The Springdale news., 1912-10-11

With a small pocket tape measure he was taking the various dimensions of the coat and skirt He turned up the hem of the latter and inspected it as carefully as if he expected to find name written there. He did the same thing first with one sleeve and then with the other.
 You say that she registered as Teller and that her handkerchiefs were marked with an 'S?'" he sudden ly asked me. showing that he had heard all I said.
 Both the landlord and I answered him affirmatively.
 Where Is the telephone?" he asked, "I want to call long distance"
 There was note of excitement in his voice that indicated to me that he believed himself on the verge of some discovery, though what 1t was could not imagine. If there were any clues that had been revealed in those rusty garments his methods were too much for me.
 He dashed away to the telephone, the landlord following. I ate my sup per alone and waited. Just as was finishing he came back into the room, and, seating himself, began to eat, apparently indifferent to the fact that everything had grown cold in the half-hour he was absent.
 We'll I said inquiringly, did you learn anything?"
 He nodded and calmly finished drinking his cold coffee, seemingly with relish.
 Expeetantly I sat there. waiting for him to go on. He seemed not to no tice my impatience, though it must have been apparent. and waited until he had pushed back his .tfr and lighted a cigarette He always rolled his own. and never before had 1 real ized what an irritating operation roll. ing a cigarette can be made. l. seemed to me that he WE s taking en- tirely unnecessary pains to have the ends twisted just so. Finally I could brook no further delay, and burst out with: Well, what have you discov- cred. MT. Inspector"
 l supposed that he might have ob- tained clue to where the woman's garments had been manufactured, some tiny thread by which he hoped to run her Identity to earth. Little was l prepared for the startling dis coveries he volleyed at me, so tersely, so concretely put that could not doubt the accuracy of his information.
 The woman was Sarah Sackett, spinster She lived on a little farm just outside Bridgeport with her broth CT Robert, who Is somewhat older than she. They inherited the farm from their parents and have lived there all their lives. The brother Is employed as cashier in little country bank about ten miles away. Every morning he drives into Bridgeport and takes the train. When his sister left, two days ago, he came with her to the station. He evidently is not aware of her death, though he seems great ly worried over her absence He pre- sumably expected her to return last night, for he waited over several trains. This morning he was asking the station agent if he had seen her"
 The dry, matter-offact way in which he reeited the facts he had learned added to the value of his narrative. More and more l marveled at the mans detective ability. 1 was over whelmsd with a sense of my own in- capacity. All day long the coroner, the constable and l had been trying to ferret out the mystery of the unfor- tunate woman's identity with prae- tically the same properties to draw deductions from, the inspector In a very few minutes had not only learned her identity, but many other impor- tant facts about her. Nor did 1t oc- cur to me to doubt the truth. of his information. The assurance with which he spoke was In itself a suf- ticient guarantee.
 How on earth did you learn all this so quickly?" I asked in amaze ment
 He smiled with that grim tantaliz- ing smile of his that l had seen be- fore. His cigarette had burned itself to stub as he spoke. He turned it 2dItluiiy III Ills fingers, inspecting It as if to see whether he could extract another puff before throwing it away. He finally decided that he could not, and drew forth his cigarette papers and tobacco, preparatory to rolling a new one. Meanwhile I awaited his answer in suspense.
 Co on," I continued. "Tell me about 1t. I must know how you did it."
 "The principal part of magicians art" he said as he lighted his new cigarette. Ties in what is called 'mis- direction With glance from his eyes, with sudden movement of his hand he attracts your attention to his right side. Meanwhile his left is doing the trick. Now, misdirection, in my business, has just the opposite ef- feet. Amateurs, in Investigating crime, examine the evidence and see clues pointing in some direction. They follow those clues and find themselves tioundering, They have the right