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grief, while sitting in the cart waiting for the completion of the task which brought them there.
At length the little white stones stood in their places, showing, by the short distance between them, how brief was the passage from the cradle to the grave, of the being whose whole history, so far as concerned the world at large, was inscribed on these marble pages.
A parent's heart, however, bears a different record; and after Pat had adjusted the turf about the little grave, and given the finishing touches to his work, he stood and gazed for a moment upon the resting place of his child, thinking—of what? Perhaps of the contrast between the guilty living and the innocent dead. Perhaps a flash from conscience glanced across his mind. At least he exhibited some external signs of emotion, for as he turned away to join his unconcerned companions, he brushed away a tear, and with it, perhaps, the softening influences that were at work upon his heart.
The trio once more seated in the vehicle, Pat no longer refused the fluid consolation that his companions proffered him. They by turns levelled the jug at the heavens, taking observations with the mouth rather than with the eyes, and as the last member of this astronomical corps elevated the instrument, its near approach to the perpendicular showed that a vacuum was well nigh formed within its recesses. What discoveries they made, except "seeing stars" in general, I cannot say, for they immediately turned their course towards home.
This was the last that I saw of Pat that day, but the next time he started on his accustomed tramp, two days after, he had at least one attentive spectator of his rifle exercise; and although I failed on this occasion to discover the precise place of his deposits, owing to my fear of alarming him, the opinion was strengthened by what I saw, that they were still resting quietly within a thick piece of woods, embracing some three or four acres, where he spent several hours that day. During this time, I was not more than a quarter of a mile from him,yet not a single report of his gun did I hear. Presuming that he had seen me at a distance, I now and then let off a charge innocent of lead, and occasionally betrayed the dog into a tolerably ferocious bark, by making him "speak" for a small cigar case which, held at a respectful distance from the animal, might easily have been mistaken by him for a well-cooked morsel of meat. This stratagem I thought necessary to carry out the idea of a busy and enthusiastic huntsman. But this little essay at hunting yielded me no game of bipeds, feathered or otherwise.
Soon after this, a rumor that several of his neighbors were preparing for a removal to the West, led me to fear that Pat also might have similar intentions, and that on the occasion of his last visit to the woods, he might, after all, have withdrawn the deposits. It was therefore deemed unsafe to delay longer in bringing matters to a crisis. But the manner of doing this, and of conducting the arrest, so as to accumulate evidence of his guilt, and at the same time recover a part or the whole of the funds, was worthy of much caution and study. If I went with an officer directly to his house to make the arrest, he might be absent at the time, and, getting notice of our visit, effect his escape. His family or accomplices, if he had any, would of course be aware of our movements, and perhaps secure the spoils, unless they were secreted immediately upon the premises. Then I should be left with only the proof already mentioned: that he had had an opportunity of purloining the $2000 package, and had passed three bills supposed to have been contained therein; together with some other less important circumstances.
The only safe and discreet course seemed to be to secure him when alone, and by that means keep his family ignorant respecting his arrest, until every effort had been made to get possession of the money. Accordingly I procured the aid of an officer, and at an early hour in the morning, we took up our quarters in a private dwelling in the neighborhood, where wecould overlook Pat's house, and patiently waited for him to make his appearance.
It happened to be one of his lazy mornings, and he did not venture out until near ten o'clock, and then, very much to our disappointment, in company with another individual, unknown to either of us. A moment's consultation resulted in the decision to follow them at some distance, in the hope that they might separate, but with the determination not to lose sight of Pat again, and to take him into custody that day at all hazards. We had not gone far, however, before he looked over his shoulder, and although at least two squares from us, and a number of other persons were passing and repassing at the time, he no doubt recognised the officer, for after proceeding but a few steps further, he and his friend turned and came toward us.
Believing that we were discovered, and that Pat was making for the house to look after the safety of the treasures, a stratagem was hastily arranged to throw him off his guard, and at the same time to separate him from the stranger, who was so much in our way. It matters little what this scheme was, provided there were no actual misrepresentations involved. Suffice it to say, it was quite successful, and his companion resuming his walk towards Brooklyn City Hall, the rest of the party were soon on their way to New York.
At the ferry, and while waiting for the boat, Pat suddenly became quite restless, as if he had for the first time connected me with the scene in the post master's room. He walked back and forth upon the dock, and several times halted and leaned on the railing directly over the water, with one hand in his breeches' pocket, as if he contemplated throwing something overboard. But I remained closely at his side, wherever he went, and kept him engaged as much as possible, in remarks about the weather, the growth of Brooklyn, and other common-place matters.
We had soon crossed the ferry, and were seated in an omnibus, moving slowly (who ever went in any other way by thatconveyance?) up Broadway. Pat had by this time grown very taciturn, and no doubt began to suspect that his escort was not entirely prepared to fight for his personal liberty. In fact, he must have fully decided in his own mind that we were no very consistent friends of the "largest liberty," in his case at least, when one of us pulled the leather strap, to give the usual signal for a halt. This was just as we had reached the head of Cedar street, on which the post office is situated, and before we had arrived, by several blocks, at the place where he at first supposed he was going to call, for a much more agreeable purpose than that of being confronted with the charge of extensive mail robbery.
As he alighted from the "slow coach," he halted for a moment, as if inclined to have some better understanding before proceeding further, especially as we turned our faces in the direction of the post office. He possessed physical strength enough to have put an end to our troubling him any further, but Broadway at midday is no very favorable place for such an attempt; and besides, he no doubt hoped that all might yet come out right. After being told that he was wanted at the post office on some private business, he went there peaceably.
Once alone with him in a private room, the time had fully arrived for deciding—not as to his guilt, for of that I was fully satisfied—but what were the chances of proving it, and of inducing him to disgorge his plunder.
"Patrick," said I, "you are detected in your robberies of the night mails in this office, and the first question I wish you to answer is, can you restore the money, that it may be returned to those you have robbed."
He received the accusation with a look of surprise, but without any manifest trepidation.
"I am an honest man, thank God," he asseverated, "and I'll defy all ye can do to me; and it's nither ye nor the divil that can scare me, so it ain't," at the same time drawing himself up into an attitude of defiance.
"I don't wish to scare you, Pat," I remarked. "I amsorry on account of your family that you should have so abused your trust while employed in this office. But that is neither here nor there. I want you to hand over the seven or eight thousand dollars you have got so wrongfully. You passed some of the $2000, from the Middletown package, to Mr. G., for the grave-stones, you know, and I have the bills in my pocket."
"And it's trouble enough that I've had," he replied, "with the sickness of meself, and the death of little Pat, and now ye'd have me father all the thievish tricks of the whole office, would ye? Ye'll find, if ye look sharp, that it's another that's got the letters ye speak of; for sure haven't I seen him, while 'facing up,' throw something under the counter, among the waste paper, and then go looking there agin, after his task was done? And wasn't they large, thick parcels that he dumped under the table?"
I have never had a doubt that he was then describing the exact process by which he committed his own depredations.
"Very well," I answered, "you will soon see who is answerable;" and calling the officer, who had remained outside the door during the conversation, Pat was notified that his person must undergo a thorough search—and itwasthorough.
Among the contents of his wallet were some forty dollars that agreed very well with the description of the kind of money mailed at Joliet, and also the receipt for the aforesaid grave-stones. On examining his hat, which he had taken off on first entering the office, and placed at some distance, on the top of a secretary, there appeared, snugly stowed away under the leather lining, $165, all in fives of the Middletown Bank, with the well-known marks on each bill! But even this discovery produced but little impression on him; declaring, as he did very promptly, that he could show where he obtained that money; and no doubt he could!
Pat was left in charge of two suitable persons, and the remainder of the day was spent by the officer and myself in searching his house and premises for the balance of the missingfunds, which was done without giving any information to his wife of the real object of our examination, or the unpleasant situation of her husband. The woods were also thoroughly ransacked, though the chances appeared to be, that the booty had been removed to the house or vicinity, as he went directly from home that morning, having a part of the funds about his person, with the design, as it was afterwards ascertained, of purchasing tickets for himself and family, and several others, to Illinois.
But our researches were unavailing, and I returned to the post-office somewhat disappointed; for the proof was not yet sufficient to convict him, on account of the impossibility of identifying the bills with certainty, as I have already mentioned.
Before leaving, I had made known to him our intention to search his house, and when we returned, he for the first time showed signs of great uneasiness, and walked the room constantly, evidently anxious to know if his treasures had been discovered. His anxiety was natural enough, for it turned out that the whole of the money was secreted in the house, and that at one time during the search, I was separated from its hiding place, only by a half-inch board!
But Pat remained immovable, so far as any confessions were concerned; and it was thought advisable, at this juncture, to call into requisition the influence of the person at whose urgent solicitation Pat had obtained his situation in the post-office. An interview between them was speedily arranged, but the accused, for a while, still continued stoutly to deny his guilt. Subsequently, however, he inquired of the post master whether, in case he produced the money, he would have his liberty. The post master assented, so far as to promise no prosecution onhispart, and Pat finally agreed to go with us on the following morning, and point out the place of deposit, but insisted that H., his friend and patron, (just referred to,) should be of the party.
Fully impressed with the importance of securing Pat as wellas the property of his victims, I now obtained a warrant, which was at once placed in the hands of one of the U. S. Deputy Marshals, who agreed to be in the immediate vicinity of the mail robber's residence, but to delay the arrest till he received a signal from me that all was ready, and after the funds were fairly in our possession.
Accordingly, a hack was ordered to be at the post office at an early hour the next morning, and we (the post master, myself. Pat, and H.) were soon crossing the ferry to South Brooklyn. Ten minutes' ride brought us in front of Pat's house, where we all alighted. Here matters took a turn wholly unexpected to me, for Pat insisted that no one but his friend, H., and himself, should go for the money, which he said was buried in the yard behind the house. To this I objected, but Pat stood firm, remarking, that it would attract too much attention if all hands went, and that if his request could not be granted, he should make no further disclosures, and we might as well go back to New York.
The post master and myself having at that time confidence in H., I took him aside and told him Pat must not be allowed to escape, on any account, and that if he went alone with him, he must promise to be responsible for his safe and speedy return with the money, to all of which, H. readily assented, claiming to have complete control over his man, and promising to have him back in a few moments. With this understanding they both passed round the house, and I started to give the Marshal the signal that the time for his services had arrived.
Not more than three minutes had elapsed before I returned in company with that officer, and H. was seen coming towards us, with a small box under his arm, butalone.
"Where is R.?" I inquired.
"He went into the house, through the back yard," was the response.
Taking the box from H., and handing it over to the post master, to be taken to the carriage, we at once passed into thehouse, but no Pat could be found. On applying to H., to know what this meant, he explained by saying, that as soon as the box was handed to him, Pat hopped over the fence into his back yard, and entered the house.
After some further search, he could not be found there, and H. proposed that we should not then appear too anxious to secure him; repeatedly promising to have him forthcoming at any moment, after the excitement had passed by a little. Returning to the carriage, we started for New York, counting the funds as we rode, which amounted to $4473. Much of it was in the original parcels of bank-notes, of one hundred and two hundred dollars each, enclosed in the usual straps of paper, with the amount of each package marked thereon, in the figures of the cashiers and others, which greatly assisted afterwards in the identification.
The author of all this mischief managed to elude the most secretly and cautiously executed plans for his arrest. It was, however, pretty well ascertained that he occasionally visited his home during the night season, and one night he was discovered at a late hour, by a local policeman (who had been employed to watch for him,) emerging from the front door of his house. They saw each other at about the same instant, and the policeman made an effort to seize him; but Pat was well armed, and was in the act of pointing a gun at the officer, when the latter, knocking it aside, presented a revolver and snapped it, the cap, luckily for the miserable fugitive from justice, only exploding.
The noise had attracted the attention of two of his friends, who it appears were just leaving the premises, and who were also well armed, and in the confusion which ensued, aided by the darkness of the night, Pat managed to get clear again.
The next attempt to arrest him was undertaken in consequence of private information that his family, together with a brother and other relatives, had purchased tickets for the West. The buying of an extra ticket more than was required for the party entering their names, authorized the belief that it wasobtained for Pat himself, who would probably join them at some point on the route. They were to leave on a certain evening, by one of the Albany boats, which usually made no landing between the two cities. On this occasion authority was obtained for the boat to touch at Poughkeepsie, to receive on board the Special Agent and two United States Marshals. With this sleepless corps of officials there was no lack of handcuffs, revolvers, &c., nor of firm resolves to take the culprit at all hazards, if he was on the boat, and to arrest his wife and one or two others, believed to have been his accessories after, if not before, the fact.
The night being still and cloudless, at about midnight the well-known sound of a steamer's paddles was heard, and soon the huge form of the "Hendrick Hudson" was seen looming up in the distance, her numerous signal and other lights, as she changed her position from time to time, appearing like some brilliant constellation, and making a most beautiful display.
As she approached, for a time there appeared no perceptible change in her course, but when nearly opposite the landing, she suddenly veered toward us, and in a moment her guards were chafing against the ends of the pier; and without waiting for the gang-plank, we were on board before the wheels had fairly ceased their motion. The engineer's bell sounded the signal for going ahead; and we about the same time commenced our search through the floating palace.
As we progressed through the spacious cabins, a chorus of discordant sounds saluted us from their sleeping occupants.
It is curious, by the way, to see how the levelling influence of sleep shows itself in establishing a sort of equality between different individuals, in respect of the noise they make in the world. Your modest man, who, in his waking moments, avoids all display of his vocal or other powers, no sooner comes under the influence of the drowsy god, than his modesty deserts him; he blows his trumpet with as much sonorousness as the most impudent of mankind. The most retiring person Iever knew, was remarkable for being outrageously vociferous in his slumbers.
The redoubtable Pat, however, was guiltless of contributing to the volume of sound aforesaid; nor was his physiognomy discoverable among the sleeping or waking occupants of the cabins, so far as we could see. And as for any discoveries we made that night, or any good that our trusty arms did us, we might as well have been encircled in the "arms of Morpheus." At one time, however, we thought our night's work would prove a successful one, for on hastily consulting the clerk as we boarded the steamer, he informed us that a man answering tolerably well the description of the object of our search, had paid his fare to Albany, and was snugly stowed away in berth No. 54, in the forward cabin.
The revolvers and "ornaments" were hastily examined, and the plan adopted of delegating one of the trio to proceed quietly to No. 54, and, under the pretence that its occupant was in possession of the wrong berth, to ascertain, first, if he was really the veritable Pat.
As I was the only one who could readily identify him, this duty fell upon me; and leaving my fearless associates at the top of the stairs, with instructions to rush to my aid, in case I took off my hat, with almost breathless anxiety I made a descent into the cabin, and in a few seconds stood in front of the berth designated by the clerk.
"Hallo, stranger," I called out, at the same time gently shaking him, "haven't you got the wrong pew?"
An inhuman sort of a grunt was all the reply I could at first obtain, but after repeating the inquiry, and increasing the force of the punch, he leisurely turned over.
"And what the d—l do you want?" says the lodger, "bothering a gentleman in this way? Is it my pocket-book, or my boots, you're after?"
It wasn't Pat's voice at all, nor was it his face, which I at that moment got a glimpse of, by the aid of a lantern in the hands of one of the servants who was passing. As I saw preparationsmaking for "turning out," and was satisfied that I had waked up the wrong passenger, I thought it prudent to withdraw before matters progressed further in that direction.
None of the suspected party were on board on that occasion.
The telegraph was resorted to after our arrival in Albany, and word transmitted to us in that way, that the party we were in search of would certainly go up the river by the boat on the following night.
The next morning we were at the wharf, and by an arrangement with the officers of the boat, we were enabled to see every person who went ashore, as they passed through a half-opened door at the after-gangway, in giving up the passage tickets. The net was well spread this time, and though we did not pick Pat up, we secured the whole party of his traveling friends, including his wife and two children. The Marshal took them in charge, and without much ceremony or explanation, conducted them to a hack which had been provided for their special accommodation. They were very soon after escorted to the police station, and a subsequent examination of their persons and effects afforded no additional light, except that among the baggage of Mrs. R. was found a lot of scrap gold, which a dentist of Philadelphia mailed to a New York firm, and which had never reached that firm. On the strength of this discovery, she was afterwards indicted as an accomplice of her husband, and committed to Brooklyn jail, where she remained for several months, her two children staying with her, at her own request.
Although she undoubtedly knew the precise locality of her "liege lord," and probably could have procured her own liberty by making it known, yet she remained firm, and to the last steadily refused to give the least information, insisting, moreover, that she was ignorant of the post office depredations at the time they were going on, and that the stolen property found in her possession was placed in one of the trunks without her knowledge. Possibly it was so, as some of Pat's wearing apparel was found there also.
The remainder of the party, three in number, were detained at Albany. It was deemed necessary that they should remain there a while, but the Chief of Police was instructed not to treat them strictly as prisoners, but to allow them to lodge at the station; and an arrangement was made for them to eat at a neighboring restaurant, at the expense of Government.
The proprietor of the aforesaid restaurant finding, however, that they were disposed to abuse that privilege, by imbibing too freely, and selecting from the bill of fare whatever was choice and expensive—and especially as the contract for this portion of his customers was not very clearly defined—took the precaution to erase from one copy of the bill of fare all articles of a rare and expensive kind, which corrected list, by the third day, embraced but one or two plain dishes. This brief programme was sure to be thrust before them as often as they called for anything to eat, though a verbal announcement of "coffee" was added at the regular morning and evening repast. Having also some faint recollection of the discussions in the public papers about reforms in the Navy, and dispensing with the "grog rations," he compromised the matter on that head, by allowing the men "two drinks" a day, and no more; that being, in his estimation, a proper Government allowance.
As sufficient legal evidence could not be procured, to show that they really aided and abetted in the robberies, they were notified that their bills would no longer be paid by the Post Office Department; and declining to continue their journey to the West, tickets were furnished them to return to New York.
Soon after their arrival in the city, they fell in with a tolerably smart specimen of a lawyer, whose indignation at the unheard-of proceedings against them, of course had nothing to do with so mercenary a motive as that of getting a fee out of them; and by his advice a suit was promptly brought against the Special Agent and the two Deputy Marshals, for false imprisonment!
The cause was "set down" for trial in the Marine Court, and came off in the course of a week or two. A waggishspectator remarked that he could not see why it was brought in the Marine Court, unless it was because the complainants were "half seas over" when stopped at Albany.
A very brief synopsis of this trial will, I think, prove worth a perusal.
On the part of the prosecution, the complainants themselves were the witnesses—all three of them genuine sons of the Emerald Isle.
Separate trials were asked and granted, and that of the Special Agent was first taken up.
Michael D. was duly sworn, but instead of mounting the witness's stand, with one bound and a broad grin, he was inside the Judge's desk, and seated in the chair usually occupied by one of the Associate Judges! A burst of laughter followed, in which his Honor, as well as the spectators, joined. The officer in attendance on the Court was quickly alongside of Mike, and with considerable difficulty removed him to the witness' stand. Here he fixed his eyes intently on me, perhaps to keep watch, lest I should attempt to run away, considering me his prisoner at last, and evidently chuckling within himself at the thought that the time had now come to put me on as limited allowance, so far as variety went, as he had been restricted to while in Albany.
Order being now restored, the counsel commenced interrogating the witness.
"Michael, were you on your way to Illinois, from this city, on the 20th instant?"
Witness.—"Was I in Illinoi? and sure I niver was in me life; and if that spalpeen of an Agint beside ye says I was, he lies, bedad he does!"
Notwithstanding the loud calls of "stop, stop," by his lawyer, he went through with the sentence, and stood, a thumb in each arm-hole of his vest, looking defiantly at me, and apparently ready for the next question.
The Court.—"Now, Michael, you must not be in such a hurry. Try and understand what is said to you thoroughly,before answering. I shall not permit any indulgence in the use of harsh names to any of the Government officers, or to any one else in Court."
Witness.—"And didn't they stop me, and trate me the same as a male thafe, your Honor?"
The Court.—"Well, that's what we want to find out; but you must not talk, only when you are questioned; remember that."
Counsel.—"I will put the inquiry in another shape. Were you a passenger on board the steamboat for Albany, on any night during the present month?"
Mike remained speechless for a moment, staring at the Judge in the most penetrating manner. That functionary finally broke the silence.
"Well, why don't you answer?"
Witness.—"And sure, your Honor, didn't you just tell me to remain spacheless when questioned?"
Court.—"Onlywhen questioned, I said."
Witness(to the counsel).—"Iwason the stameboat, and the Agint there knows it, so he does; and them other big feeling chaps there (pointing to the Deputy Marshals) knows it too. And I'd like to see 'em try to delay me in that way agin," at the same time looking fists, if not daggers, at those innocent officials.
Here the patience of the Court, as well as the counsel, became well nigh exhausted, and it was suggested that Michael should stand aside for the present, as the same facts could be proved by another and more intelligent witness.
The new witness went on to describe the affair from the commencement, including the detention at Albany. The cross-examination, however, showed that so far as any "imprisonment" was concerned, it was literally "false."
It was shown that all had the "freedom of the city," while in Albany, having frequently visited some "distant" connections—distantabout two miles from the police station—and had been well boarded, away from the station, at the publicexpense. That in fact they could have gone anywhere they chose, a few hours after their arrival in Albany, or on any succeeding day.
After listening to the circumstances, and the motives which led to the detention of these men, and to the testimony of one of the police officers at Albany, in relation to their treatment while there, the Judge summarily dismissed the case, remarking that, in the first place no "imprisonment" had been proven, and that, even if it had, he should probably have sustained the officers in the discharge of what they considered their duty, in endeavoring to ferret out and punish the authors of important crimes against the laws of the land.
The trial I have just described was but one of many incidental occurrences which took place in the course of the attempts made to arrest Pat R.; occurrences, both tragical and comical, which would here find a place, did not the limited space render that impossible.
In closing the history of this case, it will be sufficient to say that, in the course of our investigations, the innocence of many suspected persons was established; restitution made to the sufferers by Pat's villany, so far as their losses could be satisfactorily traced to him; and the Post-Office Department were rid of one of the most daring and unscrupulous mail robbers that ever disgraced the service. He is not even now as secure in his hiding place as he perhaps imagines himself to be.
If there are those (as there is reason to suspect) who shared with him in such of the spoils as were not recovered, they also, even if they escape the punishment which they merit from their fellow men, will not always elude the pursuit of conscience, nor avoid the retribution which she will most surely inflict upon them.
An infected District—A "fast" Route Agent—Heavy Bank Losses—Amateur Experiments—Dangerous Interference—A Moral Lecture—The Process discovered—An unwelcome Stranger—Midnight Watching—Monopoly of a Car—Detected in the Act—The Robber searched—His Committal—A supposed Accomplice—The Case explained—Honesty again triumphant—Drafts and Letters—A long Sentence—Public Sympathy—A Christian Wife—Prison Scenes—Faithful to the last—An interesting Letter.
Theliterary reputation of one of the oldest and most celebrated seats of learning in New England, was once temporarily overshadowed by the "bad eminence" that it attained in the eyes of all within a distance of fifty miles in every direction, who attempted to transmit valuable matter through the mails. The period during which this state of things existed, was in the months of January and February, 1854. Throughout those months a fatality attended all money-letters designed to pass through the place referred to; the like of which has seldom been known in the history of the Post-Office.
As well might one have attempted to send a valuable letter across the Maelstrom, as to get it safely past the fatal point. This point was like the lion's cave in the fable,intowhich many tracks entered, butfromwhich none were seen to return. And the lion, whoever he was, had an insatiable and indiscriminating appetite, for he consumed the supplies coming from three or four neighboring counties in the State, and like a feline Oliver Twist, continually "asked for more."
The effects of these numerous losses, of course, were notconfined to the vicinities of the sufferers, but were felt in remote portions of the country.
But the loss of money and the consequent inconvenience, were not the only results following this wholesale robbery. Perhaps no series of mail depredations ever spread so widely the cloud of suspicion over those connected with the mail service. All the route agents, post masters, post-office clerks, and mail messengers, whose spheres of duty lay within the infected district; all these officials felt the severity of the test of character, which existing circumstances applied. Such a state of things as that which we are describing, often serves as a thunder-shower, to clear the moral atmosphere. Half-formed purposes of roguery are, for the present at least, laid by; those already guilty of peculation on a small scale cease from their operations; all wait in breathless suspense for thedenouementof the drama; and when the bolt falls, and the offender is smitten down, they breathe more freely; and such a catastrophe is not unfrequently the turning point in the life of some young man, who has hitherto been vacillating between good and evil.
The arrest and punishment of another inspires him with salutary fear of similar results in his own case, should he venture upon a like course.
And the effect of such occurrences upon those who have never turned aside from the path of rectitude, is no less decided.
These are the times that "try men's souls." It is a hard thing for one to bear up for weeks and months under a load of suspicion, though conscious of innocence; but this is a still harder task, if he has nothing between the eyes of the public and his inward rottenness but the thin shell of a decent and false reputation. No man can know to its full extent the value of a good character, until he has been through some "fiery trial," in which nothing but such a power could have saved him from ruin.
Yet those who at the time of which I speak, were most firmin conscious integrity, did not escape the stings of annoying suspicions, and significant insinuations.
"Could it be a certain Route Agent?" confidentially asked an officious individual, perhaps quite too willing to start such a suspicion, the aforesaid Agent having, in pursuance of general instructions, denied him the privilege of the mail car. "I saw him," continued our virtuous friend, "sporting a fine turn-out only last Sunday, and they do say that he is ratherfastfor a young man on so small a salary. It wouldn't surprise me much if they should find that the trouble is there."
Unfortunately for this theory, so well founded on the basis of a Sunday "turn out" and a "they say," the "fast" young man could not have had access to one in a dozen of the lost packages.
This is a specimen of the endless surmises and conjectures that were thrown out in the progress of the affair, much to the annoyance of numerous post masters' clerks, and other officials, whose honesty, aided by the strenuous efforts of the Special Agent to arrive at the truth, carried them through the ordeal triumphantly; and left their accusers, particularly the man who couldn't ride in the mail car, rather "chop-fallen," and possibly not a little disappointed.
The banks within the infected district, suffered in the loss of drafts, &c., to the amount of at least two hundred thousand dollars, while scarcely a business man in either of the two or three cities within range of the prevailing disorder, escaped the vexatious and often injurious consequences of the depredations then going on, for the robber did not stop to select his booty. Indeed, he could not have done so, had he wished it, as the reader will hereafter see.
An investigation of the case was ordered by the Department, and carried on with as much energy as prudence would permit; yet in the midst of it the robberies continued unchecked. Hereupon some of the bank officers grew very impatient, as the victims of depredations are apt to do, if theyare not made acquainted with every step that is taken in the delicate process of narrowing down the investigation.
When I had been on the trail for nearly a week, one of those gentlemen—an excellent financier, but by no means profoundly versed in the mysteries of human nature—in his imprudent zeal to find outsomething, took matters into his own hands, and came near spoiling all by alarming the robber, without detecting him. He prepared a sort of decoy letter, as he called it, well filled with pieces of tissue paper, about the size of bank-notes, and this tempting package he addressed to a cashier to whom several of the missing letters had been directed. This fell into the hands of the robber, but the experiment was rendered harmless by the fact stated by himself after his arrest, that he never stopped to read or examine any letters, except to ascertain whether they contained money. It will never be known, probably, how much good advice the criminal lost, when he committed thistissueof deception to the flames, for the worthy cashier, in his well-meant zeal, supplied the place of bank-notes in the decoy package with what he doubtless considered of more value, namely, a moral lecture to the delinquent, displaying in vivid colors the folly and wickedness of his course, and closing with the warning that if he tookthatletter, he would surely be detected!
The ingenuity and shrewdness of this device cannot be too much admired. The threat contained in the letter was so well calculated to throw the culprit off his guard, that if he had read it, he would no doubt have fallen an easy prey to such cunning machinations! It was of course expected by the deviser of this scheme that the package would be preserved by the person who stole it, in order to afford the necessary evidence of crime! The pieces of tissue paper could easily have been identified, and he would naturally preserve the accompanying document with as much care as Job was ready to show to the "book" which he wished his adversary to write!
Such interference as this, with an important investigation, is never warranted by any considerations whatever. The commanderof an army who has laid all his plans for surprising an enemy, would feel under very slight obligations to any officious friend, who, in his impatience and ignorance of the course intended, should alarm the foe by some hasty and ill-advised attack.
Thus is it in the investigations to which we refer. Secrecy is all-important to the successful issue of the plans that may be devised; and volunteer services, especially from persons destitute of experience, are quite as likely to aid the criminal as to assist those who are endeavoring to detect him.
This digression has been made principally for the sake of protesting against such interference as that above mentioned, and of inducing others to abstain from similar unwarrantable experiments.
Notwithstanding the uneasiness of our amateur detective officer, and the remarkable skill displayed by him (as he supposed) in that capacity, considerable progress had already been made by means much safer than those which he adopted, if not more ingenious.
There were but few points to which suspicion could be reasonably directed, as there were but few places where the stolen packages would have centered. Each of these points was closely watched. A section of rail road, some thirty-five miles in length, over which most of the robbed mails must have passed, seemed, for a time, to satisfy the conditions of the problem to be solved, but this hypothesis was overturned by the fact that on one and the same night, packages were taken from mails which had passed each other on this road, in opposite trains, on separate tracks, and at a high rate of speed.
The mail messengers employed to convey the mails to and from the several railroad depots at central points, were carefully looked after, but all appeared right among them. And as for the post-offices, there were not more than two out of all affected by the numerous losses, through which half a dozen of the lost letters would have passed.
There was however, one man who had not thus far beenincluded in the investigation, chiefly because in the discharge of his ordinary duties as baggage-master, at a central station or junction where mail carriers were provided by the rail road companies, he was not supposed to have even a temporary charge of any of the mails. But while watching one of the mail carriers on a certain evening, as he was conveying a number of mails from a city post-office to the cars, the Agent observed him placing them in charge of the aforesaid baggage-master, prior to the arrival of the train by which they were to be forwarded.
After they had thus been committed to his custody, he was seen to throw them carelessly into his baggage room, and enter the room, closing the door behind him. After a lapse of several minutes, he came out, piled the bags upon a barrow or baggage truck, and wheeled them to a point upon the platform, opposite which the approaching train was to stop. The unnecessary operation of placing the bags in the room, when the train was nearly or quite due, was a very suspicious circumstance, especially when taken in connection with the other movements of the baggage-master, and by means of the telegraph the post master of a neighboring city was requested to be present at the opening of that mail, to see whether certain letter packages arrived which were known to have been in the through mail pouch for his office that evening. The reply was, "opened mail myself, no letters for this delivery."
An hour and a half had now passed since the train had left, and if the mails had been rifled in the baggage room, sufficient time had been afforded the robber to have concealed or destroyed all the direct proof of his guilt upon this occasion. Hence no open action was then taken in view of the discoveries made. Besides, there was too much at stake to warrant the incurring of any risk on the strength of these facts.
The following evening the movements of the suspected person were again watched, the Agent having a better knowledge respecting the exact nature and value of a portion of thecontents of the mail bags which were to be forwarded at that time.
Upon this occasion, the train was "on time," and the carrier a little later than usual, so the mails were placed directly upon the barrow, and wheeled by the baggage-master to an obscure part of the depot, more remote from observation, and less in the way of passers, than that where they were carried the previous night. After remaining there a short time, he rolled the truck and its valuable load back to the usual spot, in readiness for the train.
This strange manœuvre indicated still another and a bolder operation, but the probabilities were that he had been foiled in any attempt he might have designed to make, by a person whom I saw following him into his dark retreat to make application for baggage, as I supposed, for they both entered the baggage room, and soon came out, the stranger with a valise in his hand. Thiscontre-tempsexcited in my mind no very amiable feelings toward its innocent cause, for I had concluded to bring the affair to a crisis at once, should the telegraph report anything missing from the mails. But the dispatch received that evening was, "All right," which confirmed my belief that my plans and those of the baggage-master had been frustrated by the stranger.
Another train from the opposite direction, and bringing mails for delivery at this point, were due at a later hour, and as there had also been losses from those mails, I decided to wait and see what usage they received on their arrival, which, owing to heavy snow-drifts somewhere on the road, was delayed till near midnight.
When the train came in and the baggage was disposed of, the mails were all carried to the baggage room instead of to the post-office, and, after putting out the gas-lights about the depot, the faithful baggage-master returned to his apartment.
Through a small swinging window designed for ventilation, opening into this room near the top, I could see a faint light, and from its unsteady motions, which showed that the lampfrom which it proceeded was in the hand of some one moving it in various directions, I concluded that the occupant of the room was rifling the mails.
This was an exciting moment. My first impulse was to proceed at once to the door, demand admittance, and charge him on the spot with the crime of which I suspected him. But a slight distrust of my physical ability to cope with him single-handed in case of resistance, which would almost certainly follow if my suspicions were correct; and the lateness of the hour, rendering it improbable that I could obtain aid should it be necessary; these considerations prevented me from carrying out my first intention, and when the unconscious object of my scrutiny put out his light and left the depot, I went in an opposite direction to my quarters, determined, however, to give him but one more chance to continue his depredations.
The next night he robbed his last mail bag.
Obtaining a private interview with the Superintendent of the rail road, I for the first time laid the facts before him, for the purpose of securing some assistance in the prosecution of my plans which he only could render. I wished to provide a place of concealment in that retired part of the depot where the mails had been taken on the preceding evening; and as empty cars were frequently left standing over night upon some of the unoccupied tracks, it was arranged to leave a car near the place mentioned, for my exclusive occupancy. From the "loop-hole" of this "retreat" I could determine with some accuracy the nature of such mysterious movements as I had before witnessed in that vicinity.
Lest the baggage room should be chosen this time as the scene of operation, and thus my plans be defeated, a discreet friend was stationed near that point about the time that the mails were brought over from the office, in order to "head off" the suspected functionary.
For the purpose of allowing as much time as possible, the conductor of the train, which was to take that mail, had been telegraphed to "come in a little behind time."
Certain money packages had been prepared, and everything being in readiness, I took my post of observation in the empty car just before the mails came from the post-office.
I had not long been stationed, when I heard the familiar rumbling sound of the baggage truck, and in a moment more the baggage-master appeared, trundling along his load of mails, and coming to a halt upon the platform, within fifteen feet of my watchful eye.
That eye saw rapid work for a few moments! Hasty passes of the right hand between the mouth of one of the mail bags (as it appeared in the dim light to be) and the capacious pockets of a sack over-coat, showed clearly for what purpose the mails had been thus taken out of the way, and the well-known click of a mail-lock informed me that the operation was concluded, and that the moment had arrived for action on my part.
I think a rail road car was never emptied of its contents in a much less time than on the present occasion. And my very informal introduction to the wholesale dealer in goods in the "original packages," was about as sudden. In fact, he had hardly set down the barrow, after removing it a few rods to its usual position, before I was addressing him.
In the midst of the rifling process just described, I had seen him open the door of a small apartment near him, a light shining out for a moment while the door was open. And it occurred to me that an accomplice might be secreted there for the purpose of receiving the stolen property. Accordingly I remarked that I would like to have him accompany me for a moment into this room on private business, to which he readily assented, neither knowing me, nor having any suspicion of the nature of my "business," for otherwise he might not have so cheerfully complied with my request.
On opening the door I discovered a person within, who appeared to be wholly unoccupied, except in smoking a cigar. Thinking it probable that he was in some way connected with the robberies, I considered it prudent to obtain assistance before