A DETECTIVE STORY.

Lake County Press, Issue 1067, 4 June 1903, Page 7

A DETECTIVE STORY.

For some time past a large number of spurious bank notes have been put into circulation in Warsaw, and the police were quite unable to trace the forgers up to a few days ago. The manner in which the gang was discovered is curious. A domiciliary visit had to be paid to a house, and on arrival of the officers no opposition was offered to their entry Inside one of the rooms, however, they found a man playing a cabinet organ and all the time the visit hasted the man remained at the organ. As they were about to leave the house the officer in charge of the police, being something of a musician himself, asked the performer to play the Russian National Hymn before they left. This the man did, but the officer was not pleased with the performance, and complained that the player did not put enough expression into the melody. The man explained that he was unable to do so, as the loud pedal arrangement of the organ was out of order. The police officer at once offered to repair it, and in spite of the protests of the performer set to work to do so. Great was tho surprise on opening the instrument to discover that the pedal would not work, because of the bundle of forged notes that were stuffed into the instrument Arresting everyone in the house, the police carefully examined the organ, and found, besides the notes, documents which revealed the membership of the gang of forgers. Forty arrests were made that night.