The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-08

n thorough search. Lieutenant Greene, the Adonis of our force, was introduced into the situation to pass as an old friend of Celeste. Sup piled with a motor-car, Greene soon became devoted to Madame Marceau When he proposed n days picnic at Arachon, Madame MRrceau, urged on by Celeste, accepted. Greene tipped us off, and they had hardly left the house before Celeste had the door open and we were within, with a whole day at our disposal In which to conduct our search.
 Guided by Celeste, we made a thorough examination of the house from top to bottom; but we had our trouble for our palns-nCt a thing discriminating did we find.
 While seated in a back room dis cussing the failure, I casually no ticed that the house abutted on a large yard. Asking what was the place beyond the yard, I learned 1t was the Bordeaux Wholesale Grocery company. The answer made only a passing impression on me, and had it not been for Celeste's sharp eyes we would have overlooked the real solu- tion
 Celeste, the next day after the picnic. happened to see Madame Mar ceau come from the warehouse across her back yard, staggering under the weight of a large and bulky bundle. Peeping through the key-hole, Celeste saw Madame untie it. It con- tained cigars--box upon box.
 We investigated the Bordeaux Grocery company, and learned that it was owned and operated by a ha of record, as we had it from the French, was shady.
 Having traced the cigars from the head porter, through Madame Mar ceau, to Simons, our next desire was to see the inside of Simons' ware house. But right here we were blocked, Simons, a sallow skinned, crafty man, always prevented any such attempt
 In desperation, we hired the house next door tC his warehouse, de- termined to tunnel from it into the cellar of the warehouse. Here was an incongruous situation indeed. Men who were supposed to be enforcing the law were about to commit the crime of breaking and entering, in order to obtain evidence!
 Our men were called upon at vari ous times to perform strange duties, but none Queerer than the digging of that tunnel. We could work only at night, after we were sure that Simons had retired. And for several nights, by the dim light of lantern, we diligently picked away at the hole.
 Then, one night we picked into the cellar. Quickly enlarging the hole, so that we could squeeze thrC ugh, we entered. Grimy of hand and face, with clothes smeared with dirt and torn from contact with jagged pieces of the foundation and walls, we looked more like a band of vegas than like military police.
 A survey of that warehouse opened wide our eyes What sight it was! Thousands of dollars worth of all kinds of American supplies, neatly arranged in piles on the second floor, and all bearing the private mark of our quartermaster's department.
 We left one man behind in the eel lar to replace the wall, after which we escaped through a window.
 While we had been working on this phase of the case, our other men were still busy checking up on the verious train crews. Eliminating crews as fast as it was proved that they were net involved, our case finally settled on me.
 As already explained, riding on French freight train and keeping out of sight at the same time was a diff ficult anlso dangerous task, yet two of the men volunteered for the job.
 We soon had list of the places where this particular train would stop; and, with this list as a guide, we hustled out enough men to cover each of these places, and then sat back to await results. They were not long in forthcoming, for Rich, one of our men, discovered just how the trick was turned.
 Hiding in the bushes beside the track, Rich saw this train come to stop and the fireman start to fill his tender with water. While this was going on, the crew came along be- side the train and going to certain boX-car. broke the seal, opened it. selected what they wanted, and car ried the stuff down the embankment and hid it in the woods nearby. Then they shunted an empty car onto the side track and went on. When all was quiet, the station master and his assistant came along and collected the stolen supplies, carried them to the station, and put them in an empty box-car.
 On the return trip, the same crew that had stolen the supplies picked up this car, shunted 1t onto their train next to the engine, and, just before the strain arrived a Bordeaux. placed it on an abandoned track and left it there. On the next night Simons sent out his wagons, un- loaded the car, hauled the goods into