Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1914-06-11
A Detective
Story
By ALBERT KENYON

so fascinating is that 1t Is q perpetual
puzzle. Then there are so many In
genious methods of perpetrating swim
A detective never knows when he is
going to light on a new and ingenious
device
But it is not in such cases that /,
Row twenty years detective, have
found the keenest relish. The MUIR
derer is not In condition of mind to
think out problem coolly. He Is III
an abnormal condition. For my part
l could never understand how any one
could commit crime the discovery Of
which would bring dreadful punish
ment Nevertheless criminals often
work out very intricate problems.
1t is when two or three persons above
education conspire together that the
most ingenious devices develop. Per
haps this is because each gives the
other courage. That is what makes
hunting down a gang of counterfeiters
so interesting. They are usually intellt-
gent men and work together. Yet there
is one thing they all lose sight OF or
disregard-the fact that they are al
ways caught in the end.
The most interesting surprise 1 ever
encountered was In unearthing one OF
these counterfeiting gangs. say sur
prise, for 1t was no credit to me that
/ made the discovery. Indeed, had
10 Owl, iuu ~ oh
never have got on to them. was put
on the case In this way: Some counter
felt twenty dollar bills were being put
into circulation. They seemed to come
to the surface in a small town In Kan
sas and drift eastward. At any rate,
one of them was traced to this place,
and ! was sent out there to invest1-
gate. There is always difference In
towns. some being inhabited In the
main by good. religious people, others
being VIGOROUSLY bad. N. the point
where the counterfeit bill came from,
was neither good nor bad, but not long
before my arrival a party had begun
to assemble every evening to play
poker. The game or series of games
had been started by two or three men
who had recently come to the town, |
and a number of citizens bad gradu- |
ally come to take a part in the pro-
ceedings. They were played In the /
room sometimes Of one. sometimes of
another, member of the party.
went into the town ostensibly to
buy cattle. A day or two after my
arrival ! was Informed by a man
whose acquaintance l had made that
there was a poker party In a room up
stairs. He said he was going up to
look on. and ! told him l would go
with him If he would introduce me.
The truth is l have suffered all through
my life from the gambling passion.
Having fortune, | lost it, and that
was what threw me into the detective
business. should not have gone to
watch this game, for ! ran a great
r1sk of being drawn into It. II
I found party Of good fellows, who
received me cordially, and 1t was not
ong before called for some chips. /
,oon lost what good money l had |
about me and to recoup yielded to !
temptation to use a counterfeit bill. \
hat had brought with me for a sam :
lie. The moment ! laid it on the ia
,le saw two of the players give each 4
ther a meaning look; then both
urned their eyes on me. A cold chill
an down my back. for 1t locked as II =
were detected on the start But my 4
usiness had schooled me in conceal.
ng my feelings, and ! returned the
doubtless 1t was this that caused one !
them to make mistake. He gave j
lie a crafty look. l returned 1t with j
ne equally crafty. =
] had no idea what this meant A
to win the bill had put up A
I'D something besides. Then caution a
Ut the better of my passion, and l s.
aged only SO long as l could play Cd 3
hat / had won. / saw the men who O
i'd noticed the bill go on the table O
atching me. Evidently ] didn't fill y
e bill Of what they had expected Of NJ
e, for l got no more confidential D
ances. One thing I noticed-several b
yenty dollar bills came out from d,
ose men on the same bank as tbs ~
e l had used for stake and pass ia
into the hands Of other players re
lie of them fell to me. The man who "; ",
d given me the meaning glance at Al
ce asked me for 1t, offering four AT
ves' for II. But ! told him l would
Their keep 1t. However, knowing
me game was going on other than j juI
2 open one on the table, l gave 1t to Ju
n This seemed to alIay slight Au
5picion Of me that had come to him Oc'
t was the producing Of these twenty No
lar bills, all on the same bank, and D io1
,ir passing into the hands of others jar
1t gave me an explanation Of the Eel
stery. Counterfeiters were using An,
J game to shove the spurious money
to such citizens of the place as
re drawn into their poker game 1911
mediately put out all the bills / MAJ
brought with mo as samples, and JUL nj,
; won me the confidence Of the Aug
nterfeiters. Nevertheless they seem S ,st