25 chapters
8 hour read
Selected Chapters
25 chapters
A FLASH IN THE NIGHT
A FLASH IN THE NIGHT
We were sitting in the lobby of the Willard, Bill Quinn and I, watching the constant stream of politicians, pretty women, and petty office seekers who drift constantly through the heart of Washington. Suddenly, under his breath, I heard Quinn mutter, "Hello!" and, following his eyes, I saw a trim, dapper, almost effeminate-looking chap of about twenty-five strolling through Peacock Alley as if he didn't have a care in the world. "What's the matter?" I inquired. "Somebody who oughtn't to be here?
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MINT MYSTERY
THE MINT MYSTERY
"Mr Drummond! Wire for Mr. Drummond! Mr. Drummond, please!" It was the monotonous, oft-repeated call of a Western Union boy—according to my friend Bill Quinn, formerly of the United States Secret Service—that really was responsible for solving the mystery which surrounded the disappearance of $130,000 in gold from the Philadelphia Mint. "The boy himself didn't have a thing to do with the gold or the finding of it," admitted Quinn, "but his persistence was responsible for locating Drummond, of th
16 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE YPIRANGA CASE
THE YPIRANGA CASE
"Mexico," said Bill Quinn, who now holds a soft berth in the Treasury Department by virtue of an injury received in the line of duty—during a raid on counterfeiters a few years ago, to be precise—"is back on the first page of the papers again after being crowded off for some four years because of the World War. Funny coincidence, that, when you remember that it was this same Mexico that gave us our first indication of the way we might expect Germany to behave." "Huh?" I said, a bit startled. "Wh
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE CLUE ON SHELF 45
THE CLUE ON SHELF 45
"Of course, it is possible that patriotism might have prompted Mary McNilless to locate the clue which prevented an explosion that would have seriously hampered the munitions industry of the United States—but the fact remains that she did it principally because she was in love with Dick Walters, and Dick happened to be in the Secret Service. It was one case where Cupid scored over Mars." Bill Quinn eased the game leg which he won as the trophy of a counterfeiting raid some years before into a mo
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PHYLLIS DODGE, SMUGGLER EXTRAORDINARY
PHYLLIS DODGE, SMUGGLER EXTRAORDINARY
Bill Quinn tossed aside his evening paper and, cocking his feet upon a convenient chair, remarked that, now that peace was finally signed, sealed, and delivered, there ought to be a big boom in the favorite pastime of the idle rich. "Meaning what?" I inquired. "Smuggling, of course," said Quinn, who only retired from Secret Service when an injury received in action forced him to do so. "Did you ever travel on a liner when four out of every five people on board didn't admit that they were trying
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A MATTER OF RECORD
A MATTER OF RECORD
"What was that you mentioned last week—something about the record of Kreisler's 'Drigo's Serenade' reminding you of the capture of some one?" I asked Bill Quinn one summer evening as he painfully hoisted his game leg upon the porch railing. "Sure it does," replied Quinn. "Never fails. Put it on again so I can get the necessary atmosphere, as you writers call it, and possibly I'll spill the yarn—provided you guarantee to keep the ginger ale flowing freely. That and olive oil are about the only th
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE SECRET STILL
THE SECRET STILL
"July 1, 1919," said Bill Quinn, as he appropriately reached for a bottle containing a very soft drink, "by no means marked the beginning of the government's troubles in connection with the illicit manufacture of liquor. "Of course, there's been a whole lot in the papers since the Thirst of July about people having private stills in their cellars, making drinks with a kick out of grape juice and a piece of yeast, and all that sort of thing. One concern in Pittsburgh, I understand, has also noted
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE TAXICAB TANGLE
THE TAXICAB TANGLE
We'd been sitting on the front porch—Bill Quinn and I—discussing things in general for about half an hour when the subject of transportation cropped up and, as a collateral idea, my mind jumped to taxicabs, for the reason that the former Secret Service operative had promised to give me the details of a case which he referred to as "The Trenton Taxicab Tangle." "Yes," he replied, reminiscently, when I reminded him of the alliterative title and inquired to what it might refer, "that was one of the
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A MATCH FOR THE GOVERNMENT
A MATCH FOR THE GOVERNMENT
"I wonder how long it will take," mused Bill Quinn, as he tossed aside a copy of his favorite fictional monthly, "to remove the ethical restrictions which the war placed upon novels and short stories? Did you ever notice the changing style in villains, for example? A decade or so ago it was all the rage to have a Japanese do the dirty work—for then we were taking the 'yellow peril' rather seriously and it was reflected in our reading matter. The tall, well-dressed Russian, with a sinister glitte
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE GIRL AT THE SWITCHBOARD
THE GIRL AT THE SWITCHBOARD
"When you come right down to it," mused Bill Quinn, "women came as near to winning the late but unlamented war as did any other single factor. "The Food Administration placarded their statement that 'Food Will Win the War' broadcast throughout the country, and that was followed by a whole flock of other claimants, particularly after the armistice was signed. But there were really only two elements that played a leading role in the final victory—men and guns. And women backed these to the limit o
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
"LOST—$100,000!"
"LOST—$100,000!"
"I stopped on my way here to-night and laid in a supply of something that I don't often use—chewing gum," said Bill Quinn, formerly of the Secret Service, as he settled back comfortably to enjoy an evening's chat. "There are some professional reformers who maintain that the great American habit of silently working the jaws over a wad of chewing gum is harmful in the extreme, but if you'll look into the matter you'll find that agitators of that type want you to cut out all habits except those whi
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
"THE DOUBLE CODE"
"THE DOUBLE CODE"
It was one night in early fall that Bill Quinn and I were browsing around the library in the house that he had called "home" ever since a counterfeiter's bullet incapacitated him from further active work in the Secret Service. Prior to that time he had lived, as he put it, "wherever he hung his hat," but now there was a comfortable little house with a den where Quinn kept the more unusual, and often gruesome, relics which brought back memories of the past. There, hanging on the wall with a dark-
21 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE TRAIL OF THE WHITE MICE
THE TRAIL OF THE WHITE MICE
"The United States Secret Service," announced Bill Quinn, "is by long odds the best known branch of the governmental detective bureaus. The terror which the continental crook feels at the sound of the name 'Scotland Yard' finds its echo on this side of the Atlantic whenever a criminal knows that he has run afoul of the U. S. S. S. For Uncle Sam never forgives an injury or forgets a wrong. Sooner or later he's going to get his man—no matter how long it takes nor how much money it costs. "But the
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WAH LEE AND THE FLOWER OF HEAVEN
WAH LEE AND THE FLOWER OF HEAVEN
"Yes, there's quite a story attached to that," remarked Bill Quinn one evening as the conversation first lagged and then drifted away into silence. We were seated in his den at the time—the "library" which he had ornamented with relics of a score or more of cases in which the various governmental detective services had distinguished themselves—and I came to with a start. "What?" I exclaimed. "Story in what?" "In that hatchet—the one on the wall there that you were speculating about. It didn't ta
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE MAN WITH THREE WIVES
THE MAN WITH THREE WIVES
One of the first things to strike the eye of the visitor who enters the library-den of William J. Quinn—known to his friends and former associates in the United States Secret Service as "Bill"—is a frame which stands upon the mantel and contains the photographs of three exceptionally pretty women. Anyone who doesn't know that this room is consecrated to relics of the exploits of the various governmental detective services might be pardoned for supposing that the three pictures in the single fram
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
AFTER SEVEN YEARS
AFTER SEVEN YEARS
Bill Quinn was disgusted. Some one, evidently afflicted with an ingrowing sense of humor, had sent him the prospectus of a "school" which professed to be able to teach budding aspirants the art of becoming a successful detective for the sum of twenty-five dollars, and Quinn couldn't appreciate the humor. " How to Become a Detective—in Ten Lessons ," he snorted. "It only takes one for the man who's got the right stuff in him, and the man that hasn't better stay out of the game altogether." "Well,
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE POISON-PEN PUZZLE
THE POISON-PEN PUZZLE
Beside the bookcase in the room which Bill Quinn likes to dignify by the name of "library"—though it's only a den, ornamented with relics of scores of cases in which members of the different government detective services have figured—hangs a frame containing four letters, each in a different handwriting. Beyond the fact that these letters obviously refer to some secret in the lives of the persons to whom they are addressed, there is little about them that is out of the ordinary. A close observer
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THIRTY THOUSAND YARDS OF SILK
THIRTY THOUSAND YARDS OF SILK
"I'd sure like to lead the life of one of those fictional detective heroes," muttered Bill Quinn, formerly of the United States Secret Service, as he tossed aside the latest volume of crime stories that had come to his attention. "Nothing to do but trail murderers and find the person who lifted the diamond necklace and stuff of that kind. They never have a case that isn't interesting or, for that matter, one in which they aren't successful. Must be a great life!" "But aren't the detective storie
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE CLUE IN THE CLASSIFIED COLUMN
THE CLUE IN THE CLASSIFIED COLUMN
Quinn tossed his evening paper aside with a gesture in which disgust was mingled in equal proportion with annoyance. "Why is it," he inquired, testily, "that some fools never learn anything?" "Possibly that's because they're fools," I suggested. "What's the trouble now?" "Look at that!" And the former Secret Service operative recovered the paper long enough to indicate a short news item near the bottom of the first page—an item which bore the headline, "New Fifty-Dollar Counterfeit Discovered."
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAPITOL
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAPITOL
"It won't be long until they're all back—with their pretty clothes and their jeweled bags and their air of innocent sophistication—but until at least a dozen of them gather here Washington won't be itself again." Bill Quinn and I had been discussing the change which had come over Washington since peace had disrupted the activities of the various war organizations, and then, after a pause, the former member of the Secret Service had referred to "them" and to "their pretty clothes." "Who do you me
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
A MILLION-DOLLAR QUARTER
A MILLION-DOLLAR QUARTER
"What's in the phial?" I inquired one evening, as Bill Quinn, formerly of the United States Secret Service, picked up a small brown bottle from the table in his den and slipped it into his pocket. "Saccharine," retorted Quinn, laconically. "Had to come to it in order to offset the sugar shortage. No telling how long it will continue, and, meanwhile, we're conserving what we have on hand. So I carry my 'lump sugar' in my vest pocket, and I'll keep on doing it until conditions improve. They say th
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
"THE LOOTING OF THE C. T. C."
"THE LOOTING OF THE C. T. C."
There was a wintry quality in the night itself that made a comfortable chair and an open fire distinctly worth the payment of a luxury tax. Add to this the fact that the chairs in the library den of William J. Quinn—formerly "Bill Quinn, United States Secret Service"—were roomy and inviting, while the fire fairly crackled with good cheer, and you'll know why the conversation, after a particularly good dinner on the evening in question, was punctuated by pauses and liberally interlarded with sile
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE CASE OF MRS. ARMITAGE
THE CASE OF MRS. ARMITAGE
To look at him no one would have thought that Bill Quinn had a trace of sentiment in his make-up. Apparently he was just the grizzled old veteran of a hundred battles with crime, the last of which—a raid on a counterfeiter's den in Long Island—had laid him up with a game leg and a soft berth in the Treasury Department, where, for years he had been an integral part of the United States Secret Service. But in the place of honor in Quinn's library-den there hung the photograph of a stunningly hands
20 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FIVE INCHES OF DEATH
FIVE INCHES OF DEATH
"Quinn," I said one evening when the veteran of the United States Secret Service appeared to be in one of his story-spinning moods, "you've told me of cases that have to do with smuggling and spies, robberies and fingerprints and frauds, but you've never mentioned the one crime that is most common in the annals of police courts and detective bureaus." "Murder?" inquired Quinn, his eyes shifting to the far wall of his library-den. "Precisely. Haven't government detectives ever been instrumental i
19 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THE END
THE END
Contents page changes made to agree with chapter headings: "Lost—$100,000!"—quotes and exclamation point added. "The Double Code"—quotes added. "Thirty Thousand," and again on P. 253—hyphen removed (more frequent without). After Contents page, "On Secret Service" displays twice—once alone on a page, and again above the Chapter I heading. One of the redundancies has been deleted. Missing or incorrect punctuation repaired. Spelling errors fixed. Hyphenation variants changed to most frequently used
54 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter