1912. Smith had several careers: engineer, artist, illustrator and short story writer. His success in engineering included planning the foundations for the Statue of Liberty. He traveled frequently to Europe and became known for his portraits and illustration. Smith was an entertaining after-dinner storyteller and in his fifties he decided to commit his stories to paper and is remembered for his Colonel Carter novels. The book begins: Peter was still poring over his ledger one dark afternoon in December, his bald head glistening like a huge ostrich egg under the flare of the overhead gas jets, when Patrick, the night watchman, catching sight of my face peering through the outer grating, opened the door of the Bank. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.