Billy, the Detective (1912)

Anxious to be a detective Billy buys a “how to” book and thinks he’s stumbled on a case when he finds the diary belonging to Dora Burns. Seeing an entry about buying a revolver and a hatchet for killing Edward, Billy shadows Dora to her home. She discovers him and forcibly convinces him that he should skidoo. Billy runs to get the police, but when they arrive, finding blood spots on her apron Dora takes the police to the kitchen and shows them a bleeding rooster. Billy's career as a detective ends at once.