Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, September 26, 1903, Page 13

B The Three Swind 'V WILLIAM HAM «Copyright, 193, by Wm. Hamilton Osborne ) The town of Lorreine was a big town and a successful tqwn and an important town. On the map it was not indicated by @& dot or by a clrvle—not by a long shot. Tt was indicated by what appeared to be a #mall plece of ¥cregularly shaped mosquito netting, from which there radiated at least halt a dozep rallroad lines. This fixed its status from the start, But there was one thing the matter with | the towp. It was too easy—that was all. Its buyiness men, as business men, were <autious and conservative. They would not ' buy gorner lots nor loan upon them without | making the most exhaustive examination of the title to the lamd. And yet, almost as ©ne man, they would place good size wads | ©f bills in the hands of any smooth tongusd | stranger who claimed to own a mine, or an | oil wel, or a gold brick. In oiher words, | Lorrakne was the stamplog ground of swin- dlera. Siugularly enough, none of thess sWindlers were ever caught. Now there was in this town of Lorraine | A few hard headed old fellows who had | ®een swindled once or twice tdo often. | “They started In to watch. And they soon | discovered that the police department not | only winked at the little games played by | these genteel swindlers, but, further, that | the police department was itself hand in ®love with them, The local papers were put at work on the case, much to their delight, and one bright morning when the chief of polica rose from his couch he read with much surprise in the Lorraine ‘“Liberty | Hell" this ominous headiine: “SHARPE SHARES WITH SWINDLERS." As the name of the chief of police hap- | pened to be Sharpe, he considered the sug- g tion to be somewhat too personal. How- ®ver, he took the pains to read column after column upon the subject. “Hang those fellows,” he muttered to himself, “there ain't a word o' truth in| what they say. But the devil of it is," he | finally concluded, “that they can prove the | Wwhole darn business.” One hour later he handed In his resigna- | tion, drew his back pay, and left town by & clroultous route. This relieved the hard hcaded cld fellows who had begun the in- | vestigation, and whtle it robbed the papers of the delights of a sensation, still it was | the easlest way ot of it. Now in the town of Lorraine there was ® man whose name was Peter F. Clancy. He was said to be an honest man. He was @lso a student of human nature, and none of the swindlers who had ever come to town had been able to come it over him. The hard-headed old fellow made it plain to the mayor that Peter F. Clancy was the man for the vacated place of chief of po- lice. The mayor, whose skirts perhaps were not altogether unsullied by the Sharpe af- fair, hastily acquiesced. He started in in the conventional way by talking for publcation. Both the Liberty Bell and the Morving Glory had the pleas- | ure of printing a long interview. In this in- terview the new chief stated that the cryini #hame of the town was swindling, and that he proposed to stop it, and stop‘it quick. All went well for the space of two amonths. No swindler dared to show his face in the town of Lorraine. It was on the %th day of May that a stylishly and well-aressed man stepped into the private office of P. Toler Andrews. Mr. Andrews was a young man who had just cone Into a fortune. The stranger pre- ®:nted a letter of introduction from & prom- Anent New York man, with whom young Andrews had some slight acquaintance. He explained that he was stopping at the Bel- mont, Lorraine’s very swellest stopping place. Mr. Andrews became his guest at the hotel, and played several friendly games of cards, at the close of which the stranger wan_ slightly out of pocket. Andrews was sbout to leave when a messenger arrived with a special delivery letter addressed to the stranger. The stranger excusod him- welf, opened the letter, and from it fluttered & handsomely engraved and profuscly certi- fied check on one of the first banks, of New York, to the order of the stranger, and to the amount of several thousand dollars. “Well, by George!" exclaimed this genial man, ‘we've got to have another bottle on this thing." Over this bottle Mr. Andrews' host explained to him all about the check. Xt represented his profits on a lucky deal n sugar. He had placed a few hundreds with Roberts—of Roberts, MoCoutts & Co.— of Wall street. Roberts had inside in- formation and this inside Information was making for the friends of Roberts rapld lttle fortunes on the quiet. The next day Mr. Andrews, as a sort of flier, put up a nundred—by wire, of course— with Roberts, McCoutts & Co. The day aftor he received his check. It was for | 320, This was a good thing—too good to Xeep. With the permission of his new- found friend he told some of the boys about it, and Andrews and the boys put up | meveral thousand on sugar. It so happened | at this juncture that the stranger's busl- ness was concluded in Lorraine. He was on his way back to the metropolls, and, as & matter of accommodation, he agreed to deliver the fow thousands to Roberts, Me- Coutts & Co. He gave his receipt for it, and, emerging from the light blue smoke of 20-cent cigars, left the good old town of Lorraine. In a few days Mf, Andrews, who had recelved no word from Roberts, McCoutts & Co., wrote them a letter, The letter came back. There was no such firm. He had deposited his check of $20 in his bank at Lorraine. The check camo back. It was a forgery. Mr. Andrews and his friends had been done—done brown. They squealed and the newspapers took it up. The chiaf of police was horrified— paralyzed. And he was more so when it was discovered that the swell stranger had not only done up Andrews and his orowd, but two or three other crowds as well, a of whom he entertained lavishly at the Belmont at different hours of the day and night. “That's devilish strange,” muttered the new chief of police. “How the devil could 1 have missed that fellow, anyway?" It was devilish strange. But the strang- est part of it was that on the very night when the stranger left two men sat in the back room of a saloon, in an obscure part of town, and conversed in whispers, Ons of these men resembled the chief of police— the other the alick stran At the con- clusion of the conversation the stranger b ai——————— ) Restores Vigor Horsford’s Acid Phosphate A teas) i of water, takes whes eahaasbudor from overwork, ivsomnia, poor o A lers of Lorraine ILTON OSBORNE Passed a wad of bills to yhe chief and the chief buttoned them in his Inside pooket. And then each went his several ways sejoleing. Two days went by. When Mr. James F. Whallace, Larraine's successful business man and real estate agent, came near kicking out of his office a shabby frayed iiltie man he came near making a mistake. This man proved to be a near relative of Wallace's wife. Bhe was away at the time. Wallace was secretly glad of it. All that the man wanted of Mr. Wallace was to get a § check cashed. Wallace sniffed suspiciously, but the amount was small, and he cashed it. The little man discovered that Wallace's wife was to Le away for some three weeks. Te expressed regret at this, but confided to Walla that while he was in poor circumstances just at present he was in terested in a Chicagd estate which was now In process of settlement, and he fully ex- pected to get several thousand dollars in a week or two, He was In Lorraine because he had succeeded in gettng a small position there. He did not bother Wallace again for a few days, until he came back with a check for $10, signed with the a small grocery house. The ether check had been ali right, and Waliace cashed this check This, too, went through all right. The next time the man came in he was radiant. He had a letter Chicago lawyers, In which they sald they noted his suggestion that te would have difficulty In getting larys shecks cashed In a town where he was unlmown, and they, therefore, had sent him by express $5,000 bille, on account of his share fn the estate of his deceased relative. He had the ex- press package, and the five $1,000 blils. He now wanted to take this money to his home town and deposit it in his local bank, but preferred not to carry‘the cash, He there- fore request Mr. Wallace to give him a check to his order. Wallace, who liked moneyed men, acquiesced with alacrity. He put the five bills in the safe, wrote the check handed it over, and then Invited the relative of Mrs. Wallace out to lunch. The little man stipulated that he must be released in time for his train, which went at 3 o'clock The lunch was finished, and the little man left. Instead of taking a train, he went to a bank, where, by the courtesy of another business man of the place, he was identi- fled as the payce named in the check. He thereupon recelved from the bank five §1,00 bills. Then he, too, disappeared. The same evening Mrs. James F. Wallace | returned to town, and James F. told her about her relative. She had a relative of that name, but he had been dead for five vears. The next morning James F. Wallaca sent the $5,000 biils to the bank for deposit to his account. The bank returned them with its thanks. Each bill was a cleverly executed counterfelt. James F. Wallace had been taken in—and not he alone, but a dozen other men besides. And on the evening that the relative of Mrs. Wallace disappeared, he and another man who resembled a man whose name was Peter F. Clancy, talked earnestly to- gether in a dark alley. Some money passed between them. Agaln the police force went up in arms. Again the newspapers howled. Agaln there was a lingering wall of anguish from the victims, “This thing,” exclaimed the Morning Glory In a rage, “this thing must stop. Either the police department Is woefuily de- ficlent or else the ecitizens of Lorraine are a pitiful lot of sap heads—one of the two, or both." A bluff, hearty man, with a travel-stained appearance, stepped into the First National bank, with the proprietor of the Lorraine hotel. The bluff, hearty man wanted to deposit to his credit some $3,000. The hotel propfietor was rather proud of this man— for he was John Blilings, the famous cattle king of Arizona. Lorraine was a great grain center, and, attracted by the low prices at which feed and fodder was being offered, he had come on to give an order way ahead against the coming winter. He made extensive purchases at several places —on credit. As the goods were not to be delivered for some months to come, the ame of | from his | THE PRINCETON “EFREFF offerings. Suits and Overcoats FOR_ MEN. UNPRECEDENTEDLY STRONG ARE THESE POPULAR PRICE GRADES. $9.00, $12.00, $15.00 The values that are included in each of the above prices, over-reach any previous season’s They are not just the money's worth—They are more—There’s fit, finish and effect that are not measurable by price, but skill and taste and cleverness, that give the garment char- acter and the wearer dressiness. IN THE SUITS there are fully 75 styles in these three grades—new, fancy effects and plain weaves—cut and made with every care to the minutest detail. IN THE OVERCOATS—there are nearly fifty styles—of the varying lengths, the fashion- able shades and all the tailoring points that express artistic and intrinsic merit. SEDATE STYLES FOR THE MIDDLE AGED AND ELDERLY MAN. PLENTY OF DASH AND GINGER FOR THE DRESSY YOUNG FELLOWS. BOYS’ SUIT DEPARTMENT This departmeat is popular with both boys and the pdrents, and we venture to say that a greater number of boys have been fitted out here this season than at any other store. we have prepared a number ot exceeding good values in boys’ suits, that will mean a big saving. $1.50, $2.00, $2.50, $3.00 Neat, dressy patterns, in qualities that will stand the wear and tear that boys usually give ’em —Double breasted or Norfolk, you can have either style—fifty patterns to select from—compare them with anything in town from $1.00 to §$2.00 more in price. Tichrusha © CLOTHES "EBRIMEN #s WOMEN ‘EMBER 26, A Superb Display of IWomen’s Man-tailored Have you visited the beautiful third floor de- partment—by all odds the4 handsomest, best appoint- ed and most elegant show room in Omaha? Take advantage of Saturday’s very special inducements to give yourself the pleas: ure of a visit. In keep ing with the elegance of the surroundings you'll find the collection of wo- men’s made-up wearables unsurpassed in styles and extent of the display. From the new lines we've | selected the following for ' special emphasis Saturday —every price should prove an irresistable temptation to come. “EFF-EFE" STYLES WITH Special Offerings in WOMEN'S TAILOR-MADE SUITS Women's Tailor Made Suvits Made of a very fine quality of the new Etamine Cheviot in all shades—and the very newest shapes—with cape collar and the new sleeves. Suits you pay $2 for In any other store in Omaha, Our Price $18.75 Women's Tailor Made Suits Made of the very finest puality of Zibelines and Panne Cheviots—the new Louls XIV shape (exactly like above pleture, elegantly finished and tailored —as good as any $50 suit in America. Our Special Price $35 Saturday Women's Tailor Made Suits in Broadcloths, Cheviots, Zibelines and fancy mixtures in all the very latest effects—dress or walking lengths; they would be considered cheap for $35 elsewhere. Our Price $24.75 Women'’s High Class Tailor Made Suits Just arrived by express, about 50 sam- ple suits, from the finest makers in this country. They are true coples from the other side—only one of a kind. Come and see them, At Prices $47.50, $55, $65, $75 after he made a little round of ealls upon the grain dealers, he sald good-bye and went back to his cattle ranch. That is where he sald he was going. Where he actually went no one exactly knew—except, perhaps, one man. That man was Clancy, chief of the police department. Ultimately the grain dealers and the mil- lonalres communicated with John Billings at his far west address. He answered swindled to attend him In person at 2 o'clock on the following day. There were several of these men, and they cach of them were Invited inside the rafling. Then Clancy opened up the door to the clamor- | ing crowd. As soon as quiet was restored, Clancy signaled to an officer who stood at an inner door. Immediately there saunt- ered into the office a well dressed man with a smooth face, At his entrance young Mr. HE MOTIONED TO TWO OFFICERS WHO SEIZED THE WELL-DRESSED MAN AND JERKED FROM HIS HEAD A WIG. dealers leisurely and lazily looked him up in Bradstreet's. John Blllings was all right, | the mgencles reported. They reported that they could get no personal stutement from | Billings himself, as Billings was in the mid- dle west or eastern states, buying up srain for the winter. This seemed satistactory. Billings had some further arrangements to make in Lorraine. Gra y he was introduced to | a millionaire or two—the introduction was made by the grain dealers. He wanted to berrow money. He would give his note and a chattel mortgage on his cattle. Hg only | wanted $20,000 or $0,00. Each millionaire | investigated, found that he was all right, | that the cattle were free and clear and hastened to make the loan at the highest | rate of interest. After Le had obtained three lots from as wany millionaires and | | John Billings. each letter with/s ty. He stated that he had never been in the town of Lorraine, He had just returned from a grain-buying trip, it was true, but all his time had been spent in the city of Chicago. Eventually some one secured & photograph of the real Alas! he was not the eattle who had made a fiying visit to Lor- e, In the midst of it all the only man who maintained his composure was the new chief of police. He calied one day at the office of the Liberty Bell, This was their subsequent announcement: SYNDICATE OF SWINDLERS SWIPED, Clancy Caught Counterfeiter, Man and Cattle King. At this announcement the town was wild. It swarmed to police headquartcrs. But there if found out mothing. Clancy inst:ad, ki ral Confidence | P. Toler Andrews gave vent to an involun- tary exclamation of surprise. “What's the matter, Andrews? chief mildly. Andrews spluttered In his excitement, “T-t-that's the fellow that did me up—tha Tracy fellow from New York The chief raised his eyebrows. “‘Are you | surer” e wsked. Andrews was sure, aud | 80 were a dozen other men. The chiet | waved his hand, The stranger fauntily walked back by the way that he had come. There was a buzz of conversation. It ceased when a shabby sort of man, who | secmed little, entered in the custody of an | officer. He bowed nervously to Mr. James | F. Wallace, who glared at him like a caged | iger. He was identified at once by a will- ing concourse of complainants. He, too, sald the had given up three chattel mortgages, and | smply notified evesy man who bad been | was retired. Two policemen then appeared, and are at home in the soup, glving it the real flavor of the sea. Next with the scales and the price list are the Selects and last in order the New York Counts, The Count on the market this week s big. You can sit down with the children and that oyster to dinner and eat the oyster till 2 o'clock. But these easily approach- able bivalves are not the real high-flyers. It's the Blue Points and the Rockaways that are the perfect gentlemen, overy ons living in his private shell and excluding all but his few friends. The Blue Points are petite, and, while soclally perfect, have not the wealthy patronage accorded to the larger Rockaways. Clams, too, are here in shell, Little Necks and Quohogs. When the Quohogs are open for business they are usually not the only hogs about the table, leading between them a bluff, powerful looking man. This man had no sooner entered than there was a wild hub-bu! “Let me get at him!" yelled one of the millionaires wildly. The cattle king, for it was he, folded his arms. *“Come on,” he id with a twitching mouth, “I can take care of you I guess.” It is to be noticed that this was the first of the three swindlers who had spoken. And when this man spoke, three men slightly started. One was young Andrews, one was James F, Wallace and the third was the mlillionaire. The cattle king went back. “Now gent: said the chief, *‘all this| here is just a bit of by-play. Bring in that Tracy fellow,” he announced. The Tracy tellow came in. “Tracy,” sald the chief, “you're made up. Undress." Tracy looked around. *“Here?" he asked | uncertainly. The chief answered him grufly. "Il save you the trouble,”” he said. He mo- tioned to two officers, who seized the well- dressed man and jerked from his head a wig. They stripped him of his fashionable coat, and there stood before the crowd a man who looked more ltke & jallbird than anything else. | “Now you see,” sald the chief to An- drews, “just what you run up against. Take him away for a minute, till we see the others again.” The next swindler was brought in. He, too, was stripped. And this one looked like—lke— The crowd stretched forward | and rubbered as before. John Billings wll: led in as soon as the other had retired. His wig and superfluous flesh were hastily removed—and wonder of all the wonders— he, too, was the self-same man. He smiled a smile large enough for three men. And then the chief smiled. And after the chief smiled he reached back of him and opened a large safe. From this safe he took out several large rolls of bills, “Gentlemen,” he began. “I started in to cure this town of swindlers. Bein' swindled is & disease, and I've been around to vac- cinate a few, to prevent the spread of the epldemic. Several of you gentlemen have lost some money, but it was for the good of the community. Now I've caught this three-fold jallbird, gentlemen, and I made him cough up what he had left. I've just about divided it up in the right proportions. And now,” he added, holding out the bills to the several victims. Each grasped his own and began to count it. The first to complete the job was P. Toler Andrews. “Why, why,” he pluttered, “I've got it all back.' “Mine, to,” & dozen volces shouted. The chief smiled again. “Gents,” he said, I started in to cure this to and by the help of the police, and by the help of the newspapers, I done it. But gents,” he went on, “that help wouldn't have amounted to & row of pins all by It- self. The man who done the trick is old Boneset Smith, the slickest detective in the city of New York, and the greatest sleuth- hound In the world. And that man Boneset Smith, gents,” concluded the sheriff, with a broad grin, “is none other than that Jaflbird Jookin' fellow that stands there. hearty, | of Council Bluffs, and asks that the Council Bluffs Insurance company and . W. Loomls, receiver, each may be mdde party thereto. The defendants flle a cross petl- tion, holding that the United States circuit court has no jurisdiction in the premises, GOSSIP ON COMMISSION ROW 014 School Lobsters Are fa Town with that Same Tight Hand- Shaks Some fine old-school lobsters are in town again shaking hands in thelr bearty way and making dates with the familiar live- | bolled joints. There is no half-hearted limpness about the hand grasp of the Maine lobster, he likes you there; although he may be your enemy in the Lobster- | Newberg-dream-hop combination. The lob- sters of last week were as a rule the young and perhaps slightly flavorless ones who, through dare deviltry and lack of specific | gravity, had been caught in the storms and | had to seek refuge in the lobster pots. The | bigger lobsters stayed safe below until the | storm was over. This week the Maine coast 18 calm, and o the good old lobsters are agaln on the market, and the price, which was last week up, 13 again at the normal for this season. Now i3 the time to make n shell-fish sandwich of yourself. A full line of oysters are in and for this season dolng | the biggest business ever known. This | will increase until after New Year. Of | the less aristocratic oysters who come | here in bulk to be canned the smallest and easlest to buy are the Standards. But it they are little they are the trus marines —— Will Hold City Liabl Mary A. Heath, 1517 Burt street, the mother of Leo Heath, the messenger boy who was dangerously Injured by falling from a bicycle on Thirteenth street between Cass and California on September 1, has filed notice with the ecity advising’ that she will hold the city lable on the grounds of a rough and “obstruction-filled” stone pavement. Tha boy, it is said, had his skull fractured and’ was otherwlse in- jured permanently. Notice to the Knights of Ak-Sar-B Our brothers to the south of us are hold- ing this week a street carnival, and the board has set aside as Omaha night Fri- day, September 2, and his royal highness, King Ak-Sar-Ben IX requests that all his joyal citizens journey to South Omabha on that date and participate In the festivities of our brother knights. UNION PACIFIC ROUND TRIP. Franclsco Tickets on sale Oct. 8th to 17th, inclusive, RETURN LIMIT, NOV. joth, Sixteen hours quicker than any other line the Paolfio Coast. For full information call or write CITY TICKET OFFICE 1334 FARNAM STRERT, 'PHONE 310, THE KEELEY CURE Cor. 19th and Leavenworth Streets, OMAHA, NEBRASKA. Chamber s Colle. Chol Diar Remedy. The uniform success of this preparation in the relief and cure of bowel complaints has brought it into almost universal use. It never fails and when reduced with water and sweetensd s pleasant to take. It fs equally valuable for children and adults. The Oldest, Safest and most Reliable Cure for Alcoholism, Norphine or other Drug Ade dictivrs. Tobacco and Ciga« rette Habit. All communica: tions confideatial, Wm, R Buras, Managet Sues Defunet Company. s s Woelz of Hall county has suit in the United States circult cou; against the C which has ceased to recover on a $5.500 note of said hich he bought of the Citizens’ State oy 13