tted fellow and he said:

"Arrest that man. He just robbed an old lady of her pocketbook."

Oscar did appear most like a thief and the policeman seized him.

"Hold on, officer, there's your man," said Oscar, pointing to the
retreating thief.

"Oh, you can't play that on me," said the officer, and he commenced
without further inquiry to cuff his prisoner over the head in a very
rough manner, when suddenly the dude wrested himself clear and let the
officer have one on the ear, and then the crowd laughed and jeered as
the cop went reeling. Another officer arrived on the field. He also
happened to be a fresh Alec. He didn't stop to ask a question but drew
his club and made a rush at the supposed thief; the latter had no time
to make an explanation. It was take a knock on the head or fight. He
decided to fight and explain afterward, so he let "copper" number two
have one, and it did appear marvelous, the ease with which he dropped
the knights of the brass buttons. Cop number one had regained his feet,
and drawing his club was about to make a rush, when Oscar threw back the
lapel of his coat, and the officer's eyes rested on a little silver
badge that caused him to recoil as though he had been confronted by a
ghost.

Both policemen fell to their blunder and the detective said:

"Go and hunt up your right men now and don't be so fast next time."

Assuming his chappie walk our hero ambled away. On the following morning
there appeared an account in the papers, telling how a detective, very
smartly dressed, had knocked out and captured two pickpockets when a
policeman came along and mistaking the detective for the thief permitted
the real thief to depart.

A day or two passed when our hero, who made a daily practice to look
over the personals in all the journals, saw a little advertisement which
read as follows:

"If the detective who recovered an old lady's pocketbook will send
his address to Mrs. I. F., Station B, he will hear of something to
his advantage."

"Well," ejaculated the officer, "that means me. Now let us see--what
shall we do?"

It did not take the detective very long to decide upon his course. He
wrote the letter, and proceeding to Station B, mailed it, then he lay
around for several hours until he saw a very nice-looking young lady
call and ask for a letter addressed to "I. F." The letter was delivered
and the girl started off with the detective on her track. He trailed her
to an old-