Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-14

up III department stores as long
- TOO months before the real Christmas shop
ping season begins. October starts the open
eeGS0n for the human for" hunt
The prey OF the shophtter may be anything
from toy GiTpIane to q sable coat tOiile the
Detectives hunt includes an amazingly large
crOss-section OF humanity. From the small
p0y tDho corets the couGpSibLe and. eGStIv
tucked-GU0y foot ball to the erouisitelv 0o1uned
4otOG0er tcho h0ughtily 1DGlks out of the store
with that much-desired fur coat thro,Dn nom
0ssGlGntly oUer her arm, they are all there,
brushing shoulders NTH the innocent shopper,
plying their insidious trade right under the
0eTy eye of nnsuspectin0 Sdles0irIs
RASHING the gate of the detective bureau
OF department store chat is, if one is
neither detective shoplifter) is as difficult
rs boiling Jail. But it was finally accomplished:
? lady OF the press was sandwiched in between
On almost steady stream of crafty derelcts
One may visualize Hawkshaw type of de-
Eective as the match for the astute wits of the
ehoplifter. But instead a very businesslike
gentleman at the head of the department in
Sroduced in turn, his best detective and here's
ehe real catch; for she's blue-eyed guileless
Nlmpled-cheeked lady with none Of the fiction
detective manner Fifteen years ago when she
Suffered her profession she was Margaret Leigh
Son, name she made so well known in her
Aine In five years that it still lives along with
the more recent one of Petit
A girl at exchange, two years before she was
made store detective, Miss Leighton lost her
handbag in the dressing ROOM and in telling
Fne head OF the department her loss she was
recognized Immediately as having the qualities
ehat go to make up good detective She
proved the good judgment on the part of her
nrst boss. This was her introduction: Meet
Miss Leighton, or Mrs. Petit, If you will and
tTy to remember her gracious manner and dis
&rming smile as she speaks for herself"
''You see, just 10 when I started as a
detective, and weighed only 95 pounds then
which enabled me physically to wriggle my way
"a anywhere" Even though Mrs Petit NAV be
classed as stylish stout today, her scarce five
eoet still serve to make her inconspicuous And
3udging from the collection of deadly weapons
she displayed, the aforementioned "disarming"
smile was most valuable and necessary weapon
On sen-defense. Can you guess what this tsp"
she smilingly asked as she picked from the
praWer OF ominous and belligerent looking
pnairs heavy brass arrangement with four
poles therein. 1 passed! Its knuckle" said
she blithely, slipping her four fingers through
the hostile arrangement. "OR course reyolvers
such as these are common and dope sets like
This, producing a neat red leather case con-
tanning all the paraphernalia for the so-called
Shappy dream" Here's a single knuckle and
ehe slipped her dainty forehnger into o ring that
reSembled the one granny used to wear for
Fheumatism, but in weight it could knock out
q much deadlier foe than disease.
What's the idea of the baby's feeding spoon,
q burned on the bottom?" asked
"Oh, that is of many belonging to a less
epulent dope. He puts the snow into the
bowl OF the spoon heats 1t to a liquid scratches
his arm and drops the liquid in with one of
these medicine troopers Unfortunately dope
and theft go hand in hand. A son of a very
wealthy man, an expert accountant himself,
was sent up after several thefts as much for
cure as punishment. He was kept a year until
apparently cured, but in two weeks bad COM
pany and an independent income had him in
their tolls again, and he is professional shop
LITTER today.
"This is one of our prize captures" she con-
tinued, and I shown the most innocent
looking cane. made of metal and painted black
except for the crooked handle, which was of
silver. THE crook who carried this cane was