“Mine Gott,” replied Gus. “Vat must I do? He vas schlapped me mit der oysters of der face already, und he vas his gun have ready to shoot. Next time maybe he takes a tenderfoot, maybe! Eh?”
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[{58}] 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.