Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1916-02-24

he might be charlatan. That, how
ever, was before met him.
In reality, he was scientific meta
physician-a man who did strange
things i'll natural way, and held that
nothing in all the universe of worlds
was supernatural, because all which
seemed so was but the natural effect
of the operation of highter laws of
nature.
On the roof itself he had construct
er wonderful garden of potted
bushes and shrubs and beds of flow
ers, rooted in winter by dome of
glass;. and so kept green the year
around.
This relm of his was reached from
the twentieth floor of the building by
great staircase of marble and bronz,
at the top of which was an inlaid an
nunciator plate, which rang a chime
of bells in the tower.
1 had met him long ago, one day
when Smithson had sent me to gain
an interview for feature story. That
day as ! went toward his unusual
abode had fancied that he was some
sort of charlatan preying upon hu
man superstition.
The very name suggested it.
l half expected to have him offer to
read my entire life, past and future,
for fee. Instead l found cour-
teous gentleman, who told me of
things of which | had never dreamed,
and politely refused to be interview
ed for publication.
Since then / had come to call him
friend. By aid of his wonderful
knowledge | had been enabled to un-
ravel some of the most battling crimes
which had occurred in our city.
l had seen him sit alone in that
tower and reach out his hand and
point to the guilty, and say This is
the man."
had found that the man had sus-
pected of gulling the public was one
whose chief aim in existence was to
help mankind. So in our ignorance
we often misjudge our real friends.
| Because of the unusual means which
Dual used in obtaining the solutions
to seemingly battling mysteries of
crime, Smithson of the Record had
dubbed him the Occult Detector."
BY natural association of ideas,
now found myself wondering if this
case toward which l was speeding
might in any way again throw me
into association with my strange
friend; if once more l were to see ex-
hibited that almost uncanny ability
of deduction possessed by Dual.
So deeply was l engrossed in my
own thoughts that gave little at
tention to my progress until the taxi
turned from the curving drive which
led up to the wide-flung house of
Conrad.
Then perforce l lifted my eyes and
glanced about.
A long, gray motor, which imme-
diately recognized as police-car, al
ready stood at the head of the drive.
Almost on the tail of my own machine
second taxi turned into the
grounds.
AS my own driver came to a stop
behind the police-car, this motor also
slowed, and from it sprang Jimmy
Dean, star man on the Dispatch, and
friendly rival of mine.
Hello, Gordon" he greeted, smi-
ling. "That was just about dead
heat this time. Smithson must have
disturbed your beauty-sleep, old pail
"And you?" l suggested.
Dean grinned.
"Sweet dreams-sounds of horrid
Naturalization - dreams shattered
Info that a prominent citizen was
not-gasoline chariot-and now you
We paid our drivers and went up
the front steps to the wide poarch
side by side. The front door stood
open, giving us view of wide hall
from which doors opened on both
sides.
lowering about the outside of one
of these was a woman apparently
somewhat past middle age, who i'm
agined, was probably Conrad's house,
keeper. AS it turned out later, was
right.
We walked into the hall, and ac'
costed her, explaining that we were
from the press.
She lifted dazed eyes while I was
speaking, and, when | had finished
moved her hand toward the odor be
side which she was standing.