U. S. Secret Service
Made in U. S. A.
To
FRANCES WARREN THEISS
whose youthful interest in this story, as
it grew, chapter by chapter, has been a
real inspiration to its maker ∷ ∷
Foreword
It may interest readers of The Young Wireless Operator series to know that most of the happenings in these books are based upon actual occurrences. Years ago, as a reporter, the author wrote for the New York Sun the stories of the auction of bled wool, the cotton-lined cabin, the mystery of the wheat sacks, and other accounts of the work of the United States Secret Service, that appear in this present volume. Although some of the characters in the book are of course fictitious, others, like Sheridan of the Secret Service, are real characters who actually did the things they are portrayed as doing. Of course names have been changed. The practice of keeping note-books and clippings that had to do with work the writer was engaged in, has made all this material available for present use, and brought it once more freshly to mind. The descriptions of parts of New York and her wonderful waterways are written from intimate, personal knowledge of the places described. In effect, therefore, The Young Wireless Operator—With the U. S. Secret Service is a true story.
To make all the tales in this series true has been the earnest desire of the writer. That does not mean that every incident described necessarily happened. It does mean that the incidents used are not only possible under the circumstances, but probable, and that the descriptions are exact and accurate. The picture of life portrayed is in each case as exact as careful observation and careful writing can make it.