accustomed to exaggeration if not to perjury, and who have
neither the inclination nor the ability to do competent work.

Once they get their clutches on a wealthy client, they
resemble the shyster lawyer in their efforts to bleed him by
stimulating his fears of publicity and by holding out false
hopes of success, and thus prolonging their period of service.
An unscrupulous detective will, almost as a matter of course,
work on two jobs at once and charge all his time to each
client. He will constantly report progress when nothing has
been accomplished, and his expenses will fill pages of his
notebook. Meantime his daily reports will fall like a shower
of autumn leaves. In no profession is it more essential to
know the man who is working for you. If you need a detective,
get the best you can find, put a limit on the expense, and
give him your absolute confidence.




CHAPTER VI

Detectives Who Detect


In the preceding chapter the writer discussed at some length
the real, as distinguished from the fancied, attributes of
detectives in general, and the weaknesses as well as the
virtues of the so-called detective "agency." There are in the
city of New York at the present time about one hundred and