The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-01-25
Stories of Strange Cases Solved in Seer.
Banker-Detective-- By ROBERT CARLTON BR

deep hncs appearing IN has face as he
thrust his hands into his pockets.
4 thought so, yes, sir.
Poe turned to President Farley:
''Guess that s all there is TO see, -
he said lightly. ~ IN much obliged
to you for asking me to help, m glad
you thought | d be interested. | ii
ring you mp if l stumble on anything
of Importance
80 Itch me about those poppy seeds.
What is the significance OF them !
How d you know what kind they were?
banker like the rest of us, except with
great deal wider experience"
oh, there s nothing much to say
about these poppy seeds; you know
yourself that opium is made of almost
every variety of poppy seeds
" And know a little of the class
that uses opium,' said President Far
ley shrewdly.
"Then use your imagination, an.
at your home if / should call up to.
night"
eyes, I'll stay home speciality
FAll right. Good.day.''
Christopher Poe whisked out of the
office, stepped deliberately on the toe
OF police detective trying to conceal
himself in corner between two
buildings, said, "Oh, pardon me, and
hurried on; the clumsy sleuth staring
after him belligerently, inclined TO
follow Poe as sure suspect.
Poe went straight down Canal to
Bourbon street, and then turned in to
the office of a criminal lawyer who oc
cupied the whole floor above a ram
bling old antique shop.
Gerry he said, when he was ad
mitted to the lawyer private room,
''you come nearer to being a profess
sional day and night prowler than
anybody else / know in this town,
wonder If you couldn't give me a few
addresses of your disreputable friends
down around UrsulInes street, say;
or n travelling gypsy or two that may
have worked their way over IN some
freight boat or other. -
"What do you want of 'em, Christ"
asked the lawyer, who, like most of
the banker good friends, never sus-
pected his interest in crimlnology
went farther than superficial study
of it through books.
"Oh, / d like to get hold of a clever
fortune teller a man preferably
"Why don I you go TO medium ~
"That's good suggestion, but IT
wouldn t work in this case. | want TO
get hold of anybody you know con
nected with the fortune telling busi-
ness.
"I don't believe there anybody in
the business regularly. There IS n lit
tie demand for them once in a while
at Mardi Gras time, But there s Mike
Mayo, lives down on Ursulines; III
give you a card to him. Don't know
why they call him Mike; he's Span
lard. He comes IN touch with all sorts
of mountebanks, gypsies and people
working all kinds of gratis; -
"Good! That's just the fellow L
want.
Poe. having stopped at haberdasher g
to buy and don vest and necktie of
loud pattern, pushed open the door to
Mike Mayo's office, and in tone
much louder than his usual one intro
duccd himself, not troubling to use the
card given him by the lawyer
81 I'm Hardy, got a couple of shows
at Coney, down here on business,
heard OF you, thought I'd drop, in fore
traction fit to take back to help in the
big noise
''I don know if | have anybody
to suit you.' drawled MAYO, "but /
have several clever performers, who
work cheap
"No, I mean something bit un.
usual. As matter Of fact, Mayo,
said Poe, producing festive banded
cigar he had bought purposely, 81 want
know. got a kind of an idea to fix up
a fake fortune telling stunt, sort OF an
Innovation: you got anybody that's
darn clever with the cards9'
Mayo thrust his hands deep into his
trouser pockets. pursed his lips, pulled
down his brow in weighty thought,
thumbed through stock musician s
L.
tended to ne taking under serious con
sidcration Just which of the great at /
fractions he controlled would he best
suited to a manager of this caliber. At
length he SAID profoundly:
AT present ] have nothing but two
sweet, pretty girls with tambourines
and dances and fortune telling with
holding hands, "A crazy old man with
quick hand tricks and fortune telling
ready printed; young boy from Ma.
laga who sees things before they
come, 10y the stars, and plays the
violin, and AN old witch woman who
tells it all from the cards.
Ain Z YOU got more than that"
asked Poe in contemptuous tone of n
displeased amusement magnate
1.-The boy is clever; he plays the
violin, inveDts things and tells for
tunes by the stars Mayo said some
what sullenly.
"Oh, | might take his address along
with the rest, but il ain I so much OF |
a layout as ] expected, said Poe in
painstaking vernacular.
The Spaniard FASTENED TO write out
the addresses for him, and Poe had |
no sooner left the pompous little fel- |
low IS office than be shot straight for |
the first address printed on the card. !
that Of the old fortune telling faker |
with the sleight of band tricks.
1t was three 'elock as Poe climbed |
two flights Of riekety stairs leading up |
through smelly courtyard behind a |
French restaurant on Decatur street.
and knocked on the door of the room
be had learned downstairs was occu-
pied by the man he wished to see.
No answer came. Poe struck a (
match, for the entry.way was dark.
and found that the door Of the room
was securely fastened by great,
heavy paddock.
a slight smile fickered in his
smooth face as he drew out a compact
little pearl. handled pocket knife, opened
a button hook blade, inserted il in the
koyhole. turned il twice to the left with
q deSterous twist, found the spring,