'Anfrtirt 2S, 100.
TnE ILLUSTRATED DEE.
When a murder is committed the dives
litiir about H It is whispered nbout in Its
details among the denixons of the under
world. The pulice, who, m tlio eyes ot
tlio world, are following line spun elms., go
ubout their work In a really simple man
ner. They round up gangB o well known
criminals, threaten each of them with pun
ishment upon some overlooked offense, and
get, In return for Inimunily, the desired In
formation. Then, without hesitation, they
arrest the criminal.
Nos. '.SO and 4uu understood this system,
and ullhough they had lx en at this Junc
ture caught in the perpetration of a serious
offense, yet they knew and understood th
anxiety of the, polka force to run the
Smith myatcry to the- earth. Accordingly,
after talking the matter over carefully they
concluded to wild for the chief. They Inti
mated that they had Home newa about
Constitutional Smith. The chief, without
the slightest faith in their announcement,
nevertheless had the two produced before
him in his office. With him at the tint
was the plain-clothes man from New Yoric
"Now, what have you two fellows got
to say?" demanded the chief. Bay it, and.
say It quick."
No. luO shook his head. "That won't do.
Chief," ho answered doggedly. "We may
kiuw a story and we may not. The ques
tion Is, If wo do know one and if we ui
help you put your finger on thla here SroliU
what good it's a golu' to do us? That's
the question."
The chief snorted, but he was listening
Just the tame. "Can't do a thins for you,"
lie answered; "you're In It, that's all.
What d'ye think? You ain't got any story
anyways. It's only a bluff. You cun't get
anything out o' me."
"All right, then, Chief." said No. 400,
warily; "then send us back. That's all
we've got to say."
The chief and the plain-clothes man put
their heads together and talked fur a long
wliile. Finally the chief again faced the
two.
"Let's sec," he inquired; "did you fellows
gwipu anything the other night?"
"Nary thing," they answered; "every
thing we had was took clt'n U:i. We didn't
Set a thing." Tho chief waved his hand.
"It's all right, then," he said, "Go on and
tell your story." SUU they shook their
beads.
"Not yet," they answered. Tho chief
snorted once more. "Well, then," he said,
'1 tell you It's all right. I'll see that you
are not prosecuted. 1 promise that, mind,
if wo can put our hands on this man Smith,
end through you. Is that enough?"
The chief was famed for being a man of
his word. But It was difficult to get his
word. He was too apt to appear to prom
ise, but to fail actually In binding himself,
lie had bound himself now to the entire
satisfaction of the two, and they were sat
islicd. No. 400, who was tho spokesman,
began his talc.
"Constitutional Smith was hero In town
he came here some months ago and he's
here yet. We saw him when ho first came
here. We'vo seen him a good many times
since. I'll tell you how it was. We was in
Coleman's alley one nlglit, waitln' fer a
fellow, when we see this Constitutional
Smith come down the street and hide in an
old shed, lie hadn't been there mure than
ten minutes before unother fellow came
ttleiig. Smith was lay-In for this feliow,
and knoeked him out and dragged him In
the little shed."
"Well?" said the chief.
"Well, it wasn't more than fifteen min
utes more than the door to the shed enmo
open and a man cume out. And right here
was tho funny part. Tho man that came
out was the man that had been knocked
out, that's what. He was as right as a
trivet. That was the funny thing."
"Well?" said the chief, Impatiently.
"Well," wont on the other, "we ain't tho
kind to mix In anything that we uln't up
to ourselves. Hut nfter this fellow had
walked nway wo went over and peeked
Into that shed. And what d'ye think? Say,
there was Constitutional Smith lyin" on tho
floor and hroathin heavy Constitutional
Smith, mind. An' the other, mun had
walked away."
The plain clothes man was taking short
hand notes. The ct iof ngaln ojiened his
mouth. "Well?" ho r 'marked again.
"That's almost a!! there is to It. We
Skipped. We hadn't no business there, an',
naturally, we didn't want to get In a mix
up over it, an' that's all, except Just ono
thing"
"And that thing?" asked the plain clothes
man.
"Tho man that had toen knocked out, we
found out later, was the mnn who lay on
tho floor of the shed. Smith had changed
clothes with Mm. We thought he was
Smith. Smith walked away In that man's
clothes. And he did It because he looked
like lilm, or prttty mm h like hlin at any
rale. And the man that had been knoeked
out"
"That's t- point." sold tho plain clothes
man.
"Tliat man," went on No. ton, "that man
was nobody else but Blllington O'Knefo
right here In town. That's who It was.
It was Hllllngtoii OKoofa."
Tho chief never moved. I'nder Ms hand
was an electric button. Ho pushed It with
Ms finger. A couple of ofne-rs appeared
at the door.
"Billy." said the chief to one of them,
"take these two suckers buck to the cooler.
We're through with them."
"Bat," protested No. 4. "I tell you it's
so. Find out for yourself"
"But, nothln'," said the chief. "You're
a couple of merry liars. TaJio 'em back.
Hilly."
They were taken back. The chief whirled
in hid chair and faced the plain clothes
man.
"What d ye think of It?" he Inquired.
The plain clothes man shook his head.
"I'm Inclined to think it's true," he an
swered, "but that's not enough. l!y
George, It's up to us to prove. It. We've
got to prove that this man here Is Smi'h
and not O'Koefe, and we haven't got any
evidence of the fact. There's the trouble.
If there was some positive difference be
tween them that we could put our fingers
on. Hut we don't want to have all New
York and all Monroe laughing at us. We
want to be mighty careful, but we've surely
got to do something pretty soon."
The chief shook his head. "I don't be
lieve a word of It," he said, "but I ain't so
much afraid of tackling liillington O'Kccfe
that if we get a hook to hang on 1 won't
help you out. You get your information
and I'll go to O'Keefe with you. We cau
settle it then and there; ho won't mind.
I'm pretty sure of that."
A few days later tho creditors of liilling
ton O'Keefc, large and small, received a
notice that the claims of all would be paid
In full, with interest and costs, if any,
provided each creditor would attend In per
son with a general release two evenings
later, at half past S, ut tho O'Kccfe man
Flon. The foreclosure sale of tho house
Itself was due to take place ou the morning
following this meeting.
What these notices meant no ono knew.
Smith, if he had anything up his sleeve,
certainly gave no sign.
Anothf thing happened on tho day of
the meeting. The plain clothes man re
ceived a telegram in cipher from New York.
Translated, this telegram read:
"Smith has letters II. 8. tatoned on right
arm; dancing girl on left and Goddess of
IJherty on breast. This is correct; just
found it out. 1'roceed."
The p'aln clothes man exhibited it to tho
chief. Tho chief was pleased.
"Now," he said, "we've got something to
work on. We'll have O'KecIe come cewn
here. Hut, no," ho went on, "he's had
trouble enough lately. He muy riot want
to come down here. I'll tell you what
we'll do. We'll call at Ids house tonight
after hours and we can settle this thing In
three shakes of a lamb's tall. That's
what!"
Tho rlnln clothes man did not want to
wait. He did not like to take any chances.
He was afraid tho story might be true, Mid
if so, that the bird would fly. But he was
In the chiefs hands and under considerable
measure of obligation to him; so he sub
sided. That night, a little before S, two men st
tended at the house of O'Keefe. They
were the plain clothes man and the chief.
"Mr. O'Keefe In?" asked the chief of the
servant.
Tho servant shook her head. The plain
clothes man gave an Inward groan. Ho
had hoard of the. meeting called for tonight
and ho thought that O'Keefe, oY Smith,
had determined to make a big bluff, and
then, without attempting to keep his ap
pointment with his creditors, would leavo
town and escape.
"I'm pretty sure," said the maid, "that
Mr. O'Keefe went out. But he may have
come hack. Walt a minute and I'll see
and make sure."
She went and returned nlmost Immedi
ately. "Mr. O'Keefe Is In," she Bald. The
plain clothes man sighed with relief. "If
you'll give me your names," she continued,
"I'll take them up."
Thr Chief and the r I'' In clothes mnn ex
changed significant glances. They hail sui
tl'int 1 tv.n cr thr.-o men outside, but they
were still nfrald of escape. They gave their
right names, however. Lut took the precau
tion to follow In the footsteps of the. girl.
They were Immediately behind her when
she entered the little den. They did not
give her time to announce their presence.
The Chief, somewhat abashed, pressed for
ward nnd shook her muster by the hnnd.
"Mr. O'Keefe," he said, "we're hero on
what may wm to you a ridiculous sort of
errand. But it's a thing that's got to be
done, nnd I know you won't mind it. I'll
tell you th" facta."
The plain clothes man scarcely breathed.
He kept his eye on every movement of the
ma.i sitting- at the table. He narrowly
watched his countenance.
"Mr. O'Keefe," began the Chief ngaln.
"I ll tell you what It Is. There's u fellow
over In New York that's on- of the slickest
strong-arm men and swindlers on the con
tinent. The police over there have laid at
his door any numlicr of crimes. His name
is Constitutional Smith"
The man at th table never moved.
"Hezeklah Smith Is his real name, but he's
called Constitution!)! Smith. Now the point
Is this: My friend here, Mr. Ilnrkletmck,
Is one of the best men of the whole de
partment over In New York. He's detailed
here in this Smith case. They traced Smith
her' understand. We're pretty sure that
ho reiched Monroe; but then they lost him.
But there's Jut ono thing about him that
makes trouble. You s;h but for a beard,
holnokid Just like you"
The other nodded and looked from tho
detective to the chief. "I see," ho said,
easily, "iuhI then"
"Kxactly," returned the chief, "that's
Just it. And we ain't saying anything about
It yet. because we don't place no stock in
it, nnd that story Is tliat the real O'Kecfo
was knocked out, and that Smith, because
he looked so much like him, took his place.
See? And so It conns down to the possibility-"
Tho chief Flopped nnd smiled weakly.
Then he went on: "To tho possibility that
that you're Smith nnd not O'Keefe."
The man facing them was so placid and
undisturbed that the chief felt like a fool
he was sure he had made a mistake. Tlio
plain clothes man kept still and mid mail
ing, hut watched everything that happened.
"That's the whole thing," said the chief,
"the New Y'oik gang suspect that you're
Smith and not O'Keefe. Now, they've
struck Just one way to prove it, and that's
Just why we're here tonight."
"And that one way," asked tho other,
easily, Just what Is that?"
The chief stammered. "This this hero
Smith," he salil, "had some tattoo marks
ou him, and theso marks we know, and wo
we want to see If you've got these mark.
that's all. Hang It, I hate to usk you,
but I'Ve got to do It."
Tho man at tho table toyed lightly with
a metnl paper knife. The plain clothes mun
watched him. Finally the former, still with
the knife in his hand, smiled and spoke.
"Would you mind," he nsked, "telling mo
just what those marks were?" The chief
looked at the plain clothes man and tho
plain clothes man looked at the chief.
"They were," said the plain clothes man,
"the Initials 11. S. nnd a dancing girl and
a goddess of liberty, all upon the upper
portion of the body."
The man at the table thoughtfully pols1
the paper knife In the air.
"Mr. O'Keefe," said the chief, "you've
had your own troubles, and I bate to ask
you to do It, but there are some things
that we polit e otllcers have got to do to ac
commodate others. Is It too much to nsk
you to strip hero In our presence nnd let
us look at your arms and chest? In ono
way It's a good deal to ask, but"
The other had risen. He frowned. "It Is
a good deal to ask, gentlemen," ho began.
He rose to his full height. The plain
clothes man nnd the chief Instinctively
placed their hands upon thulr hip pockets.
The other mnn hastily tore off his coot
nnd vest. Then started forward suddenly
and took olT his) linen shirt. How easily
It would havo been for Constitutional
Smith to leap upon theso two men, throw
them to the floor, leap through a window
and escape. But no such move was made.
Tlio chief and the plain clothes mnn backed
off a little and kept tight hold of their
revolvers.
"I suppose," said tho other man, pauslnrr
nn instant, "that I must accommodate
you. Well, here goes, and good lin k to
you."
Then he did something that caused tho
chief and the plain clothes man to stand
stock still and look on. Their hands fell
nervously from their guns. Their eyes
bulged out .
And for no apparent reason. For all that
this man had dono was to remove his Inner
shirt and exhibit to them his breast and
arms. But ujxm this breast and these nnns
there were no such designs tattooed such
as they had described. I'lx.n the chest
there was quite a different design. And
the marks upon the arms consisted of two
words, and th.it was all. And theso two
words were "liillington O'Keefe," und
nothing more.
For this man wns not Constitutional
Smith. It was none other than liillington
O'Ki ofo the real Billlnglon O' Kecfo conic
back after many months to claim his own.
"WeH-IT-ho- hanged!" exlalineil the
plain clothes nun. lie grunted with dis
appointment. "I could have sworn," ho
said, "that you were Constitutional Smith
though I will confess," lie added, "that
In this light you don't look so much like
Mm a.s I thought you would."
Tho chief burst into un embarrassed
laugh. "Mr. O'Keefe," he said, holding
out his hand, "don't give this away to
anybody. We'll bo tlio laughing stock of
tho place. There's a line supper, and a big
one, duo you from mo und Mr. Jiurkle
bnok." Later In the headquarters the chief called
for the two toughs. "You're a pretty pair
of liars," he said, knocking their heads
together; 'this cooks your goose. After
this you'll go up for the biggest term you
can get; and, by George, after that I'll
follow you up close. You fellows'll never
get a chance to lie to me again. I'll te'l
you that." He knocked their heads to
getlur once more. Just for good measure,
und then sent them buck,
Mr. Huoklcbeck reluctantly telegraphed
In detail to New York. Next day he whs
ordered hack home, and ho went. Back
In Hie O'Keefe house, liillington O'Keefe
was once more donning Ids wearing up..
pnrel. nnd while ho was about it the door
below was opened from the outside with
the aid of a key, and a man uscended ttuj
stairs and entered tho i, n. Tills man was
Constitutional Smith.
Now it may aeein queer that liillington
O'Keefe, who by this time knew the whobj
story about Smith, did n.d give Smith up
to the chief and hi gum;, for the punish
incnt he deserved, it will nppc ir later why
he di.l not.
Constitutional Smith stepped Inside the
room, and shut the door. "Who :he devil
are you?" asked Constitutional Smith, "and
What the de il are ou dolus; In my la-use?"'
lie might have pounced upon O'KietV at
once, had he so desired, but he did not so
desire. It would involve a noisy seiiillo. and
the house would In- ii I :i 1 1 1 ., - 1. an, I It would
end In M ruin. Besides. BilMiigton o'Koefe
was holding a revolver in his hand. Con
stitutional Smith had determined upon a
imieh bolder si homo.
"What Hi- devil are on doing In my
house?" dem uuled Constitutional Smith.
"I'm Billitiglou O'Kccfe," answefd the
other. "You kuow that well enou,li by thla
time."
"Know it?" r'toi'iod Smith, 'of course
I don't know it. I am 1'illlngton O' K .c'V."
"Prove It." returned O'Koefe. Smith
smiled. "I don't have to prove It," he an
swered. "My people will recognize nie as
O'Keefe. They will know mo. It's up to
you to prove that you nro millng-ton
O'Kecfo and tint I am not."
"I gu.ss that's n simple matter." re
lumed O'Keefe, "fur you have your Initials
Mid tho goddess of liberty and a dancing
gill tattooed on your body foolish of you,
too."
Smith started. "How did yon know
that?" ho demanded. O'Koefe smiled. Ha
did not answer the question. o tore off
his shirt once more. "And these are t tie)
marks that I have utsm my body," lie con
tinued. Constitutional Smith stared. lie vva
beatin i ml ho knew I'. And what wii
more, rillingtou O'Kecfo kio vv it. But he
admired genius. "You're a clever follow,"
ho said to Smith. Smith bowed. "I am,'
ho admitted. "So are you yourself."
O'Keefe beckoned with his hand fownrdt
n chair. "Sit down." said liillington
O'Koefe to Constitutional Smith, "coma
now nnd let us reason t cottier."
(To bo continued.)
Pointed Paragraphs
Men talk shop and women talk shopping.
Tlio silent pan tier in a Hi in always has a
lot to say.
Stock quotations are the dialogue used la
comic papers.
IIii.hIo Is said to make waste, yet tli.ro ara
few hustlers In almshouse.
Many a man follows tho l aces In can e he
Is unable to gi t ahead of tlum.
Some real estate men make a specialty of
transforming molehills into mountains.
Tho girl who looks forward to a matri
monial alliance should not be fotward
looklns. An Ohio genius Is said to have Invented
a devico for utilizing the bout of an argu
ment. Many a mnn Is capable of Judging th
affairs of others better than he Is of Judg
ing his own.
At the age of 40 a man Is very apt to feel
under everlasting obligations to tho chap
who married the girl ho was spoony on at
the age of L'o. Chicago New.s.
A Bachelor's Reflections
A mail can Keep his expenses 'way down
at home by playing tho races.
Some of those shirt wtilsts make a man
feel us If 11 was time to put out the lights.
It Is hardly worth while for people to get
a divorce, since they Just go and do It all
over again.
Mighty few men can evr be really happy
unless somebody Is trying In vain to cure
them of a vice.
Somo men have such an Imagination they
ran bo us light-hearted as bachelors when,
they are away from homo. New York
l'ress.
BAKER BROS
ENGRAVING CP.
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