Nick Carter Stories No. 147, July 3, 1915: On Death's Trail; or, Nick Carter's Strangest CaseCarter, Nicholas (House name)
General
Nick Carter Stories No. 147, July 3, 1915: On Death's Trail; or, Nick Carter's Strangest Case
Carter, Nicholas (House name)
Detective and mystery stories, American -- Periodicals; Popular literature -- Periodicals
There was nothing further to be said. Gus had stated the question
perfectly. So they picked up what was left of Tiger Bill, and, clad as
he was, and “with his boots on,” they thrust him into a hole in the
woods. Then the decent element, always in a large majority, rallied, and
elected men to serve as a committee to control the town until such time
as a regular government could be established.
One of the first duties that committee discharged was to send forth
notice that if any of the Tiger Bill crowd or their sympathizers were
caught in Short Creek that night there would be one of the largest and
liveliest hangings in history. That notice was enough; without Tiger
Bill, the courage of the bunch was wholly a minus quantity, and they
stayed not upon the order of their going, but went.
Silent Workers of the “Black Cabinet.”
“Headwork and legwork are more important than green goggles and false
whiskers” for the modern sleuth, according to William J. Flynn, chief of
the United States Secret Service, better known as Uncle Sam’s “Black
Cabinet.”
As a rule, disguises are not used by those in the service. If the matter
in hand, for instance, requires the collection of information from
workmen, a man is chosen who looks the part without a disguise. He
simply wears such clothes as workmen wear and affects the manners and
speech of the men with whom he mingles. On the other hand, if the work
requires contact with people in a better-dressed walk of life, or with
foreigners or negroes, an operative of the same class is chosen.
The United States Secret Service is under the direct supervision of the
secretary of the treasury. The only thing that can land a man in its
employ is passing the preliminary examination, submitting to a personal
interview with Chief Flynn, and showing one’s nerve and ability during a
month of testing out in the real business of detective work for Uncle
Sam. If a man makes good after this preliminary test, he goes on the
roll permanently.
The men are gathered from greatly different sources. There are college
graduates, mostly sons of criminal lawyers; musicians, stenographers,
linguists, bank clerks, identification experts, telegraph operators,
commissioned and noncommissioned officers of the army or navy, newspaper
men, a couple of sheriffs, one or two wardens, and an ex-mayor.
Some of the best work of secret-service operatives in recent years has
been accomplished by men formerly in the claims department of a railroad
or life-insurance companies.
The secret-service headquarters in Washington occupies a very
unpretentious suite of offices on the first floor of the treasury
department. Here are the private offices of Chief Flynn, whose salary is
$4,000 a year, and the assistant chief, William Moran, regarded as the
greatest expert in the detection of counterfeits and counterfeiters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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