The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1914-01-09
My F irst
lesson
By ELLIOT MANSFIELD

Iuu uOWu, anu ii put you Ol Tic JUL
Cant you give me something easier
to begin on?'' asked.
81 give you this because it is easy,
he replied. "a counterfeiter is handi-
capped with workshop. He mus.
have his contrivances to make his bills,
and after ne has made them he must
get good money for them. Therefore
he is in constant danger; he's the east
est rogue of all to GET
The job he gave me was very easy
because it was already half done. A
man in B., who lived alone in a
house he had rented, that was big
enough for a large family, was sus-
pected, and was sent to locate op
poSite him and get information as to
what he was doing. / hired room,
from the windows of which 1 could
look right down on to his house, and
began my watch. Closer had told
me that the surest way of getting him
was through his mail. The postman
often came when the suspect was out
and would drop his letter in an out
side box for that purpose. Seeing
him do so one evening after dark, /
went across the street, took the box to-
my room, opened it, took out the let
tiers. steamed the gum by which the
envelopes were fastened, read the
mail, put the letters back in the en-
velope and replaced the box.
The letters were nearly all from
business houses to which the man had
applied for a position, nothing what
ever discriminating in any Of them. |
wrote Closer that there must be some
mistake, mentioning my capturing of
the suspects mail. My instructor re-
piled that the letters had been pur-
posely left in a box to throw shadow
er off the track. | must look else
where for the real mail.
The next day a telegraph boy called
at the fellows house with a dispatch
and couldn't get in. While he was
ringing | went over and asked him
whom he wanted. He handed me
dispatch. which | opened and read
Cant you come home for the week
end?" was all there was in it, and it
was signed Mother" Giving the boy
q dime, l sent him away. The envel-
Ope had been loosely gummed, and [
had no trouble in putting it together to
look as if it had not been opened. |
showed it under the door and went to
my room. | hadn't been there long be-
fore the suspect returned, opened the
dispatch, read it and went into the
house.
When l reported this to Closer he
wrote me that the fellow had doubt
less sent the dispatch to himself to
mislead Il shadower. I'd better look
out for some means Of communication
not so public. Asking me if there Were
any deliveries of supplies made at the
house, I told him that a bakers boy
carried loaf of bread there every
morning Closer wrote me to lie in
wait for loaf and take it in. I didn't
see any sense in doing so, but obeyed.
The next morning | was up early, and
when the boy came along and left the
bread I went circuitOusly across the
street. took the loaf and broke it into
small pieces. Finding nothing in it, |
reported the fact to my chief. who re-
piled that if l had been seen by the
man opposite | had blocked my own
game. One thing / noticed-no more
bread was left at the house.
Closer wrote me that it might be
a good idea to scrape an acquaintance
with the suspect. | met him 01ur-
posely) just before he went into his
house and asked him to tell me the
way to the Union depot He seemed
as willing to talk as / was, and / soon
learned that his uncle owned the
house he was in and permitted him to
room there while he looked for posi-
ton. This seemed to explain every
thing, and / wrote to Closer that he
had sent me on a FOOLS GRAND. was
tired of it and was going home. He
replied that I'd better remain one day
longer. which | did.
The next day about noon 1 saw sew
eral men lettering around the suspects
house and presently saw the suspect
led out with pair of bracelets on
his wrists. l was dumfounded. Not
knowing any. better way to find out
the facts, went home and straight to
Closer. 4
'Who arrested that young man"
He was arrested by my ORDER
But I've found out nothing against
him.
''No. you haven't, but others have.
You wanted TO learn something, and I
sent you where you could do so. had
the fellow nearly cornered and sent
you to watch him in order to throw
him off the track of the real detectives.
I gave you 'one point, but you bungled
it and put us back by your inexperi-
ence. The man received his mail bak
ed in bread, but only on certain days,
or, rather. when a mail was sent him.
On the day YOU captured the loaf that
contained nothing no was watching