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Show rledly; they had greatly enjoyed tha Incident. "I began taking the money out of my pockets and laying it on the table. " 'What are you doing?' asked the leader, surprised. " 'Why.' said I, innocently, 'you fellows fel-lows ain't got no confidence In me now, and I '. Oh, fiddlesticks!' exclaimed the other, impatiently, - 'Jim was drunk. Go ahead. Don't go back on' us now.' "So I kept the bogus. " I had them beaten, and a few hours "later they were all behind the bars, including I the man I had thrashed. But It was. a , pretty tight squeeze." New York Times. .. ' it n In The Secret Service The old secret service man laughed heartily over the recollection. "But the tightest place I was ever in," he continued presently, "was in Cincinnati, a good many years ago. If it hadn't been for that," and he felt of the hard muscles of his good right arm, proudly, "it is hardly likely I should be spinning these yarns to you now. "It was another case of counterfeiting. counterfeit-ing. I had been on the trail of the gang for months, and had at last lo- 'flip "Yes, danger is an ever-constant companion of men who. follow my business," said the old secret service man. "We know not at what hour we may be called upon to face death in a violent form. But we get used to experiences of this nature, and learn to keep a' cool head on our shoulders and to think quickly. "It is strange," continued the veteran vet-eran of the service, "that secrets, however how-ever carefully guarded, will sometimes leak out. I remember on one occasion occa-sion I was in search of a man wanted for robbing the mails. I had been selected se-lected for the job because I was an absolute stranger to the man and his friends, and could freely mingle with the latter without being recognized or suspected. "Within an hour after receiving my orders I took a train out of Chicago for a Western city, from where I was to take a circuitous route to another place, where I expected to pick up some clues upon which to proceed. "But before I had traveled fifty miles from Chicago I received a telegram tele-gram from my chief informing me that the man I wanted had just arrived in a certain small city in Iowa. A new code, which we had but recently adopted, was made use of by the writer of the message;-and it-seemed Impossible that -any one on the-outside could know ;anything about my business. busi-ness. ;' ' V ' ' ' : ' "So I immldiately took another train for the town mentioned. ""As the train was pulling tntoe-statfoar.I iook position on the platform of the rear car, and before -th;e' train": " : stopped canned the faces of all those at the station, as I. thought it possible- my man might be planning to take the came train out of town and might slip aboard without my seeing him. "While I was thus engaged. I heard some one climb upon the platform behind be-hind me and, turning, had the pleasure of looking down the muzzle of a big revolver and of recognizing the man behind the gun as the man I was aeeking. " 'You don't want to get off here,' he said. 'You want to go on.' " 'All right." said I, 'I'll go on.' And I did. He stood guard over me until the train had gained considerable speed and then he dropped off, waiving his hand at me as a token of farewell. " 'Oh, I'll see you again,' I yelled. And he laughed. "As soon as possible I stopped the "The game's up, pardner.and you don't want to get caught." cated their headquarters in a rear room of an old tumble-down building build-ing in the Ohio city. . "Well, I had my game treed all right, but I wanted evidence. So, posing as a desperate man out of a job I worked my way into their con-' fidence and soon made an agreement with one of the gang to 'float' some or their 'bogus' on commission. "in accordance with a prearranged plan I-met them , one evening in their -roorn-. We were gathered " around a table upon" "which a quantity of the counlesieit money was piled, and I was )nthe act of concealing a portion of "it On my person when the door was suddenly opened and another man entered. I. immediately recognized him as a party I had arrested several years hefore., and- J trembled In my boots for fear the recognition might be mutual. "When his glance fell upon me he paused. Then he advanced a step or two and, with an oath, said: 'Boys, that feller's a fly cop."I knows 'Im. He sent me to de pen ohct.! "For a brief moment there was an ominous silence the awful silence that precedes a storm. I realized my danger. I knew my life wasn't worth a penny if the man's statement was believed. Something had to be done, and done quickly. So I followed the first impulse that popped into my mind and trusted to luck. "With the force and ferocity of an enraged lion I sprang upon the newcomer. new-comer. - 'Call me a fly cop, will, you?' I cried, striking him a powerful blow with my fist and knocking him -down. 'Try to queer me when I want a chance to earn some money, will you?' I yelled falling on top of him and pommeling him about the head. "Still rolling with him upon the floor I placed my mouth to his ear as though trying to bite him and whispered: whis-pered: 'The game's up, partner, and you don't want to get caught. In five minutes a dozen officers will be here. You'd better skip!' Then adding in a loud voice, ringing with indignation, 'be careful who you call a fly cop next time,' I let him up. '"I was mistaken, boys," he said, I quite humbly. I never saw this man before.' And he opened the door hur- ' 1 'You don't want to get off here," he said. "You want to go on." train and got off with my gun in my hand. He wa3 not to be found. But 6lx months later, after a weary chase of thousands of miles, I caught him, ne fine morning, while he was digging dig-ging for gold on a lonely Colorado mountain." |