Footner, Hulbert: A Self-Made Thief. v1. 3 Mar 2013|
 

Hulbert Footner (1879-1944) was a Canadian writer of non-fiction and detective fiction. He was born William Hulbert Footner in Hamilton, Ontario, and traveled to New York in 1898. In the United States, he attempted an acting career, which he eventually gave up on. His first published works were travelogues of canoe trips on the Hudson River, as well as in the Northwest Territory along the Peace River, Hay River and Fraser River. He also wrote a series of northwest adventures during the period 1911 through 1920, including The Sealed Valley (1914) and The Fur Bringers (1920).

Excerpt
In the little card-room upstairs at the staid old Chronos Club on Gramercy Park a heated argument was going on. It was late on a night something like two years ago, and a long succession of refreshments from the bar downstairs was, without doubt, contributing to the heat. Heberdon, Spurway, Hanwell and Nedham, excellent fellows all, and good friends, had become involved in a discussion which had nothing to do with the game of bridge, and the cards were now lying unheeded on the table, while the players scowled and shook their fingers at each other, and otherwise went through the absurd pantomime of gentlemen annoyed with each other.