El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-24
Great Cases Of Detective Burns---By William J. Burns
VIII--The Missing Precipitate of Silver

Z trance Of the Mining Exchange build
ing ] waited there until / saw presi-
uent r. c. +. CalIingham come out to
get luncheon; then / returned com
pOseuly TO the smelling cOmpanys Of
: Ilces. had decided that If the samples
s Of stolen silver were still preserved,
lhey would be at the cOmpany's works
In the neighbOring town Of Cooley.
Test Of Samples Delayed.
went 10 the young man who had
Deen left in charge of the office, and
asked him. Did those samples come
yet2'
What sampIes?"
Mr. Callingham sent out to the
WonIs for some samples Of silver preci-
pitate"
They haven't come"
Would you mind teIephOning
again?"
Sure thing" the clerk said. He
called up the cOmpany's works on the
telephone and asked Have you sent IN
those samples of silver precipuate FOR
Mr.. Callingham2' He turned to me,
with the receiver at his ear, to inquire;
What samples were they?'
Samples of a silver precipitate that
was stolen from the mint"
The clerk repeated that explanation
to the man at the works All right"
He hung up the receiver. They'll
start them in right away, Mr. Burns
How long will it take them to get
about an hour"
Thanks" I said, indifferently, and
went out to my luncheon, easy in my
Mining Samples Produced.
was back on my post, at the en-
trance Of the Mining exchange, in time
TO see Callingham return; and after q
sufficient interval I reJOined Calling
ham in his office, on pretense Of ask
ing him about the inquiries that had
been made IN Red Bank, \. J., con-
corning the precipitate of silver.
" e were interrupted by the arrival
of a messenger from the works, with
his leather bag over MS shoulder
There's the samples you wanted he
said, as he took them out and laid
them on the table desk When the
messenger had Withdrawn, I explained
casually, TO Callingham, without look
ing at him. They had those samples
of silver precipitate out at the works
still; they sent them in"
"Oh. did they2' Callingham's voice
was flat The samples contained about
$50 worth OF silver
I put them in my pocket. Mr.
Fleischman wants to have them tested
your man"
Traced to PayynbrOker.
I went TO turn the samples over to
the superintendent Of the mint for
analysis, and then to see the metal
dealer from whom they had come. That
off with any story Of shipments from
Idaho. He admitted that the silver
had been brought to him by a pawn
broker, whose name and address he
gave In Is minutes 1 was in the
pawushop-
The community in which I was max
ing this Investigation was notorious
for its political corruption There was
then in control of the city a political
boss who sold the privilege of lawless-
ness TO the criminal, TO the vicious, to
every other enemy Of society who
could pay for protection Ny pawn
broker was related, by marriage. 10
this political boss The small thieves,
paying tribute to the police dealt with
the paWnbrOker as with a sort Of Off
Cial fence and If had been local
detective, inQuiring there for the trail
of loot the pawnbroker would have
laughed at me
Stranger Is Introduced.
But the secret service represented
the federal power, an alien authority
beyond the reach Of native corruption
The paWnbrOker had no wish to in