The Little River news., 1922-07-19
True :. 7 Detective Stories
BY PERSONS UNKNOWN

@+%$%*<4ee.$+1-ee%%*ere-eeeesss:' ess:' Copyright by The Wheeler Syndicate. Inc. ATT IS absolutely essential" said
 the secretary of treasury, glanc- ing across his desk at the short, ruddy.compleXiOned rather stout man who sat opposite him, that the per sons responsible for these lynchings at Versailles be arrested, tried and convicted. l don't think it Is over- stating the matter to say that this case is more important than any counterfeiting plot or smuggling scheme which the department has ever worked on, for the governor of In- diana has applied to the federal gov- ernment for troops to handle the up rising which threatens to sweep over that part of the country, and the en- tire state is taking sides in the mat ter.
 Naturally we do not wish to send troops to Versailles unless 1t is ab- solutely necessary. It would only lead to additional bloodshed and dis order. What we need is someone who has the nerve to go out there, investigate the case from every pos sible angle and make a report as to the persons responsible for the lynch ings. That's why sent for you"
 The man on the other side of the desk smiled and tapped thoughtfully with the forefnger of hand which i~x xSl knxl nrl 1n%n n 0 tfAYA of character.
 "Of course,s continued the secre- tary, T must warn you that the case Is one that Is apt to prove dangerous. More so in fact, than anything you have ever attempted. Compared to 1t. the roundup of gang of moon- sinners Is child's play-for here you will have to work entirely in the dark, one man against practically an entire state. A single slip would mean your death. and would force the govern ment to take steps which might lead to protracted bloodshed."
 ''In which case," replied the other, 1t would be we'll for me to get out to Versailles as soon as can. The longer we walt the less chance there is of success. Don't make any at- tempt to hear from me or to locate me for at least a month. If, at the end of that time, you haven't received : some kind of report, you will know that they've got me. But, somehow, I've got hunch that they won't" It was two days later that the train which stopped at Versailles, Ind, i halted just long enough to permit single passenger to alight-a man . who was short and rather plump and with a ruddy complexion, man who registered at the local hotel as "James M Beck" and who allowed it to be- come known that he was an insur- ance agent, representing one of the best-known companies in the country. But Versailles, as Beck soon discov- cred. was a poor field for life insur- ance at that time. There was only one topic of conversation in which the natives were interested; the lynch ,ng of the five prisoners. who had been taken from jail and murdered by an infuriated mob. This. coupled with open threats of defiance, against the governors edict that the guilty men must be punished. kept the town in continual state of. simmering, seething unrest-punctuated by frequent state ments that any state or government official who tried to find out the names of the men, implicated in the lynching would be shot on sight.
 Beck, apparently, wasn't in the least interested in the local turmoil. He had been sent to Versailles to sell in surance, and he was determined to sell it. no matter how many people he had to interview. The fact that he was stranger led, of course, to immediate suspicion of his motives, and some two weeks passed before he was able to allay this.
 About the end of the third week matters were brought to head by reason of a wire which Beck sent to New York, a dispatch which was in code and which caused the operator to spread the report that the life A'oui "iiNC osShl. "dS. d uEtCSliNc III disguise. Getting wind of this and realizing that he must take some rad ical step to offset suspicion, Beck ap- preached the man who appeared to be the leader of the trouble-faction. The agent explained to him that he was getting tired of the quarters at the hotel. and. wondered if it would be possible to secure lodgings in some private house where he would be little more comfortable.
 Certainly" said the native. "I reckon we can put you up all right. And he smiled at the thought of this man whom he suspected placing him self entirely in his power That how ever, was precisely what Beck wished, and it only took couple of days of clever acting to convince the local leader that he was only what he av1, peared to .be-a slow, plodding apt conscientious insurance agent. It waE yv1 tha oH l0