Show wwo L1 The Clew of the Liquor Bottles Edited by William J Bacon A True Story of the Secret Service as Told by Capt Dickson OllE years ago before I became I be-came connected with limo I S United States secret service serv-ice in tho east 1 was engaged 0 c en-gaged by a member of the western express companies com-panies to do home special work for them begun Copt lllckson My headquarters head-quarters were In Denver and my work on the whole was decidedly Interesting One adventure In pnrtlcu lar made me proud of my service for our company although It won largely n matter of luck that brought about ny success In that Instance I am a inn believer In luck for It plays an mportant part In every mans life and It has figured to a largo extent In my own affairs I am free to confess A daring express robbery had boon committed in the western part of time state near the Utah line by three men The messenger had been murdered mur-dered and the passengers throughout the train robbed of all their money The holdup men seemed something more than 15000 from the express companys safe and fully JGOOO from the passengers They took nothing jut money however leaving valuable jewelry diamonds and watches with theIr owners and Ignoring the puicels In the express car This circumstance showed that the gang was composed of experienced thieves for money Is tho hardest thing In the world to track 1 was notified of the robbery on the afternoon of the second day after occurred oc-curred and although I hastened to the spot with all dispatch and made inj arrangement Tjy wire It was roon ot the third day before 1 alighted at the nearest station Here I had arranged for two horses and a prospectors outfit out-fit deeming It best to follow the ban dlts In the disguise of a miner as Urn robber had been made at a point near tho mining region of southwestern southwest-ern Colorado and I expected to find the criminals at some of tho numerous numer-ous mining camps I have never been a believer In disguises except as to clothing All efforts to change the face with greasepaints grease-paints and wigs and tho like only tend to attract attention and direct suspl filon to the man thus togged out Tho casual observer might not notice tho i deception but tho criminal and especially espe-cially the hunted criminal Is no casual cas-ual observer He has formed the habit of noticing everything and he will detect the least false point In a mans appearance and shun him as If he were aflllctcd with the plague A change of dress will work wonders won-ders hi a mans appearance itJ1 man can wear other clothes than those he Is accustomed to and wear them easily and naturally ho can more effectually ef-fectually disguise himself by this means than ho can with all the wigs and paints and whiskers In existence exist-ence Coming across tile continental divide di-vide I had suffered a slight attack of Indigestion I sent tho porter after a flask of whisky asking for a certain brand Ho returned In a few minutes with one of the diminutive little bottles bot-tles customarily sold on sleeping cars at a quarter a bottle It was not the kind I had ordered but tho porter explained ex-plained that this was the only brand of liquor the company sold and I had to be content with It Time label of the bottle stated that it was put up expressly for the company On reaching my destination I Immediately Im-mediately assumed the character of a miner and set about my inquiry There was little Information to be gathered beyond what was contained In the express companys report of the robber rob-ber of which I had a carbon copy Satisfied that time spent here would be wasted I set out for tho scene of the robbery riding a wiry little pony mid leading another on which was packed my outfit of grub and cooking implements and miners tools The place was a desolate spot The road ran through a broad alkali valley val-ley which had not at that time been brought under cultivation by irrigation Irriga-tion It was easy to pick up tho trail of bandits and follow it uuiobs the valley val-ley In a southwesterly direction to tho foothills of the Rockies where the trail disappeared tho rocky ground leaving no trace of hoofprints From this point on It was to bo a matter of luck and guesswork I believed be-lieved my men had mado for Tellurldo Ouray Sllverton or some other mining camp but I wasnot rash enough to venture a guess as to which it might be at that stage of tho game These camps with their rough shifting population pop-ulation offered capital retreats for criminals and from past experiences I knew that my three rogues would in all probability remain In ono of these camps until the excitement from the robbery had subsided and then make for civilization to spend their money For three days I drifted at random through tho mountains following trails and paths for there wore no roads endeavoring to pick up some clew or find the place where my party had spent tho first night after the robbery The holdup had occurred about noon and by hard riding the three highwaymen high-waymen could penetrate some ten or twenty miles into tho fastness of time mSumiUns before it became too dark to travel further It was out of tho question for any ono to advance through that region after dark I hoped to find the place of their camp and felt suro I would do so by persevering perse-vering halo tho third afternoon f stumbled stum-bled on tho ashes of a campllro and close beside it among tho firs and eoclnrs I found where horses had been tied This was what I had searched for and 1 felt suro that I would hero find something of value I camped a short distance from the placo fo I would not disturb It leaving my examination until the next mornIng morn-Ing when I would have n good light I It then being too dark to attempt such a thing That night by the light of my cumpllre I road again the report of the robbery as given by tho train hands Near the last of It was tho account of the sleeping car porter who related with evident grief that he had bceji relieved of JlilB In silver and that the bandits had rifled the liquor cabinet of tho buffet taking with them all of the whisky and a few bottles of ho I rarer and stronger wines Early next mqinlng I examined the deserted camp of the highwaymen There was nothing but a burnedout pile of ashes and charred sticks and u few empty bottles The bottles gave the clew for which I searched The highwaymen had certainly made their camp here Each bottle bore the label of the sleeping car company and somo of them were tho diminutive flasks of which I had drunk one on the trip from Denver There was not a scrap of paper anywhere else to be found Elated with my success I made a survey of the country and discovered a halfobscure trail leading farther Into the mountains I took up this trail and followed It as best I could until nightfall Often I lost it and sometimes I spent an hour or more casting about to pick It up again as I have seen hounds baflled on the troll of a fox About three oclock that afternoon I found something that made my eyes sparkle Shattered Into a thousand pieces was the remains of ono of the small whisky bottles on a large flat rock beside the trail where it had doubtless been cast In a playful mood Induced by Its contents Among the fragments I found the label of the car company it was the dry season and this was In my favor for no rains camo to obliterate the trail For five days I followed the bandits across the hills and through tho valleys verifying my route from time to time by fragments of broken whisky bottles along the way and at the places where they had camped for a night Tho buffetcar must have been well stocked for I found many bottles In this journey Tho trail eventually carne to a well beaten road which from my map I learned was the stage and mall route from Montrose the nearest railroad point to Ouray then a rather insignificant insig-nificant mining settlement I lost no time In getting to Ouray for it was Impossible to trail my men along this road and I was sure they had headed for the mining camp Two days were spent at Ouray without finding a trace of tho three wirenwrr esrsw men They had not stopped there c < talnly BO I took tho trail to Tullurldc n mining camp farther on In tho mountains moun-tains TellurUle was then n camp ot 800 or 1000 souls and there was a hit of u mining boom on which dally brought now prospectors to swell Its citizenship fatuous souls brought there by tho greed of gollln lure that never falls to attract vie ns In swarms For three days 1 searched in vain through the saloons and dance halls and other places where the rough miners congregated wltliout flndlng a trace of my throe rogues That Infallible Infal-lible sixth house of mlno was doing Its best to keep me longer In Tollu ride althonugh my Judgment told me to movo on to Sllverton but In tho end my intuition won tho light and I remained Ono evening I was drinking with a rawboned miner Tho whisky was abominable The distillery where It was made would never nave recognized recog-nized Its product In its present form I complained of the poor quality of whisky and asked my acquaintance If thoro were not some better stuff to be found In tho camp Ho said there was not at any of the bars but that ho had been given an amazingly good drink by a miner whoso namo ho mentioned I men-tioned He said It had been In a little bottle which held Just enough to tease ono but It was tho best liquor ho had drunk since ho left Kentucky many years before Ha licked his lips in pleasant memory of tho drink I almost gave myself away so keen was my pleasure at this dames remark I Inquired about tho gen N i j P I 2 r 1 J ro f fiv I 1 1 I i i a I j jK s rt lye s 7 n r 0 1 I ty t 4 e f 1 I 11 r x 4 I t w1L 1 ti r 9YE oTNEMNtA 0 T2EJI iVL l a0 IWDE 4pN erous owner of tho good liquor with a I show of Indifference I was far from feeling Ho wits a late arrival It seemed and lived In a shanty far upon up-on the mountainside with two companions com-panions The three were making a lather poor attempt to work a claim they had preempted Getting away from my loquacious minerfriend I climbed tho steep trail to the cabin and set about an Investigation Investi-gation of It with great caution The men were at home and from the sounds Issuing from Its closed doors I guessed they were having a rare old time that evening I approached to tho very door and listened with my car to tho planks to sounds of revelry within Time men were gambling and drinking and I could hear the clink of coins and tho rattle of bottles and the rIbald jests with which thoy made their bets and gloated over their winnings and cursed their luck when they lost I heard Bufllclont to make mo sure that my much solight bandits were In tho cabin although there was no direct I mention of the express robbery usrreree wrs It would have been the rnnkes folly to have attempted their arrccfc without aKslstancu although 1 did tackle such a job once In my salads days IH this scar will testify and be pointed to un ugly wound at the back of his neck partially covered by hl flowing gray locks Hut that Is another an-other story I decided to cull on the United States deputy marshal n man of tigerish bravery for oolatance t There was no chink or crack In tb door through which I could gain al peek at time interior of tho cabin se I dropped down on my hands and q knees and crawled around to the back of the cabin where I thought Uicro might bo a window There was a window i win-dow but It was closed with a heavy shutter and I could not find any point ito i-to peep through but I did find something i some-thing on the way around My hand 1 touched something tound and smooth k and I clutched It Involuntarily It wa ono of the little whisky flasks After l 1 hud left the cabin I struck a match i and examined It Tho label of tha car company was still on It J Tho deputy marshal was found at 1 ono of the dance halls and ho BOOB summoned a reliable posse Wo SUP rounded the cabin from which still Issued Is-sued tho sounds of revelry Tho men 1 were stationed at every point about 11 It Then tho marshal and I rapped on the door In response to our summon I ono of the miners staggered acres tho floor and throw the door wide open We tripped him up and rushed over him Into tho cabin The men were too drunk to make any resistance I I resist-ance and we captured them without 1 a shot being fired They were having hav-ing a big studpoker game played with I Kqld pieces and currency Instead or chips There was some 8000 or 10 000 upon the table Strewn about the I floor were many whisky and wine bottles I bot-tles In a box beneath one of the bunks was a solitary pint bottle of whisky the last remnant of tho contents con-tents of the buffet cars liquor store It was as I said a clean case or luck Copyright 1008 by TV Q Chapman I Copyright In Great Britain |