The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-06-06
A
Kleptomaniac
By T. B. ANDERSON

Copyright. 1919. By Western Newspaper Union.l
I was heartily sorry when | made
the discovery of a regular and persist,
ent shoplifter In the Modern Idea de.
partment store. There could be NO
doubt as to the identity and guilt OF
the suspected one. She was a pretty
graceful girl Of about twenty. Hel
winning smile and kindly eyes at once
attracted the good will Of the various
sales clerks with whom she came ir
contact. For days before l detected
her in her systematic pilferings ! had
casually, and then interestedly, ob,
served her, and / could not get hsE
out Of my mind and was duly shocked
and sorry when ! saw her one after
moor slip a dozen lace collars off the
counter into q muff she carried.
Populations at the Modern Idea has
become SO fragrant that its manager
came to the detective agency where I
was employed and stated his case. He
had In his hand an array Of figures
showing q long list of goods MISSING
from inventory and certainly never
sold.
1T is only occasionally that Qua
house man catches a shoplifter," sair!
the manager. Those detected as
generally poor persons, novices In G,e
line. and rarely repeat the act If
stealing. Their system Is clumsy. ttle
goods taken are of little value ala de-
lection and detention give thsm a
good scare and they rarely trouble US
again. 1t Is the bigger thefts that give
US concern. When three or four rings,
or bracelets, are lifted In our jewelry
department, reaching high values.
when five fur coats are found missing
In q week and not the slightest clew to
the thief Is discovered, 1t Is then that
We wake up and take serious notice.
These higher-ups in thievery are tie
pests We aim to eradicate. 1t Is a
question with US II they do not bel,sg
to a skillfully trained, organized bGaj,
and to break them up Is our great ru:-
pose In view"
l don't know how 1t was, but al
though I was hardened against ttA
professional criminal and consistently
severe with such, there was born in
my heart a sympathy and an interest
In this fair kleptOmaniac that led me
through strange mental p~erturbations
1t got S that l began to look for her
daily. not as a person l was employed
to run down. but as might a lover for
the object Of his devotion.
She came to the store regularly
three times q week and always at the
same time, remained nearly two hours
and made a regular business Of her
populations. There was nothing
stealthy In her methods. Her pretty
face and bright, pleasing ways dis.
armed all suspicion ON the part of the
clerks. On one occasion / noticed her
transfer from a box half q dozen pairs
Of gloves to her capacious muff right
before the eyes Of the clerk, whilst she
was chatting pleasantly with the floor
manager, and then, as she turned
away safe with her spoils, there came
to her face q smile Of such supreme
satisfaction that 1t appeared as though
the zest Of theft was to her the keen.
est enjoyment.
1t had become my duty long before
the end Of a month to report and ar.
rest this clever and apparently pro.
fessional shOpllfter. l had jotted down
details OF over twenty specific pecula.
tons, running from a bolt Of priceless
lace to a package Of needles. My mind
had become so filed with the girl and
her dOings that there was a sort of
fascination about 1t all. / Swallowed
her to her home one evening. She had
a room in a respectable apartment
house. but when / %guardedly explored
her status there all that / learned was
that she was Miss Alice Leslie, that
she had no friends or associates, paid
her way reliably and spent most of her
time al home reading and writing.
One day I had followed her from
moor to floor OF the big store and she
was talking with q clerk at one of the
counters and had incidentally secreted
several articles In some secret pocket
In her skirt. when an alarm of fire
rams through the place. Almost imme.
diately dense clouds Of smoke filed
the room where we were. There was
a rush for the stairway. She was
caught In the whirllng mass of fright.
ened human beings, borne or her bal.
ance and stunned by the fall. I saved
her from trampling feet, carried her
beyond. the peril Of suffocation and re.
ceived her grateful thanks when she
had recovered. I cultivated the &C.
~Quaintance thus made and within q
week was a guest at her home.
was shown to her apartments
when ! called q little later on. She
left her room on an errand to a
neighbor and I sat alone awaiting her
return. My attention was directed to
an open desk. I noticed a written
sheet. There was a list of every theft
In which she had been involved ut the
Modern Idea. with audacious details az
to the articles and their value.