The story
“’It was my good fortune to find Suburban Homes, the celebrated detective, in a talkative mood that day. He had just dined heartily on pickled pigs’ feet and cream puffs, and was very genial,’ said Dr. Wopson.
“’My dear Wopson,’ he said with a smile, ‘I was wondering if you would drop in. I have just completed a little case in which you might be interested. You will find the notes in my rubber boots. I call it ‘Lulu’s Lost Lotharios,’ and although simple, it has some interesting points. Lulu Leopold is the young woman’s name. She lives in the country, and appealed to me because it was beginning to look as though she could never get married. She is extremely attractive, and had had many suitors, but every time a man proposed he vanished within 24 hours.
“’I went down there, of course, and induced the young lady to conceal a small looking-glass in her front curls. That, my dear Wopson, as you undoubtedly perceive, was to make it possible for me to see her charming face and also what was going on behind me.’
“I murmured, ‘Marvelous!’ Suburban Homes smiled and replied, ‘Merely elementary.’ Then he went on: ‘To solve the matter, I naturally proposed to the young lady, and, as I expected, was kidnapped. My captor took me to an old abandoned jail, where, as I had expected, I found all the suitors. We were guarded by a giant Negro, armed with an equally giant razor. Of course, I overpowered him. How do you think I did it, my dear Wopson? I started a game of ‘craps.’ No darkey can ever resist it. I gave him loaded dice that always threw sevens, and while he was blissfully enjoying himself, we all went away. Elementary, my dear Wopson.’
“Suburban looked at me kindly and resumed. ‘We found our enemy at Miss Lulu’s house, gloating over the fact that he had disposed of me. Well, we tossed him in a blanket and sent him on his way. Then the girl had all her other suitors back. She could only marry one—a most distressing condition. She finally picked out me. You see my picture was in the frame marked ‘My Beloved,’ while all the others were in one big frame marked ‘Gone, but not forgotten.’ Whenever a suitor vanished she always changed the picture. I was the last one, so now she is going to marry me. By the way, who do you deduce the villain was?’
“I spoke up heartily and said I didn’t know. Suburban beamed at me, and replied: ‘I thought you would be unable to solve the mystery. It was the town constable, of course.’”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 13 November 1915
