| Show Master F Sl Strokes of Great Detectives ts By GEORGE BARTON CHIEF KELLY AND ND THE TIlE OPIUM SMUGGLERS Shortly after atter the Civil war the United States government placed a duty of 10 a pound on prepared opium The purpose was to check the opium habit which was becomIng becoming becom becom- ing a source of ot demoralization In Inthis inthis this country but In spite of the tax large quantities of the stuff was smuggled in ill at the port of at San Fran Fran- cisco Detective Francis R. R Kelly of the United States secret service el was sent to San Francisco to break up the practice After conferring with the collector of or customs he determined to get first hand evidence So some days later a medium sized man garbed In the dress of or a n long longshoreman longshore horeman hore- hore man could be seen lounging about the docks looking for a job Presently Presently Presently Pres Pres- a n. vessel from Shanghai arrived and when the steward who had the contract for unloading the steamship called for men the stranger was one oue of the first to volunteer It was Kelly 1 I There were blisters bUsters on his hands when he finished but before a week had gone he lie had obtained the evidence evidence evi evi- dence he wanted He saw 53 a United States mall mail wagon back up near the rear of the ship and two sailors come out on deck carrying a leather bag with the foreign mall It was thrown Into the wagon which dashed away awny Police Pollee posted nested there by Kelly followed the w wagon gon It went to the far end of the thc city up tip an alley and Into the rear of or the apartment house where the mall mail was unloaded Kelly was sat satisfied led that It was a n bogus mail mall wagon and that the bags contained opium That night re reInforced reinforced re- re by a squad of ot police pollee Kelly forced his way Into the warehouse A Chinaman confronted him It was WM wasa a filmy eyed Celestial he be had seen on the wharf Tl Tills This s man was Joe Fow Tow Fow said sald the detective the government missed some of itS its man mall bags Can Cnn you tell ten me where they are arc 2 Fow gave a wild whoop and rushIng rushIng rushing rush- rush Ing over put his bony lingers fingers about Kellys Kelly's neck With a great effort the detective threw him off oft and bounded to the other side of the loom room Kelly alive to the situation pulled out his pistol but it was almost seized by Joe Fow Now snarled the thc Chinaman youve jouve put your pretty head In the take the lions lion's mouth and you OU can consequences The words were scarcely out of his mouth before Kelly plucked the bottom bot bot- tom torn of the window shade and giving the spring a jerk jerl sent the blind bUnd flyIng flyIng flying fly fly- Ing to the top of the window Before the echo of the click had died away ten stalwart police officers were e in the room pistols In hand and anti In Incomplete Incomplete complete control of the situation Joe Fow and two other murderous lookIng lookIng looking look- look Ing were handcuffed an anthen and I then the mall mail bags s were dragged out into the center of the room It took but a few minutes to make the ex ex- ex The result was sive There were a n dozen of the mall bags and each one was stuffed full lull of smuggled opium Its value ran Into the thousands of dollars Two more days sufficed to brine bring the scattered threads of evidence to together ether A conspiracy was The Thc confiscation of the opium and anti the conviction cOn of or Joe 00 Fow and his associates t broke up tip the game and after that the remaining smugglers transferred the scene of ot their operations operations operations opera opera- to British Columbia and Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver Van Van- couver island In the later years ears of his life Jle Detective De De- Kelly became a bank detective detec tive Uve in Philadelphia He was engaged engaged engaged en en- by the late A. A J. J Drexel o of the great financial firm of oC Morgan Co to guard the banking district In Inthe Inthe inthe the Quaker City In that post he became the terror to thieves of all aU kinds and I up to the time of his death It was said that Important important tant robbery ever occurred in the thel district He laughingly called himself himself him him- i self a preventive saying that an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure any day in the week Copyright by Public lIc Ledger |
