The Washington herald., 1921-02-04
Can you solve this case?
Elusive Liquor.

Mounted Patrolman Brady saw
the keg when it dropped from the
motortruck. The man standing on
the back Of the truck had leaned
against it as the machine numbered
by. Brady shouted to him that
it was sliding off and it was the
fellows clumsy efforts to save it
that had sent It tumbling to smash
on the boulevard pavement and
shower many gallons of whisky
in every direction.
By the time Brady had trotted
near enough to smell the character
of the liquid the truck had put on
speed and was swaying wildly up
the boulevard more than a block
away. Brady. of course, gave
chase, but the machine outdistanced
his mount until he lost sight of
it as it swung off on a road lead
ing out into the country. 1t was
about fifteen minutes before Brady
found Belks, of the motorcycle
squad and the latter took up the
pursuit.
Belks asserted that in his pursuit
of the whisky truck he passed
Peter Deganey, a liquor dealer, in
another mOtOrtruCk that was loaded
with kegs and headed into the city.
When he found the truck he was
chasing it contained no kegs. The
driver and his assistant, whom he
arrested, admitted they were en-
ployes of Deganey, and that the
kegs had been transferred to the
truck in which he rode. They also
admitted the keg that had dropped
had contained whisky, but said it
was being transported under permit.
The rest of the kegs, they stoutly
maintained were empty. This was
contradicted by no less than eight
persons who saw the barrels trans
ferred from one truck to the other,
and who all agreed that they were
very heavy.
Deganey himself told exactly the
same story as his employees when
he was questioned an hour later by
the United States operative who
put him under arrest for violation
of the Volstead act, and attempted
to substantiate his story by show
ing the permit for the traRsporta-
tiOn of a single barrel.
This was the case as Jim Guyer
the United States operative, out
lined it to Harvey Hunt as the
two men made their way out to a
warehouse owned by Deganey.
We've traced the truckload out
here" he told the independent in
yestigator, who was accompanying
him unofficially, and 1 don't be-
lieve Deganey's had time to move
it out again, so all We'll have to
do is check the stuff and seal the
place up"
'Umph" grunted Harvey Hunt
I'm not so sure of that. Jim"
The warehouse property included
fair-sized lot, surrounded by a
high board fence. and it was into
this that the two men made their
way after a thorough search of
the building failed to reveal any
whisky kegs and barrels. In front
of this pile the ground was wet,
Both men dropped to their knees
and shifted. But no fumes of al
cohOl came to their nostriIs from the
moist earth.
And there's no hootch in those
barrels" commented the government
man after he had scrambled through
the pile. This complexities mat
ters"
"On the contrary" said Harvey
Hunt. 1T explains them. Deganey
has not broken the Volstead law
You better release him. But unless
you watch him closely he'll break
another law"
Can you tell what Deganey's xams
really was, and what hrst aroused Har-
vey Hunts suSpicionsl
The answer viii appear tomorrow
Copyright 1891, By Public Ledger Coz