The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-05-16

said Miss Clement, detec
~ tive on the municipal force
RE>M of Chicago, as she gave hel
3W number to the girl at thu
~4ANT hotel telephone booth. 4
@ moment or so Of waiting
and then we started for the
dining room. And as we seated our
selves, Miss Clement seemed busy
with thought.
1--WE lust been wondering" said she
whether it was here or somewhere
else"
laughed at her vague remark; MISS
Clement has always been a sort OF
study to me. There is a klttenlsn
childishness, twinkle and sparkle OF
the eyes, a series of mannerisms which
give her many times the appearance
more of a child than Of woman Whc
has tracked. thieves and other evil
doors for years. She has way OF
presenting things in the most glrllsh
of ways; there is sometimes little
air of responsibility that is fetching
to the degree that you forget entirely
that this woman ever could have nae
adventures, that she ever could have
been in places where the slightest
false move would have meant death
She perked her head coquettishly to
one side and looked at me out OF the
corner of her eyes.
"Well," she asked, whats so funny
shout that?"
"Just the way you put the remark,
] answered. What were you won
dering about?"
"A certain telephone call Of about
two years ago. l just happened to
think about it when I came out OF
the booth and then, of course, / start
ed wondering where it had happened
After all, l believe 1t was here. And
by the way, it was telephone call
of some Importance It solved mys
terry for me-"
We stopped conversation for min
ute that we might give our orders and
then Miss Clement took a little note
book from her handbag.
"1t's marked down here as the Case
of the Crossed Wires,'" she said, land
that's about what it was. I don't care
what you say, luck certainly does play
into a detectives hand if that detec
tive knows enough to take advantage
of the opportunity when it is present
ed And to tell the truth, the drown
Ing man who grasped at the TABLED
straw was not any more desperate
than I was the night pair of crossed
wires started me on the way to big
arrest. But that part comes later,
she added.
Three weeks before, one of the biz
mercantile companies of the city hat
discovered a 100000 loss. The police
department believed that James Whit
ney, by which name we shall know the
embezzler, was still in the city. 1t wa:
my duty to find him.
did you ever seek man who wa
hiding from you in city of two ant
q half million people? For p days
sought, I had invaded every possible
place where the man might be- I hat
Swallowed his friends. had watched
the house in which he lived, I ha(
men stationed at every depot l ha>
followed out every bit of a clue--ant
all had resulted in failure. There wa
not a thing left to work on. There
was not possibility on which to res
hope that I might find the man
sought. And l knew that every da,
brought my chances Of making th<
arrest to smaller and smaller proper
lions.
And SO it was one night that came
into the hotel here. l was tired;
vas discouraged. And so I determined
to do that thing which I have done
many times before when I have beer
blue and worn out and tired-tele
phone home to my little kiddie, ant
nave her tell me, over the phone, al
the things that have been happening
In her young life since l left her il
the morning. When the world O
crime seems dark and forbidding, 1t i:
good to hear the voice of little child
IN your ears, detailing to you all thu
adventures of her dollies, all tn.
things she has been doing, all tn,
playing she has been indulging in
And 50 walked to the operator ant
asked for my number"
Then it was, as there came an in
terruption in the form of a waiter
that I saw the reason that Alice Gle
ment seems always young, always haI
py, in spite of the morbid, gruesom
half of the world in which she make
her living. She has her foil in her lii
tie girl and the reaction takes ava
the stain of the world of darkness
Miss Clement glanced around tn
room and continued.
Il had hardly gotten my numbe
when there came a great buzzing an
cracking on the line. l jerked tn
receiver away from my ear, held
out a moment until the noise woul
cease, and then called hello agar
The answering voice was that of
man.
We'll. what became of you?' cam
the question.
Il started to tell him that he wa
talking to the wrong person. The
something, I don't know why on eartl
caused me to answer differently.
81 wasn't sure of who this was,'
answered. The reply caused me t
take more interest in life. There wa
something about the remark-well, d
you believe in intuition? l do.
elias anybody called up? Hay