The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1911-11-17
door tender seemed to be asleep on

the chair near the entrance.
1t was Walker who spoke.
"Oldbach, you're a fool"
The disguised man laughed
mo, / am not | am a representa-
tive of the United States Secret Sery-
| Ice" and he pulled aside the lapel of
his coat and showed the chief crook
the silver badge that was fastened to
his waistcoat
All three of the counterfeiters were
now standing up, and they looked in
J the words of the poet, fit for treason.
strategem and spols." Walker threw
! thence.
Were three to one. We're des-
perate men, too, and if you try any
funny business we will kill you on the
spot, Do you understand"
The detective did.
He raised his napkin in the air as
though to wipe his mouth, but he
changed his mind at the last moment
and waved the piece of white linen in
the air.
1t was a signal
Instantly the waiter with waxed
mustache, the indolent coat room boy
and the sleepy door tender made a
dash for the table. Before any one
of them could say Jack Robinson"
the three counterfeiters were seized
from the rear and a pair of handouts
| slipped on each pair of wrists.
1t was one of the cleanest bits of
work ever performed by the United
States Secret Service, and Applegate
complimented his three assistants on
the clever and perfect way in which
they had carried out their respective
parts.
Bogus stamps to the value of $4,000
were found in the possession of Wal
ker He was arrested and impris-
oned. In an effort to save himself,
| Walker "squealed" ON Volney Wright,
a young man who lived by his wits
and who had been foolish enough to
become mixed up in the great coun-
terfeit plot. Wright, in turn, "squeal-
ed" on Phil Hardgraye. who was in
the disreputable business, and, at the
! instance of Detective Apologize,
agreed to meet Hardgrave and pur-
chase counterfeit stamps from him.
The corner of Amity and Mercer
streets was fixed as .he place of the
rendezvous. The hour was seven
o'clock in the evening, just about
| dusk. when that section of the city
was likely to bQ deserted. The de-
| tective prepared for the meeting with
i've
Applegate and six other men were
| scattered about the neghborhood.
Hardgrave appeared at the time ap-
pointed but he noticed some of the
men lurking in the shadows and he
| took alarm and ran away. Chief
Whitley pursued him for several
blocks, but just before he overlook
him Hardgrave very eleverly tossed
| $4,000 worth of bogus stamps into the
window of passing street car.
struggle took place between the two
men, and after the counterfeiter had
been overcome the street car was out
of sight. No bogus stamps were
found in possession of Hardgrave,
| and under the law the chief was
|
Colonel Whitley and Operative Ap-
| plegate were persistent. They knew
that the tobacco stamp counterfeiting
scheme snake had been merely
scotched and not killed. They were
determined to carry the matter to a
conclusion. Hsrdgrave was Swallowed
for three months. Finally, one day
he was followed to room on the up
per story in house on Nassau street.
He escaped, but Applegate got Hart
| L. Pierce. an engraver, who lived and
did business in the building Pierce
was terrified when ne was accused or
being an accomplice of the counter
| letters. A search of his place re-
vealed a number of plates and vari-
Gus other paraphernalia used in the
manufacture of bogus money and
stamps.
| He finally admitted that he had
made the plate from which the coun-
terfeit tobacco stamps had been
printed In short he made full con-
| fession of the whole business. He
added, however. that the printing of
the tobacco stamps had ceased. but
the schemers had developed q new
line of business. He said that
they were now located at a
house on Staten Island, where they
were busily engaged in turning out
millions of bogus internal revenue
match stamps. These operations, he
said. were being carried on under the
| direction of a well-known character
by the name of Colonel Robert Clark.
For the next two or three days the
employees and operatives of the Sc
| cret Service were as busy as bees.
They first visited the room of Colonel
Clark on East Thirteenth street. A
careful search revealed upwards of
fifty thousand bogus stamps of all