Uncle Sam Detective

would appear that all the advantage was with the fugitive. Particularly would this seem to be the case when the man in fli

that it is but natural he should take. There is almost no man who will flee without leaving a trail behind himself. If he is the criminal genius who succeeds in doing all these things, there is the element of chance that will turn up some bit of information which will put the vigilant sleuth

tan, one who knew detective methods, a man with money. He had a month the start of Billy Gard of the Federal Department of

make sufficient splash among the tides of humanity that surge around a great wo

was to act as agent for American purchasers and European dealers. He knew his Europe and he knew New York. The details of customs regu

paying his duties that Billy Gard, on some pretext, went to see him. A l

d be procured from Ireland within six weeks? My sister is opening an es

ather more directly than a customer wou

agent glibly, giving the name of a woman f

confirmation of your inquiry?" sa

prospective customer," said Gard, appearing a

who would be entirely willing to help him in a little deception of this sort, but he had not as yet coached her as to the part she might be called upon to play. He had thought there would be plenty of time later if it became necessary to identify the supposed cu

im. Mrs. Moulton hersel

give me the name of the young man whom yo

timation of the situation. He knew she was sufficiently clever to be entirely no

ker was saying. "You are not in the market for linen

urned to h

t amateurish. May I present you with your hat? I trust there

rts of his clients. By getting an article through the customs house at less than its value, he would defraud the Government of just the difference between the amount paid and the amount that should have been paid. B

he was assigned to the capture of the fug

tes. It is not human nature to break off every tie. Against the possibility of this fugitive writing Gard established a close watch over the mail of each of the fugitive's relatives and close friends. The postman who delivered mail

d and no suspicio

or anybody to take a train without having fixed the attention of somebody else. An expressman must be called to get a truck to the sta

ay be traced to a driver and that individual may be questioned. Every ticket seller in a city may be seen in a day or two, the photograph of the man wanted may be shown and a recolle

er appearance in a modest motion picture theater where Gard and a friend were killing a bit of time. Among the reels shown wa

agent. "Would you pipe that gray-haired gent in the

. Oblivious to the presence of the motion picture operator, he had stopped for a moment to say

d Gard, "what those two

the deaf copyist at headquarters, the cameo-

ose unconscious motion picture actors,"

he and Gard spent it at the picture show, where her lack of

fortunately, were facing the machine. The deaf girl picked their words from their lips

ee months," the customs broker

w of your whereabouts

. I take no chance

re are y

ally to Europe. There I wi

finitely made out. A return for three perfor

he deaf girl with his lips, thereby making her very ha

ink which such sallies always drew to her cheeks, "is that the best detect

. It was at a little family hostelry in the suburbs that a gray-haired man of distinction had passed a week. He had been gone nine days. Yes, he had a trunk. The porter knew that it had gone to a certain station. Th

r had occupied. It was taken by another guest, but Gard was allowed to explain himself to the successor of the fugitive and was given permission to search the room. A close examination of it developed but one clue. Stick

as a Chicago hostelry. He hurried to it. After showing his credentials to the house detective, information was freely supplied. The room in question was occupied by a woman

any callers?" aske

has visited her," answ

of a man?"

r," said the house detecti

y?" ejaculated the special agent.

response, and they ca

work structure and the passengers in one could see quite plainly those on the other as they passed. As the express passed Gard looked through at those riding on the other car. Imagine his consternation when, not two feet from him, he saw the man for whom he had been searching for months. As he gazed through the checked steel slats of the car side he was close enou

d whispered hurriedly to the house detective

on the car. The local had been stopping at each floor and the express passed it and barely reached th

officers waited in instant readiness to capture the man whom they had seen at

ay-haired man get off

or, sir,"

to the house detective, "and

he fugitive. He ran hastily about looking for possible exits, and then instituted a thorough search. He investigated every possible avenue of escape and hastened downstairs

were watched with particular care. But none of these efforts were of any avail, as Berliner was never reported to have been seen a

ail of a woman whom he had traced half around the world. The Titian-haired guest of the Chicago hotel, the wife of

g in her mode of life that would indicate that she lived differently from any other woman who was alone in the world and sought quiet. She w

nd apartments opposite looked out upon the street. He determined that nobody should enter this house without being observed. He asked

g creature entered the house. In all that two weeks the postman left no mail. Billy Gard seemed to be up against a blank wall. He held, however, that if a ma

placid and stupid creature who knew nothing nor had intelligence sufficient for his purpose. Incidentally he found that she had

better was offered to the servant of Mrs. Berliner. It was, quite naturally, accepted. That lady, finding herself without a ser

ecret, more than she seemed to be. She was connected with the Paris police department a

She seemed to have no acquaintances. But one thing irregular appeared in the whole establishment. There was one room in the rear of the suite which remained locked. The mistress had stated that it was a storage room. This see

n detective to install a dictagraph beneath the table in the sunny little dining room just off the apartment of the locked door. This was easy of accomplishment during

he caught from across the street was that of feet, supposedly those of the woman of the Titian hair, passing back and forth about the room, then

ng to the observer of this ultra quiet household, the watcher at the entrance through which none

er dreamed that you had the housewifely instincts that would make it possible for you to arrange with your own h

st the only time I can remember I have a definite occupation. I have to provide our creature co

worse. For a while they had me thinking quite regularly of striped suits and the lockstep which are part of a l

atched," said the woman. "I always feel

en though they know you are here, they will ultimately lose interest in a surveillance that

we could find a way to let those detectives know tha

come to see it. He had been notified immediately when she had rented it. From that moment he had watched every detail of her taking possession; had, with the

ves all our lives, but they have the advantage of being safe to trust in time of trouble. It is a very small thing to send a man to a rent agent for a key to inspect lodgings and to send him back with the

who was at the time washing the accumulated dishes of the household. They so surrounded the locked door as to make escape impossible and then announced their presence. Gard told Berliner, through the locked door, of the situation that existed on the