The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-04-01
The Indelible
Clue

Landing the counterfeits is all well
and good, but where does il get us II
we don't know who made themF"
The speaker, William ]. Burns, then
connected with the United States
secret service, glanced up from his
examination of a large sofa which his
associates had stopped just as it was
on the point Of being shipped from
New York TO Costa Rica-a sofa which
was stuffed, not with wool or hair, but
with 100000 worth of counterfeit
Costa Rican money, destined TO finance
a Latin-American revolution.
So far as the men who had been
working on the case had been able to
discover. there was no way In which
60 trace the shipment. 1t had been
brought to the dock In an ordinary
dray which, having unloaded its bur
den, had driven of, to be lost among
thousands Of others Of its kind in the
streets of New York OF the men who
had shipped the sofa, the men re
sponsible for counterfeiting the cur
rency Of a friendly nation. there was
no indication whatever
But Burns made careful, almost
microscopic, examination of the bur-
lap with which the furniture had been
wrapped Down In one corner, half
obliterated, he discovered a peculiar
mark-the numerals 80 Xxx 64"-which
the detective rightly presumed re-
ferred in some way to the manufac-
turers of the fabric.
Inquiry through trade channels
brought the information that burlap
Of that kind, bearing the Xxx" mark,
was sold by only one concern in the
East. But even that discovery didn't
bring Burns much closer to his quarry,
for the books of the firm in question
showed that more than 1900 dealers
had purchased Xxx" burlap within the
past year. One by one these dealers
were eliminated, until only six re-
manned. Among these was furniture
house In long Island City and when
that store opened for business on the
following morning a square jawed,
stockily-built man of medium height
entered and asked to see the manager.
MY name is Burns" he stated, flip
ping back the lapel of his coat in such
way as to afford a glimpse of his
secret service badge. 81 would like
to have the opportunity of looking at
the stock of burlap which you have
on hand at the present time, In order
to assist the government in running
down a case of considerable impor-
lance"
But right there the man who solved
many mysteries ran into a snag. None
OF the burlap bore the 80 Xxx "a" mark.
The Xxx" was there, but the numer.
ais were all different.
when did you get this stock In?
asked the detective.
about month ago." was the reply
"Have you any Of the former mate
rial ON hand?"
The manager was inclined to thinh
not, but a careful search of the ware
house brought to light single piece
| OF the former supply and there, I'm the
corner, was the clue that Burns had
hoped to find-the indelible '2 Xxx "a"
"Now," snapped the secret service
man, 'if you will let me see your
books for the past three or -four
months, I won't bother you any
longer"
That same afternoon Burns and two
Of his associates rang the bell OF q
house in Brooklyn occupied by Mrs
Loni. who was, according TO the clerk
who had made the sale, "a Spanish
4 woman who insisted upon buying q
sofa OF a certain kind, well padded
and heavily stuffed" The sofa an
swered the description of the one
which was being held at the wharf
and the very fact that the purchaser
had been Spanish added the final con
Meeting link. But, In order to avoid
any possible slipup, Burns located the
expressman who had taken the furni
ture from the Loni house to the docl
Ia feat which was far from difficult
once he had a clue to the location OF
the home of the counterfeiters.
AS he had expected, Mrs. Loni dis
claimed any knowledge OF the ship
ment and fell back upon professet
lack of understanding of English tt
bolster up her position. To her amaze
ment. the detective replied in f1uent
Spanish, informing her that he had al
the facts in the case-the statement o.
the clerk who had sold the sofa, the
expressman who had carted IL to the
dock and the fact that he had seer
| with his own eyes 100000 in coun
terfeit bills taken from the piece o.
furniture.
This house. is surrounded" con
cluded Burns I've got my hand OF
my gun and I'm going to stay RICH
here until / land the men who mad,
that money If it takes me" but 1
didn't take as long as he had expected
for. as he spoke, the woman's son-in
law, Ricardo de Requesans. steppet
into the room and admitted that h
and another Spaniard had been re
sponsible for making and planting tn,
counterfeits.
The next time you try to pull of
anything of the kind" Burns said a
he took them into custody, "be careful
of the markings on the burlap you use
H ~ H. II