You give it up, put these idle speculations out of your mind, and go out into the street. You have been busy locating prospects. Your thoughts turn to the most likely one. There’s the gambler that runs the poker games in back of the cigar store. He turns the game over to an assistant at twelve o’clock, takes the bankroll, and goes home. You decide to “take him home” tonight. You hang around till he comes out and get in behind him. You tail him to a genteel-looking place with a “private board” sign in a downstairs window. He lets himself in with a key. You are across the street; you wait a while and observe that a dark room on the second floor has been lighted. Your man is at the window pulling down its shade. You have his room located, and you go away to kill the next two hours.

Two o’clock; you are in the dining room downstairs. You were lucky enough to find an open window. You don’t open any doors here, you decide to retreat by the window, if necessary. This is a boarding house with a number of people in it, and you don’t have to creep around so carefully. A noise on the stairs or in the hall of a boarding house doesn’t mean much.

You go upstairs quickly and find a light in the hall. You put it out; not by pushing the button, but by unscrewing the globe a little. You are an expert; you don’t want any light; you don’t want anyone to get a look at you in a lighted hallway. You prefer darkened rooms, because in the dark you have the best of the situation.

You find his door; more luck, it’s not locked! You must be careful with this chap; he is a bad sleeper, thin, nervous, touchy, an incessant smoker and a heavy coffee drinker. You step into the room and close the door but don’t latch it. He is asleep, breathing, as you expected, very softly. His clothes are on a big rocker⁠—nothing in them but some silver and a watch. You take the silver, heft the watch and leave it; it’s not solid. You’re disappointed, the roll of bills should have been in his trousers’ pocket. You feel on the table by the head of his bed; it’s not there. On the dresser; not there. Oh, well, you’ll have to go under his pillow after it, that’s all. This operation calls for your best professional touch; your perfect technique is needed here; he’s a light sleeper.