The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-11


 horns understand that he has en- tered into some sort Of contract with the provincial police"
 with the pelice?" repeated.
 Yes. He is to help them in such cases as may lie within the scope of his special expeFience He is, indeed, the very last person I should like to have upon my trail had committed murder He is most skilled ana minute observer, and you must not for get that the speciality of Sherlock Holmes is the everyday routine of woodsman. Observation and deduc lion are part and parcel of his daily existence. He literally reads as he. rms. The floor of the forest is his page. And when crime $ committed in the woods these facts are very for funate- There nature is the criminals best ally. She seems to league herself with him in many ways. Often she delays the discovery of his i'll doing; she covers his deeds with her leaves and her snow: his track she washes away with her rain. and more than. all she provides hirn with vast area Of refuge, over which she sends the appointed hours of darkness, during which he can travel fast and fary
 All things consIdered, it is surpris- ing that so many woods crimes are brought home to their perpetrators.v
 sThere you are forgetting one very important point have been present at many trials and the most dangerous witnesses that have ever seen have been men Of the November Joe type that is, practically iIIiterate woodsmer. Their evidence has quality of terrible simplicity. They give minute but un- answerable details. All their experi- ences are first hand. They bring for ward naked facts with sledge hammer results Where a town bred man would see nothing but series of blur red footsteps in the morning dew. an ordinary dWeller in the woods could learn something from them, but No vennber Joe can often reconstruct the man who made them: sometimes in a manner and with an exactitude that has struck me as little short of mar veIous.s'
 1T see he has interested you said half smiling.
 ssI confess he has. Looked at from scientific standpoint consider him the perfect product of his environ ment. There are few things I would enjoy more than to watch November using his experience and his super normal senses in the unraveling Of some crime of the woods.s
 threw the stump of my cigar into the fire.
 You have persuaded me, 7 said. q will try to make start by the end of the week Where is Joe to be found P ssAs to that, believe you might get into touch with him at Harding's farm, Silent Water, Beauee.''
 tI'l1 write to him.
 Not much use. He only calls for letters when he feels fnclined.''
 Then I'll go to Harding's and ar- range the trip by word of mouth. z
 That would certainly be the best pig n. and, anyhow, the sooner you get you asiIl be more likely to secure Joe by doing that, as he is inclined to Be shy of strangers.
 host.
 ~Remernber me to Joe" said he. t.I like that young man. Goodby and good luck
 Along the borders of Beance and Maine, between the United States and Canada, lies land of spruce forest and of hardwood ridges. Here little farms stand on the edge of the big timber, and far beyond them, In the depths of the woodlands, lie lumber camps and the wide flung paths of trappers and pelt hunters.
 left the cars at Silent Water and rode off at once to Harding's, the house Of the Beauce farmer where meant to put up for the night Mrs Hard ing received me genia1iy and placed an excellent supper before me While was eating it a squan blew up with the fall of darkness, and I was glad
 ough to find myself in safe shelter.
 Outside the wind was swishing among the pines which incIosed the farmhouse. when inside the telephone bell rang, which connected us with St. George forty miles distant, rang suddenly and incongruousIy high above the clamor of the forest noises.
 Mrs. Harding took up the receiver, and this is what I heard
 My husband won't be home tonight; he's gone into St. George. No. have no one to send. But how can I? There is no one here but me and the chil- dren Well, there's Mfr Quaritch, a sport staying the night. No. couldn't ask him.
 eTo Be. continued9