The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1913-01-03
TURK O'FALLON AND THE
SLEUTH.
BY Clarence L. Cullen.


chandise" which the federal author-
ties of New Orleans had somehow
suspected to be cargo of arms and
ammunition for certain Central Am
merican revolutionists-Turk was in
the placid enjoyment of one of those
eleven o'clock breakfasts at Madam
Begue's. Turk, being used to 'dobes,
enjoyed the best thing, a sanded floor;
and the floor at Madam Begue's was
sprinkled with fine white sand. Also,
in his relaxed hours, he had keen
instinct for proper food. The Beeue
breakfast habit had claimed me too;
which was why, on. this morning, l
happened to be seated at the same
table with Turk.
The beamful Madam Begue (whose
footprints, alas are no longer seen
upon that sanded foor), passing
among the tables to see that her
guests were getting the service to
justify their morning hearts and
morning faces" noticed that, although
we had no morning papers to read,
we were quiet. She placed morning
papers before us.
Zone must read the news il. only
in order that one may gossip" said
Madam Begue, with her Welsbach
smile. "And without gossip what is
life, Monsieur O'Fallon?" She pas
sed on, watchful, alert, tightening
whatever little burdens existed among
he "gaminy" thus she called
those Of her young men guests whom
she knew very well.
Turk glanced aloohy at the spread
headline of his morning paper. Then
he read enough Of the Geographic
story to grasp its essentials. It ap-
peared that a. very young heiress of
an Eastern city, who had eloped
month before with an elderly waiter,
had at length been found by the de-
tectives. The press dispatches had
throbbed with the story during all
that time. The glory of the detectives
in at last finding the heiress had been
considerably whitfield down by the
fact that, during all of her wanderings
from city to city, she had carried un-
der her arm very fat and very old
fox terrier, her playmate almost from
infancy. When it takes some hun
dreds, perhaps thousands, of watchful
sleuths an entire month to run down
very distinctive looking girl who
travels from one great city to another
with large, wheezy, and peevish old
dog under her arm, there is an excuse
tor one to smile as he reads. And so
Turk smiled.
Nov, if that dog" observed Turk,
had worn round his neck a chime of
bells that played The Rosary every
time he sneezed, or if the dog had had
glass eye that, when it fell out, he
would pick it up and replace it with
his paws, probably all of North Am
erica would have to take two months,
instead OF one, to corral the girl who
carried the dog everywhere with her
through the sunny streets of the ma
jor cities"
Keen men, though, some of these
detectives" said bromidically. "They
"Damascene blades are full of
them," said Turk But when YOU saw
'Damascene blade you express all of
there is of dullness. / never felt the
edge OF a Damascene blade that
would cut Camembert cheese If you
want to escape recognition by a de-
tective, stand directly in front of him
and ring an auctioneer's bell. And if
then, by any remote chance, he does
recognize and nab you. gently detach
yourself from his grasp and walk
away whistling plaintively He will
never know the difference I know a
story about detective, some fugitive
folks and dog. 1t illustrates the
perspicacity of the sleuth. Some day
l shall uncoil it for you"
Some day" meant to Turk what
"manana" means to Mexican. And
so l bade him "uncoil' it over the
derbis of the Begue breakfast.
One hot winters morning Git was
Turk speaking), just before the over
worked phrase: "fn de steele" had to
be abandoned to make way for new
century dropped in at our Consulate
at Vera Cruz to get my nominal or
negligible mail was clinging to the
fiction that my mail from the States
came there. There never was any
| had no Office in Vera Cruz. because
l was trying to get the municipal cleo
trio light concession. 1t is not wise
thing to have an Office when you are
trying to get any kind of concession
anywhere in Latin America. 1t makes
it too easy for the smaller cougars
who obstruct your path to the CON
cession to find you and demand theirs.
"But knew the Consul. and I liked
to see him open his mail Next to
the language of muletter in forest,
when he opens his mail is the most
picturesque and diversified. His mail
asks him to do so many things that
Atlas couldn't do, that he learns to
coin explosives possessed of as much
potentially, If not as much direction.
as Hertzian waves.
"The Consul was nearly through
with his mail when I got TO his Office
on this morning. He was. in fact,
Sitting open the final envelope. A
police circular nuttered to the floor
Consuls become as used to police cir
culars as father of nine growing
daughters to bills. As rule they
basket them rs you would basket a
circular giving you directions how to
measure for suit of clothes. But this
circular was important So he looked
at the picture of the fugitive. read the
description, written in the cramped
language OF police persons. under the
picture. and passed the circular to
me-
- ~