrOund article when one has
not the means Of carrying variety
ol cartridges like No for guinea.
fowls pr No for snipe The different
SPECIES Ut cartridges are very inter.
cstlns Il Is worth while to skin the
bird and to preserve the skin: one
mhy ,hus collect some very rare speci.
mrnS The bird certainly tastes bet.
tnr with the skin on: but 1t is a mis-.
take 20 imagine that the bird is not
III Tor food because II has been skin.
ned Dn Christmas eve. | shot a par.
fridge A Monde In Uganda The bird
! had Tor my Christmas dinner. The
hkln | sent home to England: II turned
out 10 be very rare species and only
ihr second specimen OF the sort ever
sent home. A similar thing happened
with a very handsome partridge shot
on" day near the Samia hills In Kayi.
r"nda The skin is now at the South
krrSirston museum. and the second
one there OF another rare species the
hrst Ut which was shot near Mount
ElEnn At Campiya.Simba | shot
snnh.Brousc and at kikuyu spur.fowl.
But the wild guinea fowl is the bird
for The travellers table. Il is surpris.
ing what varieties OF wild guinea fowl
arc met with along the caravan route
4, mentton but three, the horned"
the crested. and the yulturine. This
bird gives the best return for the shot
expended on 1t. there is a good deal
o, meat on II and what there ia is
good. Snipe and quail are very tasty.
hu' yield 50 little that very few tray.
oierS can afford to waste n shot on
them Egyptian goose hlls big dish,
hut, AZ rule. II Is tough and there.
fore not fayorite.
The Raymer enterprise., 1910-12-15

often happens in such case. It seem.
ed as II they knew 1t. At last did
succeed in giving the buck bullet.
1t then left the herd, but 1t led me a
fine chase over hill and dale, through
bush and brake. More than once
got within range, and several times
more 1t was hit We followed 1t
through q forest and up to a river.
Owing to the reeds and bushes at the
waters edge. we only got glimpse
OF 1t. as it plunged into the river and
tried to swim across. But the opposite
bank was very steep and as the buck
swan along 1t, looking out for an open
and convenient spot to land, we foun.
dered through the reeds along our side
OF the river. trying to get a sight Of
the animal.
AS 1t swan. 1t only exposed its head
and horns: even the neck was i'm.
mersed. had two more shots. The
first grazed one Of the horns and
struck of splinter; the second went
into the head. Instantly it sank head
downwards, as II trying to stand on
its head, and the hind part Of the body
came for second into view. 1t took
some time before one Of my men
found spot where we could cross
over to the other bank, and then we
had the further trouble of fishing the
body out. The horns reached England
safely. and are in my collection; but
when | look at them the whole scene,
as 1t happened In the solitude OF the
African wilderness passes before me.
Hitherto had placed the utmost re.
lance on native finding his way