OCR Text |
Show HRnrlAt frlfc T?rC& I bt Frnc Reddaie The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Bill I ISfil LILi-JlL lJLAm I m H F1Lv (Copyright, 1910, by W. Q. Chapman.) .; IH mjl m- m. I. I Passages from tlio Case-Book of Inspector Finney Valentino, Investigator Extraordinary. IH EnTE Somewliat unique among crime doctors was the peraon-fciHHCy peraon-fciHHCy Finney Valentine Like many other boys, he had the youthful KH&rnn & "sleuth" such as Monsieur Lccocq or Hawkshaw, reveling HKnf Poc, Gnborlau, and Mck Carter. But. as It happened, he was HHfrVrack eastern college, later traveling in Europe, whero he picked KJTnTCledRe of modern languages To master routine police mcth-GS mcth-GS Metropolitan force n New York, nerving through all grades "Kn 'inspector of detect ves. After JO years' duty ho rotlred to en--JfcVSorlc. Hnney Valentine was a born Investigator, with an un-v un-v JK'Vhp crux of n mystery: he was slight In build. stcel-muBclod and i lii.siiish. well-shaped head topped with graying wavy hair, a MEfnv ciulet gray .eyes, smooth-shaven face; faultlessly dressed, K?nn niuftl. or conventional evening garb, made up a personality KV n'f the ordinary thlcf-c:ucher. These stories, "Under the Rose' many and varied experiences. jn October, just the cashier of e firm of Sey-young Sey-young messen-, messen-, deposit book, Ich was a ten-Instructions ten-Instructions to tlonal Fidelity often done be-isldo be-isldo his jacket ne single flight at was the last until the fol-he fol-he fact that lie ,g-tlmo on Sat-witnout Sat-witnout notice: hteen had al-pened al-pened on the Crull and his gea Germans iy with a most effect that, in icr. FHtz had ar bin some -the office of Fidelity bank! book, that was t size and de-on de-on every tree, J bo expected hout a qualm, then Mr. Scy-Master Scy-Master Fritz grilling. But i they elicited, i could put In i it The boy ne straight to ved there the had not gone md he stopped ny of the boys offices. True, ;c of chewing by Tony the cen a minute, sport the loss icd a bit and tich caused the y saying that lie had gone lndoord all of c heads of the 'jted the fact itely taken the precaution to keep a memorandum of tho series letter and the number of the missing bill, which were "DS5G73904." So. pending a decision on what should be done with Fritz, notice to all banking firms and forolgn-exchango houses was sent out over the ticker, and a reward of S500 offered for return of the lost banknote. bank-note. The great danger lay in the note being sent out of the country supposing It to have been dishonestly acquired. Then the two men above named went at Fritz Krull and his parents again, but without tangible result. At last: "Better send for Finney Valentino," said Mr. Seybel. which was no sooner suggested than done. Now, Inspector Finney Valentino's name was known and respected throughout through-out tho financial district. He It was, during his official career, who established estab-lished tho famous "dead-line" south of Fulton street, below which no crook-cared crook-cared to be found. Many had been the cases of fraud or embezzlement on the part of defaulting cashiers which Valentino Valen-tino and his men had handled. Now that ho was retired and working under :ho aegis of his own shingle, It was perfectly natural for Seybel & Lozcr to enlist his aid in clearing up ihe mystery sunound-lng sunound-lng young Fritz Krull and the tsn-thou-sand-dollar bill. To the ex-chief of detectives, then, the now thoroughly frightened messenrer told his strange story over again for ihe third or fourth time. Perhaps tho strangest stran-gest thing about tho matter was that there was so little lo tell. There were three possible explanations: First, that tho note had been actually lost somewhere some-where on the street; second, that Fritz had been robbed by a skillful pickpocket; third, that he was dishonest and had voluntarily vol-untarily handed tho bill to some outside confederate. Against the latter supposition was to be placed the uniform honesty of th boy thus far; frequently In tho past two years he had been entrusted with far larger amounts In the aggregate and In more available shape than a single bill of largo denomination. As for theories one and two, either was quite simple and easily possible. Yet there was something In the demeanor of Fritz Krull which ultimately Inclined Valentine to discard all three hypotheses In favor of a much deeper and more cunning plot, of which, perhaps tho boy was the victim It should be mentioned that Fritz Krull was a typical German-American lad. Ho wns tall and well developed for his years, with a pleasant, candid cast of features and sunny eyes of Saxon blue crowned with a mop of curly flaxen hair. In reality re-ality he might have passed for 19 or 20. As the dear old mutterchen averred, Fritz was a gut sohn. for he had none of the petty vices often common to his age and class. Over and over again Valentine reverted revert-ed to that brief stoppage at the fruit and candy stand of Tony the Greek, but could obtain nothing further than has been already narrated. Nevertheless we who are In the secret may Infer that the Greek formed Valentine's" starting point; ! ho was known to all the boys of that ! particular district, his hutch being al- most under the shadow of the stock exchange ex-change Itself, as well as to the regular policemen patrolling Broad street. But they knew nothing to his discredit, he was merely a perpetunlly smiling and cunning black-haired and ear-ringed native na-tive or Salonika, So, convinced that Tony the Greek might bear watching perhaps because he was the only person to whom young Krull had spoken on the fateful occasion Valentine had him shadowed. Almost immediately the great detective's prescience presci-ence bore fruit. The Krull family lived in one of a block of tenements in East Twenty-i Twenty-i eighth street near tho river. Farther down the block a sh;n In a parlor window win-dow of tho llrst Hat announced that "Professor Abel Pennant. Clairvoyant and Palmist." dwelt within. To Valentine's Valen-tine's surprise the trail of Tony the Greek led to the professor's door on tho Wednesday night following the momentous mo-mentous Monday. Inquiry among the neighbors elicited the fact that Professor Pennant a slight, dapper, rather cffcmlnato little fellow fel-low had quite a local reputation. Be-sides Be-sides being skilled as a "seer" and a reader of hands, he also posed as a "medical healer." and had been known as a public exhibitor of hypnotic phenomena. phe-nomena. A rather handsomo girl, said by some lo be Pennant's daughter, but believed by many more to bo really his wife, was also more or less in evidence, and helped tho professor now and again. Further, Tony the Greek was a frequent visitor. This was Thread Number One. Thread Number Two was this: Valentine Valen-tine made an earlv call upon the Krull family, being dcafrons of seeing Fritz and his parents In their home life. Apparently Ap-parently thev were all that they seemed lo be decent, God-fearing, Industrious folk, the father a skilled watchmaker or repairer employed by a prominent firm In Union Square. But one Important fact was learned . at this call, resulting from closer questioning ques-tioning of young Fritz as to what he ui and where he- went during his spare time evenings Then It transpired that he was intimate with Professor Abel Pennant uud his pretty "daughter" ! down the street, whom th boy spoke of I quite familiarly as Connie. On being asked what went on during Ills visits at the Pennant flat, Fritz laughed rathor shame-faccdly, squirmed, and showed the llrst sign of embarrassment. Flnajly he ' confessed that "the prof" did lots of I funny thlnsu tricks with cards, gazing Into a big crystal globe, and sometimes ! gave him shocks from an electric or gal-I gal-I vanlc battery. ! When Connie's name was mentioned ! more particularly. Fritz blushed painfully, painful-ly, but all ho could be got to admit was I that she was "awful good fun." Tho facts last narrated gavo Valentine Valen-tine an idea. Keeping himself carefully In the background, he sent a trusty sub-I sub-I ordinate to call on Professor Abel Pcn-I Pcn-I nant with the pretense of arranging for 1 some public hypnotic inhibitions In near-I near-I by towns. The bait caught some bigger Iflsh than the inspector had hoped for. I Not only was Pennant quite willing to go into the thing for a consideration but he let out the fact that ho had a capital "subject" a young fellow. Inno-1 Inno-1 cent as a girl, who was one of tho best he, the professor, had ever met. Prom-! Prom-! Islng to see him later. Valentino's man : reported progress; the chief Immediately jumped to tho conclusion that tho 'subject 'sub-ject was none other than Fritz Krull, But even 30, where was tho connection between Professor Pennant and the theft of the ten thousand-dollar mil f Was It Tony, the Greek? Was It possible tlmt The suspicion suddenly bom in the detective's mind wa3 so startling as to demand serious and careful consldora- liCJn all his talks with young Fritz the Inspector had been unable to ccurc an ' ndmlPFlnn on the Ind'snart that Pen- nant had over "put him to sleep," That might have arisen from crafty concealment conceal-ment on the boy's part, or it might have proceeded from ignorance or forgetful-nees. forgetful-nees. Valentine was Inclined to credit it to the latter, But the point had been reached where even his wide knowledge knowl-edge was at fault. So ho took unto himself him-self a certain wise one. an expert ln the most advanced hypnotic science of tho day, to whom he propounded qertaln queries. Tho answers recolved determined deter-mined tho next stop, and an appointment was made with Dr. Guv Ramie for the next evening. Telling Fritz that he wanted him to call on a certain gentleman who might be able to trace the missing banknote, the two presented themselves at the doctor s rooms. A quick scrutiny of the lad by tho latter elicited an encouraging encourag-ing and affirmative nod ln Valentino's direction, as much as to say: "He'll do, I guess." After some brief conversation, in which young Krull was made to repeat his story of that eventful Saturday, his mind thus being brought to bear on the subject. Dr. P.amlo drew his chair in front of Fritz and made tho usual "passes" with his hands. To Valentine's Valen-tine's surprise and tho doctor's evident delight the boy fell almost at once and of his own volition into an attitude of repose. It was as If the preliminary process was to him a. familiar one. In three minutes Fritz Krull was in a hypnotic trance, eyes wide open, but utterly ut-terly oblivious of his present surroundings. surround-ings. "He's been there boforo!" said Dr. Ramie under his breath to Valentine, ' not once, but. many times, A better subject or better control I never Baw in all my professional experience. Ask him anything you want. He's good for half an hour at least. Don't ralso your voice speak to him in an ordinary tone." Thus bidden, Finney Valentino began his inquisition. "Fritz, my boy, I want you to answor my questions. Do you understand what I say?" "Yes. I hear you," camo the reply ln tho curiously flat and monotonous tones common to hypnotized persons, "Very well. son. Now, what did you do with that ten-thousand-dollar bill a week ago Saturday?" "I gave It to Tony the Greek." "When you wero on your way to tho Fidelity bnnk. "Yes sir." "Why did you give It to Tony?" "Be cause the prof. told me to." "How did the prof, know that you would have the bill ln your possession Just at that time?" "He did n't he Just told me to give the first big money I got to Tony." "When was this, Frits?" "Oh lots of times I gucaa." "At his rooms?" "Sure Connie was there Say, she's awful nice!" Valentino pushed back his chair and rose, mopping his forehead. For the mo-mont, mo-mont, although his daring theory hnd been tested and found not wanting, he was astounded at Its success. He had secured the vital Information needed. Plainly, the crafty Pennant, aided by his winsome daughter, '"who had probably made Ehameloss love to the artless Fritz had stumbled on the fact that the boy was highly susceptible to hypnotlco Influence. In-fluence. Probably tho plot had been long and carefully hatched. The uso of a confederate liko Tony the Greek was especially clever, and far less dangerous than having tho boy bring the monoy direct to the charlatan's flat, especially In view of the fact that Fritz knew Tony very well and bought of him every day In the year. "Satlslled?" queried Dr. Ramie. "Perfectly." said Valentine, "thanks to vou. I've got all I needed ln tho way of Information. But how do you figure that Pennant worked the game?" "Help me get our young friend on tho lounge yonder he won't wake up yet awhile, and when he does he'll Nilnk he's merely had a little nap and I'll give you mv theory. "Pennant and the woman got Fritz ln the habit of running In and out. Then the rascal put him to sleep not once, but many times and In that state found out that he frequently carried largo sums In currency. If he had asked the boy such questions in his waking state ho might have started some suspicion, for our young friend Is no fool. "Then, hnvlng found out what he wanted. Pennant probably put him to sleep again, and told him that next time he carried a lot of money to the bank he was to give It to Tony. This tho boy would infallibly do without question and without remembering afterward what ho had dono, the particular action being associated as-sociated entirely with his sub-conscious mind. The Greek had, of course, been warned what to expect and to bo on the lookout. When Fritz slipped Ihe bill to him vou may bo certain that Tony hustled hus-tled It out of sight and later passed It on to Pennant." Valentine nodded complete comprehension. comprehen-sion. Dr. Ramie had simply voiced his own theoretical Imaginings, yet ln sclen-tillc sclen-tillc terms and with the authority of an expert. "What's your next move If I may Inquire?" In-quire?" said the doctor. "Arrest 'em both as soon as I can get the warrants. There's no foar of their skipping, I guess; Pennant doubtless thinks he's covered his tracks too well " Next morning. the Instant court opened, Valentine swore out warrants for the arrest of one Tony the Greek and one Prof. Abel Pennant, on the charge of grand larceny. He wanted to make both arrests himself; so while he went downtown to nab the Greek tho left a man on watch outside Pennant's flat. Safelv lodging Tony in tho Tombs, the ex-chlcf went after the larger game the master-mind ln tho clever conspiracy, In fact. But what was his disgust to find that the bird both birds, ln fact, tho professor profes-sor and tho woman named Connie had flown. That flat was empty. In somu wav Pennant had been "tipped." Perhaps Per-haps he had sot wind of Fritz's visit to Dr. Ramie and sensed that danger was In the air. How had they got away7 The man on guard had boon furnished with Pennant's description, and swore that no such man had entered or left the flat. "Two women came out Just boforo you arrived, one of them carrying a grass suit case, but " "Damnation!" exclaimed Valentine, "Which way did they go?" "West. We can catch 'em all right, 'less thev've took a trolley car." But thoy hadn't, as It turned out. In response to Valentine's "Como on!" the two started on a run ln the direction named. Across Second avenue, then Third avenue. I hey pelted Midway between be-tween Lexington and Fourth, Valentine's companion grunted hoarsely: "Thero they go!" pointing out two female fe-male figures hurrying on a quarter of a block ahead. As lie spoke thoy disappeared disap-peared down the steps of tho uptown subway kiosk. "That'll do," said Valentino, slowing down to a quick walk. "Go back to th house, In case It's a ruse, and wait thero till you hear from inc.' At the ticket window, owing to a long queue of other passengers, he camo up with the two women, one of whom carried a grass BUa case; the other was at the window buying a ticket, or tickets. A local train came ln Twenty-eighth is not an express station but only one of tho two women boarded It, the ono carrying carry-ing the suit case, and who wore a heavy automobllo veil wound around her head In several thlckueHnec. Valentino caught the mutflcd words, "Be a good girl.' from the one about to ride, out was suddenly sud-denly Binitten with Indecision. Which ono should ho follow? Ir it was a get-awav get-awav with the stolen bill, then It was a hundred chnnces to one :iat It was In that suit case or on tho person of the traveler. And yet- Hia momentary hosltatlpn nearly lost him the train. Tho door was In tho act of sliding to. and the conductor had "clven the boll" when Valentine Just mannsed to squeeze Inside the door to the accompaniment of the nasally-droned "Watch-your-otep!" so familiar to subway sub-way riders. . . , , Local trains are seldom very crowded, nnd Valentino was fortunata to nocure A cross-seat facing, the woman he was watching. Ho tried to peer through the flno-meshed folds of tho automobile veil, but the light waa too poor. Then, K must be remembered, he knew Pennant and Connie only by description. The woman sat perfectly still, the grass Bult case on the floor at her side. "Thirty-third" street. Grand . Central next," droned the guard. Valentine was thinking, thinking and watcning his vls-a-viB furtively, but none -the leas closely. Suddenly the probable truth flashed Into his mind one of those Intuitions which sometimes make our really rew great do-tectlves do-tectlves seem almost Inspired. It dawned upon him that tho woman facing him was Abel Ponnant In disguise, making for the Grand Central Station and a train that would bear him far away! 'In all likelihood thero was a chango of mon's clothes ln that suit case. In a few seconds doubt oocamo cor-talnty cor-talnty In Valentlnc'H mind. Tot how to provo it? Hp must mako no mlatako, of course. Chance, however, gavo tho opportunity op-portunity desired Now, to understand what roilowod in the next few minutes the reader must remember that the veiled woman sat on the inside of her seat next me window: Valentine sat facing her at the aisle end of his seat. Just as the train started from Thirty-third Thirty-third street the protended woman drppped her handkerchief. Tho strong current from the open windows and doors It was an oppressively warm autumn day on the street blew the bit of cambric Into the aisle. Valentino loaned over tq pick It up, Intending to rcsore it to tho owner and perhaps hear what kind of a voice nature had blessed "her" or him" with, when In tho act of stooping another quick thought smote his brain. Ho remembered reading somewhero that If you toss anything to a woman seated she Is Very apt to catch It in her' lap without moving her limbs; her skirts furnish an effective and sufficient, net. On tho other hand, a nian under tho camo conditions Invariably brings his knees togethor smartly. The experiment experi-ment may be tried a hundred times with less than 10 per cent of failures. So, acting on the inspiration, Instead of politely handing the handkerchief to the suspect opposite, Valentine did an Inexcusably In-excusably rude thing from his position half out of the altdc he "balled" the handkerchief a"nd literally tossed It at its" surprised owner. Ere the bit of compressed white fabric fab-ric fell, tho "woman" brought her knee3 together quick as 'winking". In that single Instant Valentine knew that his suspicion was . correct. The person be-fore be-fore him was evidently "no lady;" 1 Ho made no furjtnnr move until tho train slowed up at Forty-second street. Then he rose and 'waited for the "other to precede him to ,tho platform. Once there, clear of the push and crush, he stepped alongside The hurrying figure with tho bag, caurcht one arm firmly by the elbow, saying quietly: "Game's up, professor. I arrest you for grand larceny. Better como quietly and get, those sldrts pff!" And 'sewed in the .pocket of a pair of trousers In the suit case a search re-vcaled re-vcaled the stolen ten-thousand-dollar bill! (Next weeki "A Society Buccaneer.") |