TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 89, 15 April 1922, Page 19

TRUE DETECTIVE STORIES.

REMARKABLE RECALLED. XXXni.—THE VANISHING MAN. (Copyright, 1920, by the Wheeler Sydnicat* Inc.). When Gideon Rabshaw, chief of detectives of Cleveland, Ohio, was notified over the long distance wire from Buffalo tbat the police of that city had captured tbe four men responsible for tbe murder of Patrolman Leßoy Bouker, be smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and muttered: " Fine work I That much is out of tbe way : '* But had Rabshaw known it at the time his troubles were only beginning—for one ot the bandits, a man by the name of Meaney. determined to fight for his life with every weapon that the law afforded him. Securing an attorney familiar with the kinks and twists of criminal law, ha quickly succeeded in manufacturing an alibt which appeared to be iron-ciad. Hair- adozen witnesses swore that at the time Bouker was shot Meaney had been in their company, and that it was physically Impossible for bim to have reached the scene «•* the crime in time to tak» der, and none of the would admit that M them until shortly bef in Buffalo. Meaney's lawyer l instructions to " make mc to have 24 hours' out of Cleveland tbey'l the District Attorney. „ man imperil the entire case, decided to drop tbe proceedings against Meaney and concentrate his attack upon tbe other three men who had not had the foresight to provide themj selves with capable legal assistance. ThereI fore, in spite of tbe pleadings of Chief I Rabshaw, Meaney was released.

Less than twelve hours later the Chief of Detectives secured evidence that riddled the carefully prepared alibi—evidence which proved that Meaney had been directly Implicated iv the murder. But It was too late. The gunman bad vanished, apparently into thin air.

Spurred on by a realisation that he had! had tbe man he wanted actually lodged in gaol, only to have hitn slip through a loop In tbe legal wall which surrounded him. Rabshaw determined to nail the escaped murderer if, as be stated, "it took ten years and every man on the force to do it." As ■_ proof of this, be took the trail himself, and personally visited every one of Meaney'e haunts, trying to secure some indication of the hiding place which tbe criminal bad evidently planned In advance.

The city of Cleveland was combed from one end to the other. Every known meeting place In tbe underworld was watched and raided and closed. Every train was guarded. Every police organisation in tho country was warned to keep Its eyes open for tbe man who had been implicated in the Bouker murder and the robbery which had preceded it.

But the days lengthened into weeks, and the weeks Into months, and still thero wasn't a trace of Meaney.

At night, when his day's work wae finished, Rabshaw would relieve the man always on watch at the former Meaney home, for the chief had a theory tbat some day the fugitive's wife would provide tbe clue which would lead them to the man they wanted.

"Yes. I know it's hard work and tedious work." Rabsbaw would say, as he took up his nightly vigil. " But there's no woman alive that can outwit us if we keep steadily at it. She knows where Meaney is. She'd rather have her tongue cut out than tell us. But. through some slip, she's going to do just that thing." As events proved, however. Rabshaw was wrong. The clue which led to tbe final capture came from another and unexpected source. It was some eleven months after the Bouker murder —after Meauey had been traced to Toledo aud Pittsburgh and St. Louis and Toronto, and various points in between, the police always one jump behind him, that Rabshaw dropped into tbe Cleveland post office to purchase a stamp. There was nothing unusual in the action itself. He had bought stamps at that window hundreds of times before. But there was something in the attitude of the woman ahead of him in line, something furtive about the manner iv which she attempted to conceal the address on tbe letter which she carried, which made the chief of detectives wonder what was wrong.

When he caught a flash of her face, halfhlddeu under a long black veil, he had an intuition that be knew her reason for trying to prevent anyone from seeing the letter. The woman was Meaney's sister-in-law, a relative whom the police had practically overlooked on account of her husband's unimpeachable y>osition.

As she purchased the stamp and bent forward to affix it. Rabshaw stepped swiftly out of line, and succeeded in getting a glimpse of the envelope. One glance was all be needed. Tbe missive was addressed to John M. Oliver, at a number which Rabshaw knew was in a secluded and quiet part of Indianapolis.

Early the following morning. Rabshaw took up bis vigil outside the house where

" Oliver " was supposed to be living. But no one answering to the description of tbe missing man made his appearance, so the Cleveland chief determined to force the issue by sending two of the local police in to find ont if anyone by that name resided there. Scarcely had they reported that

" Oliver lived there, but was out at the time," than Meaney strolled down the street and started to mouut the steps of the house, totally unsuspicious of his danger. An instant later Kabshaw was upon him. his automatic ready for action, but the fugitive, realising the folly of opposition to superior force, threw up bis hands and surrendered. "You've got mc." be admitted. "Just when I thought I was safe, too. How'd you manage it . " " A little matter of a postage stamp," said Kabsbaw. and it wasn't until after he had commenced his life term in the Ohio penitentiary that Meaney discovered tbe loophole which he bad overlooked, the trivial detail which had enabled Rabshaw to trace him when every other means had failed.