The Yale expositor., 1913-03-13
A Detective
Scheme
By JOHN GALLAGHER. j..


grows so grows the region OF vice.
Many are the devices Of the detectives,
or plain clothes men. as they are call
ed, to trap those they are after and
land them In Jail. One would suppose
that hiding In crowded community
would be easy compared with the coun-
try, where everybody knows every
body else's business and any one I'M
accounted for attracts attention. But
the police say that If they can get a
crook they are after into the munich
pal net they are sure to land him-that
is, If they pounce upon him so suddenly
that he can't have time to slip through
their fingers.
The underworld has its society" as
well as the upper world. though 1t is
far more transient. AS to dancing, as
the Turkey trot song goes, Every
body's doing it," The social bottom
has its soirees as well as the social top.
One evening young man entered
a dance hall in Philadelphia where
"toughs" and their girls met. He look
ed tougher than any other man in the
room. A stovepipe hat was mashed
down over his eyes. under which were
a pair Of bleared eyes, flaming red
nose and a stubble beard He was
very agile and put on good deal of
style, which was comical in such de-
graded person. Marching up to one of
the women, he made crooked bow
and crooked his arm at her. She took
1t and strutted off with him, putting
on all the airs OF the upper ten thou.
sand.
LOOK at en-
What illigance!'
Where did the bloke come from?"
"And the Teddy -shed make a pea.
cock ashamed OF itself!'
The music struck up. and the dance
began. The couple who had attracted
the attention Of the company continued
to hold it by their remarkable antics
In the dance. The gentleman seemed
made of rubber. and the 'ad,r didn't
seem to care as to showing her ankles.
Now and again the former jumped
three or four feet from the RuUr. and
every time he gave a whoop .!nd AFT,
er every jump of the man HE wouiuu
would jump higher and wliuop loudn".
The dance over, tl,ey separated anO
danced with others. Ia; ia:rr IL the
evening the man approached lie WON.
an again, jumped in the air before her
ma6a q M h1, I'M
fore, and they sailed away together
In round dance. spinning lil:e lee.
totum. They evidently enjoyed the
amusement they created. and in order
to increase it they began to'bump cou
pies they passed. This feature was
more successful with the onlookers
than any other.
But very soon the bumps they gave
began to come hack to them with in.
terest. One couple after another rar
into them aud presently began to run
into one another. The humping be.
came not only general hut increased
in force. Then the bumpers began tt
fire up.
In less than half IN hour after this
swell couple started the innocent pleas
antry of knocking dancers off theii
pins tho assembly resolved itself into
a free tight. There were bowling ano
swearing and whooping. and no mar
made more noise than the stranger and
no woman more than the strangers
girl. The proprietor jumped on a table
and yelled at the top Of his voice:
What do you want TO bring dOwI
the police on the house for? Shut up!'
He might as well have tried to still
tempest with a penny trumpet Ii
was biff, hiff, biff. with here growl,
there a yell. screech from some wo.
man occasionally sounding shrill above
the uproar like the wind bowling
through. the rigging OF ship.
Presently two policemen rushed into
the room. One of them cast his eye
over the assembly and. seeing the imi.
tator of sweldom sparring with red
headed man, u scar on his left cheek,
went up to him and arrested him. As
he pushed his prisoner along the lat.
ter said to him:
Got 'em blocked below?"
Eyes. Who's here?''
Cant tell Take I'm the lot and sift
'em out"
There was "a wild rush for the door,
but dozen policemen stood In the
way. Then some of the men went to
the windows. but the hall was OH the
third story Of building and nothing
between 1t and the ground There was
q skylight, and some tried to get out
on to the roof. but there were no means
OF getting up to it, The clang Of pa
troll wagons sounded below. and one
by one the recent jewellers were taken
down past line Of policemen, put into
wagons and driven to the station.
Among the others were the hilarious |
stranger and the girl who had helped |
him amuse the company. The police |
man who had arrested them said some |
thing to the officer ut the desk, and |
they were led into another room, where |
they stripped off their outer clothing |
and both pDeared as men.