The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-28
CASEY THE COP
He Tells of the Side Whisker Mystery.

placed-not a sound was heard. When
he left the last house, II was by the
front door and he was carrying a suit
case. 1t was just at daybreak and a
milkman got a fair sight of him. He
took the burglar for the proprietor or a
man of the house, making an early
start for somewhere. His description OF
the man, although he had no suspicion
was the best of any. Medium height, we'll
dressed. rather pale-faced, blue or hazel
eyes, rather long hair and blonde side
whiskers. Again, II was a description
that would fit thousand men and the
detectives were no better on.
IF you have heard of the case before,
son." continued Mr.. Casey, Il need not
tell you that during the next three months
sixteen homes Of aristocrats were enter
ed and plundered. Our burglar was the
slickcst man that ever struck this whole
town. A score of traps were set for
him, but he evaded them all. The doors
of houses were doubled-locked, and
double-bolted, and the windows spiked
down. but the fellow got inside Just the
same. In one case, he plundered a house
while the family was at dinner In
another. while watchers were sitting up
with a dead child; in the third, while a
party was being given. Indeed, he came
and went at his pleasure and still the
only clue we had to work on was those
blond side-whiskers.
There were five or six old sleuths on
the force, but they were as much at
fault as the greenhorns Of patrolman.
The newspapers kept up a row about
the failure to make an arrest and every
the Commissioner would ne bounced. and
with him n score of detectives The
ghOstly burglar had accumulated plumber
valued at 10000. when 1 came into the
case"
And you solved it," I said.
Don't go too fast" replied the officer.
Il was a patrolman at the time and had
not worked on the case. i was simply
others. l had my own theories, of course,
but theories are like pun balls. My beat
took in several blocks OF Beech street.
which was half a business street. and
Birch street, which was built up OF homes
of the second class order. That is to say,
they were mostly brick houses Of two
stories in height. One of these houses
had attracted my attention when I first
tains were down, the steps were litter
ed with straw and there was sad need
of repair. There were no signs-no care
taker-and when j came to inquire, they
told me that the estate was In chancery.
Directly back of this house and facing
Beech street was a two-story house that
had been altered over into a shop and
was row occupied as a cigar store. This
shop was presided over by n young man
of about Is. / called in there one day to
get smoke and have a few words with
him.
THE cigar man had the face OF stu
uenI ana wore a small II
was evident that he did not do much of a
trade, for he had small stock on hand
and didn't seem to care whether Gus.
toners came in or not. He passed a great
share of his time in reading. and came
to discover that the books he read were
by Dickens and Shakespeare. He was
not a communicative man. and seldom
gave me more than nod when I called
in, which was perhaps three times
week. tried once or twice to draw him
out, but II was a failure. He answered
me in monosylables and seemed anxious
to have me go.
"On what / shall term the great occa-
sion had called for my cigar as usual.
and after lighting II. sat down TO pull
of one OF nv shoes which was pressing
against an aching corn. The cigar man
was sitting and reading a paper. Sud-
denly l heard the rumble OF thunder and
the sky darkened. IA storm was coming
up. There was a door leading from the
store part into the back rooms. This
other way. and that fact was the doom
Of the mysterious burglar.
There came a sudden gust OF wind as
We sat there and II blew open a back
and the gust swept along and
the door I had been describing was forced
back until II struck the wall. We both
jumped to our feet. and thought I saw
a dead rat sweeping across the floor until
il brought I'd against NV feet. 1t was
not a dead rat. nv son. 1t was a wig
and pair of false s1de-whiSkers and
those side-whiskers were blond"
"Well?" I asked. as Mr.. Casey paused.
Right here think little credit Is due
me-" he continued. 81 had nv revolver
nut and pointed at the cigar mans h."
before you could count ten. The side
whiskers told me who he was. That gust
Of wind had blown down the paper box
In which thew were kept on a shelf in the
back room. and ! had the fellow dead to
rights. He stood there without a word.
and put on the handouts and took him
around to the station. He had dug a
tunnel from the cellar of his store to the
vacant house on the other
street He cooked his meals in that house
and he slept there. and from the area
gate he went and came on his nocturnal
raids He also stored all his plunder
there. and there we found II. He had not
Dawned or disposed OF n single article.
He got a sentence OF fifteen years. but
was out a couple of years ago. He had
gone into the burglar business scientif
caIlv. and but for that gust of wind he
might have continued his career for two
DR. three years more"
And what did you get out of it Mr..
~asev?" I queried.
"oh. they called 1t bull-headed luck"'
he laughed