Uncle Sam Detective

k between those two points, when pandemonium broke out in the slumbrous streets. He met its forerunner head on not two blocks from the stat

t was driven by its proper owner, President Sissons of the Royerton

carriage was careening from side to side in a way that threatened its overthrow at any moment. Gard's first impression was of a team that had broken loose fro

board-pale, refined features that fitted illy into a scene of such vigorous action. But what was more surprising wa

ejaculated the driver of th

er Kester?"

of the bank,"

rest in the situation than he had experienced before, for he had come to Royerton for the pu

horse he had found by the side of the street. Others had joined in the pursuit and a rabble of small boys and curious towns

was but a financial shell. There was no delay in the interest of expediency. An immediate call was sent forth for the constable. The young cashier went into a panic. In d

se, and Homer Kester was a thorn in the flesh of the authorities and particularly of Special Agent Billy Gard for many a day. For he ran his team two miles into the country, aban

ght be meted out. In the course of which work he developed the detail of what had happened to the lone financial institution of this country town and

granted. It would seem that he had taken for his model in life the monkey (if it was a monkey) that had first induced the cat to pull those historical chestnuts out of the fire. But so all

brains. It was a surprise to his associates to find that his estate had so dwindled that there was almost nothing left. The bank was directly embarrassed, because of the fact that the younger Caviness ha

u know that I am now the local representative of a New York insurance compan

r, "your personal acco

now on a firm financial basis. I am now in a position to thr

believe in what he said, as this would save the bank money and themselves embarrassment. Further than thi

re encouraged. The insurance man continued such operations, much of his paper being perfectly good. It would appear that he was on the way toward clearing up his affairs, but Caviness spent much money, some of it going toward

The dominant insurance man had been a leader among their mutual associates from youth, was the social lion of the town, and always patronized the cashier. That timid y

ness owed the bank $10,000. Homer Kester, the cashier, s

e bank when the examiner came around. He promised he would in future deposit only cash and certified checks. T

awn to the amount of $3,500. The cashier realized that he had been personally at fault in allowing this. He had confessed his embarrassment to Caviness. T

s cash. The arrangement had become necessary upon the occasion of a recent visit of a national bank examiner. As the examiner

nt had come to the end of his string with the directors. He was to be allowed only to pay in money. But with the cashier the situation was different. Caviness now had Kester in his

ously to talk the matter over, "I could clean up the whole amount. I have a most un

have already let you ruin me and

"you are ruined by what you have already done, I am

hologist again. Two days later a smaller draft came but with no line of explanation. The chance to recoup might depend upon this money, the cashier felt. He appreciated the greater chances on the other side but, having honored the larger check, he could not turn down the smaller one. It was not logic that he should do so

he cashier cas

of the cashier. Billy Gard found the whole case easy to clear up with the exception

at such a fugitive would write home. There was but the necessity to wait until he should do so and the point of hiding would be

y for catching a man of the Caviness type held good,

hat the spendthrift often visited Philadelphia and that while there he kept fast company. Some o

ized Billy Gard, "alwa

e sporting friends of the missing insurance agent. One thread after another was followed to its end until, in traci

row and evidently was rented, each floor as a flat. Gard had reconnoitered front and back, had gossiped with the grocer at the corner, with some children in the street. He was looking for an opportunity to approach the janitor of the house to q

cial agent ran to the door of the house to which the former put his shoulder with good effect. They were thus let into a narrow hall. Off of this were the doors to the flat through which the noise of a vast

form of a disheveled woman, frowsily blonde, shapely, clad in a dressin

heavily across the dining-room table, felled by a blow from the stout stick of a slim antagonist. The wielder of the stick shifted his position and Billy Gard got a view of his face, lividly white, delicately chiseled and refined in appearance. It seemed i

ss. He had therefore not been greatly surprised when the young cashier had made his wild ride to freedom. But as the aggressive wielder of a heavy stick that had beaten his antago

oke with him. As he dashed into the kitchen he slammed the door behind him. It was probably all chance that the latch was so set that the door locked, and the officer was delayed in breaking it down. From the back steps of this ground-floor flat to an alley was but twenty feet. When the officer gained those steps he but looked into a blank board fence in which there appeared another closed door. He rush

her cases that had intervened and the tracing of Homer Kester had been allowed to rest. It is the motto of the Federal detectives, however, that a case is nev

wanted to know exactly what sort of youngster Kester was, he wanted to place himself in that youngster's place and attempt to determine what he would have done under the circumstances. It is a method that has been used

y from that town, had no interests out of it. He was a young man of good character, had demonstrated

ommunicated with his relatives or friends. While Gard had been off the case a vigilant watch had none-the-less

a family to which you were devoted, with no interests in the world outside, with a certain element of boldness in your na

from the inexperience of twenty-four. "I could not break so easily fr

no money, and if you had the additional handicap of having to keep in hiding-would you

youngster. "I would hide and find a

ng home. Too close a watch could be kept on letters coming to a small town for any of his people or their confidential friends to be receiving them

ntage in a city. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore were in a convenient radius. The detective drew the conclusion that, were he in the boots of the fugitive, he would have taken refuge in one of these cities; that, had he not

theory Billy Gard asked

ch conditions whom woul

dual hired for the task. There were not so many possibilities. They might be exhaust

detective again queried introspecti

r, "so long as I could communicate throug

r were an impossibil

homesickness of the fugitive, the lad whose whole life interest was wrapped up in the little circle in which he h

at he would write if he could not communicate otherwise. If this were admitted wha

ld this

e were far away he would also feel an added degree of security. A worldly fugitive would not, but Kester would. With a continent between h

done it himself at twenty-four. The runaway cashier should be c

lice Sergeant Flaherty on the telephone. Would Flaherty co

ks lived there and Flaherty occasionally went back for a visit. The Irishman was

ike to take a bit of a trip to Royerton over Sun

apples when I was hung

He is not far from home and his folks are in communication with him. I want them to know that I am after him. They will t

"I am not catching this dip, but when I do pin

ing part. Your talk is to the home folks, to the effect that I am hot on the tr

ent the week-end at that village, had a

d waited

ter at Royerton. A letter had come to a sister of Homer Kester and in

ocated in Seattle. He asked that officer to run over to Spokane and pick up his man. It was merely the task of locati

ruminatively, "is a great help