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Show Crazy Kennedy, Detective RH5 UW0. uun Haa ejh Solves Knotty Problems By RING W. LAEDNHR. CHAPTER 1. MY dek telephone rang. I took down tho receiver and immediately imme-diately recognized the voice at the other end as that of Crazy Kennedy. Ken-nedy. "Morrison," he said, (iI think if you can tpare the time to come over to my laboratory at half past six tongiht you will get a mighty big scoop for your paper. ' ' ' CHAPTER "J. Just as the (dork on the Masonic Temple building was striking halt' past six I knocked at the door ut Crazy Kennedy 's laboratory on State street, north of Lake. There were four fashionably ? roomed men seated on the floor, immediately recognized them as James Kran, president of the High bank; Louis Butler, owner of the board of trade; O us Shields, millionaire garbage hauler, and Franklin Peters, wealthy elevated guard. All were residents of the exclusive North Shore drive. CRAZY KENNEDY was standing on one leg, gazing intently at a email instrument he held in his hand. It looked like a mousetrap or a carving set. "Good evening. Morrison," he good-eveninged. "I suppose you know who these gents are." I said I did. The four visitors were extremely nervous and kept gnawing at their mustaches. Kemiedv held out his instrument. "This, gents.' ' he said, "is the latest invention of science. It is called an abmentis aud it registers absent-mindedness. By touching a person on the shoulder with it I can tell how absent-minded he is." The four visitors .shifted nervously. ner-vously. "Yon four cents,'' said Crazy to them. ' ' are ih four most nbsnnt-mineded nbsnnt-mineded men in Chii-ayo. 1 stoo'i all dav yesterday at the corner of La Salle and Jackson, where every man in town must pass at some time vof day to reae-h his broker's office. and I touched each niau, as he passed, with this instrument. You four registered JUO per cent absent-minded. absent-minded. ' ' The four gents paled. The police, ' continued Crazy, ' ' have called me to their assistance assis-tance in two puzzling cases the North Shore drive burglaries and the theft of over four hundred towels from a loop hotel. I decided at the outset that one man was guilty of all these crimes. Only an absent -minded man would, after washing his hands or face or feet in a hotel lavatory, stuff the towel in his pocket and carry it away. nd only an absent-minded man 4 ould leave a cigar butt in the bedroom bed-room of a friend and then have to make a house to house canvass at night in an effort to find it. Ona of you four men done it." TCT," I butted, ''these four 13 gents are honorable. They would return the towels when they found them in their pockets." ' ' H ow would they find t hem ? ' ' how "d Kennedy. 11 Not one of i these four jnents is so poor that he j has to wear the-same suit twice. When they take off their suits at night they throw them out the window. win-dow. ' ' "But," I said, "several hundred dollars' worth of jewels were stolen in the north side raids. ' ' "'-Mcreiv y blind, dear Morri-i Morri-i sou," i-yid Cra.y. "a. liuax to throw the police off the track. The o'.ui-er o'.ui-er of the cigar butts was ashamed I of his carelessness. Now, gents," he continued, pointing a stern finger fin-ger at the four, "which ono of you done it ? " "Not me," said Mr. Krauss. "Me, neither," said Mr. Peters. "Or me." said Mr. Butler. "Then, Mr. Shields," said Kennedy Ken-nedy sternly, "it nmt have been you. ' J "You go take a jump in the lake. ' ' said M r. Shields. "Lend tin- a t'nwe! and I will,"' replied Crazy, and to our astonishment astonish-ment tho absent-minded Mr. Shields dug down in his hip rmckpt i . I and produced a towel inscribed ' with the monogram of the looted i loop hotel. "Call the next rase." s-aid Crazv Kennedy. |
