The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1911-10-20
A Discounted
DETECTIVE
By TOM BROWNELL
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

dry detective stories to enter the pro-
| fession, / went to an Office and asked
for employment. 1t happened that a
man was wanted to go among a gang
Of footpads and burglars disguised as
one Of their kind with a view to learn
ing certain facts concerning them. 1t
was so dangerous job that no regu-
lar detective would undertake it.
These men know their own sort and
would easily recognize spy. /, being
! filled with the romance Of detective
work without having had any expe-
rience, tumbled to an offer of the Job
at once
About IL o'clock at night, disguised
as a tough. 1 reeled into a saloon
where my men were supposed to be-
I found them there and invited them
to drink. l treated several times and
thought / was getting in with them
when suddenly there was a hammer
ing at the door. and the barkeeper
cried: Police! Ctr The lights went
out, and we were all left in the dark.
scattering like so many rats. The
doors were broken down. and the po-
lice rushed in. When the lights were
turned on it was found that the bar
keeper and l were the only captives.
How the rest got away l don't know
was taken to q station, and on the
way 1 made myself known to the cop
who walked beside me- He gave a
broad grin and said that was the most
beautiful device of all that were prac-
ticed in the criminal profession. l
told him he would learn more about
that in time. / slept in a filthy cell
for the rest of the night and the next
day sent word to the detective agency
that would like to have them come
and get me out. They sent one of the
employees, who had never seen me-
Of course the police officers were not
going to discharge me on any such
evidence, or, rather, want of 1t, and l
told the man to go back and tell the
one who had hired me to come and
vouch for me.
He didn't come till late in the after
noon. and when he did he didn't recog-
nize me. l told him l was the man
he had sent to the saloon for informa-
ton. but he looked at me contemptuous-
~ and said that the man he had sent
had likely met with foul play and ]
was trying to get out Of a bad scrape
by personating him. He hadn't seen
me made up, and my disguise was so
perfect that he believed me to be a
veritable villain. He went away with
out being convinced as to my identity,
and 1 was obliged to spend another
night in cell
A week passed. and was still pris-
oner. Then one day was indicted as
one Of the men in the saloon when the
police made the raid, who had made
away with the detective that the agen-
cy had sent out In other words, !
was charged with being my own MUIR
derer. Upon inquiry learned that the
man who had thus been sent out on a
mission had disappeared. and it was
supposed he had been dispatched by
the gang.
Here was pretty how-de-do. call
ed again for the man who had sent
me out but he refused to come to see
me, and l couldn't go to see him.
doubted if it would do any good if
he came. He had never seen me but
once, and then but for a moment.
How could he be expected to recognize
me in my rough garb, especially as in
the saloon scuff1e l had been very bad
~ mauled?
! sent for a lawyer and told him my
story. He appeared to believe me.
but said there would be no use in put
ting such a story before a jury. 1t
was so palpably false that it would
prejudice my case. He said he would
try to get up a defense that would
seem more probable. l asked him If
there was anything more probable
than that a man could not have MUIR
dered himself and be alive. He re-
piled that would have to prove my
identity. which was impossible. He
would try to think OF some method Of
defense that would be easier to prove
than the truth. I'VE lawyers don't
care, anything" he said. "for the
truth. What we want is something
we can prove. An alibi affords the
best chance"
When 1 came to be tried for being
implicated in my own murder there
was no proof against me except that
was known to have gone to the sa-
loon from which l had disappeared
and was one Of the gang Of rascals
which was raided This was consider
ed prima facie evidence that 1, proba-
bly, with others. had killed myself. 1t
was evident that / would get long
term on general principles.
My lawyers method was very in
genious. Having entered my claim to
be another person than myself. John
Borland. he brought John BOrland's
mother into court to swear that her
son on the night of the supposed MUIR
der was at home and in bed. Another
witness. who lived in the same house.