FOUND FOR U.S.

BY THURSTON

This is the first in a series of articles to depict the experiences of Thurston, The Magician.  They are written exclusively for the Boston Evening American Secret Agent X-9 members by Thurston himself, while he is appearing at the Metropolitan Theater.

By THURSTON, the MAGICIAN

One morning, in the last year of the war, I was awakened in my room in a New York hotel by the ringing of the telephone.  A strange voice came over the wire:

"Is that Mr. Thurston?"

Upon my assuring the voice that I was Thurston, it went on to say that he was phoning for a mutual friend, Col. Blank, one of the heads of the Secret Service, and asked me to come down at once to his office in lower Broadway.

HUNT PAPERS IN TRUNK

An hour later I was in the colonel's office.  In the center of the room was a small steamer trunk, opened, all its contents scattered about the floor.

Col. Blank explained:

"You know about secret panels and mysterious compartments, Thurston.  That's part of your trade.  See what you can find phony about that trunk."

"What are you looking for?"  I asked.

"Papers," was the reply. "That's all I can tell you - just papers.  But if you find them, you'll be doing the government a service."

At that I went over the inside of the trunk with minute care, feeling for hidden springs and tapping every inch of the case for a hollow sound that would give evidence of a secret space in the woodwork.  But there was nothing out of the ordinary with this trunk.  I was ready to testify under oath that it was just another tourist trunk.

RECALLS STORY

And then, just as I was about to give the search up, a story of Poee's flashed in my mind.  His story of the "Purloined Letter,".

In that story Dupin, the detective, states, that the safest way to hide an object so that it will not be discovered, is to put it in the most obvious place.  That gave me a hunch - and  have learned by long experience always to play a hunch to the limit.  I closed the trunk and called for a chisel and a hammer.

"Elementary, my dear Colonel," I said in my best Sherlock Holmes manner.  "Just rip off those wooden slats on the top and you'll find the papers."

And the extraordinary thing about it is that it happened just like that.  It was not until two years ago that I learned that the papers were important state documents which had been stolen from one of the embassies in Washington, and had to do with a delicate diplomatic problem in the Far East.  Something to do with the Shantung muddle and the critical situation between China and Japan.

Turn to today's comic section and find out how you, too, may become a Secret Agent X-9.  And follow the thrilling experiences of Thurston in the Boston Evening American.

HALTS WORK

OF SPY

This is the first in a series of articles to depict the experiences of Thurston, The Magician.  They are written exclusively for the Boston Evening American Secret Agent X-9 members by Thurston himself, while he is appearing at the Metropolitan Theater.

By THURSTON, the MAGICIAN

One adventure, in particular, with the United States Secret Service, was valuable enough, in its service to this country, to qualify me for membership in The Boston American's Secret Agent X-9 Club.

This time was back in 1917, just after the United States had entered the World War.  Federal agents came to my home early one summer evening and pleaded with me, in the name of patriotism, to load myself with rabbits, cards and other paraphernalia requisite to put on an impromptu entertainment at a party then in progress at the Hotel Astor, in New York.

ACE OF PICKPOCKETS

Of course, I readily complied, and was soon rolling down the Hudson river boulevard in a big sedan toward the hotel.  En route, Uncle Sam's men revealed that there was a certain guest at the party who was suspected of having in his inner coat pocket certain papers that must be recovered.

Now, after 40 years of sleight of hand, I am about as deft-fingered as a pickpocket, and one of my favorite amusement is extracting watches and stickpins from my friends.

Corks were-popping merrily when my secret services escorts and I arrived in evening dress.  Introduced as the entertainer of the evening, I performed at the various tables.  Gradually I worked my way around to where the suspect sat, beaming happily as he was singled out for special attention by the magician.  I had the suspected spy stand up, pulled a couple of rabbits from his pocket and seemingly extracted deck after deck of cards and tossed the red and black pasteboards into the air.  I then moved on to another table.

SPY UNDER ARREST

But I had taken something besides card and rabbits from the suspect's pockets.  I had confiscated a list of sailings of Yankee troop ships through my mastery of misdirection and the almost miraculous cunning of my trained fingers.  That list of sailings no doubt saved hundreds of doughboys from a watery grave.

The spy was immediately arrested and ---- the duration of the ---- one of my most prized possessions is a letter of appreciation signed by the head of the Secret Service Bureau.

Turn to today's comic section and find out how you, too, may become a Secret Agent X-9.  And follow the thrilling experiences of Thurston in the Boston Evening American.

Thurston Regains Stolen

Note and Reads Code

This is the third in a series of articles to depict the experiences of Thurston, The Magician.  They are written exclusively for the Boston Evening American Secret Agent X-9 members by Thurston himself, while he is appearing at the Metropolitan Theater.

By THURSTON, the MAGICIAN

Forty years I have wandered all over the globe and given magic shows in every land.  And in this time I have had enough adventure to satisfy a dozen lifetimes.

Here is on of those adventures, told for the benefit of the members of the Boston American's Secret Agent X-9 Club.

On a sea trip the public entertainer is thrown in close contact with the people who are usually separated from him by the footlights.  Once I was a fellow passenger of the Duke of Connaught and his beautiful, Princess Pat, and we spent many delightful hours together.

One afternoon the Duke confided to me that an important paper was missing from his portfolio,  A diplomatic message in code, relating to certain secret negotiations between Great Britain and Italy.

"Very annoying," groused the Duke.  "but there is one consolation - no one can read the message."

"What can be put into code can be deciphered," I said.

The Duke laughed.  "Yes, if you know the key-word.  The message is written in my own cipher and my own password is the only key that will unlock it."

"The Princess Pat was smiling at me.  "What do you say to that, Mr. Magician?"

"Only that I accept your challenge.  I will find the paper and I will decipher the message."

A tall order But again I had a hunch.  And I have learned by experiences always to play my hunches to the limit.

It would be too long a story to relate how I found that paper.  But I did - and within eight hours.  I found it in the stateroom of a Swedish woman who, I learned later, was one of the ace operatives of the Russian Secret Service.  When I handed the paper to the Duke, his eyes twinkled.

"Have you deciphered the message?", he asked.

"Give me 24 hours and I will give you the message in English.  Cipher reading ins one of my hobbies."

"Impossible, my dear Thurston.  You couldn't get the keyword in 24 years."

"It wouldn't take me 24 seconds to guess the keyword,"  I said calmly.  "It's your own keyword, you know and" - here I bowed to the Princess Pat - "Patricia is a pretty name."

For a moment the Dukc of Connaught looked at me with steady eyes.

"Thurston," he said, "if you ever think of giving up your profession, let me know.  One of the head jobs in the secret service will be waiting for you."

Turn to today's comic section and find out how you, too, may become a Secret Agent X-9.  And follow the thrilling experiences of Thurston in the Boston Evening American.