THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 ALLAN PINKERTON'S 
 
 GREAT DETECTIVE BOOKS 
 
 1. MOLLIE MAGUIRES AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 2. STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS, AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 3. CRIMINAL REMINISCENCES AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 4. THE MODEL TOWN AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 5. SPIRITUALISTS AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 6 EXPRESSMEN AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 7. THE SOMNAMBULIST AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 8. CLAUDE MKLNOTTE AS A DETECTIVE. 
 
 9. MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS AND DETECTIVES. 
 10. GYPSIES AND DETECTIVES. 
 11. BUC1IOLZ AND DETECTIVES. 
 12. THE RAILROAD FORGER AND DETECTIVES. 
 18. BANK ROBBERS AND DETECTIVES. 
 14. BURGLAR'S FATE AND DETECTIVES. 
 15. A DOUBLE LIFE AND DETECTIVES. 
 
 These wonderful Detective Stories by Allan Pinkcrton are 
 
 having an unprecedented success. Their s:ii<; far 
 
 exceeding one hundred tho;i.-amt copies. " The 
 
 interest which the reader feels from the outset 
 
 is intense and resistless ; he is swept along 
 
 by the narrative, held by it. whether 
 
 he will or no." 
 
 All beautifully illustrated, and published uniform wilh this 
 
 volume. Price $\.~,0 each. Sold by all booksellers, and 
 
 eeutj'rt<! by mail, on receipt of price, by 
 
 G. W. CAliLETON & CO., Publishers, 
 New York.
 
 MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS 
 
 AND THE 
 
 DETECTIVES. 
 
 DON PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES. 
 
 POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALLAN PINKtfRTON, 
 
 AUTHOR OP 
 
 'THE EXPRESSMAN AND THE DETECTIVE," "THE MODEL TOWS 
 
 AND THE DETECTIVES," "THE SPIRITUALISTS AND THE 
 
 DETECTIVES," "THE MOLL1E MAGUIKES AND THE 
 
 DETECTIVES," "STRIKERS, COMMUNISTS, 
 
 TRAMPS AND DETECTIVES," 
 
 ETC., ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 G. IV. Billing ham\ Publisher, 
 
 SUCCESSOR TO G. W. CARLETON & Co. 
 
 LONDON : S. LOW, SON & CO. 
 MDCCCLXXXVIl.
 
 COPYRIGHT 
 
 BY 
 
 ALLAN PINKERTON, 
 
 1879. 
 
 SAMUEL STODDEB, Tno\r 
 
 STKKKOTYPKIS, PlUNTING AND I!(K)K lifNni.N'G CO. 
 
 90 ANN STREET, N. "V. >;. y.
 
 College 
 Library 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS AND THE DETECTtYES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. FAOI 
 
 A daring Express Robbery. Mr. Pinkerton appealed to. Cane-brakes and 
 
 cane-fed People. Annoying delays and Amateur Detective* 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Difficulties. Blind Trails and False Scents. A Series of Illustrations show- 
 ing the Number of Officious People and Confidence Men that often seek 
 
 Notoriety and Profit througk important Detective Operations 21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 M Old Hicks," a drunken Planter, is entertained by a Hunting-Party. Les- 
 ter's Landing. Its Grocery-Store and Mysterious Merchants. -A danger- 
 ous Situation. The unfortunate Escape of Two of the Robbers 32 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Captured Ruffians are desired for Guides, but dare not join in the 
 h for the Outlaws. One of the Robbers is Taken, but subsequently 
 
 K -d from the Amateur Detectives. Another Clue suddenly fails 44 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Rich Lead Struck at Last 50 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Mother of the Farringtona, bi-ing arrested, boasts that her Sons "Will 
 never be taken Alive." Another Unfortunate Blunder by Amateur De- 
 tectivee. An interesting Fate intended for the l> 
 
 Pinkerton captures the Murderer of a Negro in Union City, proving "a 
 very good Fellow for a Yankee." 56 
 
 CIIAP/TER VH. 
 
 The Scene of Action transferred to Missouri. The Chase becoming Hot 68 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A determined Party of Horsemen. The Outlaws surrounded and the Birds 
 caged. A Parley. The burning Cabin. Its Occupants finally surrender. 80 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Barton's Confession. The Express liohberies, and the Outlaw's subsequent 
 ieiuvx fully set forth therein. A Clue that had been suddenly 
 
 dropped taken up with so much Profit 91 
 
 CIIAI'TKU X. 
 
 A terrible Stru^c for Life or Deatli upon the Transfer-boat "Illinois." 
 " Overboard!" One less Desperado. Fourth and Last Robber taken. . . 101 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 in the Drama approaching. A new Character appears. The 
 Citi/.ensof Union City sudde > have important business on 
 baud. The Vigilantes and their Work. The End 114 
 
 DON PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES. 
 
 CIIAI'TKU I. 
 
 A fraudulent Scheme contemplated. A dashing Peruvian Don and Donna. 
 Mr. i'inkei-ton engaged by Senator Muirhead to uuvail 
 the mystery of his Life 125 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Madnnie Sevier. Widow, of Chicago, and Monsieur Lesparre, of Bordeaux, 
 Mr. Pinkerton, as a Laborer, anxious for a Job, 
 oriu Mansion 148 
 
 1116241
 
 Vi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER ITT. TAGH 
 
 Monsieur Le.=parre, having a lu'enJivn memory, becomes Fervid-able to Don 
 Pedro. Diamond fields and droll An n an 
 unfortunate Predicament. The grand Hcfeption clo-r- with a happy 
 Arrangement that the gay Sefior and Scuora shall dine with Mr. Pinker- 
 ton's Detectives on the n 158 
 
 < 'HAITI-IK IV. 
 
 Madame Sevier and Her Work. Unaccountable Coquettlshnesa between 
 Man and Wife. A Startling Scheme. Illustrating the Rashness of 
 
 American Business Men aud the Supreme Assurance of Don Pedro 170 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The third Detective is made welcome at Dun Pedro's. The Sefior is paid the 
 first half-million dollars from the great Diamond Company. How Don 
 
 Pedro is "working " his diamond mines 18$ 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 An unexpected Meeting and a startling Recognition. An old friend some- 
 what disturbs the Equanimity of Don Pedro. The Detectives fix their 
 
 Attention upon Pietro Bernard! 005 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Pietro Bernard! and the Detective become warm Friends. A TSte-a-tete 
 
 worth one thousand dollars 219 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Don Pedro anxious for Pietro Bernardi's absence. " Coppering the Jack 
 and playing the Ace and Queen open." Bernard! Quieted, and he subse- 
 quently departs richer by five thousand dollars 238 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Important Info-mation from the Peruvian Government. Arrival In (: ' 
 
 of the Peruvian Minister and Consul. In Consultation." Robbing I'< IIT 
 to pay Paul. "Mr. Pinkerton's Card Is presented. Jnan Sanchez, I arrest 
 
 you, and yon are my Prisoner. Mr. Pinkerton not " For Sale." 249 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Fete Champetre. A grand Carnival. The disappointed married Lover. 
 A vain Request. Unmasked ! An indignant Deacon. Don Pedro taken 
 to Pern in a man-of-war, where he is convicted and sentenced to fifteen 
 years Imprisonment 265 
 
 THE POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Mr. Pinkerton at a Water-cure becomes interested in a Conple, one of whom 
 subsequently causes the Detective Operation from which this Story is 
 written. A wealthy ship-owner and his son. The son " l-'ound dead." 
 
 Mr. Pinkerton secured to solve the Mystery. Chicago after the Fire 288 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Detectives at work. Mrs. Sanford described. Charlie, the Policeman. 
 Mrs. Sanford develops Interest in Government Bonds. Chicago Relief 
 and Aid Benefits. Mrs. Sanford's Story of Trafton's Death 298 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The dangerous Side of the Woman's Character. Robert A. Pinkerton as 
 
 Adamson. the drunken, but wealthy Stranger, has a violent Struggle to 
 escape from Mrs. Sanford. and is afterwards robbed. Detective lugham 
 
 arrested, but very shortly liberated 319 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Connecting Links. Mrs. Sanford's Ability as an Imitator of Actors. One 
 Detective tears himself away from her, and another takes his Place. 
 Mrs. Sanford's mind frequently burdened with the subject of Murder... 340 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A moneyed young Texan becomes oneof Mis. Sanford's I,< >dgi -rs. The bonds 
 are seen and their Numbers taken by the Detective*. Mrs. Sanford ar- 
 rested. She is found guilty of ' Involuntary Manslaughter." an> 
 tenced to the Illinois IVnit> ntiary for live years. Mr. Pinkertou's 
 Theory of the Manner in which Traf ton was murdered 854
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN presenting to the public another volume, of my 
 detective stories, I would call the attention of the reader 
 to the fact, that these stories are literally written from 
 facts and incidents which have come under my own 
 observation, or been worked up by officers acting di- 
 rectly under my instructions. 
 
 The Mississippi River has for many years more 
 especially since the close of the war been infested by 
 a class of men who never would try to get an honest 
 living, but would prey upon their neighbors or attack 
 the property of southern railroads and express com- 
 panies ; these marauders could be seen any day prowl- 
 ing along the banks of the Mississippi, in fact, the shores 
 and immediate neighborhood were peopled by just such 
 a class, who cared not how they obtained a living ; for 
 the crimes they committed, they often suffered infinitely 
 worse punishment, more so than any suffering which 
 could hare been entailed on them from leading a poor 
 but honest life.
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 The story of the "Mississippi OUTLAWS AND THH 
 DETECTIVES " is written to illustrate incidents which 
 took place in the southern section of the country at no 
 rery remote date. 
 
 " DON PEDEO AND THE DETECTIVES " is another story 
 of detective experience, which came under my own 
 observation and management ; it is a truthful narrative, 
 and shows that some men are worse than known crimi- 
 nals, and can squander the money they have obtained 
 by false pretenses, in a very lavish manner. 
 
 " THE POISONER AND THE DETECTIVES " is a well- 
 known bit of dete'ctive experience, which, when read, 
 will be recognized by any one who ever takes an inter- 
 est in crime, and the bringing to justice its perpetrators. 
 
 The reader must remember that fictitious names are 
 used in all of these stories, otherwise the facts are 
 plainly and truthfully told as they occurred. 
 
 ALLAV PINKERTON. 
 
 April, 1879.
 
 THE MISSISSIPPI OUTLAWS 
 
 AND 
 
 TIKE IDIETIEOTIVES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A daring Express Robbery, Mr. Ptnkerton appealed 
 to. Cane-brakes and cane-fed People. Atti.>i/!n<i 
 Delays and Amateur Detectives. 
 
 rpHE southern and border states, since the close 
 -L of the war of the rebellion, have been the 
 frequent scenes of extensive and audacious rob- 
 beries. This has been largely owing to the 
 sparsely-settled condition of certain districts, to 
 the disorder and lawlessness generated by the 
 war, and to the temptations offered by the care- 
 lessness of many persons having large sums in- 
 trusted to their care in transit through lonely and 
 desolate localities. 
 
 The express companies have always been fav- 
 orite objects of attack by thieves of every grade, 
 from the embezzling cashier to the petty sneak- 
 11 lief, and some of the operations connected with 
 tin* detection of this class of criminals aiv 
 
 the. most dilliciiH and dan-vions that II;L.
 
 10 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 
 
 been intrusted to me. Probably a no more n-rk- 
 less and desperate body of men were ever bunded 
 together in a civilized community than those who 
 were brought to my attention in 1871 by the 
 Southern Express Company's officers in Memphis; 
 and I consider the successful termination of my 
 efforts in this case as of the greatest value to the 
 people of the South and West. The whole affair 
 was conducted with such a limited force, and 
 under such adverse circumstances, that I take 
 pride in here recording the history of the affair 
 and my connection with it. Though I maintained 
 a general supervision of the operation, my eldest 
 son, William A. Pinkerton, was the person hav- 
 ing immediate charge of the matter, and to his 
 energy, perseverance, and sagacity is mainly at- 
 tributable our success. 
 
 Some time in the latter part of July, 1871, an 
 express messenger on the Mobile and Ohio Rail- 
 road was overpowered by three men at Moscow^ 
 Kentucky, and his safe was robbed of about six- 
 teen hundred dollars. The manner of effecting 
 the robbery was a very bold one, showing the 
 presence of men of experience in crime. The loss 
 was not heavy, but the company made every ef- 
 fort to discover the robbers, in the hope of bring- 
 ing them to a severe punishment as a warning to 
 other criminals. In spite, however, of the efforts 
 of two of my men, who were immediately sent to 
 the scene of the robbery, the guilty parties es- 
 ruped into the almost impenetrable swamps along 
 the Mississippi liivr, ;md the chase was reluct-
 
 A DARING KXPRKSS ROBBERY. 1) 
 
 antly abandoned, as it was impossible to tell where 
 they would come out or cross the river. The 
 amount stolen was not sufficiently large to war 
 rant the expenditure of much time or money in 
 the pursuit of the thieves, and my men were soon 
 wholly withdrawn from the operation. In order, 
 however, to guard against a repetition of such a 
 raid, an extra man was placed in each express car 
 to act as guard to the regular messenger. It was 
 considered that two men, well armed, ought to be 
 surely able to protect the company against further 
 loss, and everything ran smoothly until October 21, 
 1871. At this time, the money shipments by ex- 
 press were very heavy, as a rule, and orders were 
 given that special care should be exercised by all 
 the employes having money packages in charge. 
 The northern-bound train on the Mobile and 
 Ohio Railroad was due at Union City, Tennessee, 
 about half-past seven o'clock in the evening. At 
 this point the northern and southern-bound trains 
 usually passed each other, and stopped long 
 enough for supper, the train arriving first being 
 the one to take the side track ready to pull out. 
 Saturday evening, October 21st, the northern 
 bound train arrived on time, stopped at the 
 station long enough to let the passengers go to 
 supper, and then took the side track to await tin- 
 arrival of the train bound south. As soon as the 
 sidetrack was reached the conductor, engineer. 
 fireman, hrakenian. and express messenger went 
 to supper, leaving the train deserted except by 
 the express guard, named George Thompson, and
 
 12 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 
 
 a fow passengers. The local express agent came 
 up at this moment, gave his packages to Thomp- 
 son, receiving his receipt therefor, and returned 
 to the station. This action was directly cent rai-y 
 to the rules of the company, which forbade the 
 messenger to leave the car during his whole run, 
 or to go to sleep; also, the guard was forbidden to 
 transact any business, or to have possession of 
 the safe key. Martin Crowley, the messenger, 
 had given his key to Thompson, however, to 
 enable him to attend to the business of the local 
 agent while Crowley was away at supper. In 
 accordance with Thompson's request, Crowley 
 sent a negro porter to the express car with 
 Thompson's supper on a tray, and the porter, 
 after handing the tray to Thompson, turned to 
 walk away. As he did so, he saw two men spring 
 into the partly open door of the express car, and, 
 almost immediately, the train began to back. 
 The negro knew that something was wrong, and 
 he hurried to the station to give the alarm. By 
 the time he arrived there, however, the train was 
 backing at a moderate speed, and was well beyond 
 the reach of pursuit on foot. 
 
 Meantime, the guard, having received his sup- 
 per from the negro porter, turned his back to the 
 door to set the tray down. Before reaching the 
 desk, he heard a noise at the door, and turning, 
 he was confronted by two men, one of whom held 
 a revolver at his head, while the other seized his 
 throat. Thompson was a young man, and, not 
 b^ing accustomed to meet such hard characters,
 
 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 13 
 
 he was badly frightened. He immediately gave 
 up the safe key and helped one of the men to un- 
 lock the safe. Having taken all the money out 
 of the safe, one of the robbers took also the con- 
 tents of Thompson's pocket-book; but here the 
 other man interfered, insisting that the guard's 
 money be returned to him, which was done. Xo 
 conversation took place, but when the safe had 
 been carefully examined and all the money it con- 
 tained taken, one of the men stepped to the door 
 and swung a lantern once or twice. The train, 
 which had been backing at a moderate rate of 
 speed, now stopped, and the two men jumped off, 
 telling Thompson to stay where he was and keep 
 quiet. When the conductor, engineer, and other 
 persons, whom the porter had alarmed, reached 
 the train, they found everything in order except 
 the safe, into which poor Thompson was vainly 
 peering in the hope of discovering that some por- 
 tion of the funds might have been overlooked. 
 The men had disappeared in the thick woods, and 
 no trace of them was found except a small car- 
 pet-bag containing potatoes and bread. The 
 amount missing from the safe was about six 
 thousand dollars in currency. 
 
 A 1 though the robbery was at once reported to Mr. 
 M. J. O'Brien, the General Superintendent, by tel- 
 egraph, no action seems to have been taken until 
 the folio \ving Wednesday four days later when 
 Mr. OT.n'en sent me a brief telegram announcing 
 tho rohhery, and requesting me to come to Univii 
 City in person, if possible, and if not, to send
 
 14 A DARING EXPRKSS IIOU15KRY.. 
 
 eldest son, William A. Pmkurton. The telegiaph 
 was used freely for the next two days, and \vhile 
 my son was gathering clues and making his prep- 
 arations, we learned most of the facts by letter. 
 William arrived in Union City on Saturday, just 
 one week after the robbery had been committed, 
 and he instantly began to gather information from 
 every available source. Except the statements of 
 the negro porter and Thompson, the guard, as 
 condensed in the account heretofore given, little 
 information could be obtained, as so few persons 
 were about the train when it began to move off. 
 While two or three had seen the men who had 
 entered the car, no one had seen who had rur 
 the locomotive, and there was, therefore, no cer- 
 tainty as to the number of persons engaged in 
 the job. One passenger had seen two men walk- 
 ing toward the engine in a- suspicious mannei\ 
 and, as his description of these two was entirely 
 different from that given of the men who had 
 entered the car, it was fair to presume that they 
 had been a part of the gang. Still, no one had 
 seen them get on the engine, and it was not cer- 
 tain that they had had anything to do with the 
 affair. At the end of three days, however, Wil- 
 liam had collected sufficient information to sat- 
 isfy himself that either four or five men had been 
 at work together; and, by collating the various 
 descriptions he received, he obtained a pretty fair 
 idea of the party. 
 
 The first thing which struck him was the simi- 
 larity of this robbery to the one which had occurred
 
 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 15 
 
 exactly three months before at Moscow, Kentucky. 
 The appearance of the men and their actions had 
 bc/eii precisely like those of the Moscow party, and 
 it was evident that they had been emboldened to a 
 second venture by the ease with which they had 
 carried through their former scheme. One thing 
 was imperative: the capture of the whole gang 
 would be necessary to insure the safety of the ex- 
 press company's property in the future. Indeed, 
 it was a mere piece of good fortune that the loss 
 in this instance was not irreparable, for the 
 amount of money carried on the southern-bound 
 train was eighty thousand dollars, and the robbers 
 would have obtained this large amount if the 
 southern-bound train had chanced to arrive first. 
 The robbery was clearly one which no common 
 tramp or sneak-thief would have dared to attempt, 
 and William saw immediately the difficulties of 
 his work. Before proceeding with the incidents 
 of the operation, I must give some idea of the 
 country and the people living there, since no-ine 
 would otherwise comprehend one-half of the ob- 
 stacles and dangers which were involved in a 
 search for the criminals in that vicinity. 
 
 The southwestern part of Kentucky and the 
 northwestern part of Tennessee are about as des- 
 olate portions of the world as are inhabited by a 
 civilized people. There seems to have been some 
 convulsion of the earth at this point, which is 
 sunk so far below the general level of the whole 
 country as to make it a perpetual swamp. The 
 annual overflow of the Ohio and Mi;-si.-H|pi lays
 
 16 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 
 
 the country under water for a distance of many 
 miles, while even in the dryest season, the mo 
 rasses, sunken lakes, and dense cane-brakes, ren- 
 der it almost impassable, except for people who 
 have been thoroughly acquainted with the locality 
 for years. 
 
 The sunken lakes are natural curiosities in them- 
 selves, and, although they have attracted consid- 
 erable attention from scientific men, no satisfac- 
 tory explanation of their causes and phenomena 
 has been found. The country is full of game and 
 the water is alive with fish, so that the necessities 
 of life are easily obtainable. The cane-brakes are 
 wonderful growths of bamboo cane, and they 
 sometimes cover strips of country as much as 
 seventy miles long. In the spring-time, the water 
 rises to such a height that a skiff can navigate 
 freely above and through the tops of the cane; 
 but in dry weather, the stalks grow so closely to- 
 gether that the brake becomes impenetrable to 
 man or beast, except by winding tortuously 
 around the clumps through the comparatively 
 thin portions of the undergrowth. To search for 
 any one wishing to remain concealed therein is 
 like the proverbial attempt to look for a needle in 
 a hay-stack, since a man can pass within ten 
 yards of another without seeing him or being 
 aware of his presence. The only roads which 
 traverse these places are mere cattle paths, which 
 begin at no place and run no where; and, unless a 
 man^be thoroughly acquainted with the country* 
 he can never li-H where any given path will lead 
 him.
 
 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 17 
 
 The people around the towns, such as Hickman, 
 Union City, Dyersburg, and Moscow, are a highly 
 respectable and well-educated class ; but in the 
 low, swampy country, in the cane brake and along 
 the river, they are not, as a rule, a very agreeable 
 class to live among. Of course, here, as in all 
 other places, there are many intelligent, reliable, 
 honorable men, but the great mass of the cane- 
 brake population are ignorant and brutal. The 
 term which they apply to their stock is also emi- 
 nently appropriate to designate the people : they 
 are " cane-fed." It is the custom to turn the cat- 
 tle into the. cane to feed when it is young and 
 tender, and, as the amount of nutriment thus 
 obtained is not veiy large, the "cane-fed " animals 
 bear about the same relation to grain-fed stock 
 that the people in that vicinity bear to the resident s 
 of healthy, prosperous, and educated communities. 
 The larger portion of the population may be classed 
 as "poor whites," and they constitute a peculiar 
 variety of the human species. The men are tall, 
 loose- jointed, and dyspeptic ; they bear a marked 
 resemblance to the vegetable productions of the 
 vicinity, being rapid of growth, prolific, and gen- 
 < i . illy worthless. Their education consists mainly 
 of woodcraft and rifle-shooting ; their proficiency 
 in both of these branches is sometimes astonish- 
 ing, and it is frequently said of their most ex- 
 pert hunters that they seem to have been born 
 shot-gun or rifle in hand. Accomplishments they 
 have none, except the rare instances where a few 
 tunes upon the banjo have been learned from the
 
 18 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 
 
 negroes. Their tastes are few and simple, whisky, 
 snuff, hog, and hominy being the necessities and 
 luxuries of life ; that is, whisky and snuff are the 
 necessities, all other things being secondaiy con- 
 siderations. In their sober moods, they are frank, 
 rough, and courageous ; yet, even then, there is 
 little about them to excite other feelings than 
 those of pity and aversion. When full of bad 
 whisky, however, they are apt to become quar- 
 relsome and brutal, so that no man can feel sure 
 of his safety in their company. An affront, real 
 or imaginary, will then be apt to cause bloodshed, 
 even if the insulted party has to bushwhack his 
 enemy from a secure covert on the roadside as he 
 is returning to his home. Every man goes armed, 
 and, though fair fights in broad daylight are rare, 
 cold-blooded murders are not infrequent. The 
 law is seldom invoked to settle private differences, 
 and, in fact, the functions of the legal officials are 
 practically very limited in their influence. If a 
 coroner ever sits upon a corpse, it is understood 
 that he has done his whole duty by recording a 
 verdict that ' ' the deceased came to his death at 
 the hands of some person or persons unknown." 
 The women, like the men, are tall, thin, and 
 round-shouldered. Up to the age of sixteen they 
 sometimes are quite pretty, though sallow and 
 Lifeless always ; after that period, they become 
 gaunt, emaciated, and yellow. Whisky hath 
 charms for them, also, but their favorite dissipa- 
 tion is snuff -dipping. They marry very early and 
 bear children nearly every year, so that the size
 
 A DARING EXPRESS ROBBERY. 19 
 
 of many of these West Tennessee families is often 
 enormous. The father exercises patriarchal con- 
 trol over his whole household until the daughters 
 are married and the sons old enough and strong 
 enough to defy the parental authority as enforced 
 by a hickory rod. The wife never escapes the ap- 
 plication of this potent instrument of marital dis- 
 cipline ; and, indeed, should a husband fail to 
 make frequent use of it for the correction of his 
 better hah , he would probably soon learn that his 
 dutiful spouse could find a use for it on his own 
 person. 
 
 Throughout this whole district, the people suf- 
 fer from fever and ague for nine months of the 
 year, and dyspepsia seems hereditary. Their phy 
 sicians, however, usually require no further edu- 
 cation than is requisite to attend fractured limbs 
 and gun-shot wounds, the whole school of medi- 
 cine being limited to three specifics : quinine, 
 calomel, and whisky. 
 
 As before stated, it should be understood that 
 the foregoing description applies to the majority 
 of the inhabitants of the low swamp lands only, 
 and not to the residents in and about the towns ; 
 even in the cane country itself are to be found oc- 
 casionally men of education, ability, and good 
 character, and to several of them William was 
 largely indebted for assistance and i*f ormation. 
 
 There was one redeeming feature also to the 
 character of the "cane-fed" population; in the 
 main they were honest, and they would do all in 
 then- power to break up a thiering gang, even if
 
 20 A DARING EXPKKSS ROBBERY. 
 
 they had to hang a few of its members as a warn- 
 ing to the rest. I was thus able to trust them to 
 a certain extent, though the fear which they had 
 of this band of desperadoes rather kept their 
 naturally honest impulses in check for a time. 
 
 William was thoroughly acquainted with the 
 character of the people, and he knew what a 
 difficult task had been set before him, especially 
 as he was allowed no other detectives of my force 
 to assist him, the express company being de- 
 sirous of conducting the operation as economically 
 as possible. Among the large number of men 
 employed directly by the company were two or 
 three good men, but the majority were even 
 worse than useless, and the expense of the affair 
 was finally much greater than as if only my own 
 men had been employed. Besides the fact that 
 William was thus continually working with 
 strange men, he was harassed by large numbers 
 of amateur detectives, to whose stories the com- 
 pany's officers too often lent a ready ear. Indeed, 
 every express agent in Tennessee, Kentucky, and 
 Missouri seemed impressed with the idea that he 
 was a naturally gifted detective, and many were 
 the annoying delays which resulted from their 
 interference.
 
 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 21 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Difficulties. Blind Trails and False Scents. A Scries 
 of Illustrations showing the Number of Offictou* 
 People and Confidence Men that often seek Noto- 
 riety and Profit through important Detective Opera- 
 tions. 
 
 THE art of detecting crime cannot be learned 
 in a day, nor can the man of business un- 
 derstand, without previous experience in the hab- 
 its of criminals, the expedients which the boldest 
 class of law-breakers adopt; hence none but skilled 
 detectives can hope to cope with them. Yet often 
 my clients insist on some certain method of pro- 
 cedure wholly contrary to my judgment and ex- 
 perience, until the total failure of their plan 
 convinces them that there can be but one 
 thoroughly successful mode of detection, namely, 
 to submit the case to a skilled detective of char- 
 acter and standing, and allow him to act according 
 to his judgment. 
 
 The range of investigation in such a case as this 
 robbery will often extend from New York to San 
 Francisco, and unless one mind gathers up the 
 clues, classifies the information, and determines 
 the general plan, there will be continual error and 
 delay. Such a state of affairs frequently occurred 
 during this operation, and much time and money 
 were spent upon matters too trifling even for con- 
 sideration.
 
 22 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 
 
 The principal of a detective agency, from his 
 long experience with criminals, learns the ear- 
 marks of different classes of men, and he is of ten 
 able to determine the name of the guilty party in 
 any given robbery by the manner in which the job 
 was done. He can readily see whether a novice 
 in crime was engaged, and also whether any col- 
 lusion existed between the parties robbed and the 
 criminals; and so, when he sees the traces of a 
 bold, skillful, and experienced man, he knows that 
 it is useless to track down some insignificant 
 sneak-thief, simply because the latter happens to 
 have been in the vicinity. Yet, neither will he 
 slight the smallest clue if there is a bare chance 
 that any valuable fact may be obtained from it. 
 But the sine qud non is that he, and he alone, 
 shall direct the whole affair. A divided responsi- 
 bility simply doubles the criminal's opportunities 
 for escape. 
 
 Among the many difficulties of the detective's 
 work, none are more embarrassing than the early 
 development of false clues. In the stories here- 
 tofore published, the direct steps leading to the 
 detection and arrest of the criminals have b<rn 
 related, without referring to the innumerabJe 
 other investigations, which were progressing sim- 
 ultaneously, and which, though involving the 
 expenditure of much thought, time, and money, 
 proved after all to be of no value whatever in 
 developing any evidence in the case. In this 
 operation, such instances were of frequent occur- 
 rence, and I propose to mention a few of them to
 
 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 23 
 
 show how wide is the range of the detective's 
 inquiries, and also the annoying delays to which 
 lie is often subjected by the inconsiderate zeal 
 and interference of outside parties. " These latter 
 may be indeed, they generally are well mean- 
 ing people, anxious to serve the cause of justice; 
 though, on the other hand, they are sometimes 
 spiteful meddlers, striving to fix suspicion upon 
 some personal enemy. 
 
 The plan of detection which alone can insure 
 success, must be one which neither forgets nor 
 neglects anything. In investigating any alleged 
 crime > the first questions to be considered are: 
 1. Has any crime been perpetrated, and, if so, 
 what? 2. What was the object sought thereby? 
 
 The matter of tune, place, and means employed 
 must then be carefully noted, and finally we come 
 to consider: 1. Who are the criminals? 2. Where 
 are they now? 3. How can they be taken? 
 
 The fact that a crime has been committed is 
 generally apparent, though there have been 
 cases in which the determination of that point re- 
 quires as much skill as the whole remainder of 
 the operation. Such was the case in the detec- 
 tion of Mrs. Pattmore's murder, related in my 
 story of ' ' The Murderer and the Fortune Teller. " 
 The object of a crime is also sometimes obscure, 
 and, where such are the circumstances, the de- 
 tection of the criminal is apt to be one of the most 
 difficult of all operations. Having once solved 
 these two difficulties satisfactorily, however, and 
 having observed the relative bearings of time,
 
 24 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 
 
 place, and means to the crime itself, the question 
 of individuals is the important one to be deter- 
 mined. It often happens that there is no conceal- 
 ment of identity, the problem to be solved being 
 simply the way to catch the guilty parties; but, 
 on the other hand, the greatest skill, experience, 
 patience, and perseverance are sometimes required 
 to discover, first of all, the persons engaged in the 
 crime. Indeed, an operation is often divisible 
 into two distinct methods of action, the first being 
 to find out the identity of the criminals, the sec- 
 ond to follow up and capture them. 
 
 In the course of a blind trail, such as we were 
 obliged to travel in the case of this express rob- 
 bery, it was impossible to know whence the men 
 had come or whither they had gone ; hence, I 
 was forced to take up every trifling clue and fol- 
 low it to the end. Even after I was satisfied in 
 my own mind of the identity of the criminals, tho 
 agents and officers of the express company were 
 continually finding mares' nests which they 
 wished investigated, and the operation was some- 
 times greatly hindered on this account. As an 
 example of the number of discouragements which 
 the detective must always expect to encounter, I 
 propose to mention some of the false scents which 
 we were forced to follow during this operation. 
 
 Three or four days after William's arrival in 
 Union City, he was informed by the superin- 
 tendent of the express company having charge 
 of the operation, that there was a young man in 
 Moscow who could give important information
 
 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 25 
 
 relative to the first robbery at that place. This 
 young man, Thomas Carr by name, was a lawyer 
 who had once had fine prospects, but he had be- 
 come very dissipated, and he finally had been taken 
 seriously ill, so that he had lost his practice. On 
 recovering his health he had reformed his habits, 
 but he had found great difficulty in winning back 
 clients, and his income was hardly enough to 
 support him. On learning that this impecuni- 
 ous lawyer had valuable information, William 
 strongly suspected that it would amount to little 
 more than a good lie, invented to obtain money 
 from the express Company; nevertheless, he sent 
 for the young man and heard his story. 
 
 According to Carr, a man named John Wither- 
 spoon had visited him about six weeks before, 
 and had asked him whether he would like to get 
 a large sum of money. Carr replied affirmatively, 
 of course, and wished to know how it could .be 
 obtained. Witherspoon had said that the express 
 company could be robbed very easily by boarding 
 a train at any water-tank, overpowering the mes- 
 senger, and making him open the safe. Wither- 
 Bpoon also had said that he and several others 
 had robbed a train at Moscow some weeks before, 
 and that they had got only sixteen hundred dol- 
 lars, but that they should do better next time. 
 He had asked Carr to go to Cairo and find out 
 when there would be a large shipment of money 
 to the South; then Carr was to take the same 
 1 i-a in and give a signal to the rest of the party on 
 arriving at the designated spot. 
 a
 
 26 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 
 
 On hearing Carr's story, William sent him 
 to Moscow with instructions to renew his inti- 
 macy with Witherspoon, and to report any n< 
 he might learn at once; in case it should prove 
 to be of any value, the company would pay him 
 well for his services. It is hardly necessary to add 
 that Mr. Cajjr, having failed to get, as he had 
 hoped, a roving commission as detective at the 
 company's expense, was not heard from again, 
 his bonanza of news having run out very quickly 
 on discovering that no money was to be paid in 
 advance. 
 
 The next case was a more plausible one, and 
 William began its investigation with the feeling 
 that something might be developed therefrom. 
 It was learned that a former express messenger 
 named Robert Trunnion, who had been dis- 
 charged several months before, had been hanging 
 around Columbus, Kentucky, ever since. While 
 in conversation with the clerk of a second-class 
 hotel, Trunnion had spoken of the ease with 
 which a few determined men could board an ex- 
 press car, throw a blanket over the messenger's 
 head, and then rob the safe. The clerk said that 
 Trunnion had made the suggestion to him twice, 
 and the second time he had given Trunnion a 
 piece of his mind for making such a proposition. 
 Trunnion had then said he was only fooling, and 
 that he did not mean anything by it. William 
 learned that Trunnion was then engaged in selling 
 trees for a nursery at Clinton, Kentucky, and that 
 he was regarded as a half -cracked, boasting fool,
 
 BUND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 27 
 
 who might he anything bad, if he were influenced 
 by bold, unscrupulous men. William therefore 
 paid a visit to Mr. Trumiion, whom he found to 
 be a very high-toned youth, too fiery -tempered 
 and sensitive to submit to any questioning as to 
 his words or actions. In a very brief space ol: 
 time, however, his lordly tone came down to a 
 very humble acknowledgment that he had used 
 the language attributed to him; but he protested 
 that he had meant nothing; in short, his confes- 
 sion was not only complete, but exceedingly 
 candid; he admitted that he was a gas-bag and a 
 fool, without discretion enough to keep his tongue 
 from getting him into trouble continually; and, 
 having clearly shown that he was nowhere in the 
 vicinity of either robbery, he asked humbly not 
 to be held responsible for being a born idiot. 
 William was satisfied that the fellow had told 
 the truth, and, after scaring him out of all his 
 high-toned pride, he let him go, with a severe 
 lecture on the danger of talking too much. 
 
 On the nineteenth of November, when the iden- 
 tity of the robbers had been fully established, 
 William was called away to luka, Mississippi, on 
 information received from Mr. O'Brien, the gen- 
 eral superintendent of the express company, that 
 a man named Santon had seen the leader of the 
 party in that place, jjst a week before. Santon 
 represented that he knew the man well, having 
 IK rn acquainted with him for years in Cairo, and 
 that he could not be mistaken, as he had spokon 
 with him on the day mentioned. William found
 
 28 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 
 
 that the man Santon was a natural liar, who could 
 not tell the truth even when it was for his inter- 
 est to do so. The descriptions of the various rob- 
 bers had been scattered Broadcast everywhere, 
 and none of them were represented as over thirty- 
 five years of age; yet Santon said that his man 
 was over fifty years old, and that he had been a 
 pilot on the Mississippi for years. This was a 
 case not an infrequent one, either where peo- 
 ple talk and lie about a crime for the sole purpose 
 of getting a little temporary notoriety. Owing to 
 various accidents and railway detentions, Wil- 
 liam lost three days in going to hunt up this lying 
 fellow's testimony. 
 
 Perhaps the most impudent of all the stories 
 brought to the express company's officers was 
 that of a man named Swing, living at Columbus, 
 Kentucky. He sent a friend to Union City to tell 
 them that he could give them a valuable clue to 
 the identity of the robbers, and William accom- 
 panied this friend back to Columbus. On the 
 way, William drew out all that Swing's friend 
 knew about the matter, and satisfied himself 
 that Swing's sole object in sending word to the 
 officers of the company was to get them to do a 
 piece of detective work for him. It appeared that 
 his nephew had stolen one of his horses just after 
 the robbery, and he intended to tell the company's 
 officers that this nephew had been engaged in tho 
 robbery; then if the company captured the 
 nephew, Swing hoped to get back his horse. A 
 truly brilliant scheme it was, but, unfortunately
 
 BLIND TRAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. W 
 
 for his expectations, William could not be misled 
 by his plausible story; and, if he ever recovered 
 his horse, he did so without the assistance of the 
 express company. Nevertheless, he took Wil- 
 liam away from his work for nearly a whole day, 
 at a time when his presence was almost indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 Another peculiar phase of a detective's experi- 
 ence is, that while following up one set of crim- 
 inals, he may accidentally unearth the evidences 
 of some other crime; occasionally it happens that 
 he is able to arrest the criminals thus unexpect- 
 edly discovered, but too often they take the alarm 
 and escape before the interested parties can be put 
 in possession of the facts. About two weeks after 
 the Union City robbery, in the course of my ex- 
 tended inquiries by telegraph, I came across a 
 pair of suspicious characters in Kansas City, Mis- 
 souri. I learned that two fine-looking women 
 had arrived in that city with about eight thousand 
 dollars in five, ten, and twenty dollar bills, which 
 they were trying to exchange for bills of a larger 
 denomination. The women were well dressed, 
 but they were evidently of loose character, and 
 the possession of so much money by two females 
 of that class excited suspicion instantly in the 
 minds of the bankers to whom they applied, and 
 they could not make the desired exchange. One 
 of the women was a blonde and the other was a 
 brunette. They were about of the same height, 
 and they dressed in such marked contrast as to 
 set each other off to the best advantage; i
 
 30 BLIND TRAILS -AND FALSE SCENTS. 
 
 their dresses seemed to have attracted so much 
 attention that I could gain very little acquaintance 
 with their personal appearance. I could not con- 
 nect them in any way with the robbery at Union 
 City, nor with any other recent crime, though 1 
 had little doubt that the money they had with 
 them was the proceeds of some criminal transac- 
 tion; still, having my hands full at that time, it 
 would have been impossible for me to look after 
 them, even had I thought best to do so. As it is my 
 practice to undertake investigations only when 
 engaged for the purpose by some responsible per- 
 son, I did not waste any time in endeavoring to 
 discover the source whence these women obtained 
 their money; though, of course, had I learned 
 enough about them to suspect them of complicity 
 in any specific crime, I should have reported my 
 suspicions to the parties interested, to enable them 
 to take such action as they might have seen fit. 
 
 The most important of all the false clues 
 brought out in this investigation was presented 
 by a noted confidence man and horse-thief named 
 Charles Lavalle, alias Hildebrand. I call it the 
 most important, not because I considered it of any 
 value at the time, but because it illustrates one of 
 the most profitable forms of confidence operation, 
 and because the express company, by refusing to 
 accept my advice in the matter, were put to a 
 large expense with no possibility of a return. 
 
 Very shortly after the Union City robbery, a 
 letter was received from a man in Kansas City, 
 calling himself Charles Lavalle. The writer
 
 BLIND TliAILS AND FALSE SCENTS. 31 
 
 claimed that he had been with the gang who had 
 robbed the train, but that they had refused to 
 divide with him, and so, out of revenge, he was 
 anxious to bring them to punishment. He claimed 
 further that he was then in the confidence of an- 
 other party, who were soon going to make another 
 raid upon the express company somewhere be- 
 tween New Orleans and Mobile. 
 
 The plausibility of his story was such that he 
 obtained quite a large sum from the express 
 company to enable him to follow up and re- 
 main with the gang of thieves with whom 
 he professed to be associated. No news was 
 received from him, however, and at length 
 I was requested to put a "shadow" upon 
 his track. My operative followed him to 
 St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence to Quincy, Illi- 
 nois, but, during two weeks of close investigation, 
 no trace of the villains in Lavalle's company could 
 be found, and he was never seen in the society of 
 any known burglars or thieves. It was soon evi- 
 dent that he was playing upon the express com- 
 pany a well-worn confidence game, which has 
 been attempted probably eveiy time a large rob- 
 bery has occurred in the last fifteen years. He 
 became very importunate for more money while 
 in Quincy, as he stated that the gang to which 
 he belonged were ready to start for New Orleans; 
 but, finding that his appeals were useless, and 
 that no more money would be advanced until 
 some of his party were actually discovered and 
 trapped through his agf>ncy,*he soon ceased writ- 
 insr,
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 The foregoing are only a few of the insfanoeg 
 in which our attention was diverted from the 
 real criminals; and, although the efforts of my 
 operatives were rarely misdirected in any one af- 
 fair for any length of time, still these false alarms 
 were always a source of great annoyance and em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 "Old Hicks" a drunken Planter, is entertained by a 
 Hunting-party. Lester's Landing. Its Groc< ///- 
 store and Mysterious Merchants. A d<nif/;i-<ins 
 Situation and a desperate Encounter. The unfor- 
 tunate Escape of Two of the Robbers. 
 
 ONE of the most direct sources of information 
 relative to the party was found in the per- 
 son of an old planter, named Hicks, who lived 
 some distance down the track of the railroad. He 
 was in the habit of visiting Union City very fre- 
 quently, and he usually rounded off his day's 
 pleasure by becoming jovially drunk, in which 
 condition he would start for his home, walking 
 down the railroad track. He had been in Union 
 City all of Friday before the robbery, and about 
 ten o'clock in the evening he was in a state of 
 happy inebriety, ready to "hail fellow, well met," 
 with any person he might encounter. 
 
 On his way home, about three-quarters of a mile 
 west of Union City, tie saw a camp-fire bui ning a
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 3ft 
 
 short distance from the track, and around it w* re 
 gathered five men. They hailed him, and asked 
 him to take a drink ; and as this was an invitation 
 which Hicks could not refuse, even from the devil 
 himself, he joined them, drank with them, and 
 danced a hornpipe for their edification. Hicks 
 acknowledged in his account of meeting them, that 
 by the time they had made him dance for thein> 
 he was heartily frightened at their looks and talk. 
 He heard one of them say that they wanted ten 
 thousand at least, but he could not tell what the 
 remark referred to. He asked them why they 
 were camping out, and one, who seemed to be the 
 leader of the party, said they were out hunting. 
 
 1 'Yes," continued another one, " I am out hunt- 
 ing for somebody's girl, and when I find her we 
 are going to run away together." 
 
 At this, they all laughed, as if there was some 
 hidden meaning in his words. 
 
 Hicks described all of the men, three of them 
 quite minutely ; but the fourth was evidently the 
 same as the second, and the fifth was lying down 
 asleep all the time, so that Hicks could not tell 
 much about him. They were armed with large 
 navy revolvers, which they wore in belts, and 
 their clothing was quite good. The tall man, who 
 seemed to be the leader, related an account of a 
 deer-hunt in which he had participated, in Fay- 
 ette county, Illinois, on the Kaskaskia river, and 
 when, lie mentioned the place, the others scowled 
 and winked ;ii him, as if to stop him. Hick^ said 
 that the\ s.vmed to IK- familiar with Cincinnati.
 
 34: MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 Louisville, Evansville, and other northern citie^ 
 and that they talked somewhat like Yankees. 
 He remained with them until about midnight, 
 when a negro came down the track. Hicks and 
 the negro then went on together to Hicks's house, 
 leaving the five men still camped in the woods. 
 
 Other persons reported having seen the same 
 party in the same vicinity several times before 
 the night of the robbery, though some had seen 
 only two, others three and four ; but no one, ex- 
 cept Hicks, had seen five. The accounts given by 
 the persons near the train when the robbery oc- 
 curred did not show the presence of more than 
 three persons, though possibly there might have 
 been a fourth. The descriptions of the suspected 
 parties were quite varied in some respects ; yet 
 the general tenor of them was to the same effect, 
 and, as no one knew who these persons were, it 
 was quite certain that this quartette of strangers 
 had committed the robbery. 
 
 In the case of the Moscow robbery, we had 
 strongly suspected two notorious thieves, named 
 Jack Nelson and Miles Ogle, so that my first ac- 
 tion, on learning of this second affair in the same 
 vicinity, was to telegraph to my correspondents 
 and agents throughout the country, to leam 
 whether either of these men had been seen lately. 
 I could gain no news whatever, except from St. 
 Louis, whence an answer was returned to the 
 effect that Nelson was said to be stopping some- 
 where in the country back of Hickman, Kon- 
 tucky. Ogle's wife was in St. Louis, and she hud
 
 MYSTERIOUS A1KKCI1ANTS. 35 
 
 been seen by a detective walking and talking earn 
 estly with a strange man a short time previous. 
 The information about Nelson was important, 
 since, if true, it showed that he was in the imme- 
 diate neighborhood of the points where the rob- 
 beries had occurred. The man seen with Mrs. 
 Ogle might have been one of the party, sent by 
 her husband to appoint a future rendezvous. The 
 description of the tall, dark man, mentioned by 
 Hicks and others, tallied very closely with Ogle's 
 appearance. My son, William, was well advised 
 of these facts, and, as soon as he had obtained the 
 statements of every one acquainted with any of 
 the occurrences at the time of the robbery, he was 
 ready for action. 
 
 His first inquiries were directed toward discov- 
 ering where Nelson was staying near Hickman, 
 and he learned in a very short time that this ru- 
 mor had no truth in it. While making search for 
 Nelson, however, he heard of a low grocery-store 
 at Lester's Landing, about twelve miles below 
 Hickman on the Mississippi River. The store 
 was situated four miles from any other house in 
 a sparsely settled countiy, where the amount of 
 legitimate trade would hardly amount to twelve 
 hundred dollars per year. It was said to be the 
 resort of a very low class of men, and the propri- 
 dors passed for river gamblers. 
 
 On William's ret urn to Union City from Hick 
 man, lie derided to mak- a visit to this grocery- 
 store to learn something about the men who 1're- 
 it. Havin noi I' liis <>\\n m-n with
 
 36 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 him, he chose one of the express company's de- 
 tectives, named Patrick Connell, to accompany 
 him, and, on the last day of October, they star-led 
 on horseback, with an old resident named Bledsoe 
 for a guide. On arriving at the house of a well-to- 
 do planter, named Wilson Merrick, they obtained 
 considerable information about the men who kept 
 the store and the people who visited it. 
 
 Mr. Merrick said that a man named John Wes- 
 ley Lester kept a wood-yard on the Mississippi, 
 and the spot was called Lester's Landing. About 
 three or four months before, three men arrived 
 there and obtained leave from Lester to put up a 
 store, which they stocked with groceries and 
 whisky. The men gave their names as J. H. 
 Clark, Ed. J. Russell, and William Barton, and 
 they seemed to have some means, as the store 
 did only a limfted business, except in whisky. 
 They were all men of ability and determination, 
 and, as they were always well armed, the people 
 of the cane-brake country were rather afraid of 
 them. Nothing positive was known against 
 them, but it was suspected from their looks and 
 actions that they were Northern desperadoes lying 
 quiet for a time. They seemed to be well ac- 
 quainted in Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, 
 Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans, but they 
 were careful never to give any hint of their pre- 
 vious place of residence in the hearing of stran- 
 gers. Mr. Merrick had, however, heard Russell 
 say that he had once run a stationary engine in 
 Missouri, and from occasional expressions by
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 37 
 
 Barton it would appear that the latter had onco 
 worked on a railroad in some capacity. They 
 dressed quite well, and treated strangers politely, 
 though not cordially. Although they were all 
 three rather hard drinkers, they never became 
 intoxicated, and they seemed to understand each 
 other well enough not to quarrel among them- 
 selves. Clark was the oldest of the party, hut 
 Eussell seemed to be the leader, Barton being ap- 
 parently quite a young man. They stated that 
 they intended to exchange groceries for fish and 
 game, and ship the latter articles to St. Louis 
 and Memphis. 
 
 From the description of the men, William be- 
 gan to suspect that they formed a portion of the 
 party of robbers, and he determined to push on 
 at once. He induced a young man named Gor- 
 don to go with him as guide and to assist in mak- 
 ing the arrest of these men, if he should deem it 
 advisable. By hard riding they succeeded in 
 reaching Lester's Landing before nightfall, but 
 the twilight was fast fading as they came out of 
 the dense underbrush and cane-brake into the 
 clearing around Lester's log-cabin. 
 
 The spot was dreary and forlorn in the extreme. 
 The river was then nearly at low water, and its 
 muddy current skirted one side of the clearing at 
 a distance of about thirty yards from the house. 
 The wood-yard and landing at the water's level 
 were some ten or fifteen feet below the rising 
 ground u i ton which the house stood. Thestoiv 
 was n shanty of rough pine boards with one door
 
 38 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 aiid one window, and it stood at the head of lh* 
 diagonal path leading from the landing to the high 
 ground. A short distance back was a rail fence 
 surrounding Lester's house and corn-field, and 
 back of this clearing, about one hundred yards 
 from the house, was a dense cane-brake. The 
 corn-stalks had never been cut, and, as they grew 
 very high and thick within twenty feet of the 
 house, they offered a good cover to any one ap- 
 proaching or retreating through them. A rough 
 log barn stood a short distance inside the rail 
 fence, and, like the house, it was raised severa 1 
 feet above the ground, on account of the annua* 
 overflow of the whole tract. The house was a 
 rather large building built of logs, the chinks be- 
 ing partly filled with mud, but it was in a dilapi- 
 dated condition, the roof being leaky and the 
 sides partly open, where the mud had fallen out 
 from between the timbers. 
 
 On entering the clearing, William's party rode 
 up to the store and tried to enter, but, finding 
 the door locked, they approached the house. At 
 the rail fence, William and Connell dismounted, 
 leaving Gordon and Bledsoe to hold their horses. 
 Up to this time, they had seen no signs of life 
 about the place, and they began to think that the 
 birds had flown. The quiet and the absence of men 
 about the clearing did not prevent William from 
 I'xoi-cisiiii:; his usual caution in approaching the 
 house; but he did consider it unnecessary to take 
 any stronger force into an apparently unoccupied 
 log-cabin, where at most he had only vague sus
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 39 
 
 picions of finding the objects of his search; 
 hence, he left Gordon and Bledsoe behind. Know- 
 ing the general construction of this class of 
 houses to be the same, he sent Connell to the rear, 
 while he entered the front door. A wide hall d-i 
 vided the house through the center, and the occu- 
 pants of the house were in the room on the right. 
 William's door leading into the room opened 
 from this hall, while Connell's was a direct en- 
 trance from the back porch, and there were no 
 other doors to the room. 
 
 As the two strangers entered simultaneously, 
 five men, a woman, and a girl started to their 
 feet and demanded what they wanted. The 
 situation was evidently one of great danger to 
 the detectives ; one glance at the men, coupled 
 with the fierce tones of their inquiries, showed 
 William that he had entered a den of snakes 
 without adequate force ; but it was too late to 
 retreat, and he replied that they were strangers 
 who, having lost their way, desired information. 
 
 The scene was a striking one, and it remains as 
 vividly in William's mind to-day, as if it had 
 occurred but yesterday. In the center of th - 
 room, opposite him, was a broad fireplace, in 
 which the smouldering logs feebly burned and 
 gave forth the only light in the room. In one 
 corner stood several shot-guns, and in another, 
 four or five heavy axes. Grouped about near 
 the fire, in different attitudes of snrprise, defiance, 
 and alarm, were the occupants of tin 4 cabin, 
 while to tho left, in the half-open door stood
 
 40 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 Connell. The flickering flame of the inUen wood 
 gave a most unsatisfactory light, in which they 
 all seemed nearly as dark as negroes, so that 
 William asked the woman to light a candle. She 
 replied that they had none, and at the same 
 moment a young fellow tried to slip by Connell, 
 but he was promptly stopped. Another la' 
 powerful man, whose name afterward proved to 
 be Burtine, again demanded, with several oaths, 
 what their business was. 
 
 " I've told you once that I want some informa- 
 tion," replied William, "and now I intend to 
 have you stop here until I can take a look at your 
 faces." 
 
 WTiile William was making them stand up in 
 line against the wall, one of the largest drew a 
 navy revolver quickly and fired straight at 
 William's stomach, the ball just cutting the flesh 
 on his left side. At the same instant, the young 
 fellow previously mentioned, darted out the door, 
 Connell having sprang to William's side, thinking 
 him seriously wounded. ConnelTs approach pre- 
 vented William from returning the fire of the 
 tall man, who had jumped for the door also the 
 moment he had fired. William fired two shots 
 at him through the doorway, and Connell followed 
 hmi instantly, on seeing that William was un- 
 hurt. Once outside, the tall fellow sprang behind 
 a large cottonwood tree and fired back at Connell 
 and William, who were in full view on the porrh. 
 The second shot struck Council in the pit of t he 
 stomach, and ho fell backward. At this monu at.
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 41 
 
 the powerful ruffian, Burtine, seized William 
 from behind and tried to drag him down, at the 
 same time calling for a shot-gun "to finish the 
 
 Yankee ." Turning suddenly upon 
 
 his assailant, William raised his revolver, a heavy 
 Tranter, and brought it down twice, with all his 
 force, upon Burtine's head. The man staggered 
 at the first blow and fell at the second, so that, 
 by leveling his revolver at the other two, William 
 was able to cow them into submission. The 
 affray had passed so quickly that it was wholly 
 over before Gordon and Bledsoe could reach the 
 house, though they had sprung from their horses 
 on hearing the first shot. 
 
 The two men had escaped by this time into the 
 dense cane-brake back of the house, and it was 
 necessary to attend to those who had been se- 
 cured, and to examine the injuries of Connell and 
 Burtine. The latter's head was in a pretty bad 
 condition, though no serious results were likely 
 to follow, while Connell had escaped a mortal 
 wound by the merest hair's breadth. He was 
 dressed in a heavy suit of Kentucky jeans, with 
 large iron buttons down the front of the coat. 
 The ball had struck one of these buttons, and, in- 
 stead of passing straight through his vitals, it had 
 glanced around his side, cutting a deep flesh fur- 
 row nearly to the small of his back, where it had 
 gone out. The shock of the blow had stunned 
 him somewhat, the button having been forced 
 edgewise some distance into the flesh, but his 
 wound was very trifling, and he was able to go
 
 42 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 
 
 on with the search with very little inconvenience. 
 Having captured three out of the five inmates of 
 the cabin, William felt as though ho had done as 
 much as could have been expected of two men 
 under such circumstances, and he then began a 
 search of the premises to see whether any evi- 
 dence of their connection with the robbery could 
 be found. Absolutely no clue whatever was ob- 
 tained in the cabin and barn, nor did the store 
 afford any better results so far as the robbery was 
 concerned, but on this point William was already 
 satisfied, and he was anxious to get all informa- 
 tion possible about these so-called storekeepers. 
 In the store, he found bills and invoices showing 
 that the stock of goods had been purchased in 
 Evansville, but there was no other writing of any 
 character except some scribbling, apparently done 
 in an idle moment, upon some fragments of 
 paper in a drawer. On one was written: "Mrs. 
 Kate Graham, Farmington, 111."; and on another, 
 amid many repetitions of the name, " Kate Gra- 
 ham," were the words, "My dear cousin." 
 
 Having found very little of value, the party ro 
 turned to the three prisoners and closely exam- 
 ined them. To William's intense chagrin, he 
 found that these men were, undoubtedly, mere 
 wood-choppers living with Lester and having no 
 connection with the proprietors of the store. 
 Although desperate, brutal, and reckless, ready 
 for a fight at all times, as shown in this affray, 
 they were clearly not the train robbers, while it 
 was equally evident that the two who had escaped 
 were the guilty parties.
 
 MYSTERIOUS MERCHANTS. 43 
 
 William learned that the young man who had 
 first slipped out was Barton, and the man who 
 had done the shooting was Russell. Clark, they 
 said, had taken the steamer for Cape Girardeau, 
 Missouri, two days before, accompanied by a 
 married woman, named Slaughter. The descrip- 
 tion of the train robbers tallied so well with the 
 appearance of Barton and Russell, that, talcing 
 their actions into consideration, there could no 
 longer be any doubt of their complicity in the 
 affair, and it was highly provoking that these 
 two should have escaped. Still, it was an acci- 
 dent which could hardly have been avoided. The 
 fact that the express company would not consent 
 to the employment of a larger force of detectives 
 was the principal cause of this misfortune, for it 
 could have been prevented easily, had William 
 been accompanied by two more good men of my 
 force. 
 
 As it was, two detectives, dropping unexpect- 
 edly upon a nest of five villainous-looking men in 
 the dark, could have hardly hoped to do better 
 than to secure three of them. It could not have 
 been supposed that they would know which were 
 the important ones to capture, especially as they 
 could not distinguish one from another in the 
 uncertain light. Indeed, as afterward appeared, 
 they were fortunate in having escaped alive, for 
 the close approach to fatal wounds, which thrv 
 both received, showed how deadly had been the 
 intentions of the man Russell, while Burtine had 
 evidently intended that they should never leave 
 the house alive.
 
 44 THE CAPTURED RUFFIANS. 
 
 It may be supposed that the shooting on both 
 sides was none of the best, but it must be remem- 
 bered that it began without warning, "and was 
 over in two minutes. It cannot be expected that 
 snap-shooting, even at close quarters, should be 
 very accurate; yet it was afterward learned that 
 Russell's escape had been about as narrow as 
 William's, two balls having passed through his 
 clothes and grazed his flesh. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Captured Ruffians are desired for Guides, but dare 
 not join in the Search for the Outlaws. One of 
 the Mobbers is Taken, but subsequently Escapes from 
 the Amateur defectives. Another Clue suddc;J>/ 
 Fails. 
 
 HAVING searched the whole place, and sat- 
 isfied himself that the men captured had 
 had no connection with the robbery or the rob- 
 bers, William offered them one hundred dollars 
 to act as guides through the cane-brake to arrest 
 Barton and Russell. They said they could not if 
 they would, since no man could find his way 
 there in broad daylight, much less at night. They 
 further admitted that they dare not attempt it, as 
 Russeh 1 would kill them if they learned of their 
 action. It was now pitch dark, and after a vain
 
 THE CAPTURED RUFFIANS. 45 
 
 attempt to beat through the cane in search of tho 
 fugitives, William decided to return to Mr. Mer- 
 rick's until next day. 
 
 The next morning at daybreak he started back 
 for Lester's, accompanied by a number of the 
 cane-brake population, all of whom were anxious 
 to secure the one hundred dollars reward. They 
 had long suspected the men at tho store of being 
 desperadoes, but they had had a wholesome fear 
 of them on account of their fierce ways and their 
 reckless habit of drawing their revolvers on slight 
 provocation. 
 
 On arriving at Lester's, the party found that 
 Lester had returned from Hickman during tho 
 night. He was a treacherous-looking scoundrel, 
 and his reputation was bad, although he had 
 never been caught in any crime in that vicinity. 
 His name, John Wesley Lester, showed that he 
 must have once belonged to a pious Methodist 
 family, and, indeed, he claimed to have once 
 been a Methodist preacher himself. He had 
 sunken eyes, milky white, and his hair was lank 
 and long; his complexion was dark, cheeks hol- 
 low, chin pointed, and forehead low. His man- 
 ner was fawning and obsequious to those above 
 Mm, and he looked and acted like a second 
 " Uriah Heap." He pretended to know nothing 
 of Russell, Clark, and Barton, except that they 
 had come to his place in July, built the store 
 there, and had been around the landing more or 
 less ever since. He said that he knew nothing 
 against them, except that they were gamblers,
 
 46 THE CAPTURED RUFFIANS. 
 
 and that they often went off on gambling excur- 
 sions, during one of which, according to their 
 own statements, they had killed a man in a quar- 
 rel. 
 
 William learned from Lester's daughter that 
 Barton had returned during the night to get a 
 shawl, blanket, and two shot-guns. He had 
 told her that Kussell was hurt pretty badly, but 
 that they intended to take the first packet down 
 the river. From other parties William learned 
 that the packet Julia had passed down dining the 
 night, and had stopped at a point about seven 
 miles below, having been hailed from the bank. 
 He did not place much faith in the theory that the 
 men had taken passage by the Julia, for the rea- 
 son that Lester's girl was too anxious to tell the 
 story of the route Barton proposed taking. He 
 discovered that Barton had been paying lover-like 
 attentions to the girl, and he believed that Bar- 
 ton had instructed her to say that he intended 
 tuking the next packet, in order to give them a false 
 scent. Having set the men of the neighborhood 
 at work searching for Kussell and Barton, Wil- 
 liam returned to Union City. 
 
 From Hickman Connell was sent to Cape 
 Girardeau, Missouri, to capture Clark, who was 
 said to have gone there three days before. 
 
 On the arrival of William in Union City, the 
 superintendent telegraphed to me the result o 
 William's visit to Lester's Landing, and au- 
 thorized me to send an operative to Farmington, 
 Illinois, to hunt up Mrs. Kate Graham, and lean)
 
 THE CAPTUKED RUFFIANS. 47 
 
 what she could tell about Russjll, Clark, and 
 Barton. A man was sent there the next day, and 
 he had no difficulty in finding Mrs. Graham, who 
 proved to be the wife of a highly respectable 
 business man. She was a member of the church, 
 and was held in high esteem by every one ac- 
 quainted with her. My agent, therefore, ca]led 
 upon her without any circumlocution or deception, 
 and asked to see her on business. She was con- 
 fined to her room by illness, but she saw him 
 for a few minutes, and answered his questions so 
 frankly that there was no doubt she was tellmg 
 the truth. She stated that she was not ac- 
 quainted with any one living at Lester's Landing; 
 that she did not know, nor ever had known, any 
 persons of the names given (Eussell, Clark, and 
 Barton); and that she knew no one who would 
 answer to their descriptions. This clue seemed 10 
 come to an end very quickly, yet it afterward 
 proved to be the means by which we captured one 
 of the gang, and it was a striking instance of the 
 necessity for the most careful and minute inquiry 
 upon every point of news obtained, especially 
 upon those received directly from the criminals 
 themselves. 
 
 On the 3d of November, Connell went with a 
 constable to the house of Mrs. Gully, the mother 
 of Clark's companion, Mrs. Slaughter, and there 
 he found them both. Clark was surprised by the 
 officers, but he made a bold fight, and was over- 
 powered with difficulty. When finally haml- 
 cull'ed and searched, a navy revolver and fifty
 
 48 THE CAPTURED RUFFIANS. 
 
 
 
 dollars in money were taken from him; he 
 then taken nine miles on horseback to Cape Girar- 
 deau, where Connell obtained a light wagon to 
 drive sixteen miles to Allenville, on the railroad 
 leading to Hickman. On this trip Connell made 
 the mistake of trusting to handcuffs alone, in- 
 stead of securely fastening his prisoner's feet 
 with rope. The idea that one man in handcuffs 
 could escape from two active, unimpeded men did 
 not, however, occur to Connell, and so the con- 
 stable drove the horse, while Clark and Connell 
 occupied the back seat. In justice to Connell, it 
 should be stated that he had been constantly in 
 the saddle for several days in raw and rainy 
 weather, and had had very little sleep for two 
 nights previous. 
 
 About nine o'clock in the evening, when only a 
 mile from Allenville, Clark suddenly made a leap 
 out of the wagon. The horse was jogging along 
 at a good trot, and, though Connell sprang after 
 his prisoner instantly, it was a couple of minutes 
 before the constable could follow. As he ran, 
 Connell fired at the dim figure disappearing in 
 the thick brush; but the next instant he pitched 
 headlong into a deep mud-hole, and, by the time 
 he got* out, the cylinder of his revolver was 
 choked with mud, and Clark was far in advance. 
 The chase was kept up as long as the pursuers 
 were able to distinguish the direction of his flight, 
 but, in tho darkness of the gloomy woods, it was 
 impossible to follow an athletic fellow like Clark 
 with any hope of success. Connell returned to
 
 THE CAPTURED RUFFIANS. 49 
 
 Union City very much crestfallen, and reported 
 his misfortune. My first feeling, on learning the 
 news, was one of deep regret and anxiety at the 
 loss of one of the leaders of the gang; my second 
 thought was one of profound thankfulness that 
 my men were in no way responsible for it. The 
 situation was an illustration of the disappoint- 
 ments and difficulties which are so often met in a 
 detective's experience; and, though I felt some- 
 what discouraged, I was more than ever deter- 
 mined that none of these men should eventually 
 escape, even though it should be necessary to fol- 
 low them for months. 
 
 The desire of the express company to employ 
 as few as possible of my operatives embarrassed 
 me exceedingly, for William was obliged to de- 
 pend upon strangers, and he had little confidence 
 in their ability or discretion. He was now satis- 
 fied of the identity of the parties he was in search 
 of, and all that he needed was a small force of ex- 
 perienced and reliable men. 
 
 Had I been limited and interfered with in the 
 Maroney case, described in " The Expressman and 
 the Detective," as I was in this, there is no doubt 
 that I might have failed to capture the criminal ; 
 but the cordial cooperation and support of the 
 Adams Express Company gave me a fail* oppor- 
 tunity to work to good advantage, and victory 
 was the result.
 
 60 A RICH LEAD. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Rich Lead Struck at Last, 
 
 "TTTILLIAM was quite sure, from the reputa- 
 VV tion and actions of Eussell, Clark, and 
 Barton, that they had been the leaders in the rob- 
 bery, and he believed that Lester could give im- 
 portant information about them ; he therefore 
 caused Lester to be brought to Union City, and, 
 on November 5, he succeeded in getting a state- 
 ment of the doings of these men since Lester had 
 known them. The important points developed 
 were as follows : 
 
 They came to Lester's Landing in the middle of 
 July, and built their store. They were rarely 
 there together, as they would go off for two or 
 three weeks at a time, leaving Barton or Clark in 
 charge, and sometimes putting Lester in as store- 
 keeper during the absence of all three. On one 
 occasion, Eussell showed him a pocket-book con- 
 taining nearly one thousand dollars, which he 
 thought he had lost, but which he found under a 
 rail fence where he had hidden it ; the other men, 
 also, seemed to have plenty of money. About 
 the middle of October, the three storekeepers 
 went away, and were gone until October 24, thr< >e 
 days after the robbery, on which day Lester met 
 Clark and Barton walking toward his house, on 
 the way from Hickman. They seemed quite ex
 
 A RICH LEAD. 51 
 
 cited, and said ti.At they had been engaged in a 
 difficulty, but they did not state what it was 
 They asked him whether he had seen Russell re- 
 cently, and also whether there was a skiff at his 
 landing; both questions were answered nega- 
 tively, and they passed on toward the store, while 
 Lester continued his walk to Hickman. On his 
 return at night, he found that Clark and Barton 
 had been across the river all day, scouting the 
 Missouri shore for Eussell, and that shortly after 
 their return, Russell had come across the river in 
 a skiff. Russell said that he had been shot, but 
 that he was not much hurt, and he did not seem 
 to act as if he had been hurt at all. Sunday morn- 
 ing, October 29, Clark took passage in a steamer 
 for Cape Girardeau, having Mrs. Slaughter in 
 company, and it was understood that he was go- 
 ing with Mrs. Slaughter to the house of her 
 mother, nine miles from the Cape. Tuesday 
 evening, William and Connell arrived at Lester's, 
 the fight took place, and Barton and Russell 
 escaped. After the detectives had gone back to 
 Campbell's, Barton returned to the house an^ 
 obtained a shawl, blanket, and two shot-guns ; 
 he said that they would never be taken alive, bu*. 
 that Russell had been badly wounded by one oi 
 11 10 detectives. William had left two men at the 
 kind ing the next day to capture the men if they 
 returned, but they were afraid to attempt it, a] 
 though they had a good opportunity that night. 
 Ku-soll came into the house alone, showing n 
 signs of having been wounded, and said that h<
 
 52 A RICH LEAD. 
 
 and Barton had joined four friends, who were 
 outside waiting for him ; that they were all well 
 mounted and armed, and that they intended to 
 kill any one who should betray them or attempt 
 their capture. He added that they intended to 
 make their way on horseback to Alabama, and 
 that they were strong enough to fight their way 
 through, if necessary. Of course, Eussell's object 
 was to frighten the detectives and others who 
 were searching for him, as he had no one with 
 him except Barton. 
 
 Among other points of value in Lester's state- 
 ment, was some incidental information relative 
 to the men, which he had learned during the time 
 they boarded with him. He had heard Clark say 
 that his mother lived sixty miles back of Nash- 
 ville, and Russell had once run a stationary engine 
 in Missouri. Lester was shown the satchel found 
 on the engine after the robbery, and he recog- 
 nized it as having been left at his house once by 
 a wood-chopper named Bill Taylor, who lived in 
 the cane-brake, some distance below him. He 
 said that the three men each carried a navy re- 
 volver and a derringer, while Eussell had also a 
 new, large-sized Smith & Wesson revolver. 
 
 Meantime, the telegraph had been used con- 
 stantly to learn something about the three men, 
 Kussell, Clark, and Barton, fronr. whatever source 
 information could be obtained. Barton was well 
 known in Nashville, New Madrid, and Union 
 City. He was quite young, but he had been in- 
 volved in a stabbing affray in Nashville, and was
 
 A RICH LEAD. 53 
 
 regarded as a desperate character. He had been 
 respectably brought up by Major Landis, General 
 Agent of the Nashville and Northwestern Rail- 
 road, and had been given a place in the employ 
 of that road, with good prospects for promotion. 
 Having become dissipated and hardened, he had 
 been discharged from his position, and Major 
 Landis had cast him off ; thenceforward, his 
 career had been rapid in the downward direction. 
 
 With regard to the other two men, little could 
 be learned, until a rich lead was struck on the 
 seventh of November. The corrected descriptions 
 of the different parties having been sent to all the 
 agents of the express company, Mr. Charles Pink, 
 agent at Cairo, recognized Russell as a man who 
 had sent eight hundred dollars in currency from 
 Cairo to Mrs. M. Farrington, Gillem Station, Ten- 
 nessee, on the eleventh of September, and who 
 had then started, according to his own statement, 
 for his home in Illinois. Mr. Pink also stated 
 that the chief of police in Cairo claimed to know 
 Russell, and to be able to find him for a suffi- 
 cient consideration. Not having any use for the 
 services of this disinterested officer, his offer was 
 politely declined. 
 
 The superintendent of the express company 
 was strongly impressed with the belief that Rus- 
 sell and Barton were lurking around Lester's, and 
 so, while William went to Nashville to see what 
 could be learned about Barton and his compan- 
 ions, a number of men were hired to scour the 
 country, hunt through the brake, and guard the
 
 54 A RICH LEAD. 
 
 Mississippi ferries, while Connell and Crowley, 
 the express messenger, were placed on the Mis- 
 souri bank, to scout that side of the river. I may 
 say here, en passant, that, with the exception of 
 the two named, these men were a source not only 
 of great unnecessary expense to the company, 
 but of vexation and hindrance to William. In 
 most cases, their scouting consisted in riding the 
 high-roads from one tavern to another, and in 
 order to have something to show for their work, 
 they would bring in every species of wild and 
 foolish rumor that they could discover or invent. 
 As the superintendent frequently desired that 
 these reports should be investigated, much valu- 
 able time was thus wasted. These men were not 
 only employed without my advice, but they were 
 retained long after I had urgently requested the 
 discharge of the whole party, and I had great 
 difficulty in obtaining their discharge, even after 
 I was positively sure that the robbers had crossed 
 the Mississippi and escaped into Missouri. 
 
 William spent one day in Nashville, and then 
 went to Gillem Station, where he learned that 
 Mrs. Farrington, to whom Eussell had sent eight 
 hundred dollars from Cairo, lived on an old, worn- 
 out farm, and passed for a rich widow. She had 
 three sons Hillary, Levi, and t Peter, the latter 
 being quite young. Hillary and Levi Farrington 
 uore a very bad reputation, having been mixed 
 up in all kinds of fights and quarrels for a num- 
 ber of years. They were suspected of horse- 
 stealing and counterfeiting . but most people were
 
 A RICH LEAD. 55 
 
 afraid of them, and they had never been arrested 
 in that vicinity. William here learned, also, that 
 Barton had been a frequent visitor at the Farring- 
 tons', and that he was as bad as the others. 
 While at Gillem Station, William met Pete Far- 
 ringtou, the youngest of the three brothers, and 
 his resemblance to Eussell, whose face William 
 had seen by the dim firelight and the flash of his 
 pistol in the cabin at Lester's Landing, caused a 
 sudden possibility to flash across his mind. He 
 reasoned out the connection of the different facts 
 about as follows : 
 
 ' 'Eussell was, undoubtedly, one of the Moscow 
 and Union City robbers, and he obtained a con- 
 siderable share of the plunder ; two months after 
 the first robbery, I find that he sent eight hun- 
 dred dollars to Mrs. Farrington ; this establishes 
 the connection of those two persons. Barton was 
 one of the actors in both robberies, also, and I 
 find that he was formerly intimate with Mrs. 
 Farrington and her sons ; another link. Pete 
 Farrington bears a strong resemblance to Russell, 
 their peculiar Roman noses, with a lump in the 
 middle, being exactly alike, and this creates a 
 strong presumption that they belong to the same 
 family. Now, Russell and Clark were so similar 
 in their general appearance, that many people 
 who have seen them together believe them to 
 have been brothers. Hillary and Levi Farring- 
 ton, I am told, also closely resemble each other, 
 and they have not been seen about here for some 
 months, they being, according to their mother's
 
 66 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 account., in Texas. The chain of evidence is very 
 complete ; what if Russell and Clark should prove 
 to be the Farrington brothers*! " 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Mother of the Farringtons, being arrested, boasts 
 that her Sons " Willnever be taken Alive." Another 
 Unfortunate Blunder by Amateur Detectives. An, 
 interesting Fate intended for the Detectives. Wil- 
 liam A. Pinkerton captures the Murderer of a iVtf/ro 
 in Union City, proving " a very good Fellow for 
 a Yankee." An Unfortunate Publication. -AY//- 
 ger - Wool Swamp and its Outlaws. 
 
 THE more William thought about it, the more 
 convinced he became that his theory was 
 correct, and he took steps to verify his suspicions 
 by placing a watch upon Mrs. Farrington's move- 
 ments. He also made arrangements to get pos- 
 session of any letters that might come for her, 
 and then, being hastily recalled by the superin- 
 tendent of the express company, he hurried back 
 to Union City. 
 
 He there learned that, during his absence, Clark 
 had talked with both Lester and his wife. The 
 latter had warned him of his danger, and he had 
 then disappeared in the cane-brake. The UK ;/ 
 stationed at Lester's for the express purp< 
 arresting any of the robbers who might come 
 there, had been either unaware of Clark's visit
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. : 7 
 
 or else they had been afraid to attempt his cap- 
 ture, and he had escaped again when almost 
 within our grasp. William had, therefore, been 
 called back by telegraph to take charge of the 
 men engaged in beating through the cane-brake, 
 as it had been clearly demonstrated that, without 
 a determined leader, these men w- re no more 
 useful than a flock of sheep. The hunt went on 
 for several days with no results whatever, while 
 at the same time scouts patroled the highways, 
 and other men kept watch upon the ferries and 
 fords for many miles around. 
 
 While this was going on, the express agent at 
 Gillem Station was keeping a close watch upon 
 Mrs. Farrington, when suddenly she announced 
 -her intention of going to join her sons in Texas. 
 Instead of sending word to William at once, the 
 agent began operations on his own account, and 
 when Mrs. Farrington arrived at Waverly, Ten- 
 nessee, he caused her arrest. She had started 
 with two new wagons and a complete outfit for 
 an overland journey of some length, so that her 
 progress could not have been very rapid, and 
 nothing would have been lost by waiting for in- 
 structions ; but the insane desire to play detective 
 seemed to overpower all other considerations in 
 the minds of the company's agents, and she was 
 arrested by the slu-rifT and a posse of citizens. 
 Her salutation to the officer who stopped her set- 
 tlcd !hr quesiion of identify at once, for, on being 
 told that she would be obliged to let him search 
 her wagons for certain men, she replied : 
 
 8*
 
 58 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 ;< Oh ! yes ; I know what you want. You would 
 like to find my two sons and Barton for the ex- 
 press robbery ; but you will never catch them, for 
 they are not now in this country, and they will 
 never be taken alive." 
 
 This piece of information led the express agent 
 to take the only sensible step of his whole proceed- 
 ing. Mrs. Farrington had two negro families 
 with her, some of whom had belonged to her be- 
 fore the war ; and, with the personal attachment 
 noticeable in many of the colored people, they 
 were now desirous of going West with her. It 
 occurred to the agent that some of them, from 
 their confidential relations to the family, might 
 be able to give some information as to the where- 
 abouts of the boys. The negroes were, therefore, 
 taken separately and closely examined, until one 
 of the men was urgently persuaded to reveal 
 what he knew. He said that Levi, Hillary, and 
 Barton had committed the robbery, and that they 
 had since been at Mrs. Farrington's together. 
 According to an agreement between the mother 
 and her sons, she was to start for Texas, passing 
 through Nigger- Wool Swamp, on the west side of 
 the Mississippi, and the two eldest sons were to 
 meet her in the swamp, when they would deter- 
 mine where to go. 
 
 The agent also learned that the men had ar- 
 rived at their mother's house Friday evening, No- 
 vember 10, and that a man who had gone there 
 to sell her a wagon had been met by Hillary Far- 
 rington with a shot-gun ; on seeing that it was a
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 59 
 
 neighbor, however, Hillary had lowered his gun 
 and allowed him to come in. It was also learned 
 that the three desperadoes had been seen at the 
 house of the Farringtons' uncle, named Douglas, 
 on Hurricane Creek, about ten miles from Wav- 
 erly ; again, on Monday, they had been noticed 
 at Hurricane Mills, making their way to Fowler's 
 Landing, on the Tennessee Kiver between Flor- 
 ence and Johnsonville, fourteen miles from the 
 last-named place. It was evident that they in- 
 tended to strike across the country below Reel's 
 Foot Lake, and cross the Mississippi at some point 
 between Columbus and Memphis. The men were 
 all well mounted and armed, and they had 
 (hanged their personal appearance somewhat by 
 altering the arrangement of their hair, whiskers, 
 and beards. 
 
 The arrest of Mrs. Farrington was a most un- 
 fortunate blunder, since it disclosed to the crim- 
 inals how close had been their pursuit, while little 
 really important information was obtained. It 
 was a good illustration of the danger of taking 
 ;my decided step in a criminal investigation be- 
 fore knowing to a certainty that some good result 
 would be obtained. The parties thus learned that 
 we were not only aware of their identity, but 
 also that we were very close upon their track, and 
 the danger, as well as the difficulty, of the case 
 was laruvly increased. These men were despera- 
 does of the most reckless type, and they would 
 not Irive hesitated a moment to lie in ambush 
 and kill their |nu>uers, if they had found it pos- 
 sihle |o do 80.
 
 60 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 In order to intercept the fugitives before -each- 
 ing the swampy country near the Mississippi, the 
 number of scouts and patrolling parties was in- 
 creased by the superintendent of the express 
 company, and two men, named Ball and Bleclsoe, 
 were engaged to follow Mrs. Farrington on horse- 
 back until her sons should join her in Nigger - 
 Woo*l Swamp. This would have been a sensible 
 and necessary move if the right kind of men had 
 been employed ; but the selection of untrained 
 men for the delicate and important work of 
 "shadowing" such an experienced gang of vil- 
 lains was risky in the extreme. Had they ever 
 met Barton and the Farringtons, the latter would 
 have undoubtedly murdered both of them with- 
 out scruple ; but there was 110 danger of such a 
 meeting, since the robbers, and Mrs. Farrington 
 also, were perfectly aware of the presence of their 
 pursuers from the start. Indeed, they afterward 
 stated that it had been their intention to have led 
 the detectives on as far *as the wild, unsettled 
 country of Western Missouri, and to have then 
 hanged them in some unfrequented spot, placing 
 the inscription "Horse-thief" upon each of the 
 bodies. Subsequent events prevented them from 
 carrying out this plan, but there was no doubt 
 that they would have taken that or some other 
 equally daring means of ridding themselves of 
 pursuit. The manner in which Ball and Bledsoe 
 exposed their intentions wherever they went 
 showed the inexperience of both men in such 
 work ; for, along the whole route over which
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 61 
 
 they passed, they were known as officers track- 
 ing a band of thieves ; and we afterward learned 
 that, while they were innocently and unsuspect- 
 ingly following Mrs. Farrington, two of the men, 
 Barton and Clark, were almost continually watch- 
 ing them. However, they had been started on 
 their mission by the superintendent before Wil- 
 liam could make any other arrangements, as he 
 ,vas away at Lester's Landing when the chase 
 began. 
 
 From William's reports to me, I saw the use- 
 lessness of maintaining such a body of men in 
 the work of scouting, watching ferries, and beat- 
 ing the cane-brake, for the reason that no good 
 could come of it. I knew that if the robbers could 
 escape from Lester's Landing and make their 
 way to Gillem Station once, they could do it 
 again. Clark (or Hillary Farrington) had been at 
 Lester's early Thursday morning, while guards 
 were stationed all about ; yet, on Saturday morn- 
 ing he was at his mother's farm, and no one had 
 even seen him on the way. This convinced me 
 that they had such a knowledge of the country 
 as to make it impossible to stop them by any sys- 
 tem of guards or patrols, and I therefore wrote 
 several letters asking that the superintendent dis 
 charge this expensive force at once, and allow me 
 to manage the whole operation by my own plans 
 and with my own men. While William, there- 
 fore, was at work with indefatigable energy and 
 perseverance, scouting and following up all the 
 reports brought in by the vast army of volun
 
 02 ANO'IHEK UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 detectives in the company's employ, we were t)oth 
 satisfied that the method adopted was useless, and 
 that even the ferry guards would discover noth- 
 ing. Knowing the character of the three desper- 
 adoes, I had no doubt of their sagacity in avoid- 
 ing observation and pursuit ; they would never 
 try to cross without knowing positively whether 
 the ferry was guarded, and if there should be any 
 real danger, they would undoubtedly steal a skiff 
 and make their horses swim across the river, a 
 feat of no great risk in the then low condition of 
 the water. 
 
 About this time an incident occurred which 
 added greatly to William's popularity in Union 
 City, and gained for him the respect and kindly 
 feeling of the community. On Sunday two 
 roughs, having drank enough bad whisky to be 
 absolutely fiendish, began to beat an old and inof- 
 fensive negro whom they happened to meet. A 
 merchant, named Blakemore, who was passing at 
 the time, stopped to remonstrate with the ruffians, 
 when one of them turned and plunged a knife 
 into his stomach, inflicting a wound which caused 
 his death next day. The murderer was the terror 
 of the town, and so great was the fear of him 
 that he would have probably escaped had not 
 William appeared on the street as he rushed 
 away flourishing his bloody knife and threaten- 
 ing to kill any one who should stand in his way. 
 The sight of William's heavy revolver leveled at 
 his head, backed by the certainty which he saw 
 in William's face that death or .surrender was his
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 63 
 
 only alternative, caused him to choose the latter, 
 and he w^s lodged in jail to await his trial foi 
 murder. The people of the town were quite en- 
 thusiastic over the way in which William had 
 brought the fellow to bay, and then compelled 
 his surrender ; and they even went so far as to 
 say that he was " a good fellow, a very good fel- 
 low indeed for a Yankee." 
 
 On the twentieth of November an unfortunate 
 publicity was given to our operations by the pub- 
 lication in the Union City Journal of a long his 
 tory of the Farringtons, showing their whole 
 career of crime, and terminating with an account 
 of their latest exploit, as developed by our inves- 
 tigations in and about Union City. It is unneces- 
 sary to state the source whence this information 
 was derived, further than to say that it was not 
 obtained from any member of my force. It was 
 a very dangerous piece of news to be published, 
 since it might have wholly overthrown all our 
 plans, besides involving the death of two or three 
 men engaged in the operation ; fortunately, the 
 robbers were undoubtedly across the Mississippi 
 by that time, and beyond the reach of newspapers 
 for some weeks at least. 
 
 On the same day that this matter was published, 
 Mrs. Farrington crossed the Mississippi River at 
 Bird's Point, opposite Cairo, and the fact was re- 
 ported to William and to me by telegraph. We 
 had previously learned that Mrs. Farrington h.<l 
 relatives in Springfield, Missouri, and in Dade 
 County, in the same State, and the probal.il .
 
 64 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 were that, instead of going to Texas, she \vas 
 going to visit in one of these places. Meanwhile, 
 though my opinion was that her sons intended to 
 rejoin her somewhere, either in Nigger -Wool 
 Swamp or at her place of destination, I had no 
 certainty that such was their intention ; and, 
 bearing in mind the warning they had received 
 by her arrest at Waveiiy (and possibly by read- 
 ing the newspaper article previously mentioned), 
 I felt that every clue must be carefully traced, 
 even though it might lead in an exactly opposite 
 direction from that in which our previous suspi- 
 cions had caused us to look. My correspondents 
 and agents in Louisville, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
 and New Orleans were, therefore, kept on the 
 alert to capture the men if they should venture 
 into those cities, while I held three determined 
 men ready to go at once in pursuit of Mrs. Far- 
 rington, in case she should take the route through 
 Nigger- Wool Swamp. 
 
 It will be remembered that one of the negroes 
 accompanying Mrs. Farrington had stated that 
 her sons were to join her in that swamp ; now, 
 there were three possibilities about this state- 
 ment : first, the negro might have lied ; second, 
 he might have been so informed by the old lady 
 on purpose to give a false scent in case he should 
 be questioned ; and, third, while their intention 
 might have been to meet there, subsequent c vents 
 might have altered their plans. Still, thinking 
 the subject over carefully, I decided that sho 
 would not take so difficult a course unless sho
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. f>j 
 
 really intended to meet her sons there. My rea- 
 sons for so thinking were based upon the nature 
 of the place, and, to comprehend my solicitude 
 about Nigger -Wool Swamp, a description of it 
 will be necessary. 
 
 The swamp is more than seventy miles long by 
 about thirty-five miles wide, and, as a piece of 
 bottomless ooze, its superior cannot be found in 
 the United States. There are just two roads 
 crossing it, one running from Hall's Ferry, at 
 Point Pleasant, Missouri, and the other from 
 Mitchell's Ferry, thirty-five miles below. These 
 roads are mere bog-paths in themselves, being 
 heavily overlaid with underbrush and corduroy 
 logs, yet they afford the only means of crossing 
 this vast morass. The period of the annual over- 
 flow turns it into a turbid, sluggish lake, the roads 
 being then deeply buried under water ; but even 
 in the dryest seasons the greater portion of the 
 swamp is a bottomless slime of mud and putre- 
 fying vegetation. Large tracts of thickly- wooded 
 land are contained within the limits of the swamp, 
 and these constitute a semi -substantial basis for 
 the two roads which run through them ; but even 
 these clumps are impassable at most seasons, 
 except along the artificially- constructed roads. 
 Sometimes, for miles and miles, nothing but tho 
 rankest of swamp- vegetation is seen, growing in 
 wild profusion and covering the treacherous ooze 
 with a close network of leaves and brai.<-lv <, 
 until the surface looks firm enough to be tal. 
 for solid ground ; but should any unfortunate
 
 66 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 
 
 traveler venture to cross such a spot, his limbs 
 would be clogged by these clinging water-plants, 
 his feet would find no secure resting-place, and, 
 sinking rapidly deeper and deeper into the mire, 
 his bones would find a sepulcher where nothing 
 but a general natural convulsion would ever dis- 
 turb them. 
 
 Still, there are occasional islands of firm ground 
 through this section, and these have become the 
 resort of lawless characters of every nationality 
 and degree of crime. Over the entrance to Nig- 
 ger-Wool Swamp might be placed, with perfect 
 truthfulness, the motto: "Who enters here 
 leaves hope behind." Each man is a law unto 
 himself, and he must maintain his rights by the 
 strong arm and the ready shot-gun. In one thing 
 only are the dwellers of the swamp united, 
 namely : a bitter and deadly resistance to the 
 law. No officer of justice ventures therein to 
 perform any of the duties of his office ; unless 
 backed by a powerful body of determined men, 
 he would never return alive, and, if so accompa- 
 nied, he would never succeed in catching a 
 glimpse of any criminal whom he might be 
 seeking. 
 
 About the middle of the swamp, the two roads 
 cross each other at a spot called " The Gates," and 
 every person traveling through either way must 
 pass this place. Knowing this fact, I felt sure 
 that Mrs. Farrington would await the arrival ol 
 her sons at " The Gates," in case she entered the 
 ewamp, and I determined that, in such an event,
 
 ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE BLUNDER. 67 
 
 I should try to capture them there. I was fully 
 aware of the danger of such an attempt, but I 
 knew that to take the bull by the horns is some- 
 times the safest means of overpowering him. To 
 send officers to that point with the avowed pur- 
 pose of arresting any one, would be equivalent to 
 sending them to their certain death, and I had no 
 intention of doing anything of the kind ; but I 
 had men of my force who could visit Nigger- 
 Wool Swamp for the professed purpose of hiding 
 there from pursuit for alleged crimes, and, when 
 the moment came for action, I did not doubt that 
 they would bring out their men before the neigh- 
 boring outlaws could discover their object. 
 
 Everything depended upon the course Mrs. Far- 
 rington should take on leaving the Mississippi 
 River, since by striking north from the point 
 where she crossed, she could skirt the edge of the 
 swamp, while if she turned south toward Point 
 Pleasant, I should know that she intended to 
 carry out her original programme. This question 
 was quickly settled, however, not only by the re- 
 ports of the scouts, Ball and Bledsoe, who were 
 following Mrs. Farrington, but also by an unex- 
 pected piece of intelligence from Gillein Station. 
 Mrs. Farrington moved about twenty or twenty- 
 five miles each day, and, from the faot that she 
 went north to Fredericktown, there was no doubt 
 that she had changed her plan of meeting 
 sonj in Nigger- Wool Swamp.
 
 68 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Scene of Action transferred to Missouri. Tfa 
 Chase becoming Hot. 
 
 ON the twenty-.second of November, William 
 learned that a letter had arrived at Gillem 
 Station, postmarked Verona, Missouri, November 
 13, and he immediately took measures to obtain 
 this letter. Three days later he learned its con- 
 tents, which were of such an important character 
 as to give a new direction to our efforts. The letter 
 read as follows: 
 
 "VERONA, Mo., Nov. 13, 1871. 
 " MY DEAR COUSIN: 
 
 ' ' I seat myself to answer your kind letter, which 
 came to hand last evening, and was glad to hear 
 from you, and hear you was well and doing well. 
 I have nothing new to write, only that we are all 
 well at present, hoping that when these few lines 
 come to hand they may find you well and doing 
 well as ever, as you say you have been doing very 
 well. It must be a good thing if it could stay so. 
 Sometimes it was well and sometimes it wasn't, 
 but I hope it will stay so, as you say it is a soft 
 thing as soft as things gets to be. I would like 
 to see something like that, you bet. You talk like 
 it can't be beat. That is the thing to take; in. 1 
 think, and I know you think it, for I saw your
 
 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. G9 
 
 name. I guess I did see you. You kno^\ Mr. 
 Orapmel? He is a, great fellow; you bet it is so. 
 1 have nothing more to write at present, as you 
 sa id you are going to start out here. You' said you 
 was coming by here. Cousin, if you do come by, 
 we don't live where we did when you were here; 
 we li vi 5 two miles nearer Verona. Come the same 
 road. We live now half mile oft the road on John 
 Ellis' place. You can find out where we live any- 
 where. Come out the same road you did when 
 you came before. John Timothy has just come 
 out here; has been out here about thr^e weeks. 
 He is well satisfied here. So I will close for this 
 time. 
 
 " From your cousin, 
 
 " J. M. DURHAM. 
 
 " M. F. sends her love to all of the family. Ex- 
 cuse my bad writing and bad spelling." 
 
 It was evident that Mrs. Farrington had pre- 
 viously written to her cousin informing him of 
 her intention to visit him soon, and this letter 
 was intended to direct her to the new location. 
 The allusions in the letter to the "good thing" in 
 which she was engaged showed that the writer 
 had been made aware of the Farringtons' success 
 xpress robbers, and that he quite approved of 
 their operations. 
 
 On reading this letter, William sent a copyio 
 me immediately, and suggested that one or two 
 good men be sent to Verona to get work near this 
 man Durham, and to get into the confidence of
 
 70 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 the family, so that, when Mrs. Farrington should 
 arrive, she would not bo likely to suspect any one 
 who had come before her. I fully approved of 
 William's plan, and, on the last day of Novem- 
 ber, Detectives George W. Cottrell arid Arthur C. 
 Marriott started for Verona. I inferred that the 
 people in that vicinity were rather lawless and 
 despei ate characters, from the fact that Durham 
 spoke of "John Timothy " being well satisfied 
 there. On the principle that ' ' birds of a feather 
 flock together," I judged the Farringtons,the Dur- 
 hams, and this fellow Timothy to belong to the 
 same type of people; hence, I concluded that, if 
 Durham and Timothy were satisfied with the 
 country, the people living there must be congenial 
 spirits, especially since Mrs. Farrington was about 
 to make a place of refuge in that vicinity. 
 
 My two men were detained a day in St. Louis, 
 and they did not arrive in Verona until the sec- 
 ond of December. The first thing they noticed 
 about the town was the total absence of liquor sa- 
 loons, and a few minutes' conversation with one 
 or two of the citizens convinced them that no 
 more orderly, honest, law-abiding community ex- 
 isted in Missouri than the population of Lawrence 
 County. This discovery made a marked change 
 m their plans necessary, as my instructions to 
 them had been based upon the supposition that 
 4 hey would find a number of robbers, horse- 
 thieves, and counterfeiters around Verona, and 
 that they would be easily able to get Durham's 
 confidenq} by appearing as reckless and desperate
 
 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 71 
 
 as any one. They had each prepared a choice au- 
 tobiography for use among the residents, and, ac- 
 cording to their own intended accounts of them- 
 selves, two greater scoundrels never went un- 
 hung. 
 
 All this was necessarily useless in the changed 
 circumstances surrounding them. To attempt the 
 role of criminal characters, hiding from justice, 
 would quickly cause their banishment from the 
 place, or possibly their arrest, and a new plan 
 was essential. Their instructions had been that 
 they should not put any confidence in any one, 
 and they were obliged to invent a plausible rea- 
 son for their presence there; also to have some 
 business which would enable them to ride about 
 the country, making inquiries and scouting foi 
 Mrs. Farrington and her sons. 
 
 Finding that the railroad company had a land 
 agent in Verona, Cottrell decided to represent 
 themselves as would-be purchasers of land. This 
 would give them an excuse for going all over the 
 county, examining different farms and unim- 
 proved tracts. They were introduced to Mr. 
 Purdy, the land agent, by the hotel clerk, and 
 from him they obtained a map of the county. It 
 was then agreed that Mr. Purdy should go out 
 with Cottrell and Marriott on Tuesday, December 
 5, to look at some pieces of property which the 
 railroad company wished to sell. During Sunday 
 and Monday both of the detectives were trying to 
 ti where Durham lived, but no one seemed to 
 know; neither could any one tell them anything
 
 72 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 about John Ellis, upon whose farm Durham had 
 said he was living. The idea that Mrs. Farrington 
 was rapidly pushing west, toward Durham's place, 
 made Cottrell very anxious to begin operations 
 as quickly as possible, since, if she should arrive 
 before the detectives were established in the vicin- 
 ity, there would be great difficulty in working 
 into her confidence, as she would instantly sus- 
 pect their true character; whereas, if she should 
 find them already there, she would have no pos- 
 sible occasion to distrust them. They therefore 
 thought best to confide the real object of their 
 visit to Mr. Purdy, the land agent, and to ask his 
 advice and assistance. Mr. Purdy had been an 
 officer in the Union army during the war of the 
 rebellion, and had settled in Verona at the close 
 of the war. He was evidently an honorable man, 
 who would always be found on the side of law 
 and order, and as he was very popular in Verona, 
 he would be able to give them a great deal of as- 
 sistance in capturing the Farrington party. On 
 communicating with me by telegraph on this 
 point, they ^tated the facts briefly, and I author- 
 ized them to confer with Mr. Purdy on the sub- 
 ject, at the same time forwarding full instruc- 
 tions by letter. 
 
 On Tuesday, therefore, they told the whole 
 story to Mr. Purdy, and showed him their cre- 
 el 3iitials. He was quite astonished at their reve- 
 lations, but he was very hearty and sincere in his 
 expressions of good will toward them, and he 
 promised to aid them in every possible way. He
 
 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 73 
 
 knew John Ellis quite well, having sold him the 
 farm on which he was living, and he had heard of 
 Durham, who hired a small portion of the Ellis 
 farm. He said that if force should be necessary 
 to capture the Farrington party, he could raise 
 fifty determined men in ten minutes to help the 
 officers. He said that after the war Verona had 
 been a very bad place for a short time, but that, 
 as Eastern men began to settle there, the respect- 
 able people had tried to drive out the hard cases; 
 this had been slow work at first, but they event- 
 ually had been completely successful; they not 
 only had driven out the dangerous characters, but 
 they had closed all the liquor saloons also; and 
 now, having once got rid of them, they would 
 take care not to let any of that class of people 
 back again. 
 
 Mr. Purdy was called away for a day or two on 
 business, but he promised, on his return, to go 
 with the detectives to Durham's place, and, mean- 
 time, he said he would speak of them as gentle- 
 men who intended buying land in that section, 
 and who wished to ride over the country until 
 they found a place which satisfied them. During 
 the next three days, therefore, they learned 
 nothing new, their time being occupied in scout- 
 ing the road along which they expected Mrs. Far- 
 rington to come. 
 
 Thus tin- tirsl week of December passed, and 
 the operation was not progressing very favorably 
 anywhere. Ball and Bledsoe had reported Mrs. 
 Farrington's route up to the thirtieth of November,
 
 74 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 and she had moved quite rapidly up to that date, 
 but nothing had been learned since, and I expected 
 to hear of her arrival at Verona every day. She 
 had gone from Cairo to Frederickstown, Missouri, 
 and thence to Ironton; then, instead of following a 
 direct road, she had struck up north to Potosi, in 
 Washington County; again taking a westerly 
 route, she had passed through Steelville, Crawford 
 County, and on the thirtieth of November, she 
 had camped at Waynesville, Pulaski County. 
 Beyond this we knew nothing of her movements, 
 although by the eighth of December she had had 
 ample time to reach Verona. 
 
 William had spent this week in following up a 
 clue received from Louisville, Kentucky. It will 
 be remembered that about November 9, a pair of 
 dashing women had been reported as having 
 visited the banks in Kansas City, trying to get 
 large bills for about eight thousand dollars in small 
 bills. I had not believed the story at that time, 
 and therefore had taken no steps to follow them. 
 When William learned from Louisville, however, 
 that a woman named Annie Martin, whom Levi 
 Farrington had been in the habit of supporting 
 on the proceeds of his robberies, had been stay- 
 ing there with another woman named Lillie 
 Baker, who had sustained the same relations to 
 Barton, it occurred to him that these might have- 
 been the women who were said to have been in 
 Kansas City with so much money. He started 
 at once for Louisville, at the same time f 
 graphing to me his suspicions in the matter, and I
 
 1HE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 75 
 
 f 
 
 began inquiries again in Kansas City by telegraph. 
 I could learn very little except from the teller of 
 one bank, who described the women as well as he 
 could remember their appearance; but the descrip- 
 tion was not accurate enough to determine 
 whether these two women had or had not been 
 Annie Martin and Lillie Baker. Tn Louisville, 
 however, William learned that these women had 
 been there recently, and they had appeared to be 
 well supplied with money. They had not re- 
 mained very long, but had gone to New Orleans, 
 where they were then living in good style. As 
 Mr. O'Brien, the general superintendent of the 
 express company, was in New Orleans, the in- 
 formation was sent to him, and he agreed to have 
 a sharp watch kept to discover Farrington and 
 Barton, in case they should follow these women. 
 On the eighth of December, Cottrell, Marriott, 
 and Mr. Purdy started on horseback to visit John 
 Ellis's farm, where the Durhams lived. About a 
 mile before arriving there, they met a farmer 
 named Wisbey, who was a neighbor of Ellis and 
 the Durhams. Without letting him into their con- 
 fidence, they talked with him a long time, and 
 i;i ndually drew out a number of important facts. 
 The Durham family consisted of two brothers and 
 a young sister living with their mother, old Mrs. 
 Durham, and they rented a small house on a part 
 of the Ellis farm. Nothing positive had ever born 
 discovered against the character of either James 
 or Tilman Durham, but the neighbors had a poor 
 opinion of them, and kept a pretty close watch
 
 76 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 upon their actions. During the previous fall a 
 young man had visited them for soi^e time, and 
 his description was exactly that of Levi Farring- 
 ton; but Wisbey could not tell his name, though 
 he promised to learn it, and let Mr. Purdy kno\\ 
 Mr. Wisbey was a downright honest, intelligent, 
 man, and Mr. Purdy asked him to learn everything 
 possible about the Durhams and their visitors; in 
 case any wagons should arrive, it was agreed that 
 he should send word to Mr. Purdy instantly. 
 There was no occasion for telling him the whole 
 story, as he was quite willing to undertake the 
 trust on the strength of Mr. Purdy 's request, with- 
 out asking further particulars; and, as he was a 
 thoroughly discreet man, there was little danger 
 that he would betray his mission by idle talking. 
 The detectives and Mr. Purdy then returned to 
 Verona, it being considered undesirable that they 
 should visit the-- Durhams, lest they might pos- 
 sibly excite suspicion. 
 
 The day following their visit to Wisbey, he ar- 
 rived in Verona and told Cottrell that he had 
 sent his son-in-law, Mr. Stone, to see Jim Durham, 
 and the latter had said that he was expecting the 
 arrival of some relatives very soon. He had 
 learned further that the young man who had 
 visited Durham in the latter part of the previous 
 September had given his name as Levi Farrington, 
 and had passed as the beau of the young Durham 
 girl. In speaking of him, Jim Durham had told 
 Mr. Stone that he did not wish his sister to marry 
 Farrington, as the latter was a dangerous man.
 
 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 77 
 
 and had recently killed a man in a quarrel, while 
 those who stood about were too much afraid of 
 him to arrest him. Mr. Wisbey then returned 
 home, with instructions to alternate with Mr. 
 Stone in secretly watching Durham's place, so that 
 every occurrence might be at once reported. 
 
 On the tenth of December I received a dispatch 
 from Mr. O'Brien, saying that i he express agent 
 at Springfield, Missouri, had telegraphed to him 
 on the eighth that the wagons of Mrs. Farrington's 
 party had camped five miles from Springfield, and 
 that the three men were known to be sixty miles 
 south of Rolla. Mr. O'Brien therefore requested 
 me to send a good detective to meet Conuell in 
 St. Louis, whence they would go together to cap- 
 ture the men at Eolla. I at once sent one of my 
 best men, named Martin Galway, with instruc- 
 tions to join Connell, and, in case the Eolla report 
 should prove to be a false alarm, they were to go 
 on to Verona to assist Cottrell and Marriott. I 
 had hardly completed my instructions to Galway, 
 ere I received a telegram in cipher from Cottrell, 
 as follows: 
 
 "Levi Farrington and a man calling himself 
 George Cousins are at Durham's. They came on 
 Thursday evening. Shall I arrest them ? I can 
 get all the help I need." 
 
 I immediately replied, also by a cipher dispatch, 
 as follows: 
 
 "Are you sure it is Levi Farrington? His 
 brother and Barton will probably be at Verona 
 soon. We must get the whole. I think they
 
 78 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 
 
 will come from Douglas County. Probably Con- 
 nell and Galway will be with you by Monday 01 
 Tuesday night; they can identify the men. Mrs. 
 Farrington will be at Durham's by Sunday night 
 or Monday morning. Keep a cool, clear head, anc* 
 advise with Purdy. Have written by mail to- 
 night. Keep me posted. . William will arrive by 
 Tuesday." 
 
 At the same time I wrote full instructions to 
 Cottrell, ordering him to keep a close watch upon 
 the men at Durham's, but to take no action until 
 William should arrive, unless they attempted to 
 go away. I did not alter Galway's instructions, 
 but I telegraphed to William to start for Verona 
 at once, to take charge of the operations there. 
 The chase was now becoming hot, and a few days 
 would decide the question of success or failure. I 
 had reason to believe that the outlaws would not 
 be taken without a desperate resistance, and I 
 was anxious to have William present to direct 
 the attack. 
 
 On Sunday, the tenth dottrell and Marriott 
 rode out to see Wisbey, who met them just out- 
 side of Verona and informed them that Levi 
 Farrington had arrived at Jim Durham's late 
 Thursday night, accompanied by a young man 
 named George Cousins. They did not receive 
 my reply to their telegram announcing this fact 
 until late that day, and so they could do nothing 
 toward satisfying themselves as to Levi Farring- 
 ton's identity until next morning, when they 
 visited Wisbey at his own house. Mr. Stone,
 
 THE CHASE BECOMING HOT. 79 
 
 Wisbey's son-in-law, had met a man named 
 Smothers, who worked for Jim Durham, and 
 Smothers had told him all about the two men 
 who had just arrived. According to their own 
 account, they had left Mrs. Farrington at Ash 
 Grove, in Greene County, where she was going to 
 buy a farm, Levi having given her five thousand 
 dollars for that purpose; Levi and Cousins were 
 on their way to Kansas, where they intended to 
 settle down to raise cattle; Levi's brother was 
 said to be at Lester's Landing for the purpose of 
 selling off a stock of groceries which they owned 
 there. Both men were well armed, having three 
 navy revolvers and a shot-gun. 
 
 When this news was transmitted to me by 
 telegraph, I decided that this man Cousins must 
 be Barton, and that Hillary Farrington might pos- 
 sibly be at Lester's Landing, as they said. I 
 therefore telegraphed to William, who I knew 
 would be in St. Louis that day, en route to 
 Verona, that he had better, take Connell and 
 Galway back to Lester's to capture Hillary, 
 while Cottrell and Marriott undertook the arrest 
 of Levi and Barton at Durham's. I also sent a 
 dispatch to Cottrell to take no steps for their ar- 
 rest until after William should have captured 
 Hillary. 
 
 William, having previously thoroughly ex- 
 amined the contents of the store at Lester's, 
 knew that they were not worth over two hundred 
 dollars, and he telegraphed me to that effect, 
 suggesting that it was improbable that Hillary
 
 80 THE OUTLAWS SURROU1TOED. 
 
 should run so much risk for so small a sum. On 
 learning this fact, I coincided with him, and 
 ordered him to go on to Verona, as I had originally 
 intended. I desired that he should keep the 
 Durham place carefully watched until the arrival 
 of the other Farrington, who, I helieved, would 
 soon join the rest of the party; then, in case he 
 arrived, we should get all three together; but, if 
 the other two should show any signs of moving 
 off, they could be taken at any time. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien obtained requisitions from the 
 Governor of Tennessee on the Governor of Mis- 
 souri for the three men, and I felt that success 
 was only delayed a day or two at most. 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 
 A determined Party of Horsemen. The Outlaws sur- 
 rounded and the JSirds caged, A Parley. An 
 affecting Scene. The burning Cabin. Its Occu- 
 pants finally surrender. 
 
 "TTTHILE the telegrams were flying back and 
 VV forth on Tuesday, the twelfth, Cottrell 
 and Marriott were busily engaged. Early that 
 morning Mr. Stone came to Verona, and told 
 them that he had learned that Farrington and 
 cousins intended to leave Durham's for the In- 
 dian Territory the next day. The news was 
 doubtless authentic, Stone having heard it from
 
 THE OUTLAWS SUK11OUNDED. 81 
 
 Smothers, who had said that Farrington had told 
 him so himself. It was clearly impossible to wail 
 for William's arrival, as, by that time, the men 
 might be safely hidden in the wild country to tho 
 westward. Instant action was absolutely neces 
 sary, and Cottrell so informed Mr. Purdy, who 
 soon gathered a force of eight men. Very little 
 would have been needed to obtain even a larger 
 number of recruits, for, had Mr. Purdy and the 
 detectives publicly told the story of the men 
 whom they wished to capture, there would have 
 been plenty of eager volunteers, all anxious to 
 aid in ridding the country of such a band of out- 
 laws. It was not deemed advisable, however, to 
 summon a large posse, lest the news might 
 spread so fast as to reach the ears of the crimi- 
 nals before the detectives could surround them ; 
 on this account only a few reliable men were let 
 into the secret, and they left town singly and in 
 pairs to avoid observation, having a rendezvous 
 outside. 
 
 Just before starting, Mr. Purdy received a dis- 
 patch from the general land agent, ordering him 
 to Pearce City instantly, as several purchasers of 
 land were awaiting him there ; although he tried 
 to have his visit postponed one day, he was un- 
 successful, his orders being imperatively repeated 
 by telegraph, and so he was unable to accompany 
 the detectives and citizens on their expedition to 
 Durham's. The party of eight met the detec- 
 tives outside the town, and they were joined on 
 their way by three others, who lived on the road. 
 
 4*
 
 82 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 
 
 They were all substantial business men or 
 farmers, but they were accustomed to a life in 
 the saddle, and they had all borne arms during 
 the war on one side or the other. In spite of 
 their present peaceful occupations they were not 
 a body who could be trifled with, and it was evi- 
 dent that any gang of desperadoes would find 
 their match in these cool, determined, law-abid- 
 ing men. 
 
 A few miles from Verona they met a young 
 lady riding a large brown mule, but none of the 
 men in the party knew her. CottreD felt sure, 
 however, that she was Durham's sister, and that 
 she was riding Farrington's mule. The descrip- 
 tions he had received of the girl from Stone and 
 Wisbey coincided exactly with her appearance, 
 while the mule could not be mistaken. He there- 
 fore sent a man back to watch her, lest she 
 should have taken alarm at so large a cavalcade 
 of armed men. She rode on to Verona, however, 
 without showing any signs of uneasiness, and 
 the scout soon overtook the party. 
 
 On arriving one mile from Wisbey's, Marriott 
 went on to Stone's house with six men, while 
 Cottrell went to Wisbey's with the other five. 
 Stone and Wisbey soon gathered a number of 
 the neighbors, among whom was John Ellis, who 
 owned the house and land where the Durhams 
 were living; he was a very highly respected citi- 
 zen, and was not at all displeased at the idea of 
 getting rid of his semi-disreputable tenants. The- 
 iii;m;igrment of the affair was then unpnimoiisly
 
 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. * 83 
 
 voted to Cottrell, and the party rode rapidly 
 toward the Durham house. It was situated at 
 the edge of a clearing, with underbrush and 
 woodland close to it on three sides, so that great 
 caution was necessary, lest the villains should 
 see them approaching, and escape into the woods. 
 At a reasonable distance from the house, there- 
 fore, the party divided, a part, under Marriott's 
 direction, dismounting and making their way to 
 the rear of the house on foot. When sufficient 
 time had elapsed to enable the latter party to 
 surround the house, Cottrell, with the remainder, 
 dashed up to the front of the house and spread 
 out, so as to make sure that no one should escape. 
 As they approached, a man, who proved to be 
 Jim Durham, appeared on the porch and asked 
 what they wanted; to which Cottrell replied that 
 he wanted the men in the house. 
 
 The words had hardly passed his lips ere Barton 
 sprang into the open doorway with a navy revolvt r 
 leveled at Cottrell; but, seeing that the latter, as 
 well as several others, had him covered, he shut 
 the door quickly and started for the back of the 
 house. By this time, however, the cordon of 
 guards had drawn close' around, and, as he 
 emerged at the rear, he found himself confronted 
 by half a dozen determined men, who ordered 
 him to surrender. He then hastily tried to cl 
 the back door also, and pointed his revolver 
 through the crack; but the discharge of several 
 shots, which struck close to him, caused him to 
 withdraw his pistol and lightly close the dour. It
 
 84 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 
 
 was evident that the birds were caged a G las( , and 
 it was now only a question of time when they 
 would be taken; as it was only one o'clock in the 
 afternoon, there were still four hours of daylight 
 to conduct the siege. 
 
 Jim Durham, when he saw the rifles and revolv- 
 ers of so large a force pointed at him, was thor- 
 oughly frightened, and he begged piteously that 
 they would not shoot him. Cottrell placed his 
 men behind trees, fences, and other protections, 
 so as to be safe from any attempt to pick them off 
 by the men in the house, and yet to guard every 
 means of exit from the place; he then called Jim 
 Durham out and searched him, finding nothing 
 but a single-barreled pistol. He then sent Jim to 
 the door of the house to summon the men inside 
 to surrender, telling them that he was determined 
 to have them alive if possible, but if not, dead. 
 
 They refused to surrender, saying that they 
 would kill any man who should approach the 
 house. When Durham brought back their an- 
 swer, Cottrell sent word that he would give them 
 five minutes in which to decide whether they 
 would yield peaceably or be burned out and shot 
 ;o death. Just then Mrs. Durham, the mother 
 )f the Durham boys, begged Cottrell to allow 
 ler to go speak to Farrington and Barton, as she 
 jelieved she could induce them to surrender. 
 Accordingly, she went to the front window and 
 implored them not to have the house burned 
 down, as all her household goods would be de- 
 stroyed. They replied that they might as weU
 
 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED 85 
 
 die inside as to come out and be shot down. Cot- 
 trell sent back word that they should be treated 
 like all other prisoners if they would pass out 
 their arms and surrender quietly; but if they 
 tried to fight or resist, they would surely be 
 killed. 
 
 As they still refused, Jim Durham was sent to 
 barricade the doors with fence rails, so that they 
 should not be able to rush out unexpectedly. ' He 
 whined and complained that the men inside would 
 shoot him, but he was obliged to go, and though 
 they did threaten him, he was able to crawl up 
 and lay the rails without getting within range. 
 The house was a solid log cabin, with only two 
 doors and very few windows, so that it was pos- 
 sible to approach it in one or two directions with- 
 out exposure to a fire from within. When the 
 doors had been securely barricaded, Cottrell or- 
 dered him to get on the roof, which was a com- 
 mon shingle roof, and set fire to the house. Mrs. 
 Durham was carrying on at a great rate, first 
 begging Farrington to surrender, and then pray- 
 ing to Cottrell not to burn her property. John 
 Ellis, to whom the house belonged, gave full per- 
 mission to burn it, and a fire was built in the 
 open air to make brands to set it afire. 
 
 Mrs. Durham was allowed to make one more 
 appeal to the ruffians inside, but they would not 
 listen to her entreaties. They asked her, how 
 ever, what kind of a looking man Cottrell A- 
 and what he wanted to arrest them for. Cottrell 
 was standing near enough to hear thft question,
 
 86 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 
 
 and after Mrs. Durham had described his appear- 
 ance, he told them that he wanted them foi an 
 express robbery; that he would treat them kindly 
 if they should yield peaceably; but if they should 
 refuse this, his last offer, he should set fire to the 
 house and shoot them down as they ran out. He 
 said he had no wish to kill them, but that he was 
 determined they should not escape; rather than 
 allow them to get away, he would have them 
 shot on sight; but they would be protected and 
 brought to trial if they would surrender. 
 
 To this they replied that they intended killing 
 some of their besiegers first, anyhow. Finding 
 further parley useless, therefore, Cottrell gave 
 the order to burn the building, and Durham was 
 forced to carry the embers and brands to burn 
 his own premises. Just at this time, the young 
 girl, whom they had met riding a mule toward 
 Verona, rode up to the house and asked what 
 was the matter. As Cottrell had surmised, this 
 was Miss Durham, and she was very much 
 frightened at what she saw. 
 
 The afternoon sun was buried in a deep bank 
 of clouds, so that the twilight was rapidly draw- 
 ing on, there being just enough light to show the 
 barricaded doors, the deserted porch, and the de- 
 termined men scattered around, with shot-guns 
 and rifles pointed at the low log cabin, above 
 which a frightened man stood out in bold relief 
 against the sky, tearing off the shingles and 
 piling them upon a glowing flame at his feet. 
 Everything was now hushed in deathly silence,
 
 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 87 
 
 and it needed no explanation for any one to un- 
 derstand that a bloody tragedy was about to occur 
 if that flame should be allowed to envelop the 
 building. It was now the prison of its two oc- 
 cupants, but only a short time would elapse 
 before it would be their tomb. 
 
 On seeing the situation, Miss Durham asked to 
 be allowed to speak to the men, as she said she 
 knew they would listen to her. On Cottrell's re- 
 fusal to hold any more parley with them, she 
 burst into tears, threw her arms around his neck, 
 and implored him to let her speak to Barton just 
 once, if only for five minutes. Finally, seeing 
 that most of his party wished to give the girl a 
 chance to speak to her sweetheart, Cottrell said 
 that she could have three minutes to obtain their 
 nuns; if they surrendered immediately, the fire 
 should be put out; but, if they should still refuse, 
 their last chance of saving the house and their 
 lives would be gone. Miss Durham then went to 
 the window, and talked with the men in the most 
 imploring manner, urging them not to sacrifice 
 themselves, as they would surely do if they re- 
 in; i ii lod in the burning house. Her entreaties did 
 not seem to affect them at first; and, as the 
 il; nnes were then beginning to gather strength, 
 Cottrell ordered her to come away from the 
 house, and leave them to their fate. She ma<le 
 one more appeal, and P>;uton handed her a navy 
 revolver: 1hen Farriiigton did the same, and she 
 brought them to Cottrell, saying that they would 
 surrender if they rould he suiv \liat their h
 
 88 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 
 
 would be spared. Cottrell told her to go back 
 and get the rest of their arms, and assure them 
 that they should be taken to Tennessee for trial. 
 She soon returned with another revolver and a 
 shot-gun, and said that the men would come out. 
 Cottrell therefore removed the rails, opened 1 he 
 front door, and called them out Barton coming 
 first, and then Farrington. The latter proved to 
 be Hillary, not Levi, as he had called himself. It 
 was not known why he had used his brother's 
 name, but it was supposed that Hillary had taken 
 his name to enable him to prove an alibi in case 
 he should be arrested. 
 
 Cottrell's party first secured the prisoners with 
 ropes, and then assisted Jim Durham to extinguish 
 the fire on the roof ; the latter was quite rotten, 
 and it had burned so slowly that very little damage 
 had been done. The prisoners were thoroughly 
 searched, but nothing of any consequence 
 found upon them, the total of their funds being 
 less than three dollars. A prolonged search 
 through the house revealed nothing of importance, 
 except the fact that it was quite an arsenal for 
 arms, there being found six navy revolvers, t \vo 
 double-barreled shot-guns, and a Spencer repeat- 
 ing rifle. The siege had lasted nearly three hours, 
 and, another hour having been spent in searching 
 the house and saddling their animals, it was nearly 
 dark by the time they started for Verona. Far- 
 rington and Barton were carefully tied upon the 
 horse and mule respectively, and, after thanking 
 the neighboring farmers for their assistance, ( < .1 -
 
 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 89 
 
 trell took the road back, accompanied bj the 
 eleven men who belonged in and about Verona. 
 The greatest care was taken that the prisoners 
 should have no opportunity for escape, and they 
 were informed that any attempt to get away 
 would be the signal for riddling them with bullets. 
 
 "While riding along* Cottrell learned from Bar- 
 ton that the party had been very lucky in finding 
 the two men in the house, since their usual cus- 
 tom had been to spend the days in the woods, 
 coming in only at night to sleep. On this occa- 
 sion, however, the weather was so cold that they 
 were spending the day indoors. 
 
 When asked why they had not surrendered be- 
 fore, they both made the same reply, namely: 
 that they believed the posse of citizens intended 
 either to shoot them immediately, or to hang 
 them after a trial by lynch law. 
 
 On arriving in Verona early in the evening, the 
 prisoners were securely tied up with ropes, and 
 Cottrell alternated during the night with Marriott 
 in watching them. A blacksmith was also called 
 up, and shortly after midnight he completed two 
 pair of leg shackles, with which they were fast- 
 ened together. My men were greatly fatigued, 
 1 laving ridden a large number of miles every day 
 for a week, and the excitement of the affair 
 added, of course, to their prostration, but they 
 resolutely paced the floor in alternate four-hour 
 watches, determined that no possible loophole for 
 escape should again be afforded to such daring 
 villains as these two.
 
 90 THE OUTLAWS SURROUNDED. 
 
 The result of the expedition was, of course, 
 transmitted to me in telegraphic cipher at once; 
 but the arrest was kept secret for the time, in or- 
 der to prevent a knowledge of it coming to Levi 
 Farrington, who was still at large. According to 
 Barton, Levi was concealed somewhere in Ten- 
 nessee, but this statement was proof positive that 
 he was not in Tennessee at all, since Barton's ob- 
 ject in telling anything about him was evidently 
 intended to mislead us; hence, no faith was 
 put in his story, and other steps were taken to 
 capture Levi. 
 
 William arrived in Verona on the morning 
 after the fight, and he prepared to return with 
 the prisoners to St. Louis by the noon train. It 
 was supposed that Levi Farrington was also on 
 his way to the rendezvous at Durham's farm, 
 and that he would probably approach by the 
 direct road through Douglas County. Cottrell 
 and Marriott were left, therefore, to attend to 
 Levi and the old lady, whose whereabouts were 
 still uncertain. William saw most of the citi- 
 zens engaged in the affair, and heartily thanked 
 them for their aid; being questioned as to whether 
 they should receive the reward of one thousand 
 dollars offered by the express company for the 
 capture of the two Farringtons and Barton, he 
 informed them that he considered them entitled 
 to it, and that he should recommend its payment . 
 but that the matter would be decided by the offi- 
 cers of the company. I may here anticipate 
 events somewhat to state that tho company paid
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 91 
 
 fcho citizens and farmers a liberal amount for theii 
 services in capturing the robbers, and a sottle- 
 ment was made which was satisfactory to all par- 
 ties. 
 
 William left Verona about noon of the day he 
 arrived, taking Hillary Farrington and Barton 
 with him, under guard of Galway and Connell. 
 On arriving in St. Louis, he separated the prison- 
 ers in order to induce Barton to confess; and, 
 after a long conversation, in which he showed 
 Barton how conclusive was the evidence against 
 all three of the men, he obtained a very full con- 
 fession, of which the greater part is here giveii 
 exactly as it was taken down from Barton's lips. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Barton's Confession. The Express Robberies and the. 
 Outlaws' subsequent Experiences fully set forth there- 
 in. A Clue that had been suddenly dropped ii'km. 
 up with so much Profit, that, after a desperate Strug- 
 gle, another Desperado is Captured. 
 
 11 T AM twenty- two years of age," said Barton, 
 -L " and my native place was Columbus, Mis- 
 sissippi. When quite young, I left home and 
 took to following the army. About five or six 
 years ago I moved to Normandy, Tennessee, and 
 lived with the family of Major Land is, and t\vn 
 or three years later, I went to work on the Nash-
 
 92 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 \ille and Northwestern Railroad as a brakeman, 
 remaining as such over two years. About three 
 years since I formed thf acquaintance of Hillary 
 and Levi Farrington, at Waverly, Tennessee. 
 These are the men otherwise known as J. H. 
 Clark and Edward J. Russell. Afterward I opened 
 a saloon in Nashville, and Levi Harrington vis- 
 ited me there several times. Last April or May 
 he was arrested on suspicion of counterfeiting, 
 but as there was no case against him, he was dis- 
 charged. After a short time, I went down to visit 
 Levi at Mrs. Farrington's; she lived at the head 
 of Tumbling Run Creek, twelve miles back of Gil- 
 lem Station. Hillary was in jail at Memphis at 
 that time, charged with murder and horse-steal- 
 ing. When he got out of jail, Levi, Hillary, and 
 myself all made a trip to Little Rock, Arkan- 
 sas, gambling by throwing three-card monte, and 
 we won about thirteen hundred dollars; we tlr-n 
 returned to Gillem Station, where we remained 
 until the twenty-first of July, this year. During 
 this time, Levi, who frequently rode back and 
 forth on the express trains, spoke of the feasibil- 
 ity of robbing them. 
 
 " On the morning of July 21, Levi, Hillary, and 
 myself left Gillem Station for the purpose of rob- 
 bing the express train at some of the stations 
 cither on that road or on the Mobile and Ohio 
 Railroad. At Union City we changed cars, and 
 arrived at Moscow just after dark. The plan was, 
 that we all three should enter the car and over- 
 power the messenger; but Levi and Hillary were
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 93 
 
 tho only ones who entered. I remained on the 
 platform of the first passenger coach and kept 
 watch. When the train was passing the water 
 tank, they slacked up the speed, and we all 
 jumped off and struck for the woods. The mes- 
 senger had nothing whatever to do with this 
 robbery, so far as I was ever informed. 
 
 "As I said before, we struck into the woods 
 and reached the river just above Hickman, where 
 wo stole a fisherman's skiff, and all three of us 
 started down the river. Finding that we were 
 pursued, we left tho skiff on the Tennessee shore, 
 near Island Number Ten. We then took the 
 fiver road and walked back as far as Lester's 
 Landing, arriving there about dinner-time, July 
 23. Levi divided the money, giving me one-third 
 of one thousand dollars, which was all, he said, 
 in the safe, although I always believed there wa.i 
 more. 
 
 "So far as I know, neither of the Farringtons 
 had ever met Lester before, and I am sure that I 
 had never set eyes on him until we went to his 
 place at this time. *0n account of the spot being 
 so lonely and isolated, Hillary proposed that we 
 put up a store there, as it would be a good cover 
 for our actual business. We started the store, 
 and applied to the postmaster to establish a post- 
 office, to be known as Lester's Landing ; our ob- 
 jort in this move was, of course, to give an addod 
 color of respectability and boiw fid- nu-iiii'-s to 
 our transactions. From this time until the mid- 
 dle of October, I remained at the store nearly jJJ
 
 94 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 the time ; Hillary was also there most of the time, 
 but Levi very seldom. During one of the latter's 
 western trips, he said he had bcvn out to see his 
 Aunt Durham. 
 
 ''Along in October, Levi proposed that we 
 again strike the express company when the train 
 stopped for supper at Union City. Hillary had 
 been in the habit of riding back and forth on the 
 engine, and he understood how to run a train. 
 Levi suggested that we take a man named BiU 
 Taylor into the robbery with us ; he was then 
 employed chopping wood for Lester, and when 
 Levi approached him on the subject he agreed to 
 go. Levi left Lester's a few days before the rob- 
 bery. Hillary and I did not leave until the nine- 
 teenth, when we went up to Columbus by steamer, 
 taking along a large quantity of fish. Having 
 sold our fish, we took the train for Union City, 
 where we arrived the same evening. On getting 
 off the train, we met Levi and Bill Taylor on the 
 platform, and the only conversation which took 
 place was when Levi asked why we had not ar- 
 rived sooner, to which we replied that we came 
 as soon as we could. The next morning we met 
 again, having slept in separate places so as not to 
 attract attention, and went down, the road some 
 distance toward Hickman. While camped in the 
 woods that evening, about ten o'clock, an old 
 man named Hicks came along with a bottle of 
 whisky and stopped at our camp-fire quite a 
 time. There were present Hillary, Levi, myself. 
 and Bill Taylor. We remained in the woods all
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 95 
 
 that night. The next day we moved further into 
 the woods toward Hickman, and at night, just at 
 dark, we came back to Union City. 
 
 " We had been there only a few minutes when 
 the up train came along; she stopped and backed 
 down a little ways, when all the train hands left 
 her and went to supper. Hillary and Taylor 
 then boarded the engine, and Levi and myself 
 jumped aboard the express car. The messenger 
 was eating his supper when we went in, and, 
 seeing Levi point a Derringer at him, he ex- 
 claimed: 'Don't shoot me ! I will surrender.' 
 Levi compelled him to unlock the safe, and we 
 took all the money. Levi then swung the mes- 
 senger's lantern, and the train stopped, when we 
 all jumped off and started down the railroad to 
 Hickman. Our intention was to go to the wood- 
 yard near Union City, and steal a ride on a freight 
 train to Hickman. We hid under the platform 
 at the wood-yard, and while there Levi acciden- 
 tally shot himself in the thigh; but the wound 
 was very slight, and it hardly interfered with his 
 walking. As the freight train did not stop, we 
 were obliged to walk to Hickman, where we ar- 
 rived Sunday night. We had had some provis- 
 ions when we first camped out, which Bill Tay- 
 lor had carried in a valise; but he had left the 
 valise and all its contents on the engine, so that 
 we had very little to eat. 
 
 "While in the woods we divided the money, 
 but Levi, who carried it, showed up only twenty 
 three hundred dollars.
 
 96 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 " Sunday night we stole a skiff in Hickman 
 and went down the river to James' Bayou, and 
 while there, on Monday morning, wo saw Mes- 
 senger Cross, whose car had been robbed, making 
 inquiries about us in a grocery-store. We then 
 started off on foot, going down the river on the 
 Missouri shore. About a mile below James' 
 Bayou we found the skiff which we had previously 
 set adrift, and which had evidently been picked 
 up by some one. Taking this skiff again, Hillary, 
 Taylor, and I dropped down to a point about a mile 
 above Lester's, leaving Levi on the Missouri shore, 
 where we started from. We landed on the Ten- 
 nessee shore, and walked down the river road a 
 short distance, when Taylor left us, remaining in 
 the woods. Hillary and I met Lester on the 
 road soon afterward, and told him that we had 
 come down on a steamboat which was then tied 
 up, on account of the heavy fog. Lcvi arrived 
 next day, having come across the river with a 
 fisherman. 
 
 "The following Sunday, October 29, Hillary 
 left on a steamboat, taking with him a woman 
 named Slaughter, with whom he said he was go- 
 ing to Davidson's wood-yard, nine miles above 
 Cape Girardeau. He expected to return in a few 
 days. 
 
 ' ' The next thing of any importance which oc- 
 < urred was on the Tuesday night following, when 
 Messrs. Pinkerton and Connell rode up to Lester's 
 house. At the first glance, I thought they were 
 officers, and Levi told me that he thought the
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 97 
 
 tiame. I saw him pull his pistol out of his 
 pocket before getting out of his chair." 
 
 [The moment Connell opened the door, Levi 
 knew that he was a detective, having seen him 
 acting in that capacity in Memphis, when Hil- 
 lary was arrested for horse-stealing the previous 
 spring.] 
 
 ' ' When I made my escape from Lester's house, " 
 continued Barton, " I ran right back through the 
 cornfield; I heard all the . shooting, but did not 
 see it. In a short time Levi joined me in the 
 cane-brake back of the cornfield. Levi told me 
 that he had had a shooting match with the two 
 officers, but he did not know whether he had hit 
 either of them or not; they had not hit him, but 
 he had had a very narrow escape. 
 
 " After awhile we slipped up to the house, and 
 saw that the officers were gone; so we went in, 
 got our supper, and took our pistols, besides a 
 shawl and blanket. We then got an old skiff, 
 crossed the river, and slept in the woods on the 
 Missouri shore. The next day we remained under 
 cover until nightfall, when we recrossed the river, 
 and went through the woods to Union City, 
 spending Wednesday night and Thursday in the 
 woods on the way. On Thursday night we took 
 the train from Union City to Gillem Station. The 
 conductor of the train was Conductor Roberts, on 
 whose run I had formerly been brakeman; and, 
 being afraid he might recognize ine, I laid down 
 in my seat and covered up my face, while Levi 
 paid both fares. We arrived at Gillem Station 
 
 5
 
 98 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 about three o'clock in the morning, and reached 
 Mrs. Farrington's house about daylight. 
 
 "I gave Mrs. Farrington five hundred and fifty 
 dollars in money to keep for me, this amount 
 being the proceeds of both express robberies, and 
 she still has it in her possession. Before leaving 
 Lester's, Hillary had given most of his money to 
 Levi to take to their mother to keep for him, and 
 Levi left with her nearly the whole of his share of 
 the plunder also. 
 
 "We had been at Mrs. Farrington's a week 
 when Hillary arrived. Before this, we all thought 
 that the officers had captured him, and we were 
 quite surprised to see him safe. He said that 
 Detective Connell had arrested him at Mrs. Gully's, 
 and that he had made his escape by jumping out 
 of Connell's wagon into a thicket near Allenville; 
 he had then gone right back to the house where 
 he had left Mrs. Slaughter, where he got a pistol 
 and some money, and had his irons removed. 
 
 "At the time Hillary arrived at Mrs. Farring- 
 ton's, the old lady had been gone a day and a night 
 on her way to Texas or Missouri. It was under- 
 stood that Levi and I were to meet her some- 
 where on the road, or at Holton's farm, near the 
 line between Lawrence and Dade Counties, Mis- 
 souri. The day after Hillary arrived, we started 
 for Missouri; I was riding a sorrel horse; Hillary, 
 a chestnut-sorrel horse; and Levi, a large brown 
 mule. We spent two days at the house of Mr* 
 Douglas, near Mrs. Farrington's, and then crossed 
 the Tennessee Kiver at Cuba. We crossed the
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 99 
 
 Mississippi River by the last ferryboat on Friday 
 evening, November 10, at Hall's Ferry, opposite 
 Point Pleasant, Missouri. We saw no men on 
 guard at the ferries. We struck right out through 
 Nigger- Wool Swamp to Bloomfield, where Levi 
 left us. He said he was going to Farmington, 
 Illinois, as that was a good place to keep under 
 cover. After he left us, nothing important oc- 
 curred until our arrest. We knew where Mrs. 
 Farrington was eveiy night, and also knew all 
 about the two men who were following her; we 
 did not mind letting them follow her, as they 
 could not have captured us, and we could have 
 shaken them off at any time if we had wanted to 
 do so. 
 
 "Levi and Hillary frequently spoke of making 
 other raids upon the express company, and said 
 what a soft thing it was. It was my intention to 
 separate from them as soon as I could get my 
 money from the old lady, as I wished to return to 
 my friends below Columbus, Mississippi. 
 
 "The foregoing is all I know of the Farring- 
 tons or the express robberies. 
 
 (Signed), ' * WILLIAM BARTON. " 
 
 It will be observed how completely this confes- 
 sion corroborated our investigations, there being 
 IV w new points learned. The information that 
 Mrs. Farrington had possession of nearly all the 
 stolen money was valuable, and I sent instruc- 
 tions to Cottrell, at once, to attach all of her 
 property in the name of the Southern Express
 
 100 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 Company, if it could be done. But the most im- 
 portant feature brought out was the hiding- 
 place of Levi Farrington, which was given as 
 Farmington, Illinois. It will be remembered that 
 William found, at the store at Lester's Landing, 
 some pieces of paper, upon which was scribbled, 
 1 v Kate Graham, Farmington, Illinois;" that I 
 sent a detective to that place to see Mrs. Graham ; 
 that the latter answered, with every evidence of 
 truthfulness, that she did not know Eussell, 
 Clark, or Barton ; and that the clue was dropped 
 immediately. From Barton, however, William 
 learned that Mrs. Kate Graham was a cousin of 
 the Farringtons, and that, being a highly respect- 
 able and conscientious woman, she knew nothing 
 of their aliases, nor of their crimes. It was there 
 that Levi Farrington had gone to hide. Barton's 
 confession was made on the fourteenth, and 
 William instantly sent me a cipher dispatch con- 
 taining the important features of it. By the 
 evening train of that day, my other son, Robert 
 A. Pinkerton, took passage for Farmington, ac- 
 companied by Detective W. T. Brown, of my 
 force. They arrived there about noon the next 
 day, and soon learned that Levi Farrington was 
 staying with his relatives. Having presented 
 letters of introduction to one or two influential 
 inen, Robert obtained an introduction to the 
 city marshal, who promised to give all the aid in 
 his power to arrest Farrington. 
 
 About two o'clock they saw the latter coming 
 down the street, and, by previous arrangement,
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 101 
 
 
 
 Robert allowed Levi to pass him, both walking 
 toward Brown and the marshal. Levi Farring- 
 ton was a veiy powerful man, standing six feet 
 in his stockings, with a frame and muscles in 
 proportion to his size. Remembering the desper- 
 ate character of the man, Robert did not deem it 
 advisable to give him any chance to draw a 
 weapon or show fight; he therefore followed 
 Farrington closely until he was about ten feet 
 from the marshal, and then, springing at him, 
 he pinioned the desperado's arms by clasping him 
 tightly around the body just at the elbows. 
 Farrington did not stop to question the cause of 
 this proceeding he knew the reason of his seiz- 
 ure well enough but, gathering his whole 
 strength, he made one jump away from the 
 two officers who were approaching in front, and 
 landed nearly in the middle of the street, taking 
 Robert along with him. Robert clung to him 
 like a vise, however, and before he could make 
 another such an effort, the other two were upon 
 him. A terrible struggle now ensued in the 
 street, during which both Robert and Brown were 
 badly bruised by being rolled upon and kicked by 
 their powerful prisoner. Robert knew that Far- 
 rington was desperate enough to fight to the 
 bitter end, and that he would kill as many as he 
 could before being killed himself; to release his 
 arms, therefore, would enable him to draw a 
 weapon, as he was undoubtedly well armed, hence 
 Robert never relaxed his hold. Having a profes- 
 sional pride in securing his prisoner alive, more-
 
 102 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 
 
 over, he did not wish to resort to extreme measures 
 except to save the lives of other persons, and, a<? 
 a large crowd had gathered around the moment 
 the struggle began, there would have been evident 
 danger in allowing him an instant's freedom 
 Over and over they rolled together, therefore, 
 Farrington striving with all his strength to break 
 Robert's clasp upon his arms, while the other two 
 officers were doing their best to pinion his legs. 
 After a ten minutes' struggle, they succeeded at 
 length in holding him down and sitting upon his 
 legs until he could be tied with ropes. By this 
 time, the whole party were pretty thoroughly 
 exhausted, but, after resting a few minutes to 
 recover their breath, the officers got handcuffs on 
 their prisoner's wrists, and took him to the rail- 
 road station, where he was searched. Little 
 money was found on his person, but he had a large 
 revolver, two Derringer pistols, and a large dirk 
 concealed about him. He was then placed in the 
 freight office, while Brown and Mr. Graham, Mrs. 
 Kate Graham's husband, went to the latter's 
 house to get Levi's baggage. On their return, 
 the whole party took passage for Chicago, whei e 
 they did not arrive until next day, owing to the 
 failure to make connections. In Levrs valise 
 were found two revolvers, some jewelry, and a 
 very large sum of money. 
 
 They arrived so late on Saturday that there 
 was no train for Cairo before the following even- 
 ing, and meantime the prisoner required the 
 most careful watching, as none of our handcuff a
 
 BARTON'S CONFESSION. 103 
 
 were large enough to fit his wrists without cut- 
 ting into the flesh. Eobert and Brown were com- 
 pletely prostrated by the strain upon their muscles 
 and the injuries they had received, so that they 
 felt the effects of the struggle for several days. 
 
 The moment that Eobert arrived in Chicago 
 with his prisoner, the latter was taken to the 
 First Precinct police station, where he was placed 
 in a cell for safe keeping. During the afternoon 
 it was learned that he had sent for a lawyer to 
 obtain a writ of habeas corpus. The arrest had 
 been made without any warrant, and no requisi- 
 tion had been obtained for use in Illinois, as I had 
 expected to capture all three of the men in Mis- 
 souri. Should Farrington succeed in getting the 
 desired writ, I should be forced to give up my 
 hold upon him, and, before the requisition of the 
 Governor of Tennessee upon the Governor of Il- 
 linois could be received, he would be probably 
 beyond the reach of pursuit. 
 
 I therefore procured a closed vehicle and took 
 the prisoner out for a drive, .carefully bound, with 
 two reliable men as guards. The afternoon was 
 thus spent, and, after dark, there being no longer 
 any object in driving around the suburbs of the 
 city, Farrington was taken to my office and kept 
 all night. He behaved very well, and did not 
 seem anxious to get away by force. He tried, 
 however, to induce Robert to let him go, telling 
 him that it would be worth a very large amount 
 of money to him to do so. Finding his offers dis- 
 regarded, he appeared to take his arrest very
 
 104 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
 
 coolly, saying that he guessed he had monpy 
 enough to see him through. 
 
 On Sunday evening, Robert and Brown took 
 him to the railroad station, and the party em- 
 barked for Cairo. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A terrible Struggle for Life or Death upon the Transfer- 
 boat "Illinois." "Overboard!" One less ^Des- 
 perado. The Fourth and Last Robber taken. 
 
 AFTER Barton had made his confession 
 to William in St. Louis, the prisoners, 
 Hillary Farrington and Barton, were kept separate, 
 as the latter was afraid that Hillary would find 
 some means of killing him. About midnight of 
 Thursday, December fourteenth, they all took 
 passage by railroad for Cairo, and there they im- 
 mediately went on board the large transfer-boat 
 to Columbus, Kentucky. All the detectives were 
 thoroughly worn out from excitement and loss of 
 sleep, but they did not for an insant relax their 
 vigilant watch upon their prisoners. William 
 had been talking for some time with HilLuy, 
 trying to obtain a confession and to learn what 
 had been done with the money secured at the ! 
 robberies. From the questions that William 
 asked, Hillary soon learned, or surmised, that 
 Barton had confessed. He was terribly enraged
 
 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 105 
 
 ac this, and without doubt he would have killed 
 Barton if he could have got at him; but being 
 unable to do so, his fury was all turned upon his 
 captors. 
 
 My son hoped by threatening to have Mrs. 
 Farrington arrested and imprisoned, to induce 
 Hillary to give up his share of the plunder rather 
 than have his mother punished. This threat 
 seemed to infuriate him beyond anything, and he 
 swore that he would have his revenge on William 
 if he had to wait twenty years for it. After sitting 
 sullenly thinking on the subject for a time, he 
 said he was cold, and wanted to get a drink. 
 William therefore offered to go with him into the 
 baivroom, and they walked toward the forward 
 end of the saloon, leaving Galway and Barton 
 seated together. Connell had gone into the 
 water-closet a few moments before, but, as there 
 was a detective with each of the prisoners, no 
 attempt at escape was anticipated. 
 
 The steamer was the powerfully -built transfer- 
 boat " Illinois," and she was running with great 
 speed, her ponderous wheels revolving at an un- 
 usually rapid rate. The bar-room was situated 
 just forward of the saloon, after passing through 
 the barber shop, and it could be entered from the 
 saloon or through a door leading upon the guards, 
 iust forward of the paddle-box. 
 
 As they were about to enter the barber shop 
 from the saloon, Hillary drew back, saying that 
 lu did not want to go that way, as there were 
 Borne men in that room whom lie knew. Thoy 
 
 5*
 
 100 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
 
 therefore went out upon the guards to walk along 
 to the outer door of the bar-room. The space 
 was narrow, and the rail quite low, so that it 
 would not have been at all difficult for a man to 
 spring overboard, even though he were in irons. 
 This idea occurred to William, but he did not 
 trouble himself about it, since he knew that the 
 heavy strokes of the paddle-wheel would instantly 
 kill any one who might attempt such a thing. 
 William wore a loose-fitting sack coat with large 
 pockets, in one of which he earned a heavy army 
 revolver, which he had taken from Hillary, his 
 own revolver being in his belt. In walking it 
 was his habit to put his hand on the butt of this 
 army revolver, which protruded somewhat f^om 
 the pocket. On reaching the door, however, he 
 took his right hand from the pistol to turn the 
 knob. This was a careless action, of which he 
 never would have been guilty, had he been less 
 fatigued, mentally and physically, but, being so 
 used up as to act almost mechanically, his habit- 
 ual though tfulness was momentarily absent, and 
 he was caught off his guard for an instant in a 
 manner which nearly cost him his life. It should 
 be understood that the scene which ensued oc- 
 curred so rapidly as to occupy less time in its 
 passage than is required to read about it, and that 
 during those few seconds a struggle of life and 
 death was going on. 
 
 Hardly had William's hand touched the door- 
 knob ere he felt the pistol drawn out of his coat 
 pocket. He knew there was but one person who
 
 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 107 
 
 could have done it, and that person was a perfect 
 devil thirsting for his blood. Turning like a 
 flash, he seized Farrington by both wrists, just as 
 the latter was trying to cock the pistol; then 
 there was a terrible contest. The pistol was in 
 Farrington's hands, which were held so close to- 
 gether by the irons as to make it impossible to 
 wrench one away from the other; it was pointed 
 directly at William's head, and should Farring- 
 ton succeed in cocking it, William's death would 
 be instantaneous. All his energies, therefore, 
 were directed toward keeping Farrington's hands 
 far enough apart to prevent him from drawing 
 back the hammer. The space was too narrow to 
 permit of such a struggle without one party or 
 the other being forced back upon the rail, and, in 
 a moment, William had lifted his lighter antago- 
 nist from the deck, pressing him against the rail- 
 ing, and at the same time shouting for assistance. 
 In response to his call, Connell came running out 
 in dishabille, with his pistol in one hand and his 
 pantaloons in the other. At this moment the 
 cold muzzle of the pistol was pressed against 
 William's temple, and he heard the click of the 
 hammer as his desperate prisoner succeeded in 
 drawing it back. He made a violent plunge for- 
 ward, ducking his head as he did so, and simulta- 
 neously the pistol exploded close to his ear, the 
 ball ploughing a little f urrow in the scalp, while the 
 powdei scon-hod his neck and hair. Staggering 
 back stunned and dizzy for a moment, he was 
 caught by Connell, who asked whether he \va&
 
 108 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
 
 much hurt He soon gathered his senses, and, 
 finding his wound to be only trifling, he asked 
 what had become of Farrington. Connell pointed 
 overboard, and no further answer was necessary; 
 no man dropping in front of those wheels could 
 ha ye lived for an instant, and, even had he not 
 been struck, he could not have kept himself up in 
 the rapid current then running filled with fine ice. 
 
 By this time the bar-room, barber shop, and sa- 
 loon had been emptied of their occupants, and 
 the boat had been stopped to see whether the man 
 could be picked up; but, as this was clearly hope- 
 less, the trip was soon resumed. Council's arrival 
 had been most opportune for William, since he 
 had caught the weapon the moment it was dis- 
 charged, and succeeded in changing the course of 
 the bullet sufficiently to save William's life. 
 Thinking, however, that William had been killed, 
 Connell had struck Parrington on the head with 
 his pistol almost simultaneously with the explo- 
 sion, and the blow, aided by the plunge which 
 William m?de forward in endeavoring to dodge 
 the pistol-shot, had sent Farrington over the rail 
 into the water, where he was undoubtedly killed 
 the next instant by the paddle-wheels. 
 
 The fact of the man's death was so absolutely 
 certain that no person could doubt it, if acquainted 
 with the circumstances; yet there were not want- 
 ing people who insinuated that he had been 
 allowed to escape by jumping overboard ai.d 
 swimming ashore. The absurdity of such a story 
 is manifest, for, even supposing that his irons had
 
 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 109 
 
 been removed, and that he had escaped injury 
 from the paddle-wheels, he never could have 
 swam ashore at the spot where the affair occurred. 
 The nearest point of the river bank was more than 
 three hundred yards away, and the current at that 
 place was running off the shore; besides, the 
 night was very cold, and the water was covered 
 with a film of ice, so that after five minutes' im- 
 mersion in it, a man would have become wholly 
 numbed and insensible. 
 
 Barton was not at all surprised when he heard 
 of Hillary Farrington's death, for he said that he 
 knew Hillary so well that he had expected 
 nothing else from the time he was taken; he was 
 so desperate that his intention undoubtedly had 
 been to have seized William and dragged him 
 overboard; but, seeing the pistol, another idoa 
 had probably occurred to him. Barton said that 
 had Hillary succeeded in killing William, he would 
 have gone up to the pilot-house with the revolver, 
 and forced the pilot to land him immediately; 
 once on shore, his knowledge of the country 
 would have enabled him to escape again. What- 
 ever had been his plans, however, he had failed 
 in his attempt at murder, and had paid the 
 penalty of his rashness with his life. 
 
 The Test of the party went on to Columbus, 
 where they took passage for Union City, arriving 
 there Friday morning. 
 
 About this time, Mr. Ball, who had been sent 
 to follow the wagon train of Mrs. Farrington, re- 
 ported, after u silence of several days, that he had
 
 110 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
 
 traced her into the Indian Territory. In point of 
 fact, she was settled at Ash Grove, near Mount 
 Vernon, in Greene County, Missouri, and had 
 been there ever since Hillary and Barton had left 
 her before their arrest at Durham's. It will thus 
 be seen how fortunate it was that I had not 
 trusted to Ball and Bledsoe to keep track of Mrs. 
 Farrington, since they had utterly lost the trail, 
 and had followed another set of wagons for sev- 
 eral days as far as the Indian Territory; when, 
 probably suspecting that he had made a mistake, 
 Ball telegraphed to the express company's officers 
 for instructions. He was then ordered to return at 
 once with Bledsoe, the whole party having been 
 captured by that time. 
 
 While speaking of Mrs. Farrington, I may as 
 well give an account of all our dealings with her, 
 irrespective of the chronological order of the 
 story : 
 
 Having received Barton's order upon her for all 
 of the wagons and stock, and for five hundred 
 and fifty dollars in money, Cottrell endeavored to 
 attach her property in a civil suit. She insisted 
 that she had none of Barton's money indeed, 
 that she had no money at all and she refused to 
 give up anything. At last, finding that he could 
 not legally attach her property, Cottrell took the 
 bold step of arresting her for receiving stolen 
 goods. She was taken to Mount Vernon, where 
 she engaged a lawyer to defend her, and then, of 
 course, Cottrell was also obliged to employ a legaj 
 adviser. At length, a compromise was effected,
 
 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. Ill 
 
 by which Mrs. Farrington was allo tved to retain 
 a small portion of the property ; Cottrell then 
 took possession of the remainder as agent of the 
 express company, and Mrs. Farrington was dis- 
 charged from custody. After selling some of the 
 animals, Cottrell shipped all the remaining chat- 
 tels to St. Louis, where the agent of the express 
 company took charge of them. The two detec- 
 tives then returned to Chicago, and no further 
 attention was paid to Mrs. Farrington. 
 
 On Saturday, after the arrival of William's 
 party, with Barton, in Union City, Detectives 
 Galway and Connell started out to arrest Bill 
 Taylor, the fourth one of the party of robbers. 
 
 This man was a long, lank, round-shouldered 
 fellow, with putty face, long, straggling hair and 
 beard, and a vacant expression of countenance, 
 who lived by hunting and chopping wood, below 
 Lester's Landing, in the vicinity of Keel's Foot 
 Lake. William had been satisfied of his com- 
 plicity in the robbery for some time previous to 
 ilM> arrest of the others, but he had not arrested 
 him for the reason that he was sure of picking 
 him up whenever he wished to do so; and, know- 
 ing Taylor to have been merely a weak accom- 
 plice, he was anxious to secure the leaders in the 
 crime first. Barton's confession made the sus- 
 picion of Taylor's guilt a certainty, and so Gal- 
 way and Connell were sent to arrest him. 
 
 At Mr. Merrick's they obtained a good guide, 
 and four other citizens joined them, so that they 
 had quite a formidable party. After visiting sev
 
 112 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 
 
 eral houses in the cane-brake, they learned where 
 Taylor was staying, and, on going there, they 
 saw him looking at them from a front window. 
 Galway asked Taylor to come down a few min- 
 utes to give them some information, and Taylor 
 unsuspectingly complied. He had been allowed 
 to go free so long, and had so often talked with 
 William and others about the robbery, that he 
 did not imagine their object on this occasion. 
 On coming into the yard, therefore, he greeted 
 the men cordially, supposing them to be a party 
 scouting for the other robbers, of whose arrest he 
 had not heard. When he saw a couple of navy 
 revolvers close to his head, and heard an order to 
 throw up his hands, he surrendered without a 
 word. He was evidently badly frightened, but 
 he would not confess having had any part in the 
 robbery, and he refused to tell where his share of 
 the money was concealed. He was placed on 
 Council's horse and taken to Merrick's, where 
 another horse was obtained, and the party went 
 on to Hickman; thence he was taken by wagon 
 to Union City, arriving there about midnight of 
 Saturday. Both Barton and Taylor were placed 
 in rooms in the hotel, where they were carefully 
 watched night and day by my detectives, the 
 county jail being almost useless as a place for 
 keeping prisoners. 
 
 On learning that the whole party had been ar- 
 rested, Taylor made a very full confession of all 
 the circumstances connected with the robbery, 
 and the movements of the robbers after it had
 
 A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 113 
 
 occurred. He confirmed Barton's account in every 
 particular, but revealed nothing new of any im- 
 portance. His share of the stolen money had 
 been only about one hundred and fifty dollars, 
 as Levi had made him believe that they had ob- 
 tained only six hundred dollars in all. About 
 fifty dollars were found on Taylor's person ; the 
 rest he had spent. He said that Levi Farrington 
 had hidden all the checks, drafts, and unnegotia- 
 ble paper underneath an old log in the woods, 
 but that he could not tell where the log was, nor 
 find it, since it was not marked in any way, nor 
 had they taken any bearings by which to remem- 
 ber it. He gave an account of the evening when 
 Hicks, the tipsy planter, came to their camp-fire, 
 which agreed exactly with the previous state- 
 ments of Hicks and Barton; but one slight re- 
 mark in his confession seemed to account for the 
 fifth man mentioned by Hicks. Taylor said 
 that during most of the time Hicks was at their 
 camp, one or two of the party were lying on the 
 ground with their feet toward the fire, and that 
 there was a log of wood lying beside them. 
 Now, it is probable that Hicks was just drunk 
 enough to be unable to tell the difference be- 
 tween a man and a log, especially as, in his de- 
 scription of the men, he gave the appearance ol 
 Hillary Farrington twice as belonging to differ- 
 ent persons. Hicks's vision was somewhat un- 
 certain that night, evidently.
 
 114 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The last Scene in the Drama approaching A new Char- 
 acter appears. The Citizens of Union City suddenly 
 seem to have important business on hand. The 
 Vigilantes and their Work. Their Bullets and Judge 
 Lynch administer a quietus to Levi Farrington and 
 David Towler. The End. 
 
 THE last scene in this drama seemed about to 
 end in the complete defeat of the whole 
 gang of villains and the triumph of law and jus- 
 tice, when a new character came upon the stage, 
 and the curtain fell upon a bloody tragedy. That 
 substantial justice was done cannot be denied, 
 though the manner of its execution was beyond 
 and outside all forms of law. It was a striking 
 instance of the manner in which an outraged 
 community, particularly in the West and South, 
 will arrive at a satisfactory settlement of import- 
 ant questions without the intervention of courts, 
 juries, or lawyers. The court of Judge Lynch 
 makes mistakes occasionally, but it rarely ad- 
 mits of an appeal from its decision. 
 
 Robert arrived in Union City with Levi Far- 
 rington on Monday, December eighteenth, and 
 he took his prisoner to the hotel for safe keeping, 
 with the others. They were kept in separate 
 rooms, and a detective remained with each of 
 them constantly. William spent several hours 
 with Levi Farrington, trying to induce him to
 
 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 115 
 
 tell where he had hidden the stolen papers, and 
 also what he had done with his share of 'the 
 money, of which he had undoubtedly retained 
 the greater part. Finally he agreed to return all 
 the papers, and about twenty-five hundred dollars 
 besides, on condition that he should receive a 
 sentence of only five years in the penitentiary on 
 entering a plea of guilty. Having agreed to this 
 arrangement, William went to his room, which 
 was a large one, with several beds, occupied by 
 Robert, Brown, and Connell. As the men of my 
 force were all pretty well used up, Taylor and 
 Barton were placed in the same room, with Gal- 
 way guarding them, while Farrington, being 
 such a desperate feUow, was put in another 
 room, with three of the Union City policemen as 
 guards. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of Robert with Levi Far- 
 rington, a man, named David Towler, tried to 
 gel admission to Farrington's room. On being 
 denied, he was very insolent, and he insisted on 
 seeing Farrington alone. Finding that this would 
 not be permitted, he went away cursing the 
 officers and swearing to be revenged. His actions 
 naturally attracted the attention of the police, 
 and caused him to be regarded with a great deal 
 of suspicion, as a probable member of the Far- 
 rington party of robbers. About eleven o'clock 
 that night, a policeman, named Benjamin Kline, 
 discovered this man Towler with a drawn revol- 
 ver, skulking behind a car standing on the side 
 track near the depot. He immediately called for
 
 116 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 
 
 ihe railroad company's night watchman, and tho 
 two approached the thief to arrest him. Tho 
 man instantly shot Kline through the lungs, and 
 then shot Moran, the watchman. Kline's wound 
 was mortal, and he died in a few minutes, while 
 Moran was supposed to be fatally hurt also. The 
 pistol-shots quickly drew a crowd, and a fr\v 
 determined men gave chase to the murderer. 
 After quite a long pursuit he was captured, and 
 brought back to the station where Kline had just 
 died. A justice of the peace held a preliminary 
 examination at once, and the prisoner, David 
 Towler, was held for murder, without bail. He 
 was known to be a low, desperate fellow, who 
 had been imprisoned for horse-stealing and other 
 kindred crimes, until he was regarded almost as 
 an outlaw. He had long lived near Keel's Foot 
 Lake, and while there he had become acquainted 
 with the Farringtons. That their friendship was 
 more than that of two casual acquaintances was 
 shown by an important circumstance discovered 
 by William. It will be remembered that when 
 Levi Farrington stopped in Cairo to send eight 
 hundred dollars to his mother, he purchased two 
 of the largest-sized Smith & Wesson revolvers. 
 They were exact fac-similes of each other, and 
 were numbered 1,278 and 1,279 respectively. At 
 the time of Levi's arrest, only one of these revol- 
 vers was found, and he said that he had given 
 away the other to a friend, retaining number 
 1,279 himself. When Towler was captured, 
 William happened to notice that his revolver was
 
 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 117 
 
 similar to the one Levi had carried. This would 
 have been nothing to be remarked under ordinary 
 circumstances, since there were, undoubtedly, 
 many of these revolvers in use, all exactly alike 
 except in number ; but William connected this 
 man Towler's appearance in Union City with the 
 arrival of the express robbers, and the new revol- 
 ver caught his eye at once. On closely examining 
 it, his suspicions were fully confirmed : it was 
 numbered 1,278, and was, without question, the 
 mate to Levi's, bought by him in Cairo and given 
 to Towler. 
 
 When this news became known to the throng 
 of citizens whom the shooting of Kline and Moraii 
 had drawn together, the feeling against all the 
 prisoners became intense, and when Towler was 
 committed by the justice to the guard of the men 
 who were watching Levi, the citizens began to 
 depart very suddenly, as if they either had im- 
 portant business elsewhere, or were in a hurry to 
 get home. By midnight the town was quiet, and 
 after a visit to the guards, to caution them to be 
 extra vigilant, William and Robert retired to their 
 room, together with Brown and Council. 
 
 Young Kline, whom Towler had murdered, was 
 very highly esteemed in Union City, and his death 
 at the hands of an outlaw would have aroused 
 deep indignation at any time ; but just now there 
 were additional reasons why the affair should ex- 
 vito a desire for summary vengeance upou his 
 assin. It had been shown that Towler must 
 have formerly been on intimate terms with the
 
 118 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 
 
 Farringtons, and these latter were well known ag 
 desperadoes, whose hand was turned against every 
 man; hence, the crimes of the whole party were 
 considered as a sort of partnership affair, for 
 which each member of the firm was individually 
 liable. But, besides the natural indignation of 
 the law-abiding citizens for the crimes committed 
 by these men, there was a widespread sense of 
 insecurity so long as they were in that vicinity. 
 Towler had remarked, w^hen captured, that he 
 would soon be out again, and all the prisoners 
 bore themselves with an air of bravado, as if they 
 had no fear nor expectation of punishment. It 
 was believed that a number of friends of the gang 
 among the desperadoes living in Nigger- Wool 
 Swamp and near Eeel's Foot Lake intended to at- 
 tempt the rescue of the whole party of express 
 robbers, before they could be consigned to a secure 
 place of confinement. The citizens who had 
 risked their lives to capture Towler and the others, 
 who had turned out in time to see poor Kline die 
 in agony, were determined that nothing should 
 occur to prevent justice from reaching the crim- 
 inals, and exacting the fullest penalty for their 
 numerous crimes; hence the sudden departure of 
 the throng who had attended Towler's preliminary 
 examination before the justice. They did not go 
 to their homes, but gathered in a secluded place, 
 and formed a Committee of Safety. The question 
 as to what course would best protect the lives 
 and property of the community was then dis- 
 cussed, and a conclusion was soon reached, with- 
 out a dissenting voice.
 
 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 119 
 
 Throughout the town all was hushed in the 
 usual stillness of a winter's night; no lights were 
 burning anywhere, save in an occasional sick- 
 chamber, and sleep seemed to have fallen alike 
 upon the just and unjust. In one room of the 
 hotel were Barton and Taylor, guarded byGalway 
 and an employe of the express company, while 
 near by was the room where Levi Farrington 
 and David Towler were watched by three of the 
 city policemen. A dim light burned in each room, 
 and, while the guards paced the floor in their 
 stocking feet, the prisoners lay on their beds in 
 deep slumber. Not a memory of the past, full as 
 it was of scenes of crime and blood, came to break 
 their repose; not a thought of the future, with 
 its possibilities of punishment, caused them to 
 lose one moment of their customary rest. Fear 
 they had never known; remorse was long since 
 forgotten; unconscious or careless of then: im- 
 pending doom, they slept the night away. 
 
 About two o'clock there was a stealthy gather- 
 ing of masked men at the door of the hotel, and, 
 at a given signal from the leader, a certain num- 
 ber slipped up-stairs with little noise, and filled the 
 corridor from which the prisoners' rooms opened. 
 So sudden was their appearance and so quiet their 
 approach that even the wakeful guards scarce 
 In ard them until the doors were forced open. 
 Then the policy of silence was dropped, and a 
 rush upon the guards was made. A battery of 
 pistols, suddenly confronted them, and, as resist- 
 ance was clearly impossible, an unconditional
 
 120 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DKAMA. 
 
 surrender was at once made. The bursting in of 
 the doors awakened William and Eobert, who 
 hastily sprang up, and, without stopping to put 
 on any clothing, opened their door, pistol in hand. 
 This move, however, had been anticipated by the 
 vigilantes, and a dozen or more pistols were thrust 
 in then: faces as they appeared in the doorway. 
 
 "Go back, Pinkerton, we don't want to hurt 
 you, r/ said one of the men outside, and they were 
 pushed back into the room, while the door was 
 hastily closed in their faces. 
 
 To resist such a body with the few men at his 
 command, William knew, would be suicidal, and 
 he did not especially care to sacrifice himself in 
 the interest of such a villainous band as those 
 whom the vigilantes were seeking. The four de- 
 tectives, therefore, dressed themselves and re- 
 mained in their room awaiting further develop- 
 ments. 
 
 Having overpowered the guards, the leader of 
 the vigilantes ordered the removal of Towler, and, 
 as the latter was hustled out of the door, Levi 
 Farrington knew that his hour had come. Stand- 
 ing up and facing the remainder of the crowd, 
 who had withdrawn to the further side of the 
 room, he defied them all, and told them to fire 
 away. A volley of pistol-shots was the reply to 
 his words, and a rattling fire continued for two 
 or three minutes; when it ceased, Levi Farring- 
 ton was no more, his body having been struck by 
 more than thirty balls, almost any one of which 
 would have been instantaneously fatal. His
 
 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 121 
 
 body was left where it fell, and the room was 
 soon deserted as the party hastened after the de- 
 tachment which had Towler in charge. The 
 whole affair was over in ten minutes, and when 
 the detectives again left their room none of the 
 masked party were to be seen. Levi Farring- 
 ton's body was found in his room, but no trace of 
 Towler could be discovered. Finding that the 
 excitement was over, the detectives returned to 
 bed, leaving Barton and Taylor still carefully 
 guarded. The former had slept through the con 
 fusion and noise without even a start or restless 
 jnovement, but Taylor was terribly frightened, 
 and he fully expected to be lynched also. 
 
 The next morning at breakfast, William was 
 informed that the body of Towler had been found 
 hanging to a tree near the graveyard, and, on 
 going to the spot, they found him as represented. 
 At the coroner's inquest little testimony could be 
 obtained further than that one man had been shot 
 to death and the other hung by parties unknown, 
 and the verdict was rendered accordingly. There 
 was naturally considerable excitement over the 
 affair for two or three days, but the general ver- 
 dict was, "Served 'em right." However violent 
 had been their taking off, there were few who 
 did not feel that society demanded their death, 
 not only as a punishment for their past crimes, 
 but as a means of security in the future. Be- 
 lieving that a sentence to the penitentiary was 
 wholly inadequate, and that their escape there- 
 from was not only possible, but probable, the cit- 
 
 6
 
 122 THE LAST SCENE IN % THE DRAMA. 
 
 izens preferred to take no risks of future rob- 
 beries and murders by these desperadoes, and 
 they therefore took the most effectual method of 
 preventing their occurrence. Their action was 
 illegal, it is true, but then it was just which is a 
 more important consideration sometimes. 
 
 On the following Friday, Barton and Taylor 
 had their preliminary hearing before a justice, 
 when they waived examination, and were com- 
 mitted for trial in default of bail in the sum of 
 ten thousand dollars each. Upon the representa- 
 tion to the justice that the county jail was an 
 unsafe place to confine the prisoners, permission 
 was obtained to remove them to the jail in Mem- 
 phis; the proper papers were made out, and the 
 transfer was made under William's management. 
 
 The death of Levi Farrington made the recovery 
 of the missing checks, papers, and money an im- 
 possibility, since neither Barton nor Taylor were 
 able to conduct the officers to the place where 
 they were hidden. Barton gave the company a 
 bill of sale of the goods in the store at Lester's 
 Landing, however, and an assignment of all debts 
 due the firm, from which about five or six hun- 
 dred dollars were eventually realized. Eobert 
 and Brown attended to this matter and returned 
 to Chicago. Wilham was on duty until the two 
 remaining prisoners were safely lodged in jail in 
 Memphis, and then, having settled up all the 
 business of which he had had charge, he also re- 
 turned home. 
 
 At the next term of court in Obion County,
 
 THE LAST SCENE IN THE DRAMA. 123 
 
 Tennessee, Barton and Taylor pleaded guilty of 
 grand larceny, and were each sentenced to five 
 years' confinement at hard labor in the peniten- 
 tiary. Thus, out of a party of four engaged in 
 this robbery, two were finally brought to trial 
 and appropriately punished, while the other two 
 would have been so punished also, had not a 
 higher penalty been demanded by the circum- 
 stances of their cases, aggravated by their own 
 brutal and revengeful dispositions. No reminis- 
 cence in my experience shows a more striking 
 illustration of the certainty of retribution for 
 crime than does the career and fate of these out- 
 laws of the Southwest. 
 
 THE END.
 
 PEDRO AND THE DETECTIVES, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A Fraudulent Scheme contemplated. A Dashing Peru- 
 man Don and Donna. A Regal Forger. Mr. 
 Pinkerton engaged by Senator Muirhead to unveil 
 the Mystery of his Life. The Don and Donna 
 Morito arrive at G-loster. " Personnel " of Gloster's 
 "First Families.'''' 
 
 rpHE history of crimes against prosperity is of 
 vital interest to the public. The ingenuity 
 of thieves, burglars, forgers, and confidence men 
 is active and incessant, so that their plans are 
 often successful even against the experience and 
 precautions of men of the most wary and cautious 
 character. This seems to be especially true when 
 the amounts at stake are large, for petty attempts 
 to defraud are so frequent, that when a criminal 
 plays for a large sum, the suspicion of the capi- 
 talist is wholly allayed by the improbability that 
 a mere swindler should undertake an operation 
 of such magnitude. Indeed, in many cases the 
 cupidity of the victim is so great that the sharper 
 h.irdly offers the bait ere it is swallowed by some 
 confiding simpleton. Hence, as a warning for 
 the future, the lessons of past frauds possess no 
 small degree of interest and value to the world \ 
 
 [188]
 
 126 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 and as there is no portion of society free from 
 the depredations of these schemers, their various 
 wiles and snares cannot be exposed too often. 
 
 More than twenty years ago, the city of 
 Gloster was one of the most thriving cities of the 
 West. Controlling the interior trade to a large 
 extent, its interests were of the most varied cha- 
 racter, and its inhabitants were already distin- 
 guished as being more cosmopolitan than those 
 of any other city in the Union, except New York. 
 They had imbibed, perhaps, some of the genius 
 of the prairies, and their scorn of petty methods 
 of doing business, their breadth of charity and 
 hearty hospitality, were as boundless as the great 
 plains of which the city was the business center 
 at that time. Among such a people, a plausible 
 adventurer had a fine field of operation, and I 
 was not surprised when I was asked to go to 
 Gloster in the latter part of the winter to investi- 
 gate the character of some persons who were 
 living there. 
 
 The application came from Senator Muirhead, 
 a man whom I had long known, both in his pub- 
 lic and private life. His suspicions were of the 
 vaguest possible character, and a hasty examina- 
 tion of the case failed to convince me that they 
 were well founded; yet he was convinced in his 
 own mind that there was a fraudulent scheme in 
 contemplation, and his positive conviction had 
 great weight with me. The Senator's interest in 
 the case had led him to make extensive inquiries 
 into the antecedents of these parties, but he was
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 127 
 
 unable io trace them further back than their arri 
 val in New York, several months before. There 
 they had suddenly appeared in society with a 
 great display of wealth, stating that they had 
 been traveling in Europe for some time, and were 
 gradually making their way back to Peru, where 
 they lived. Don Pedro P. L. do Morito and his 
 wife, having enjoyed life in New York for several 
 months, now proposed to spend at least a year in 
 Gloster, and it was this couple whose charactei 
 was suspected by the Senator. Indeed, he felt 
 sure that, at least, they were traveling under a^ 
 sumed names, and certain coincidences led him 
 to believe that they were adroit swindlers of the 
 most capable, dangerous type. He had discovered 
 a chain of circumstantial evidence which needed 
 only one link to make a clear connection between 
 certain crimes and these fascinating Peruvians, 
 and it was for the purpose of discovering this 
 link that he had requested my aid. In brief, his 
 suspicions were, that after innumerable frauds in 
 other countries, this plausible pair had settled in 
 Gloster to add to their ill-gotten wealth by some 
 new scheme of villainy. His theoretic history of 
 the man, derived from various sources, mainly 
 newspapers in which crimes had been described 
 bearing the same style of workmanship, was as 
 follows. 
 
 Jose Gomez, a cadet of the ancient Brazilian 
 family of that name, began life with a fine phys- 
 ique, ample mental endowments, and a high so- 
 cial position. He was the heir-exped-mt of a
 
 128 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 valuable estate, and no pains were spared upon 
 his education. As he grew to manhood, how- 
 ever, his habits became such as to excite the 
 gravest apprehensions as to his future, and by 
 the time he was thirty years of age he was a 
 reckless libertine, gambler, and spendthrift. Find- 
 ing that his source of supplies was about to be 
 cut off by his family, he obtained large sums of 
 money by means of forged paper, with which he 
 fled from Rio Janeiro to Lima, Peru. His where- 
 abouts were not discovered for a long time, but 
 when the information was received, the Brazilian 
 Government made an effort to obtain his extra- 
 dition. He was living in fine style in Lima, un- 
 der the assumed name of Juan Sanchez, and, in 
 some way, he was warned of his danger. Before 
 any steps had been taken to expose or arrest him, 
 he perpetrated another series of forgeries, by 
 which he obtained a large amount of money, and 
 then wholly disappeared. The aggregate of his 
 forgeries was so great that a considerable no- 
 toriety attached to the case, and the facts were 
 published in full in the leading newspapers of 
 this country. 
 
 About the time of the great rush to California, 
 after the gold discoveries there, a gentleman 
 known as Don Jose Michel appeared in San Fran- 
 cisco, where he lived in regal splendor; indeed, 
 his extravagance was so great as to make him 
 conspicuous even among the reckless throng who 
 filled the Golden City. After wasting a fortune 
 with a prodigal hand, however, he suddenly van-
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 129 
 
 ished, and, although little was known positively 
 on the subject, it was commonly understood that 
 he had swindled a number of bankers and cap- 
 italists by worthless notes, drafts, and checks, 
 many of which were wholly or partly forged. 
 The men thus defrauded kept the matter quiet, 
 both because they were ashamed to acknowledge 
 how easily they had been imposed upon, and be- 
 cause they hoped to facilitate the capture of the 
 criminal by working in secret. The incidents 
 were related to Senator Muirhead in a casual con- 
 versation with a friend who had recently re- 
 turned from the Pacific coast, and the description 
 given of Don Jose Michel tallied exactly with 
 that of Juan Sanchez and Jose Gomez. 
 
 By an odd coincidence, the month after the de- 
 parture of Don Jose Michel from San Francisco, 
 a brilliant gentleman of nearly the same name 
 appeared in Quito, Ecuador, where he pursued a 
 course so exactly similar in character to that of 
 Gomez, Sanchez, and Michel, that it was not diffi- 
 cult to imagine that that ubiquitous person was 
 identical with the elegant Don Pedro Michel who 
 created such a brief excitement in Quito, termi- 
 nating with forgeiy and a hasty flight. 
 
 About two years previous to the time of which 
 I write, a wealthy Brazilian arrived in London, 
 and became a great favorite in society. His wife 
 was a bountiful Spaniard, and her exquisite taste, 
 courtesy, and knowledge of the world wore highly 
 appreciated ly tho select circle of aristocracy into 
 which she and her husband were soon admit!* .1 
 6*
 
 130 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 Don Jos6 Arias was the name of this gentleman 
 and he was soon known in nearly every drawing- 
 room in Belgravia. He was introduced by the 
 Brazilian charge d'affaires, in the absence of the 
 Minister Resident, and this semi-official guarantee 
 of his position in Brazil gave him a passport every- 
 where. It was not strange, therefore, that such a 
 handsome, refined, and agreeable couple should 
 be cordially and hospitably received, especially as 
 their wealth was undoubtedly enormous, while 
 their manners showed that they had been born in 
 the purple of aristocracy. It was a sad shock to 
 society when it was learned that Don Jose and 
 Donna Maria had absconded suddenly, taking with 
 them about fifty thousand pounds sterling, ob- 
 tained by forgery. It was then learned that the 
 Brazilian legation had been the victim of forged 
 documents also, though the intimate acquaintance 
 of Don Jose with the policy and statecraft of 
 Brazil in many important affairs had contributed 
 largely to his success in deceiving the young 
 diplomat who was temporarily in charge of the 
 legation. 
 
 It was not until more than a year after this oc- 
 currence that Don Pedro P. L. de Morito arrived 
 in New York, with his beautiful wife, Donna 
 Lucia. They did not stop long in New York after 
 their arrival, but spent the latter part of the sum- 
 mer in the White Mountains in a very retired 
 manner, although they lived in the best style 
 that the place afforded. In August, they made 
 a hasty trip to Washington and back to New
 
 A VRAUDULENT SCHEME. 131 
 
 York again, where the_y o?pvmamore pretentious 
 mode of life than they had chosen theretofore. 
 Don Pedro kept a yacht elegantly fitted up, and 
 his horses were the best that money could ob- 
 tain. His bachelor suppers were models of epi- 
 curean perfection, and when his wife gave a re- 
 ception, everything was in the best taste and 
 style. While visiting Washington, Don Pedro 
 had met Senator Muirhead, who had gone there 
 for a few days on public business, and the ac- 
 quaintance was renewed in New York, where the 
 Senator had some private interests demanding 
 his attention. Something had led the Senator to 
 connect Don Pedro with Gomez, Sanchez, Michel, 
 and Arias, and though the idea was a vague one 
 in his mind, it was sufficiently fixed to cause him 
 to institute inquiries into Seiior Morito's antece- 
 dents. As previously stated, nothing could be 
 learned of him previous to his arrival in New 
 York, and the only circumstance which could 
 possibly be regarded as suspicious was, that both 
 in Washington and New York he had avoided 
 meeting the Peruvian Minister and other fellow- 
 countrymen. 
 
 The peculiarity of the case interested me, and, 
 after a long conversation with the Senator, I 
 agreed to unravel the slight mystery surrounding 
 the parties, and to make a complete review of 
 their past history so far as it might be possible 
 obtain it. No harm could result from such a 
 course, whether they were honest or the revei 
 and r,o, having decided upon a simple plan, 1
 
 132 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 turned to Chicago to splc^u the persons to repre- 
 sent me in Gloster. 
 
 My preliminary survey of the field had brought 
 me into contact with many of the most fashion 
 able people in Gloster; and, as I foresaw that my 
 operatives would be called upon to move in the 
 best society while engaged in this investigation, I 
 obtained as extended information about the mem- 
 bers of the creme de la creme as possible. Since 
 many of them will figure conspicuously in the 
 incidents of this story, a brief description of the 
 leaders will be necessary. 
 
 One of the wealthiest men of Gloster was a 
 bachelor, named Henry 0. Mather. He was 
 about fifty years old, but he still retained much 
 of the fire of youth, and he was one of the most 
 popular members of society. - At an early day in 
 the history of the Great West he had settled at 
 Gloster, where he had invested largely in unim- 
 proved lands; and, by forethought and good 
 judgment in his speculations, he had rapidly in- 
 creased his property in extent and value, until, 
 at this time, he was one of the few millionaires 
 west of the Alleghanies. About three years pre- 
 vious to the time of which I write, he had in- 
 vested largely in the new railroad schemes then 
 organized, and his importance as a railway mag- 
 nate was recognized throughout the whole coun- 
 try. His reputation as a shrewd business man 
 made him a species of authority among his 1V1- 
 low- townspeople, and few persons would havo 
 ventured to distrust the safety of any enterprise
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 133 
 
 in which he was actively interested. Indeed, so 
 complete was the confidence of most men in him, 
 that it was not considered necessary in buying 
 real estate to trace the title further back than to 
 Ht'nry 0. Mather, a deed from him being consid- 
 ered as secure as a patent from the government. 
 Personally he was a very agreeable man, being 
 gallant without affectation, and brilliant without 
 priggishness. His figure was of medium height, 
 compactly built, and he carried himself with an 
 erect bearing and springy gait, which greatly 
 aided in deceiving strangers as to his age. His 
 hair was brown, turning gradually to gray, and 
 he wore full gray side- whiskers. His features 
 were quite pleasing Except the mouth, which was 
 rather large and sensual. On the whole, he was 
 a man with uncommon ability to please when he 
 felt disposed to exert himself, and his great 
 wealth was an additional charm which soci 
 was not slow to recognize. He owned a largo 
 house, occupying the whole of a square in the 
 most fashionable part of the city, and his sister- 
 in-luw was installed as its mistress. 
 
 Richard Perkins was an Englishman who had 
 long lived in Gloster, where he owned the largest 
 l)ic\\ cry in the West. He was of middle height, 
 but being quite fleshy, his gait was a kind of 
 waddle the reverse of elegant or dignified. His 
 smooth, round, jovial face was strongly expres- 
 sive of an appreciation of the good things of this 
 world, and ho rarely denied himself any indul- 
 grnro Iliat passion craved and that money could 
 procure.
 
 134 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 It was while Mather and Perkins were on their 
 annual visit to New York that they met Senor 
 Morito and his beautiful wife, Donna Lucia. 
 The distinguished foreigners soon made a com- 
 plete conquest of both the western gentlemen, 
 who invited them in the most cordial manner to 
 visit Gloster at their earliest convenience. 
 
 The delights of New York society were enjoyed 
 for several months by these wealthy and aristo- 
 cratic foreigners before they were able to keep 
 the promise made to Mather and Perkins ; for 
 they were entertained by the old Knickerbocker 
 families of Manhattan in a princely style. They 
 were the guests of the most exclusive circles of 
 the city, and everywhere fhey displayed suck, 
 perfect courtesy, good breeding, and savoir faire, 
 that it was evident they were accustomed to 
 wealth and high social position. They had ele- 
 gant apartments in the leading hotel of the city, 
 and their cash expenditures showed the posses- 
 sion of an unlimited fortune. They finally tore 
 themselves away from New York, arriving in 
 Gloster during the comparatively dull season of 
 Lent. Here their fame had become known in 
 society through the incessant praises of Mather 
 and Perkins, and their reception into the highest 
 circles was coincident with their arrival. The 
 unanimous verdict of those who made their ac- 
 quaintance was, that Gloster had never enter- 
 tained two more thoroughly pleasing guests than 
 the Don and Donna Morito. 
 
 Don Pedro was about forty years of age, but
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 135 
 
 he had all the brilliancy and ease of a man of 
 thirty. His figure was very fine, being slightly 
 above the medium height, erect, compact, and 
 muscular. His hands and feet were small and 
 elegantly shaped, but WI.TO not effeminate. His 
 rich oliye complexion was in admirable harmony 
 with his soft black eyes and deep red lips. His 
 face was a good oval, without being unmanly, 
 and his black, glossy hair was beautifully curly 
 and wavy. He wore side-whiskers and a long 
 moustache, beneath which his smile, the ladies 
 said, was faultless. Like most South Americans, 
 he seemed too lazy to be unamiable, and his gen- 
 eral style was that of a man who, having pos- 
 sessed wealth always, would be perfectly lost, 
 without it. 
 
 Ponna Lucia was a fine specimen of Spanish 
 ba ity, education, and refinement. It was easy 
 to see that she possessed more force of character 
 than her husband, and that her passionate nature 
 was like a volcano, which might burst forth at 
 any time, driving her to the most dangerous 
 courses if it took possession of her. A detailed 
 description of such a woman is an impossibility. 
 In general, she was a beauty of the Andalusian 
 type, as nearly perfect in form and feature as can 
 be conceived; but her expression was of an infi- 
 nite variety of characters, each one giving the 
 precise shade of meaning most applicable to the 
 time, place, person, and sentiment. In short, she 
 was so near perfection that nearly all the men she 
 11H.-1 Were in lov<- wilh hn, ;m<l mil. i-iitlis of
 
 136 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 them more than half believed that she regretted 
 her marriage for their sake. Nevertheless, she 
 kept all admirers at a certain distance, which 
 only bewitched them the more. 
 
 At the time of which I write, Don Pedro was 
 so much pleased with Gloster, that he had rented 
 a large residence in a very fashionable locality, 
 and was making preparations to spend a y far- 
 there. The charming manner in which they had 
 entertained their friends at the hotel was ample 
 guarantee that when the Don and Donna were 
 established in their new home, they would sur- 
 patss anything in the way of festivities ever seen 
 in Gioster; hence, all the best society of the place 
 rejoiced greatly at the arrival of this new Con- 
 stellation in the social firmament. 
 
 Among the bachelors most noted in salons and 
 parlors of the city were Daniel McCarthy and 
 Charles Sylvanus, the former a lawyer, and the 
 latter a journalist. McCarthy was an Irishman, 
 of brilliant talents and ready wit. Although still 
 comparatively a young man, he was the county 
 persecuting attorney, and was considered one of 
 the foremost lawyers of the city. He was v< 
 blocking and good-hearted, and his natural 
 lefty made him a most entertaining companion . 
 While speaking in court, and often in society, he 
 had a habit of running his fingers through his 
 long, thick hair, which he would also, at times, 
 throw back with a peculiar jerk of his head. 
 This habit was especially frequent when he be- 
 came deeply interested in his subject, and tho
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 137 
 
 spectators could always tell whether Dau was 
 doing his best, even when they could not hear his 
 words. 
 
 Sylvanus was editor and part proprietor of an 
 evening newspaper. As a journalist he was not 
 above mediocrity, but he was well received in 
 society, w^here even a moderate allowance of 
 brains will suffice for success. 
 
 A conspicuous member of society and a pillar 
 of the Swedenborgian church was Mr. John Pres- 
 ton, a banker and capitalist. With a book of 
 Swedenborgian revelations in one hand and a 
 bundle of tax titles in the other, he w^ould fre- 
 quently orate to a crowd of unbelievers, from a 
 text drawn from his book, in a manner calculated 
 to quite convert them, were it not that they knew 
 he was only working up a fresh head of steam to 
 enable him to grind the faces of the poor upon 
 whose property he held tax titles. In fact, many 
 people were of the opinion that this man was a 
 dangerous character, in spite of his pretense of 
 piety, his ostentatious charity, and his assump- 
 tion of the role of a professional philanthropist. 
 They insinuated that a man could afford to give 
 largely to an astronomical society, a college, an, 
 academy of sciences, and other objects of educa- 
 tion, when he had appropriated many thousands 
 of dollars belonging to the school fund to his own 
 use; that he could easily contribute freely to his 
 church, when he used the church property in his 
 own interests and managed the society to suit 
 himself ; and that there was no great amount of
 
 138 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 philanthropy in giving a few hundred dollars to 
 miscellaneous charities, when he made ten times 
 the amount in shaving notes at usurious interest 
 and acquiring land by means only one remove 
 from actual theft; these things were becoming so 
 notorious that a man of less indomitable brass 
 than John Preston would have long since been 
 sent to Coventry, if not to jail; but he revolved 
 on his own center, sublimely indifferent to the 
 attacks of his enemies, for whom, by the way, he 
 used to pray with most fervent unction. His 
 wife was a pleasant, motherly woman, who gave 
 liberally to charitable objects, and who regarded 
 her husband as one of the saints of the earth. 
 
 There were three children a young man and 
 two girls. The former gave no promise of either 
 ability, probity, or ambition, and there was about 
 him a noticeable air of deficiency in both mental 
 and moral worth. The girls were commonplace 
 nonentities, with no pretensions to beauty or 
 grace. 
 
 One of the most prominent citizens of Gloster 
 was a wealthy tanner, named Charles H. Sanders. 
 Having foreseen at an early day the great pro- 
 gress which the city would make in population 
 and importance, he had invested largely in tracts 
 of unimproved land, which he held against all 
 offers to purchase until his real estate was more 
 extended and valuable than that of any other 
 property-owner in the city. Personally he w.-is 
 very thin and angular, with such a sickly look 
 that his death seemed possible any lay, though
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 139 
 
 his constitution was of that character which 
 might hold out much longer than that of a more 
 robust type. His wife was a very charming 
 woman, and they had two young daughters, who 
 gave promise of considerable beauty when they 
 should arrive at maturity. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Burke and his wife were, perhaps, 
 the most general favorites in Gloster society. 
 Mr. Burke was tall and well built, and his large 
 head and commanding appearance made him con- 
 spicuous in any group. He had a broad, high 
 forehead, heavy eyebrows, deep-set black eyes, a 
 Roman nose, and a heavy black moustache, which 
 completely covered his mouth . His straight, black 
 hair, high cheek-bones, and swarthy complexion, 
 gave him slightly the look of having Indian blood 
 in his veins; but the rest of his features were un- 
 mistakably Celtic, and the moment he spoke, the- 
 Irishman stood confessed. He was a man of such 
 extensive reading and general information that 
 few persons excelled him in conversation. His 
 wife was also cultivated and intelligent, so that 
 either as guest or hostess she was equally agree- 
 able and popular. They had a large family of 
 bright and interesting children. 
 
 One of the social curiosities of the city was 
 known as Deacon Humphrey. He was a striking 
 instance of the importance which self-complacent 
 mediocrity can obtair in a newly-settled com- 
 munity, in spite of ponderous stupidity. His 
 large head gave him his only excuse for profess- 
 ing to have brains, and his air of preoccupation
 
 140 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 made him in appearance the personification 
 of wisdom; indeed, a witty journalist, who had 
 sounded the depths of Humphrey's ignoraivc'. 
 once said that "no man could be as wise as 
 Humphrey looked" No better condensation (f 
 this character in a few words could be made. He 
 was part proprietor of a morning newspaper, and 
 at times, to the dismay of the other stockholders, 
 he aspired to the editorial tripod. The mighty 
 lucubrations of his intellect were generally as- 
 signed to the waste-basket, and in the city it was 
 well known that his influence in the columns of 
 the paper was absolutely nothing, though in the 
 country he was still regarded with awe by the 
 bucolic mind. He was generally known as 
 " Deacon " from his honorary occupancy of that 
 office in a Presbyterian church. Mrs. Humphrey 
 was seldom seen, being in poor health almost con- 
 stantly, but their only daughter, Jennie, was one 
 of the foremost of the fashionable of the dilet- 
 tanti of the city. Indeed, it was confidently an- 
 ticipated that, some day, Miss Jennie would burst 
 forth as a full-blown authoress, and overpower an 
 expectant public with the radiance of her intel- 
 lect and the elegance of her style. 
 
 No description of Gloster celebrities would be 
 complete without that of Ethan Allen Benson, 
 Esq., formerly Member of Congress, and late 
 Minister Plenipotentiary at an important Euro- 
 pean court. The suggestion having once been 
 made to him by some waggish diplomat that he 
 resembled the first Napoleon, he was ever after-
 
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 141 
 
 ward desirous of drawing attention to this fan- 
 cied resemblance. He was a vain, i Ussy, conse- 
 quential politician, whose principal strength was 
 in the ward caucus and the saloon. 
 
 Judge Peter B. Taylor was another old settler, 
 and he was frequently seen in social circles in 
 spite of his age. His forehead was very broad 
 indeed, but his face tapered so rapidly to a 
 pointed chin as to make his head wedge-shaped- 
 He had coarse, faded hair, but no whiskers nor 
 beard, and only a scrubby, gray moustache. He 
 had a singular habit of working his eyes inde- 
 pendently of each other, and the effect upon a 
 stranger who was not aware of this peculiarity 
 was sometimes startling. His mouth was quite 
 large, one side appearing larger than the other, 
 and his lower lip slightly protruded, giving him a 
 very harsh and forbidding appearance. He had 
 at one time occupied a seat on the judicial bench, 
 but few persons could understand on what 
 grounds he deserved the office, unless it were 
 that people believed the adage about a poor law- 
 yer making a good judge. He was quite wealthy, 
 and his business was that of a money leaner and 
 real estate speculator. He was considered to be 
 very pious and charitable on Sunday; during 
 the rest of the week no Shylock ever demanded 
 his pound of flesh more relentlessly than he his 
 three per cent, a month. 
 
 It was among a society of which the foregoing 
 were shining rights, that I was to operate at the 
 request of Senator Muirhead. On returning to
 
 142 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME. 
 
 Chicago from Gloster, I gave a great deal of 
 thought to the case, for there was so little to act 
 upon that none of the ordinary plans could be 
 depended upon. During his stay in this country, 
 Don Pedro had apparently acted in a perfectly 
 honorable manner toward every one, and it 
 would be impossible to proceed against him le- 
 gally in the United States for crimes committed 
 elsewhere, until the aggrieved parties should take 
 the necessary steps for his extradition ; with sev- 
 eral of the countries in which he was supposed to 
 have committed his crimes we had no extradition 
 treaty, and nothing could be done here to arrest 
 or punish him ; hence, the task of exposing his 
 previous career might be fruitless, even though 
 the Senator's suspicions should be confirmed in 
 every particular. Nothing whatever could be 
 adduced against his character since his arrival in 
 the United States, and I was, therefore, confined 
 to the prevention of future frauds rather than 
 the detection of old ones. The primary object of 
 my efforts was thus made to be the discovery of 
 the Don's intentions, as, without some slight 
 forecast of his plans, I might be unable to cir- 
 cumvent them. Accordingly, I decided that I 
 must furnish him with a friend who would be 
 sufficiently intimate with him to become his 
 trusted companion and adviser. 1 . At the same 
 time, it would be essential to learn as much as 
 possible relative to the previous career of both 
 the Don and Donna, for it might be desirable to 
 use a little moral suasion with them by showing
 
 MR. PINKERTON AS A -ABORER. 14" 
 
 that their history was known. This plan would 
 involve no injustice to them, for, if innocent of 
 wrong-doing, they would never know that they 
 had been under surveillance ; while f if guilty, 
 they deserved no consideration. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Madame Sevier, Widow, of Chicago, and Monsieur 
 Lesparre, of Bordeaux, also arrive at Gloster. 
 Mr. Phikerton, as a Laborer, anxious for a Job, 
 inspects the Morito Mansion. A Tender Scene, 
 resulting in Profit to the fascinating Seftortt. 
 Madame /Sevier is installed as a Guest at Don 
 Pedro's. 
 
 MY first action in this affair was to detail a 
 man to "shadow" Don Pedro and the 
 Donna until the detectives chosen for the more 
 difficult portions of the work should he in a posi 
 tion to take notice of all their movements. As 
 three detectives would require some little prepa- 
 ration to gain the position I desired them to fill, I 
 hastened to select them and give them their 
 instructions. For this mission I detailed a 
 married couple, who had been several years in 
 my employ. Mr. and Mrs. Rosel were natives of 
 France, and as they had been constantly in my 
 service almost from the time of their arrival in 
 this country, I felt sure they would not b;i recog- 
 nized as detectives by any one in the city of
 
 144 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 Gloster. They were peoplo of more than average 
 intelligence and education, with a natural refine- 
 ment which would be especially desirable in the 
 prosecution of this case. In a few days all their 
 preparations were completed, and they went to 
 Gloster by different routes. 
 
 Mrs. Rosel was not handsome, but she had a 
 good figure, and she was very attractive, on ac- 
 count of her dashing, spirited ways, and because 
 she could assume a deep interest in every one 
 whom she met. She spoke English with so slight 
 an accent that it was only noticed as an added 
 charm to her winning conversation. I instructed 
 "her to represent herself in Gloster as Madame 
 Sevier, the widow of a lace merchant, lately of 
 Chicago, where he had carried on a moderate 
 business. His death had thrown his affairs into 
 -some confusion, but the estate would be settled 
 up soon, leaving a comfortable fortune to his 
 widow. Madame Sevier did not like the climate 
 of Chicago, and therefore she had decided to 
 remain in Gloster until her business affairs \vcr<> 
 settled, when she would probably return to her 
 relatives in France. I intended that she should 
 mix in society as much as would be consistent 
 with her character as a widow, and that she 
 should endeavor to become intimate with Donna 
 Lucia. 
 
 Mr. Rosel was to make a slight detour, arriving 
 in Gloster from the east. He would be known 
 as Monsieur Girard Lesparre, and his ostensible 
 character was to be that of a man of moderate
 
 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 145 
 
 capital from Bordeaux, looking for a favorable 
 opportunity to invest some of his means in a 
 profitable business. 
 
 I followed the Eosels in a day or two, and found 
 tli at Monsieur Lesparre was pleasantly located 
 at a fashionable family hotel, while Madame 
 Sevier had taken apartments in a stylish board- 
 ing-house only a few doors from the handsome 
 residence which the Moritos were to occupy. 
 This was quite satisfactory, and I turned my 
 attention to the examination of the reports made 
 by my ' ' shadow. " The reports were very monot- 
 onous in character, except as evidences Of the 
 popularity of the Don and Donna. The dull days 
 of Lent had just passed, and the close of the 
 season was now more crowded with parties and 
 balls than the earlier portion had been. The 
 presence of two such distinguished guests as Don 
 Pedro and Donna Lucia contributed largely to the 
 reasons for this rush of gayety, and they were 
 overwhelmed with visitors and invitations. Mr. 
 Mather had set the example by giving a large 
 dinner-party in their honor, followed in the even- 
 ing by a grand ball; and they had so charmed 
 tlio other leaders of society that no entertainment 
 was considered complete without the presence, 
 of Don Pedro P. L. de Morito and his beautiful 
 wife. 
 
 On leaving my hotel to visit the house which 
 Don Pedro was fitting- up for his residence, I met 
 Charlie Morton, the United States Commissioner 
 of Gloster. Morion was a capable lawyer and $ 
 
 7
 
 14:6 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 shrewd politician. He was equally attentive to 
 ladies as to gentlemen, and it was well known 
 that Charlie would never slight any one who 
 could cast or influence a vote. His acquaintance 
 extended through all classes, from the lowest to 
 t&e highest, and few men were more generally 
 popular. His powers of observation were only 
 equaled by his tact, so that, while he saw all 
 that went on about him, he never talked indis- 
 creetly. He and I were quite intimate, and we 
 chatted for some time about various people before 
 I succeeded in bringing up the names of those in 
 Gloster in whom I was just then most interested. 
 
 " I suppose you are quite glad that the gay sea- 
 son is over, Charlie," I said, interrogatively. "As 
 usual, you will not have many social events of 
 any consequence after Lent, I presume? " 
 
 "Oh! yes, indeed," he replied; "we shall be 
 more active in society for the next month or two 
 than ever before. You see, we have two wealthy 
 and aristocratic Peruvians visiting Gloster, and 
 they are so fascinating that they have quite taken 
 our people by storm. They have been accus 
 tomed to the finest society of Europe and South 
 America, so that we are put upon our mettle to 
 show how well Gloster can compare in wealth 
 luxury, and refinement with older cities at home 
 and abroad." 
 
 " Are they then such remarkable lions ? " I 
 asked, "or do people run after them simply bo- 
 cause they are rich foreigners ? " 
 
 " Of course their wealth and foreign birth
 
 MR. HNKERTON AS A LABORER. 147 
 
 would cause many people to pay them attention/' 
 said Morton ; " but their popularity is something 
 exceptional, and is undoubtedly due to their per- 
 fect knowledge of all the courtesies and customs 
 of modern society, to their charming manners, 
 and largely to their personal good looks. Senor 
 Morito has fascinated all the ladies, while nearly 
 every man in society is in love with the Senora. " 
 
 "Well, take care of yourself, my boy," I said, 
 jokingly. "If the lovely Donna causes Charlie 
 Morton to strike his colors, she must be danger- 
 ous indeed." 
 
 After leaving Morton, I sauntered along to the 
 house which Don Pedro had rented, and which 
 was now nearly ready for occupancy. It was a 
 large residence, with ample grounds fronting on 
 the principal avenue, and its imposing front of 
 heavy columns gave it a striking appearance as 
 compared with the more commonplace stone 
 fronts around it. While I was glancing curiously 
 about, a truck arrived laden with costly furniture. 
 I was rather roughly dressed, and the driver 
 asked me if I wanted a job of work. I accepted 
 his offer to aid in carrying the furniture into the 
 house, as I was anxious to examine the interior. 
 After finishing the job, the furniture salesman 
 took me over the house to show off the elegance 
 with which it was decorated and furnished. It 
 was certainly ;i model of good taste, while the 
 paintings, statuary, frescoing, and articles of 
 bijouterie were evidences of enormous expendi- 
 tures. Having obtained a thorough knowledge
 
 148 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 of the plan of the house, I withdrew, receiving 
 fifty cents for my labor. 
 
 The time when Don Pedro was to occupy hig 
 residence was to be signalized by a grand recep- 
 tion held therein, and the invitations were already 
 out. Meantime entertainments were given by 
 John Preston, Alexander Mclntyre, and Charles 
 H. Sanders. The latter's reception was especially 
 brilliant, and those who knew Mr. Sanders's par- 
 simonious character were much surprised at his 
 profuse expenditure for the occasion. I soon 
 afterwards obtained an explanation of this un- 
 usual liberality, by hearing another banker casu- 
 ally remark that Don Pedro had withdrawn a 
 part of his funds from New York, and had de 
 posited them in Mr. Sanders's bank. This gave 
 me a hint, and I immediately acted upon it. Be- 
 ing well acquainted with a number of bankers, I 
 visited several of them, and talked about various 
 business men of Gloster, as if I were desirous of 
 getting information about their commercial stand- 
 ing and credit. In each case I succeeded in learn- 
 ing the extent to which Don Pedro had deposited 
 money in bank. The total amount then due him 
 by the three houses with whom he had made de- 
 posits was about $17,000, although his original 
 deposits had amounted to more than double that 
 sum. Heavy drafts to pay his current expenses 
 and to furnish his house had largely reduced his 
 available cash, though he still had an ample sum 
 011 hand. Knowing how enormous his expenses 
 were, I felt sure that he would reach the end of
 
 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 149 
 
 his bank account in a short time, unless he should 
 have other funds, of whose existence I was un 
 aware. If this sum of seventeen thousand dol- 
 lars represented his total capital, however, ho 
 would soon show whether he was what he 
 claimed to be, or an adventurer; for, in the 
 former case, he would draw money from his 
 Peruvian estates, and, in the latter, he would ac- 
 complish some great swindle. I was, therefore, 
 anxious to put my detectives at work as quickly 
 as possible to enable me to learn something defi- 
 nite of his intentions. 
 
 Madame Sevier was making quite rapid progress 
 in her new quarters. Mrs. Courtney, the lady 
 who kept the house, was a widow of some means, 
 who took boarders to enable her to educate her 
 children in the best manner. She was highly re- 
 garded by every one, and her visiting-list included 
 all the most fashionable people in the city. Sho 
 soon became greatly interested in Madame Sevier, 
 and through her assistance the Madame made 
 the acquaintance of a number of the families 
 living in the neighborhood. As the rage for for- 
 eigners was at its height just then, Madame Sevier 
 soon became highly popular, and she was invited 
 to several entertainments, where she met Don 
 Pedro and Donna Lucia. The latter, finding that 
 Madame Sevier was to be her near neighbor in 
 her new residence, became very intimate with 
 her, especially as Donna Lucia was desirous of 
 reviving her knowledge and practice of the French 
 language. Consequently, when Don Pedro's ar-
 
 150 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 rangements were all completed and the 
 house occupied, Madame Sevier used to drop in 
 for a few minutes' chat every day. As she was 
 a very capable manager, she was frequently able 
 to give Donna Lucia valuable hints about her 
 household affairs, especially with reference to the 
 approaching reception. 
 
 Ever since the arrival of the Moritos, Mr. Henry 
 0. Mather had been a constant attendant upon 
 the Donna. His attentions had not been so pub- 
 licly marked as to have created scandal; but he 
 had been so assiduous in paying his regards, that 
 he was much more intimate than Mrs. Grundy 
 would have thought strictly proper. He was in 
 the habit of calling very frequently, and he often 
 took the Don and Donna out for a drive. Some- 
 times the party Would consist wholly of ladies, 
 and occasionally the Donna accompanied him 
 alone. In short, he became a sort of intimate 
 friend of the family, welcome at all times, with- 
 out the necessity of invitation or ceremony. 
 
 One day, Madame Sevier went in to see Donna 
 Lucia in the afternoon, and was told by the ser- 
 vant that she would find the Donna in the library. 
 Without permitting the servant to announce her, 
 she passed on toward the room mentioned ; but, 
 as she approached the door, hearing voices with- 
 in, she paused a moment to see who was with 
 Donna Lucia. The room was in a very retire! 
 part of the house, and she was able to take a po- 
 sition close to the partly open door without the 
 probability of being noticed by any one. She
 
 MR PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 151 
 
 was thus enabled to overhear a highly interesting 
 ( onversatioii between the Donna and Henry 0. 
 Mather, who had evidently arrived only a mo- 
 ment or two before her. 
 
 "You are not in good spirits to-day, Donna 
 Lucia ? " questioned Mather, sympathetically. 
 
 "No, Mr. Mather; I have my troubles at 
 times, like other people, but I try not to let 
 others see them." 
 
 " Then you do not care for sympathy, Senora," 
 said Mather, with a tender sigh ; " I see that you 
 have been in tears, and it grieves me to think 
 that I cannot save you from the painful things 
 which cause you to cry." 
 
 " Oh ! Mr. Mather, I do appreciate your kind- 
 ness, I assure you," said the Donna, also sighing 
 deeply ; " I am almost tempted to ask your ad- 
 vice, for I feel that you are truly my friend ; but 
 I am afraid you will think I have been naughty 
 in having exposed myself to such annoyances." 
 
 " No, indeed, my dear Donna," replied the mil- 
 lionaire, quite enraptured at this evident token 
 of her confidence in him; " I know that you are 
 too lovely to be anything but ah angel, and I 
 shall be only too happy to give you advice upon 
 any subject that you confide to me." 
 
 As the conversation was becoming highly in- 
 teresting, the tones of the parties being of a 
 really lover-like tenderness, Madame Sevier took 
 a hasty glimpse through the door, and saw that 
 she could watch as well as listen, unperceived. 
 Mather was standing beside the Donna, bending
 
 152 MB. PINKEBTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 oveiyher and looking into her face, while she had 
 her head half turned away, as if in coy hide- 
 eision. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Mather 
 
 " Why do you address me always so formally? 
 Can you not call me Henry?" asked Mather, 
 boldly. 
 
 " How would it sound if any one should hear 
 me ? " said the Donna, casting down her eyes and 
 playing with her watch-chain. 
 
 " But when we are alone no one can hear 
 you," replied Mather. " Won't you call me 
 Henry when we have an occasional tete-a- 
 tete?" 
 
 "Well, then you must be very discreet, Hen- 
 ry," answered she, looking up, blushing and hes- 
 itating as she spoke. 
 
 " I will be discretion itself," said the now 
 wholly infatuated Mather, with a look 01 
 triumph; and to show that he accepted the con- 
 ditions of the agreement, he sealed it by raising 
 her hand to his lips. 
 
 "Oh! fie! fie!" she exclaimed; "is it thus that 
 you show your discretion? I shall be obliged 
 to retract my promise if you become so rash. 
 Now, sit down beside me, and be more polite in 
 future." 
 
 " I will not be so hasty again, my dear Donna ; 
 but my pleasure was so great that I was some- 
 what beside myself. Now tell me what it was 
 that caused your troubles." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Math "
 
 MK. PIXKERTON AS A LABORER. 153 
 
 " No, no ; not ' Mr. Mather ; ' recollect your 
 promise," interrupted Mather, as he saw she hes- 
 itated to call him by his first name. 
 
 "Well, then, Henry, I have been very thought- 
 less and extravagant, and I do not know what to 
 do. You see, I have always spent money for 
 everything I needed without regard to cost ; for 
 my own fortune was ample for everything, and 
 Pedro would give me any amount that I might 
 desire. But last month a draft for six thousand 
 pounds, which was sent me by my trustees, was 
 lost on the way, and so I have used up all my 
 own funds. Having run up several large bills in 
 New York, I asked Pedro to pay them, and ho 
 did so; but he said that, having ordered his fac- 
 tors to send him no more money until his arrival 
 in Callao, he should be somewhat embarrassed 
 until he heard from them again. His sudden 
 determination to fit up and occupy a residence 
 here has exhausted all his available funds except 
 a few thousand dollars for current expenses, and 
 he requested me not to make any large purchases 
 until one of us should receive a remittance from 
 our estates. Well, you see, I expected surely to 
 have received a large sum before now, and so I 
 made purchases without regard to consequences; 
 the result is, that I am deeply in debt, my money 
 has not arrived, and I am afraid to tell Pedro, 
 because he will not forgive me for running in 
 debt and disobeying him. Unfortunately, I have 
 done both these things, and L am momentarily in 
 fear that some of the bills will be sent to him
 
 154: MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 Now, my dear Henry, you see that I have good 
 cause to look sad and cry." 
 
 As she finished, the Donna began to whimpei 
 and put her handkerchief to her eyes in so touch- 
 ing a manner that Mather was quite overpow- 
 ered. The artistic expression with which she 
 hastily called him her "dear Henry" was the 
 finishing touch to an already powerful attack, 
 and he surrendered completely. 
 
 "My dear Donna," he exclaimed, seizing her 
 hand in both of his, "how glad I am that you 
 confided in me. I will see that you are not 
 troubled by another anxious thought in this mat- 
 ter. Tell me how much you need to settle all 
 your indebtedness." 
 
 " Indeed, Henry, I cannot let you do anything 
 of the kind," she protested, feebly. " Why, it is a 
 very large sum in all, and it may be several 
 months before I can repay you." 
 
 "Now don't talk about payment, but just tell 
 me how much you need," replied Mather. 
 
 " The large bills amount to over four thousand 
 dollars, and there are a number of small ones 
 which I have not figured up," she said, thought- 
 fully. 
 
 "Well, then, I will bring you around five 
 thousand dollars to-morrow, and you can pay 
 the bills without any one knowing where the 
 money comes from," said Mather, again kissing 
 her hand. 
 
 "Oh! you dear, good fellow!" exclaimed the 
 Donna; and, overcome by his generous response
 
 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 155 
 
 to her request, she threw her arms about hib neck 
 and kissed him several times. 
 
 "There, there," she continued, releasing her- 
 self and coquettishly tapping his lips with her 
 hand, "I dc n't know how I came to do such a 
 thing, but you were so kind that I couldn't help 
 it." 
 
 "If that is the case," said the overjoyed 
 Mather, " I will add five thousand more to have 
 a similar expression of your gratitude." 
 
 " Will you, really? I believe I am half in love 
 with you," she murmured, as she allowed him to 
 embrace her a second time, and press burning; 
 kisses on her lips. 
 
 The ringing of the door-bell interrupted their 
 happiness, and Madame Sevier hastily retired to 
 the drawing-room, into which other visitors were 
 shown by the servant. Donna Lucia soon en- 
 tered, perfectly self-possessed, and greeted all her 
 friends with her usual ease and cordiality. Mr. 
 Mather probably passed out by the library en- 
 trance, for he did not appear in the parlor. The 
 ladies conversed together for some time, one of 
 the important subjects of their talk being the 
 troubles of household management. Donna Lucia 
 complained bitterly that her servants robbed her, 
 and that they were careless, dirty, and impudent. 
 She knew very little about housekeeping, and 
 every domestic in her employ took advantage of 
 her. She added that, as soon as her housewann- 
 ing was over, she intended to get, if possible, a 
 lady who would bo a member of the family, and
 
 156 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 who would relieve her of the management of th 
 house. 
 
 "Now," said she, in her most winning man- 
 ner, "here is Madame Sevier, who has nothing 
 to occupy her time, who is a natural manager of 
 other people, and who is BO agreeable that she 
 would" be a positive charm to any housenold; and 
 I hare been ffoinking,. positively, of asking her to 
 take charge of my whole establishment, and help 
 me entertain my guests. What should you think, 
 Madame Sevier, of such a request ? " 
 
 The opportunity of becoming domesticated in 
 the Morito mansion was thus afforded to one of 
 my detectives, but she knew better than to 
 accept at once. She therefore professed to treat 
 it as a pleasantry, and said that she had no doubt 
 that she should succeed as a housekeeper, but 
 whether she could add anything of attraction to 
 such a charming home was greatly to be doubted. 
 The other ladies, however, thought the idea an 
 admirable one, and they aU urged Madame Sevier 
 to adopt it. Having once broached the subject, 
 Donna Lucia again spoke of it with the greatest 
 interest, showing, by her arguments and deter- 
 mination to coax Madame Sevier to decide favor- 
 ably, that slie had thought about such a plan bo- 
 fore, and that she was really in earnest in her re- 
 quest. Finally, Madame Sevier said that she saw 
 no objection to accepting the offer, as she really 
 enjoyed taking care of a large establishment, but 
 she ftvas not prepared to accept it at once, and 
 she would -wait a few days to reflect upon it. It
 
 MR. PIFKERTON AS A LABORER. 157 
 
 was then agreed that she should give her decision 
 at the grand reception to be given as a house- 
 warming. 
 
 This part of my plan had worked admirably, 
 and I felt confident of my eventual success in 
 learning all about the affairs of the Morito 
 family. The method by which Donna Lucia had 
 obtained ten thousand dollars from Mr. Mather 
 was a decided confirmation of Senator Muirhoad's 
 suspicions; though there was nothing in the 
 transaction which could make her liable to pun- 
 ishment by law, and as there was no danger that 
 her victim would ever appear against her, I paid 
 no further attention to this episode. 
 
 I ordered Madame Sevier to accept Donna 
 Lucia's offer on the following terms: she should 
 have full authority over all the female servants in 
 the house; she should have charge of the ordering 
 of all articles for household use; she should be 
 considered in the same light as a guest, so far as 
 social intercourse went; she should go and come 
 as she chose, without regard to the duties of the 
 
 ./age; and she should receive no salary. This 
 last point she was to insist upon, as necessary 
 to preserve her feeling of independence, and 
 liable her to occupy her time as she might see 
 fit. 
 
 As the day approached for the Moritos' recep- 
 tion, all Gloster's best society were filled with 
 pleasurable excitement and anticipation, as tho 
 preparations were known to be far more magnifi- 
 cent than those for any similar entertainment
 
 158 MR. PINKERTON AS A LABORER. 
 
 since Gloster was settled. As Monsieur Lesparra 
 had already made Don Pedro's acquaintance, 
 and had received an invitation, I felt sure that 
 I should be thoroughly informed as to all the 
 occurrences of the evening, and so I awaited de 
 velopments. 
 
 The employment of detectives to penetrate into 
 the social life and domestic surroundings of any 
 family is strongly repugnant to my sense of pro- 
 priety, and I rarely countenance the practice, if I 
 can possibly attain my object in any other way. 
 I dislike to feel that I am trespassing upon the 
 privacy of any man's home, even though that 
 man may be a criminal. The idea of introducing 
 a spy into a household is opposed to the spirit of 
 our free American institutions, violating, as it 
 does, the unwritten law that "a man's house is 
 his castle ; " hence, I never resort to such a measure, 
 except in extreme cases. I saw, however, that 
 there was no other means of protecting the inter- 
 ests of my client, Senator Muirhead ; he was 
 acting disinterestedly in the case, to save his con- 
 stituents from being defrauded, and I could only 
 prevent the threatened swindle by learning in 
 advance the exact plan of operation proposed by 
 the suspected person. 
 
 I was careful, however, to employ my most 
 discreet and cautious agents, in order that I should 
 quickly learn whether the Senator's suspicions 
 were based on fact ; in case I should find that the 
 suspected parties were innocent, I was determined 
 to withdraw instantly. They would not
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 159 
 
 suffer any injustice, for my employes would keep 
 their discoveries secret from every one except my- 
 self, and no one would ever know that they had 
 been the objects of suspicion. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Monsieur Z*esparre, having a retentive memory, becomes 
 serviceable to Don Pedro. Diamond Fields and 
 droll Americans. A pompous Judge in an unfor- 
 tunate Predicament. The grand Reception closes 
 with the happy Arrangement that the gay Senor 
 and SeHora shall dine with Mr. Pinkerton's Detec- 
 tives on the next evening. 
 
 day of the reception was unusually pleas- 
 ant, and at nightfall the full moon rose to 
 add h'er splendor to the attractiveness of the 
 evening. The Morito mansion was ablaze with 
 wax candles, gaslight being considered too com- 
 mon for use on such an occasion. From the street 
 to the door was a passageway of double canvas, 
 with an opening at the sidewalk to prevent inter- 
 ference with passers. This opening was brilliantly 
 lighted, and was hung with flags, pennants, and 
 flowers, artistically arranged so as to give the 
 guests a charming prospect when alighting from 
 their carriages. The rooms of the house needed 
 no decoration beyond that already given by the 
 frescoes and paintings adorning the walls and 
 n-ilings. Nevertheless, flowers wore abundantly
 
 100 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 
 
 distributed about the spacious apartments. The 
 beautiful conservatory contained a superb foun- 
 tain, whose jets and sprays gare forth exquisite 
 odor and rippling music. Everywhere through- 
 out the house the most artistic grouping of 
 furniture, pictures, and statuary could be seen, 
 and the variety of taste displayed was only 
 equaled by the unity of arrangements as a 
 whole. At ten o'clock the guests began to arrive, 
 and as the throng of carriages became thicker, 
 it seemed as if the house wou)d be over-crowded. 
 This did not happen to any noticeable degree, 
 however, as the whole of two floors were thrown 
 open to accommodate the guests. The music 
 was furnished by the best musicians of the city, 
 and the supper was a miracle of epicurean excel- 
 lence, Delmonico having sent one of his chief 
 assistants from New York to superintend its 
 preparation. Never had Gloster seen an' affair 
 where such elegance and good taste had been 
 displayed; even the smallest details were perfect, 
 and the Don and Donna received innumerable 
 congratulations and good wishes from their 
 guests. 
 
 During his brief stay in Gloster, Monsieur Le- 
 sparre had been very active in forming acquaint- 
 ances, and he was already well known in society, 
 lie had a very retentive memory, and, when once 
 introduced to any gentleman, he immediately 
 t ok pains to learn everything possible about him. 
 By careful observation and perseverance, he had 
 learned the general history of a very large num-
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 161 
 
 ber of the leading people in society, and his droll 
 comments and half -sarcastic criticism of them, 
 expressed sotto voce to the Don on various occa- 
 sions, had caught the latter's attention. The 
 Don therefore frequently singled out Lesparre for 
 a companion in society, in order to obtain infor- 
 mation about the social and business standing of 
 various people. 
 
 " You see, my dear Lesparre," said the Don, 
 " I am such a poor judge of character that I am 
 liable to be imposed upon unless I know some- 
 thing about the previous history of people who 
 seek my friendship. And, as I have a miserable 
 memory for faces, names, places, and everything 
 else, it is a great pleasure to find some one who 
 can keep me posted as to the status of the people 
 I meet. You must let me see as much of you as 
 possible, for, being both foreigners, we ought to 
 have a common bond of sympathy." 
 
 "It will give me great pleasure," replied Le- 
 sparre. " Of course our friends here are very at- 
 tentive; but then, you know, they lack the polish 
 one meets in European salons, and they are too 
 apt to obtrude their business into their social 
 relations." 
 
 " Exactly; I agree with you perfectly, and it is 
 for that reason that I enjoy a conversation with 
 a gentleman of Continental education and tastes. 
 It is wonderful how keen these Americans are in 
 their pursuit of the 'Almighty Dollar.' Why, 
 only a week ofr two ago, I happened to mention 
 to Mr. Mather and a few others, that some of my
 
 162 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 
 
 estates in the Peruvian Andes contained extensive 
 diamond fields, when they began to upbraid me 
 for not working them and adding to my already 
 ample revenue. They seemed positively shocked 
 when I told them, that I saw no reason for in- 
 creasing my income, as I had as much money as 
 I could use now. They insisted that I was doing 
 a positive wrong to my fellow mortals in refusing 
 to burden myself with a new enterprise, and I 
 assure you they were quite in earnest in their re- 
 monstrances. Ah! how droll they are, Monsieur 
 Lesparre! " 
 
 "Yes, indeed, I have found the same spirit 
 even with reference to my humble means," re- 
 plied Lesparre. "They want me to invest in 
 something right away, and I have very many 
 disinterested offers of advice; but they cannot 
 understand my delay, and they think I am throw- 
 ing away so many good chances by waiting. 
 Now, I should be content to settle down for a 
 year, before investing, just to examine at length 
 all the openings offered me; but I doubt whether 
 I could afford to do that, unless I could obtain a 
 satisfactory salaried position, and I feel that that 
 is impossible. There are very few such positions 
 as I would be willing to accept, as I do not care 
 to be tied down to regular duties." 
 
 The gentlemen had stepped into the supper- 
 room while this conversation was going on, and 
 were about to take a glass of wine together. 
 Lesparre's last remark seemed to give a sudden 
 idea to Don Pedro, and he sipped his wine in
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT 163 
 
 silence for a moment or two. Then he said, 
 inquiringly: 
 
 "I suppose you would like a position of a re- 
 sptmsible character, where your knowledge of 
 commercial and financial affairs would be avail- 
 able, but where your whole time would not be 
 absorbed?" 
 
 4k i~es, that was my wish/' answered Lesparre; 
 "but, of course, I do not expect to realize my 
 hopes." 
 
 " Possibly you may, Monsieur Lesparre," said 
 Don Pedro; "but let us leave the subject of busi- 
 s until to-morrow, when I should like to talk 
 with you more fully about this matter. Now, let 
 us return to the drawing-room, and when you see 
 ;my of my guests approaching, please, tell me 
 briefly who and what they are. For instance, 
 tell me about that stiff and military-looking per- 
 son crossing the room." 
 
 "That is Captain Adrian L. Kerr, a retired 
 army officer, who has lived here a long time. He 
 has been unsuccessful in business, and it would 
 1 )! - difficult to account for his means of livelihood 
 were it not that his wife, the brilliant brunette 
 near the mantel-piece, is supposed to have an in- 
 come of her own. Some people are so ill-natured 
 a is to suggest that Alexander Mclntyre, the 
 wealthy Scotch banker now talking to her, is the 
 source of her revenue, but that may be pure gOM- 
 sip. At any rate, she is always elegantly dressed, 
 and she moves in the best society." 
 
 "If people suspect her of improper intimacy
 
 164 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 
 
 with Mclntyre, why do they admit her to then 
 houses ? " asked Don Pedro. 
 
 "Well, you see, many of the merchants and 
 business men have financial dealings with Mcln- 
 tyre, and they do not dare to offend him. As art 
 illustration of his power, I will relate an incident 
 that occurred recently. The wife of a well-known 
 merchant was about to give a large party, and, 
 in making out her list of invitations, she pur- 
 posely left out the name of Mrs. Kerr. Her hus- 
 band, on going to the bank to obtain the renewal 
 of a note, found Mclntyre as surly and sava 
 a bear, and the renewal was refused. As he had 
 never before had any difficulty in obtaining such 
 an accommodation when hard pressed for money, 
 he could jiot account for the change in Mclntyre's 
 conduct ; but when his wife informed him of her 
 action the day previous in withholding an invita- 
 tion from Mrs. Kerr, he understood it all. His 
 affairs were in such a condition that he could not 
 afford to quarrel with Mclntyre, and so he in- 
 sisted that an invitation be sent to Mrs. Kerr, in 
 spite of his wife's assertion that Mrs. Kerr was 
 an improper character. He was willing to admit 
 that fact, but he preferred to submit to her pres- 
 ence rather than to be seriously crippled in 
 business. An invitation was therefore sent in 
 such a way as to make the delay in its delivery 
 appear accidental, and in a few days Mr. Mcln- 
 tyre was willing to renew the merchant's note." 
 
 " Well, she certainly does carry things with a 
 high hand," replied Don Pedro, smiling. "1
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 1C5 
 
 wt ruler how she would have retaliated upon me 
 if I had struck her name off my list to -night ? 
 However, it is not my business to question her 
 character, and if my wife is satisfied to receive 
 her, I shall not interfere." 
 
 As the Don finished speaking, the music 
 sounded the preliminary notes of a quadrille, 
 and he hastened to find a partner. Among the 
 guests were Mr. and Mrs. Arlington, whose 
 minds were of such opposite characters as to 
 keep them continually quarreling. He was a 
 wealthy banker of austere manners and Puri- 
 tanic tastes, while she was a butterfly of fashion, 
 fit only to be petted, kissed, and caressed. She 
 was all gayety and life ; he, all piety and gloom. 
 Her pleasures he considered sinful, while his 
 recreations were to her the most painfully mel- 
 ancholy observances that could be devised. 
 While he believed that she was a child of wrath, 
 a creature of the world, the flesh, and the devil, 
 she was equally satisfied that he was on the 
 highway to fanaticism and hypocrisy. Under 
 these circumstances, it was not unnatural that 
 she should seek her friends among those who 
 mingled in fashionable society, nor that her hus- 
 '>und should consider it necessary to follow her 
 into the gay world in order to keep a watch 
 upon her. Her most attentive cavalier was a 
 young bachelor named Harry Bertram, who 
 seemed infatuated with her. Indeed, thoir pivf- 
 etvnce for each other's society was so marked 
 that the tongue of scandal had already begun to
 
 166 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 
 
 wag, although no overt act could bo cited against 
 them. The Don, on leaving Lesparre, chanced 
 to meet Mrs. Arlington, and she readily accorded 
 him the pleasure of dancing with her. In the 
 same set were Daniel McCarthy and Donna Lu- 
 cia, Charles Sylvanus and Madame Sevier, and 
 Mr. Mather and Mrs. Simon. In the adjoining 
 set were Mr. Benson and M I- SS Jennie Humphrey, 
 Alexander Mclntyre and Mrs. Kerr, Harry Ber 
 tram and Mrs. Sanders, and Judge Robert Mor- 
 gan and Mrs. Middleton. 
 
 Judge Morgan was a remarkable- looking per- 
 son at any time, but his appearance was especially 
 noticeable in a dancing-set, the incongruity of 
 his presence in such a scene being irresistibly 
 comical. He was about fifty years of age, but 
 his face was smooth and unwrinkled ; though ho 
 was of the medium height, his great size gave 
 him the look of a short man, which effect was 
 partly increased by his long arms. He was very 
 broad and fat, his stomach projecting to an ab- 
 surd degree. At the same time he stood very 
 erect, so that a profile view gave him a general 
 resemblance to a loggerhead turtle set on end. 
 His eyes were small and treacherous, his cheeks 
 were puffy and flabby, his mouth was large and 
 sensual. His hair and whiskers were brown and 
 fine, but they always seemed unkempt. He ^ ore 
 closely-fitting black clothes, and he was fond of 
 displaying an unusual amount of jewelry. He 
 had obtained the office of judge of the criminal 
 court by currying favor with the very classea
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 167 
 
 most likely to be brought before him for trial, 
 and his judicial ermine was not considered fivo 
 from the foulest stains. His private life was. in 
 many respects, a counterpart of his official con- 
 duct ; though married to an agreeable woman, 
 he was a notorious libertine and profligate. Still, 
 he held his position in society, and was admitted 
 to the acquaintance of the most reputable people 
 in the city ; hence, he frequently appeared at 
 balls and dancing-parties, where he always tried 
 to act like a light and graceful youth. 
 
 On this occasion he was especially anxious to 
 display his manly form in the same set with the 
 Donna, but being disappointed in this, he chose 
 the set next to hers, and acted like a playful hip- 
 popotamus. While backing rapidly, in* an at- 
 tempt to balance to his partner, he came in con- 
 tact with Mrs. Simon of the next set, and, trip- 
 ping on her dress, he fell violently upon her. 
 Her partner, Mr. Mather, tried to catch her as 
 she also fell, but the ponderous form of tho 
 Judge came upon them both with crushing effect, 
 and all three were brought to the floor at once. 
 Mr. Mather and Mrs. Simon were quickly on 
 their feet again, flushed with mortification but 
 unhurt. But it was no such easy matter for the 
 corpulent Judge to raise himself erect; he lay on 
 his back a moment groaning, and it was thought 
 that he might be seriously injured, as his fall had 
 jarred the whole house. Several gentlemen care- 
 fully lifted him upright, and the ladies gathered 
 about to condole with him, when it was suddenlv
 
 168 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 
 
 discovered that, if the Judge's person had not 
 suffered, his clothing had. His tight dress coat 
 was split several inches down the back, while a 
 hasty glimpse behind his coat-tails satisfied the 
 spectators that his pants were in an even worse 
 condition than his coat. It may be imagined 
 that the situation caused some merriment, in 
 spite of the efforts of the more well-bred guests 
 to preserve their gravity; but when the Judge, 
 having regained his feet, vociferated in great 
 wrath: "You are a pack of monkeys. I don't 
 see anything to laugh at," there was a universal 
 burst of laughter which could not be repressed. 
 This so enraged him that it was difficult to make 
 him understand his absurd position, but at length 
 Don Pedro and Monsieur Lesparre induced him 
 to go to the dressing-room for repairs. As there 
 was no coat in the house large enough for him, 
 the Don was at his wits' end to make him suffi- 
 ciently presentable to enable him to return to the 
 drawing-room; but at length the Judge was 
 arrayed in one of the Don's gorgeous dressing- 
 gowns, which was large enough to hide most of 
 the effects of the fall. He soon returned to the 
 lower rooms dressed in the most remarkable cos- 
 tume ever worn at a full-dress party in Gloster. 
 
 With the exception of this accident, the even- 
 ing passed off with the most perfect success, 
 and the unanimous verdict was that there had 
 never been a more thoroughly enjoyable enter- 
 tainment given in the city. During the evening, 
 Madame Sevier informed Donna Lucia of hei
 
 AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT. 169 
 
 willingness to take charge of the Morito establish- 
 ment, and agreed to begin her reign the next 
 day Donna Lucia was delighted at this news, 
 and willingly accepted all the conditions, though 
 she insisted for some time on giving Madame 
 Sevier a liberal salary. Finding that Madame 
 Sevier was resolute in her refusal to receive pay, 
 the Donna informed her friends that she had in- 
 vited Madame Sevier to live Avith her, and that 
 the Madame had kindly agreed to assist her in 
 entertaining her numerous guests. 
 
 It was not until nearly daybreak that the more 
 indefatigable revelers became weary of dancing 
 and flirting, so that the Donna was quite ex- 
 hausted when the last guest had departed. 
 Madame Sevier remained to the end, as she in- 
 tended occupying her room in the Morito man- 
 sion at once, instead of returning to her boarding- 
 place. Donna Lucia left orders that she was not 
 to be disturbed until five o'clock in the afternoon, 
 but Madame Sevier decided to get up at twelve 
 o'clock, in order to superintend the work of clear- 
 ing away the decorations and debris of the ball. 
 The Don had invited Monsieur Lesparre to dine 
 with him at six o'clock, and so it was arranged 
 that they should all meet at that hour. 
 
 8
 
 170 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Madame Sevier and Her Work. Unaccountable Co 
 quettishness between Man and Wife. A Start !!.ny 
 Scheme, illustrating the Rashness and Guttililiti/ (>J 
 American Business Men and the Sitpr< ,.><, A.<"r- 
 ance of Don Pedro. Disaster approaching the 
 Gloster Capitalists. Other Suspicions Arouwd. 
 Tlie Story of Mr. Warne, English Diplomatic 
 Agent. A New Move. 
 
 MADAME SEVIEJR began her work of re- 
 form in the household as soon as she was 
 dressed that afternoon. Finding that they now 
 had a mistress competent to control them, the 
 servants showed a greater willingness to be use- 
 ful, though some of them were inclined to be 
 lazy and impudent as before. The Madame made 
 mental notes of everything, toojv. charge of the 
 keys to all storerooms and closets, and clearly 
 demonstrated that she was able to manage the 
 house according to her own ideas. The cook, 
 thinking she was indispensable, and that she 
 could act independent of control, was very im- 
 pertinent to Madame, and she evinced an insub- 
 ordinate spirit that created a good deal of trouble. 
 Seeing that prompt and severe measures were 
 necessary, Madame Sevier paid this woman her 
 wages and discharged her without a moment's 
 warning. The effect upon the other servants 
 was most satisfactory, and although the Madame 
 was obliged to make some minor changes after-
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 171 
 
 ward, she was never again annoyed by imperti- 
 nence or presumption. The dinner for that day 
 was prepared by the assistant cook, under 
 Madame Sevier's direction, and when the Don 
 and Donna came down from their chamber, they 
 were delighted to find that the house was hi per- 
 fect order, showing no signs of having been the 
 scene of revelry and dissipation the night before. 
 
 During dinner, at which Monsieur Lesparre 
 was the only guest, Don Pedro, after compli- 
 menting Madame Sevier very highly upon her 
 success in bringing order out of chaos, turned t o 
 his wife and said: 
 
 " Lucia, your selection of a companion and ad- 
 visor has been so fortunate that I am more than 
 ever disposed to follow your example. What do 
 you think, Monsieur Lesparre, cannot you serve 
 me as confidential secretary and financial agent 
 as satisfactorily as Madame Sevier assists my 
 wife?" 
 
 "Indeed, Don Pedro," replied Lesparre, gal- 
 lantly, "if you impose upon me the task of 
 equalling so accomplished and charming a lady 
 as Madame Sevier, you will probably be disap- 
 pointed in everything I do." 
 
 "Bravo, bravo, Monsieur Lesparre!" cried the 
 Donna; "you will certainly be successful in pay- 
 ing delicate compliments, at least. Yes, Pedro, 
 I think you ought to secure Monsieur Lesparre's 
 services at once; when you have nothing for him 
 to do, he will be an agreeable companion for us. 
 What say you, Madame Sevier? "
 
 172 A STARTLE ME. 
 
 " I quite agfee with you," replied the Madame, 
 casting down her eyes coquettishly; "but I 
 prophesy that Monsieur Lesparre would find his 
 position an onerous one if he should be under 
 obligations to pay me compliments." 
 
 "Ah! the obligation would be unnecessary," 
 said Lesparre; " the difficulty would be to avoid 
 doing so constantly." 
 
 The Don and Donna smiled at each other sig- 
 nificantly, thinking that they saw the incipient, 
 signs of a mutual attachment between these two, 
 and that it was not unreasonable to imagine that 
 a wedding might result therefrom. How little 
 they imagined that these apparently distant ac- 
 quaintances were, in fact, already man and wife! 
 
 After dinner, the Don and Lesparre repaired to 
 the billiard-room to smoke, while the ladies en- 
 tered the drawing-room to receive visitors. 
 
 "Monsieur Lesparre," said the Don, as they 
 lounged "back in luxuriant easy-chairs, "what do 
 you think of my suggestion at dinner? I should 
 really like to obtain your services as private sec- 
 retary, and I will gladly give you such a salary as 
 will make you independent of other labor. While 
 you are attending to my affairs you will naturally 
 become well acquainted with many business men, 
 n:id \vill be able to investigate a number of enter- 
 prises, so that you will be better able a year 
 henro to invest your capital to advantage." 
 
 "Your offer is truly liberal," replied Lesparre, 
 puffing his cigar thoughtfully, "and I fee] dis- 
 posed to accept it. What would be my duties ? ''
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 173 
 
 '' Well, I will explain what I wish fully, and 
 then you can judge how the position would suit, 
 you," answered Don Pedro. " In the first place, 
 I wish a financial agent, a man whom I can 
 trust, who will attend to all my affairs. You & 
 I detest the details of business. I desire to live 
 free from the vexing annoyances consequent 
 upon the providing and disbursing of money. 
 My estates produce as much as I can use, and I 
 do not trouble myself to inquire whether they 
 might not yield more. I am accustomed to buy 
 whatever I wish, but I hate to bother my head to 
 know whether I have enough on hand to pay for 
 my purchases; hence I want my secretary to at- 
 tend to such matters for me. There is another 
 thing in which you could be of the greatest ser- 
 vice to me; for, while it is an affair of great im- 
 portance, involving large interests, I am posi- 
 tively too fond of my own ease to give it the- 
 attention which it deserves. I know I can trust 
 you not to repeat the slightest portion of what I 
 am about to tell you, for it is not desirable that 
 it should be talked about, unless the enterprise 
 is successfully carried out." 
 
 " Indeed, you can rest assured that I shall 
 never mention a hint of it to any one," replied 
 Lesparre. 
 
 " Well, you recollect I told you last night that 
 Mather, Perkins, and some others were anxious 
 to have me explore and open up the diamond 
 fields which, I have reason to believe, constitute 
 a large part of ono of my estates in Peru ? Some
 
 174 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 time after I spoke to you, toward the end of the 
 party, I missed Mather, Perkins, Mclntyre, San- 
 ders, and several others from the rooms, and 
 while I was wondering what had become of 
 them, Mather came up and asked me to go up to 
 my dressing-room, which, you recollect, adjoined 
 the room used for the gentlemen's dressing room 
 last night. On arriving there, I found about a 
 dozen of the wealthiest men of Gloster sitting 
 around the room, with Dan McCarthy at the 
 table acting as secretary. Will you believe it1 
 They had actually formed a business meeting in 
 my own house, and had made speeches, passed 
 resolutions, and voted upon two propositions, 
 which they wished to submit to me; they had 
 then sent the chairman, Mr. Mather, to bring me 
 in, and I was expected to stand and deliver my 
 decision at a moment's notice. The idea was 
 perfectly ludicrous to me, yet it did not strike 
 any of them that they were doing anything 
 unusual. I believe that if a party of these Glos- 
 ter business men were to be landed suddenly in 
 hell, they would organize a stock exchange to 
 deal in brimstone and ashes ! " 
 
 "They certainly carry their business instincts 
 everywhere," said Lesparre, laughing heartily. 
 "I suppose they had fully arranged everything 
 before you were sent for ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; the very minor details were pro- 
 vided for, and I could not raise an objection 
 which had not already been discussed and re- 
 moved. Both propositions provided for the for-
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 178 
 
 mation of a stock company for the mining, cutting, 
 and sale of diamonds. According to the first 
 plan, I was to fix a price upon my diamond fields, 
 which the company would then purchase, pay 
 ing me three-fourths in cash, and one-fourth in 
 stock. In case, however, that I should be un- 
 willing to part with my controlling interest, the 
 second plan provided that I should receive one- 
 fourth the estimated value of the land in money, 
 giving to the company therefor the privilege of 
 mining for a certain length of time, and receiving 
 also one-half of the value of the diamonds found. 
 The idea of disposing of this property had never 
 before occurred to me, and naturally I was not 
 prepared to give any answer on such short notice; 
 but if I had done so then, I should have positively 
 rejected both propositions. In fact, I said as 
 much to Mather, and he then suggested to the 
 meeting that 'Senor Morito be given a week 
 to decide upon the propositions submitted to 
 him.' The cool impudence of thus graciously 
 giving me a week did not seem to strike them,, 
 and the meeting broke up with great satisfaction, 
 every man feeling certain that I must accept 
 one proposition or the other. It was further 
 decided to appoint a committee to draw up a 
 charter* and by-laws, 'so as to save time,' as one 
 gentleman remarked. After the gentlemen had 
 left the room, Mather urged the matter upon 
 me very strongly. He apologized for having 
 acted with such precipitation, but, he said, the 
 others were so eager, as soon as they heard that
 
 176 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 I owned a vast tract of unworkcd diamond fields, 
 that he could not restrain them. He begged mo 
 to make some arrangement with the proposed 
 company, as the men who had become interested 
 in it were wealthy and enterprising, and they 
 would surely push it to a profitable conclusion. 
 In answer to my remark that I was rich enough 
 already, he said that I ought to give others a 
 chance to make some money who needed it, per- 
 haps, more than I. Finally, as he urged it as a 
 personal favor to himself, I agreed to give the 
 most favorable answer that I could, and so the 
 matter stands." 
 
 "When are you to give your answer?" asked 
 Lesparre. 
 
 "The committee adjourned until a week from 
 last night," replied the Don, "and I shall then 
 again be summoned before them, I presume. 
 Now, although the first proposition would not 
 probably pay me so well in the end as the second, 
 I much prefer it. You see I do not wish to keep 
 a controlling interest because I should have the 
 continual annoyance of supervising the business; 
 and, as I have said before, I wish to be perfectly 
 free from cares and responsibilities. My object 
 is to enjoy life, and I can't be happy if I am 
 obliged to work. Nevertheless, I do not wish to 
 turn over this property to a body of men who 
 will squeeze it like a sponge, leaving it a mero 
 waste. There are a large body of tenants occu- 
 pying portions of it, whose rights must be 
 respected. They will make willing and honest
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 17T 
 
 laborers if properly treated, and I wish to protect 
 them as far as possible from cruelty and extor- 
 ticn. Hence, I desire to learn all I can about the 
 men who will create and manage the company 
 before I agree to put the property into their 
 hands, no matter what price they may be willing 
 to pay for it; it is here, my dear Lesparre, that 
 you can be of great service to me. You are well 
 acquainted among all classes of business men in 
 Gloster, and you can readily learn all about the 
 people who purpose buying stock. This will 
 be considered very natural and proper if you 
 become my private secretary, and your duties 
 will not be severe. What do you say ? " 
 
 "I think I can do what you wish," said Le- 
 sparre, " but I should like a day for reflection. I 
 never like to act hastily in an important matter, 
 even where my mind is already made up." 
 
 " You are quite right," said the Don ; " but I 
 hope your mind will remain unchanged in regard 
 to this matter. I will give you whatever salary 
 you wish, and shall expect you, of course, to live 
 here on equal terms with myself and wife. Now, 
 let us join the ladies." 
 
 On receiving Lesparre's report, I saw the whole 
 scheme at a glance, and I was now convinced 
 that Senator Muirhead's suspicions with regard 
 to Don Pedro were correct. I immediately vis- 
 ited the Senator, and laid the latest developments 
 before him. We could not help admiring the con- 
 summate knowledge of human nature which the 
 Don displayed; lie had hailed his hook so skill 
 8*
 
 ITS A STARTLING SCHEMA. 
 
 fully that the gudgeons were actually fearful lest 
 something should prevent them from swallowing 
 it ; but there seemed to be no probability of de- 
 feating his schemes unless we could obtain posi- 
 tive proofs of his dishonesty elsewhere, or detect 
 him in some criminal offense in this country. 
 We therefore decided to keep a close watch upon 
 all his movements, and await further develop- 
 ments. It was evident that the sufferers by Don 
 Jose Michel's forgeries in California would not 
 take any active steps against him unless they 
 were sure of the identity of the man, and so we 
 had no ground of accusation against him which 
 we could rely upon. Both Senator Muirhead and 
 myself were indignant at the audacity displayed 
 in his swindling projects, but we did not dare to 
 attempt his exposure without absolute proof of 
 our charges. The waiting game is never a pleas- 
 ant one to play, but I could not do otherwise 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 About this time I was called back to Chicago 
 on important business, but I immediately sent 
 my superintendent, Mr. Bangs, to Gloster, to 
 take charge of the case 'there. During my ab- 
 sence little of note occurred, except the meeting 
 to hear the Don's answer to the propositions to 
 purchase the diamond fields. At this meeting 
 the Don was apparently anxious to decline all 
 offers, saying that the property had been in the 
 possession of his family for about two hundred 
 years, and that he considered himself in honor 
 bound to retain an interest in it. Also, he tried
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME 179 
 
 to cool the ardor of the would-be purchasers by 
 telling them that he had no positive certainty 
 that there were valuable diamond fields on the 
 property, though such was probably the case. 
 His reluctance to sell the land only made them 
 more determined to buy, for they argued that he 
 was so well satisfied with it as a means of reve- 
 nue that he wished to retain possession of it all 
 himself. At length 4*e found that they would 
 give him no peace until he yielded, and so ho 
 graciously agreed to accept the first proposition. 
 The question of price then remained to be dis- 
 cussed, but, on this point, there was little oppor- 
 tunity for disagreement. Having had so much 
 difficulty in inducing the- Don to sell at all, they 
 were not disposed to endanger the sale by hag- 
 gling about the price; and when the latter was 
 fixed at one million five hundred thousand dol- 
 lars, they made no demur, although the sum 
 rather staggered their enthusiasm at first. This 
 effect was only momentary, however, for the 
 vivid anticipations of dividends in proportion to 
 this price quickly banished their fears, and they 
 hastened to subscribe the amounts required. 
 These facts were all reported to me immediately 
 after my return to Gloster, which occurred a day 
 or two after the meeting, and I saw that the day 
 of disaster to the trusting capitalists of that city 
 was fast approaching. 
 
 Neither Monsieur Lesparre nor Madame F 
 had learned much about the private a flairs of the 
 Moritos, for, whenrvfi tin- latter hal anything
 
 180 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 important to say to each other, they usually 
 spoke Spanish. The Don's remaining funds 
 amounted to only about eight thousand dollars, 
 and at the rate with which he had hitherto spent 
 money, this sum would not last much more than 
 five or six weeks. The time might be extended 
 to two months by running the establishment on 
 credit ; but the Don was averse to such a course, 
 and all bills were paid promptly at the end of 
 each month. He showed no uneasiness as his 
 cash began to run low, but merely said that if 
 the first installment on the mine should be paid 
 in soon, it would obviate the necessity of drawing 
 upon his agents in Lima, otherwise he should 
 call upon them for fifty thousand dollars to carry 
 him through the year. There was nothing in his 
 manner or actions to excite suspicion, and cer- 
 tainly, if he intended to defraud the Diamond 
 Company, he had too much nerve to betray him- 
 self, even to so close an observer as Monsieur 
 Lesparre. 
 
 Having heard the reports, I strolled out in the 
 evening for a walk with Mr. Bangs, and while 
 passing one of the leading hotels, I met a very 
 intimate friend, named Judge Key. The Judge 
 was an old resident of Gloster, and his character 
 was highly esteemed by all who knew him. Ho 
 was a man of great ability and force; but, pos- 
 sessing little ambition, he was not nearly so well 
 known as many of those who were his inferiors 
 in point of intellect and morals. We had a great 
 deal of business between us at one time, and our
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 181 
 
 relations to each other were of the most cordial 
 character, partaking more of the nature of per- 
 sonal friendship than mere business acquaint- 
 ance I had not visited him previously during 
 my stay in Gloster, for the reason that, even to 
 my intimate friends, I never make my presence 
 known when engaged in an operation, if I can 
 avoid doing so. On this occasion, the Judge 
 recognized me instantly, and greeted me with 
 great warmth, at the same time adding that I 
 was just the man above 'all others whom he 
 wished to see. He then introduced his com- 
 panion to Mr. Bangs and myself as Mr. Edward 
 Ashley Warne, of London, England. 
 
 " Now, Mr. Pinkerton," said the Judge, "let us 
 step into the club close by, and over a social glass 
 of wine, Mr. Warne will tell you about a pecu- 
 liar case of mistaken identity, or of consummate 
 rascality it is hard to know which. Possibly 
 you may be able to understand some things 
 which puzzle us, and to frustrate a fraudulent 
 scheme, if our suspicions are correct. You both 
 know each other by reputation, I guess, and I 
 presume, Mr. Warne, that you will not object to 
 tell Mr. Pinkerton what you have told me." 
 
 "Oh! yes, I have often heard of Mr. Pinker- 
 ton," said Mr. Warne, " and I think, as you say, 
 that he can clear up the mystery, if any one can. 
 I shall be pleased to tell him all that I know with 
 regard to it." 
 
 Mr. Edward Ashley Warne was an attache of 
 the British diplomatic service, and having been
 
 182 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 entrusted with the settlement of some questions 
 relative to commerce between the United States 
 and Great Britain, he had executed his mission 
 with such fairness, good sense, and courtesy that 
 he was regarded with great kindness and respect 
 by our people as well as by his own government. 
 He was on a rapid tour through the United 
 States, previous to his return to London, and he 
 had spent a week in Gloster with Judge Key at 
 the time when we met in front of the hotel. We 
 were soon comfortably seated in one of the pri- 
 vate dining-rooms of the club, and, after a few 
 sips of wine, Mr. Warne began his story. 
 
 "I don't know whether I am the victim of 
 imagination, or the gentlemen of Gloster are 
 likely to be the victims of an impostor; but one 
 thing is certain, that a gentleman here known as 
 Don Pedro P. L. de Morito is the exact image of 
 a man who was known in London as Don Jose 
 Arias." 
 
 This information came so unawares that I al- 
 most betrayed my interest in the case by utter- 
 ing a hasty exclamation. I restrained my feel- 
 ings, however, and asked Mr. Warne to tell me 
 all he knew about this man. 
 
 '"Well, I first met him in Paris, when I was a 
 member of the French Legation," replied Mr. 
 Warne. " He was then moving in the most 
 aristocratic society, and his wealth was reputed 
 enormous. I saw a great deal of him at times, 
 and, indeed, I was better acquainted with him 
 than I was with many of my countrymen ; but I
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 183 
 
 was recalled to London about that time, and I 
 soon forgot all about Don Jose Arias." 
 
 "Pardon me," I interrupted; "was the Don 
 married ? " 
 
 "Oh! yes; he had a beautiful wife, I have 
 been told, but I never happened to see her. I 
 think she was Spanish, if I recollect rightly. 
 One day, after my return to England, as I was 
 entering the Foreign Office, I met Don Jose com- 
 ing out, and he seemed delighted to see me. He 
 said that he had come to spend some months in 
 London, and he hoped to enjoy my society fre- 
 quently. I was then engaged in studying a very 
 difficult diplomatic question, and I was unable to 
 give any time whatever to society ; I therefore 
 expressed my regrets that I should be obliged to 
 decline all invitations, and, after some further 
 conversation, we separated. I often heard of 
 him in connection with social events in the best 
 circles, and, on one or two occasions, I met him 
 in the street ; but I did not renew our former de- 
 gree of intimacy, for the simple reason that I did 
 not have the time to do so. Just before I left 
 London on the mission for which I had been pre- 
 paring myself, I was astonished to learn that 
 Don Jose Arias had proved to be a scoundrel of 
 the most dangerous character. He had not 
 hunted small ^ame, it is true, but this was prob- 
 ably a part of his whole scheme. So far as I 
 could learn, he had left no unpaid bills in the 
 hands of tradesmen, but he had taken enoi: 
 out of bankers and capitalists to ]>.iy lii; ; trad
 
 184 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 men's bills for half a century. The aggregate 
 fraudulently obtained by him was never known, 
 for many of his victims refused to state their 
 loss ; but it was surmised that he obtained as 
 much as forty or fifty thousand pounds sterling 
 in London alone, while several Paris bankers also 
 suffered heavily. I was not specially interested 
 in the affair, and it had wholly passed from my 
 mind, when suddenly, while walking in the 
 streets of this city last week, I came upon Don 
 Jose Arias again. He wore his hair differently 
 from his old way in London and Paris, having 
 now full side-whiskers, whereas then he wore 
 only moustache and goatee ; but I could not be 
 mistaken, and I said to Judge Key : ' There is a 
 man who forged paper to an immense amount in 
 London less than two years ago.' ' Impossible ! ' 
 replied the Judge ; ' he is a very wealthy man, 
 moving in the best society in the city.' The 
 Judge then vouched for him with such earnest- 
 ness that I began to believe that I was mistaken; 
 but I determined to meet him face to face, to see 
 whether there could be two persons so nearly re- 
 sembling each other. Unfortunately he had an 
 opportunity to see me before I saw him when 1 
 next met him, so that I lost the chance of sur 
 [(rising him into betraying himself. He ap 
 peared to glance at me casually, as any stranger 
 would do, and then went on with his conversation 
 without hesitation or embarrassment. I have 
 met him several times since then, and he always 
 acts with the same natural ease of manner, as if
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 185 
 
 we had always been perfect strangers to each 
 other ; but, Mr. Pinkerton, the more I see ot 
 him, the more fully am I convinced that Don 
 Jose Arias, of London, and Don Pedro P. L. de 
 Morito, of Gloster, are identical ; and, believing 
 this, I consider it my duty to tell you these facts 
 in order that your citizens may be protected 
 against him, if possible." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Pinkerton," said Judge Key, 
 " what do you think of this affair? Mr. Warno 
 does not admit that he can be mistaken, and 
 there are some corroboratory evidences that he 
 may be right; yet, it seems incredible. It is a 
 pity that Mr. Warne should have never seen Don 
 Jose's wife, because he could then compare her 
 with Senora Morito, and if they, too, were exact 
 resemblances, there would be no longer any room 
 for doubt." 
 
 "That would certainly be a strong proof," I 
 remarked; "but I think it is unnecessary. The 
 suspicion you have spoken of, Mr. Wame, has 
 already been raised by another gentleman in this 
 city, and I have been requested to discover 
 whether or not it is correct." 
 
 "Why, you astonish me!" exclaimed Judge 
 Key, "for Mr. Warne has not mentioned the 
 subject to any one but me, and I have never even 
 hinted anything about it except to you gentle- 
 men." 
 
 "Nevertheless, I have suspected for some tinv> 
 that this Don Pedro was an impostor, and have 
 been trying to obtain positive proof of my
 
 186 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 opinion, in order to save many persons here from 
 being swindled by him. You are acquainted 
 with Senator Muirhead, Judge? " 
 
 "Oh! yes, quite well." 
 
 fc He has taken enough interest in the affairs 
 of his constituents to place in my hands the task 
 of exposing this man, Don Pedro, in his true 
 light." 
 
 " That seems very kind and disinterested on 
 the part of our Senator," said Judge Key, with a 
 quizzical smile; "but I will venture to say that 
 his interest has been excited more by the Don's 
 marked attentions to Mrs. Muirhead, than by the 
 fear that some of his constituents would be de- 
 frauded." 
 
 Of course I took no notice of this remark, 
 although I was quite convinced that such was 
 the fact; but as the Senator was my client, it 
 would have been eminently improper for me to 
 discuss his motives, and so I turned to Mr. 
 Warne. 
 
 "As you have already met this man under 
 another name, Mr. Warne," I said, " can you not 
 go with me to meet Senator Muirhead, and tell 
 him what you know about him? " 
 
 "I must beg you to excuse me, Mr. Pinker- 
 ton," he replied. "You see, I am in this country 
 in an official capacity, and, while I am personally 
 perfectly satisfied of the truth of the statements 
 I have made to you, I cannot prove them ; hence, 
 I must be careful not to involve myself in a dim* 
 culty which would compromise my position as a
 
 A STARTLING SCHEME. 187 
 
 diplomatic agent of Great Britain. I shall imme- 
 diately give to the police, on my arrival in Lon- 
 don, a description of this man, and I presume 
 that prompt action will be taken to insure his 
 arrest and extradition, in case his offenses should 
 come under the extradition treaty. But as this 
 is a question upon which the decision of both 
 governments may be required, the delay may 
 enable this man to escape. I will use all my 
 influence with the London authorities ; you will 
 readily see, however, that personally I cannot 
 appear here as an accuser against him." 
 
 I recognized the force of Mr. Warne's objec- 
 tion, and did not press him further, but Judge 
 Key agreed to visit the Senator as soon as the 
 latter should return to the city. When I left 
 Mr. Warne we had agreed that any British 
 official who might be sent to identify and arrest 
 Don Pedro, should communicate with me the 
 moment he arrived in this country, so that we 
 could work together for the same object, though 
 my whole duty in the case would be to protect 
 the interests of my client, Senator Muirhead. I 
 then returned to my room with Mr. Bangs, and 
 made a new move. I saw that more than two 
 months would elapse before any news could bo 
 expected from London, as Mr. Warne would be 
 somewhat delayed in his return home, and mean- 
 lime, the Don would probably obtain a large 
 advance payment for his fictitious mines. If 
 anything should occur to prevent us from sending 
 him to England, he might succeed in getting
 
 188 A STARTLING SCHEME. 
 
 away with his plunder before we could find any 
 new grounds upon which to hold him. I therefore 
 instructed Mr. Bangs to write to the proper 
 authorities in Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador, describ- 
 ing Don Pedro and his numerous suspected 
 aliases accurately, and asking that some steps be 
 taken by his victims to bring him to justice. It 
 was true that we had no extradition treaties with 
 those countries, but nevertheless he might be 
 arrested and frightened into surrendering him- 
 self voluntarily. The letters were dispatched at 
 once, and duplicates were also forwarded by the 
 next steamer. There remained nothing further 
 for me to do except to keep a strict watch upon 
 the Moritos to see that they should not slip off 
 suddenly with a large sum of money. The Dia- 
 mond Company were in such haste to bind the 
 bargain with Don Pedro, by making him a large 
 payment, that there could be no hope of prevent- 
 ing the partial success of his scheme. Whether 
 I might not be able to force him to disgorge 
 afterward was uncertain, but I determined to use 
 every means in my power to accomplish such a 
 result.
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 189 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The third Detective is made icelcome at Dor, Pedro's. 
 The Senor is paid the first half-million dollars from 
 the great Diamond Company. How Don Pedro is 
 "working" his Diamond Mines. Very suspicious 
 preparations. The Don describes his proposed Fete 
 Champetre. 
 
 ONE evening, as the members of the Morito 
 family were about to retire, Monsieur Le- 
 sparre noticed a nervousness and abstraction in 
 Don Pedro such as he had never shown before. 
 Thinking that something new might be learned 
 by overhearing the conversation between the Don 
 and Donna when they should be alone, Lespanv, 
 instead of going to his own room, slipped into an 
 unused closet adjoining the Don's dressing-room, 
 and communicating therewith by a door, which 
 was kept locked. There was a transom over this 
 door, and, by climbing to one of the shelves, 
 Lesparre could hear all that was said in either 
 room of the Don's bedroom suite. He had hardly 
 taken this position when the two entered their 
 apartments. 
 
 "See what a handsome necklace that old fool 
 Mather sent mo to-day," said the Donna. 
 
 " Yes, it is very elegant and valuable," said Don 
 Pedro, with a yawn; "but what we most need is 
 money. However, I do not imagine we shall 
 have any difficulty, for I expect a large sum in a
 
 190 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 few days from the stockholders in this Diamond 
 Company. Still, you may as well get all you can 
 out of Mather and the others, for we mast keep 
 up our present style of living to the end." 
 
 Just at this moment the shelf upon \\ hich Le- 
 sparre was sitting gave a loud creak, and he had 
 only just time to slip down and regain his own 
 room before the Don came out to see what was 
 the matter. Fortunately, there was a large pet 
 cat in the hall, and she received the credit of 
 having made the noise. 
 
 The next day, on hearing Lesparre's report, I 
 decided to place still another detective in the 
 Morito mansion, and so I instructed Lesparre to 
 recommend the employment of a young man to 
 assist the butler and to do general work about 
 the house. As I expected, Don Pedro acquiesced 
 in the suggestion, and told Lesparre to engage 
 such men-servants as he considered necessary. 
 Accordingly, I at once telegraphed to Chicago to 
 have a young fellow named George Salter sent 
 to Gloster at once. He was a very intelligent 
 French Canadian, and I chose him because of 
 his slim build, his ingenuity, and his capacity as 
 an eavesdropper. He could listen to a conversa- 
 tion with such a stolid expression that no one 
 would imagine he had an' idea in his head beyond 
 tho performance of his regular tasks, and even 
 when caught in a place where he had no right to 
 be, he could invent a plausible reason on the in- 
 stant, which would divert all suspicion from him. 
 On his arrival in Gloster, he was sent to ask em-
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PKEPARATIONS. 191 
 
 ployment of Monsieur Lesparre, and, of course, 
 the latter was so pleased with him as to engage 
 him at once. He made himself very useful in 
 the house, and soon became popular with every 
 inmate. 
 
 A few days later a meeting of the stockholders 
 of the Diamond Company was held, and it was 
 agreed to make a payment of five hundred thou- 
 sand dollars at once, another like sum when the 
 title-deeds should be delivered, and the balance 
 within one year from that time. This arrange- 
 ment was satisfactory to the Don, and the sum 
 of half a million dollars was paid over that day in 
 the checks of the different original subscribers. 
 The meeting then appointed a committee of two 
 to visit Peru and examine the property. There 
 was some difficulty in selecting two gentlemen 
 who would be willing to go, and yet who would 
 be satisfactory to the others; but Deacon Hum- 
 phrey and John Preston were finally chosen. 
 Either of these gentlemen was willing to go any- 
 where at others' expense, and it was believed 
 that John Preston was too well versed in fraudu- 
 lent practices to let any one else do any cheating; 
 hence, he was sent to investigate the mines, and 
 Deacon Humphrey was sent to see that John 
 Preston should not steal them. They were not 
 to depart on their mission, however, until the 
 title-deeds were received from Peru and delivered 
 to the directors. 
 
 Don Pedro passed the checks over to Lesparro, 
 and in Ton ned the meeting that 'he had already
 
 192 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 sent to Peru for the deeds, and that the directors 
 should be informed the moment they should ar- 
 rive; thereafter, all business matters relative to 
 his interest in the mines would be attended to by 
 Robert Harrington, Esq., who would be his attor- 
 ney in fact. The deeds would be directed to Mr. 
 Harrington, and that gentleman would deliver 
 them to the directors, receive the second pay- 
 ment, and give his receipt therefor. 
 
 This arrangement was satisfactory to all, and 
 the meeting adjourned in good spirits, every man 
 feeling that the Don had done him a personal 
 favor in accepting his check in part payment for 
 such a valuable property. 
 
 The Don, having indorsed the checks, in- 
 structed Lesparre to present them at once for 
 payment, each at its own bank, and to bring the 
 money to the house; he was to obtain as much 
 as possible in gold, as the Don professed to have 
 little confidence in the bills of private banks. 
 
 " They may be perfectly sound, Lesparre," he 
 said, in an off-hand way, "but then, you know, 
 we foreigners are accustomed to government 
 bills, or gold, and so I prefer to have the latter." 
 
 Taking Don Pedro's carriage, Lesparre visited 
 each bank, and by the time he had cashed the 
 last check, he had a considerable weight of gold 
 and a large amount of bills, about two- thirds 
 having been paid in coin. Lesparre and Salter 
 carried all the money up to the Don's dressing- 
 room, where the Don and Donna were sitting. 
 
 '' There, my dear, '' said Don Pedro to his wife,
 
 VKRY SUriPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 193 
 
 r< this is the first installment of the purchase 
 jioney of the diamond fields, so that now it will 
 not be long before they will be thoroughly worked. 
 The directors have promised me that you shall 
 have the finest diamond set that the mines can 
 produce within a year from this time, as a pres- 
 ent from the company, and you need no longer 
 plague me for not having tried to work them be- 
 fore." 
 
 "Oh! Pedro, how lovely!" exclaimed the 
 Donna; "you know I have always wanted you 
 to open those mines, and I am so glad that you 
 have consented. -Now I shall have a set that I 
 shall be proud of." 
 
 "Well, I did not like to give up the old estate 
 to strangers, I confess," replied the Don; "but 
 now that it is done, I do not regret it. If you wish 
 any money, help yourself; you can write to your 
 agents in Rio that they need not send any more 
 for the present, for we shall have as much as we 
 can use for a year or two. George," he con- 
 tinued, addressing Salter, "you will find a stout 
 iron box in the attic, and I think it will serve as 
 a safe for the present. Bring it down hero and 
 put it in this room." 
 
 The box was soon brought, and the Dort 
 checked off the packages of gold and bills as Le- 
 spnnv parki-d them ;nvay. the gold at the bottom. 
 
 "Now, you can ch<'< k against my bank ac- 
 counts for our current expenses, Lesparre," said 
 Don Pedro, with a complacent smile; "and when 
 the funds on deposit are exhausted, I will give 
 
 9
 
 194 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 you casn monthly to pay all bills as heretofore. 1 
 intend to give a grand fete champetre soon, as a 
 lesson to these Gloster people how to enjoy liL'e. 
 I propose to engage one of the islands in the 
 liver at once, and begin the necessary work of 
 preparing it artistically for the scene of our 
 revelry. I shall choose one of the large wooded 
 islands with ridges and ravines running through 
 it, and it will take about two weeks to clear away 
 the underbrush, to clean up the grass and pre- 
 pare the landing-places. Then, by the end of an- 
 other week, the weather will be delightful, and 
 our arrangements will be completed. I will make 
 the place a fairy spectacle, such as the unim- 
 aginative inhabitants of Gloster never dreamed 
 of, and then we will prepare for our summer trip 
 to Newport and Saratoga. What do you think 
 of the plan, Monsieur Lesparre ? " 
 
 "It is an admirable one, and I feel sure that 
 the people of Gloster will enjoy such an entertain- 
 ment far more than any that has ever been given 
 here." 
 
 ' Well, I shall rely largely upon your assist- 
 ance," continued the Don, carefully locking his 
 safe as he spoke, "and we must divide the duties 
 between us, though of course my time will be 
 somewhat taken up by society. Suppose we issue 
 invitations for three weeks from to-day ? " 
 
 "Better say five weeks, if not six," replied Le- 
 sparre, anxious to delay Don Pedro's depart uro aR 
 much as possible in order to obtain an answer <o 
 our letters to Peru and Brazil. "You see. i!x>
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 195 
 
 people here are not accustomed to such gayeties, 
 and it will take some time to prepare their minds 
 to appreciate it." 
 
 "Yes, that is true," said the Don, reflectively; 
 4 ' but I do not like to defer it so long. However, 
 let us compromise by fixing one month hence as 
 the time, and we will make it a masquerade as 
 well as an outdoor fete. The guests will then 
 have ample time to prepare their costumes, and 
 we can give that as a reason for issuing the invi- 
 tations so long in advance." 
 
 The Don was in no special hurry to escape with 
 his plunder, but neither was he desirous of 
 remaining too long in the vicinity of his victims; 
 hence, although he had no suspicion that his 
 schemes had been discovered by any one, he fixed 
 an earlier date than that suggested by Lesparre 
 hi order to prevent the probability of any accident 
 occurring to mar his plans. 
 
 Lesparre immediately ordered the cards of invi- 
 tation, and in a few days all Gloster was in a 
 state of pleasurable excitement over the news of 
 the coming event. Never had such a commotion 
 been created in the placid waters of society as 
 was raised by the delicate cards of invitation to 
 Seilora Morito's fete cliampetre and bal masque. 
 The number who received invitations was enor- 
 mous, including every individual having any 
 claims to be regarded as a member of good society. 
 From that time forward, Lesparre was so busy 
 with the preparations for the fete that he was 
 able to see very little of the rest of the family except
 
 J96 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 in the evening. The Don and Donna and Madame 
 Seviei continued their usual round of dissipation 
 and gayety, however, and "all went merry as a 
 marriage bell." 
 
 Still there were some curious features of their 
 conduct which I regarded with suspicion. Every 
 day the Don gave Lesparre a large sum in bank- 
 bills to be exchanged for gold, and the coin was 
 then locked up in the iron safe. Then the Don 
 and Donna held frequent conversations in Span- 
 ish, during which it was easy to see by their 
 manner that they were discussing an affair of 
 great importance. Madame Sevier found a new- 
 ly-purchased traveler's guide-book in the Donna's 
 bureau, and from various marks and turned 
 pages it was evident that it had been carefully 
 consulted with reference to an ocean voyage. 
 These things led me to the conclusion that the 
 Don was preparing for a journey, and the fact 
 that he made no mention of it, even to Lesparre, 
 showed that he intended to go secretly. To all 
 his acquaintances he spoke freely of his con- 
 templated tour of the watering-places during the 
 summer, but he always promised to spend the 
 following winter in Gloster, without fail; hence 
 it was clear that he was playing a double game, 
 to deceive some one. I could only wait further 
 developments, and heartily wish for advices from 
 Peru or England. 
 
 In company with Judge Key I called upon Sen- 
 ator Muirhead, on the return of that gentleman 
 from the session of Congress, and we discussed
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 197 
 
 together the best plaii to pursue, to foil the 
 schemes of Don Pedro. The Senator was very 
 anxious to proceed against him immediately, 
 with the intention of showing him up in his true 
 character, and thus saving his victims from any 
 further loss. 
 
 " Indeed, Senator Muirhead," I replied, " I am 
 as desirous to arrest his fraudulent operations as 
 yourself, but I want to be sure of success before 
 I do anything, and I do not see my way clear to 
 act just now. At present we can prove nothing 
 whatever against him; in fact, the only charge 
 we could make would be that of obtaining money 
 under false pretenses. Now, what evidence couJd 
 we bring to substantiate the accusation ? There 
 is no judge living that would hold him on my or 
 your individual opinion that he has sold mines 
 which do not exist, and we should have nothing 
 else to offer." 
 
 "Yes, but you forget his forgeries in other 
 countries," interrupted the Senator. 
 
 " In the first place," I replied, " you could not 
 charge him in this countiy with crimes com- 
 mitted elsewhere, even though you had the posi- 
 tive proof of those crimes. If you charged him 
 here with obtaining money under false pre- 
 tenses, you could produce no testimony except 
 such as bore upon the specific act alleged in your 
 complaint; all other testimony would be ruled 
 out. But, even suppose that such testimony 
 were admissible, can you produce any witness to 
 his crimes in other countries ? Indeed, admitting
 
 108 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 again that these crimes were proven, can we es- 
 tablish the identity of Don Pedro P. L. de Morito 
 as the perpetrator of those crimes ? No, sir; we 
 have not a single witness; I ask you as a lawy?r, 
 J udge Key, am I not right ? " 
 
 "You are correct in every particular, Mr. 
 Pinkerton," replied the Judge. " I confess that 
 you present the difficulties of the case more 
 forcibly than I could have done myself." 
 
 " Yes, you are right, Mr. Pinkerton," said Sen- 
 ator Muirhead; "I do not see that we can do 
 anything ; yet it seems shameful to sit idly doing 
 nothing, when we know that this scoundrel is 
 obtaining such immense sums from our people. 
 What do you propose to do in the future, Mr. 
 Pinkerton ? " 
 
 "I can hardly tell what may be possible as 
 yet," I answered; "but I feel sure that I shall 
 not only prevent him from securing any more 
 plunder, but also wrest from him that which has 
 already fallen into his hands. He feels secure in 
 the possession of this large sum, and he is in no 
 great hurry to get away; he will undoubtedly i o 
 main until after his fete champetre at least. Be- 
 fore that time, I hope to hear something definite 
 from either England or Peru, and then I can act 
 with a power in reserve in case our own means 
 should be insufficient to enforce our demands for 
 restitution. Any action against him now would 
 only result in hastening his departure with all 
 the money he has gained, for I am certain that 
 we could not hold him."
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 190 
 
 "Well, I see that nothing can be done jow," 
 said the Senator, despondently; " but do not lose 
 sight of this man for a moment, Mr. Pinkerton, 
 for he seems an adept in all the tricks of crime." 
 
 "Never fear, Senator Muirhead," I replied, 
 cheerfully; "I feel sure that we shall eventually 
 not only bring his career here to a hasty close, 
 but also recover the money which he has fraudu- 
 lently obtained." 
 
 When we parted, the Senator was a little more 
 hopeful, though he said that he should not be at 
 all surprised if Don Pedro outwitted us after all 
 The loss to the Senator's friends would, of course, 
 be very large; but, perhaps, the lesson would not 
 be a bad thing for them; they would know better 
 thereafter than to part with their money so fool- 
 ishly. 
 
 That same evening the Don and Donna, Mon- 
 sieur Lesparre, and Madame Sevier, were engaged 
 for the evening at a dancing party given by 
 Judge Peter B. Taylor. Knowing of their inten- 
 tions to attend this party, I saw an excellent op- 
 portunity for Salter to examine the private apart 
 ments of the Don and Donna. Accordingly, 
 after the family had gone away in the carriage, 
 Salter began to talk to the other servants about 
 the advantages of belonging to a family where 
 the domestics were allowed to do as they pleased, 
 instead of being so carefully watched. The laun- 
 dress then related how much -less pleasure they 
 had, now that Madame Sevier was in charge of 
 the household.
 
 200 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 " Why," said she, " before this French woman 
 came, the servants here had as good a time as 
 any one could ask. Many a fine ribbon, or hand 
 kerchief, or bit of a collar, they picked up unbo- 
 knownst to the Donna; and, as for aitin', why 
 there was niver a lock on any storeroom in the 
 house, so that there was lashins of good livin' in 
 the kitchen as well as in the dinin'-room. But 
 when this Madame Sevyay came, she put every- 
 thing under lock and key, and she snapped off 
 the old cook's head in no time for sassin' her. 
 Jist so with the men; this Lesparre, the Don's 
 private secretary, is as close with the men as the 
 Madame is with the women. The butler used 
 to often bring a nice bottle of wine into the 
 kitchen for us to be merry over, but he can't do 
 it now." 
 
 "Well, I believe I can find something to drink 
 by a little search," said Salter, with a knowing 
 wink at the laundress and chambermaid. " You 
 wait here, and I'll see what I can do to provide a 
 glass of wine all 'round. 
 
 "Oh! would you dare?" asked the handsome 
 chambermaid, looking at Salter admiringly. 
 "Ain't you 'fraid you'll be caught?" 
 
 " No, indeed; I believe I can get a bottle of port 
 out of one of the rooms upstairs, without any one 
 ever discovering its loss. Anyhow, I'm going 
 to try, so you all stay here while I make search. 1? 
 
 Accordingly, Salter went straight to the Don's 
 room^ to which he had a key. Having received 
 from Lesparre an impression of the locks of the
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 201 
 
 house several days before, I had had a skeleton 
 key made, which would open almost any door 
 about the place. While apparently engaged in 
 cleaning the door-knobs, it had been a very ea^> 
 matter for him to take, in wax, a complete im- 
 pression of the wards of all the door-locks, with 
 out attracting suspicion. He now had no diffi- 
 culty, therefore, in entering the Don's room, 
 where he found that the Don had removed his 
 iron chest from his dressing-room to his chamber, 
 it being placed at the head of the bedstead. On 
 trying to lift the box, he found that it was very 
 heavy indeed, requiring all his strength to stir it. 
 This was due, of course, to the coin which had 
 been put into it, and Salter's testimony, therefore, 
 corroborated Lesparre's. Salter then, in accord- 
 ance with my instructions, carefully bored holes 
 through the door leading into the closet in which 
 Lesparre had once listened to a short conversation 
 between the Don and Donna. He arranged these 
 holes so that they would not be detected by the 
 eye, and having thus prepared an excellent place 
 for listening to the occupants of the chamber 
 suite, Salter returned to the kitchen. On the 
 way, he opened the dining-room sideboard and 
 captured a bottle of port wine, with which he' en- 
 tertained the other servants in fine style. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Don and his party had been 
 
 received with the utmost cordiality by Judge 
 
 Taylor and his wife, who felt quite proud to bo 
 
 the first to entertain such distinguished guests 
 
 8*
 
 202 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 after the sale of the diamond mines, and the issue 
 of the invitations to the Don's grand fete. 
 
 Every one had talked about the affair, but no 
 one felt exactly sure what a fete champetre was, 
 and so United States Commissioner Charlie Mor- 
 ton determined to ask the Don himself what his 
 entertainment would be. Accordingly, as Dor 
 Pedro approached with Mrs. Arlington on his 
 arm, Morton greeted him pleasantly, and said: 
 
 44 Don Pedro, every one who has received an 
 invitation to jour fete champetre is dying of curi- 
 osity to know what it means, and so I am going 
 to take the liberty of asking you to explain it. I 
 freely confess my own ignorance, and I know 
 that there are a great many others no better in- 
 formed than I am, who would be ashamed to ad- 
 mit that fact; but I cheerfully acknowledge that 
 I have never attended one, and I don't know how 
 I shall be expected to dress nor to act. So please 
 tell me all about it, and I will promise to spread 
 the news among my acquaintances." 
 
 "My dear sir," replied Don Pedro, politely, "I 
 admire your frankness, and I shall take pleasure 
 in explaining the principal features of our fete 
 champetre. It was the Donna Lucia's desire and 
 mine to devote one day to enjoyment, and we 
 therefore decided upon giving an entertainment 
 in the open air which should combine every 
 species of gayety and social recreation. It is our 
 intention to embark in the forenoon and proceed 
 by steamer to one of the large islands in the riv er. 
 There everything will be prepared for out dooi
 
 VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 203 
 
 enjoyment; there will be boats and bathing- 
 houses; swings and archery -grounds; billiard- 
 tables and bowling-alleys; in short, opportunities 
 will be provided for the gratification of every 
 one's tastes. About five o'clock a dinner will be 
 served, the menu for which will include every 
 procurable luxury of the table, and after dinner, 
 the evening will be spent in dancing on the open 
 platforms or in enclosed ballrooms, according to 
 the preferences of the guests, while magnesium 
 lights and colored lanterns will give all possible 
 brilliancy to the scene. Dazzling displays of fire- 
 works will be given at intervals during the even- 
 ing, and when we finally leave the island on our 
 return to the city, a grand illumination of the 
 whole island will take place as we steam off into 
 the darkness." 
 
 Quite a group had gathered around while the 
 Don was speaking, and as he closed, there was a 
 general murmur of admiration. The whole 
 affair was planned on a scale of such magnifi- 
 cence as to appear almost too wonderful to be be- 
 lieved, but the Don had shown such fertility of 
 invention previously, that there was no doubt he 
 was quite equal to creating a scene of oriental 
 splendor such as had never before been witnessed 
 in this country. 
 
 "Well, I admit frankly," said Charlie Morton, 
 "that we Americans must learn the art of enjoy- 
 ing life from foreigners, and I think there is no 
 doubt that Don Pedro is a most adept master of 
 its mysteries. Is there not something said in the
 
 204: VERY SUSPICIOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 invitations about appearing in masks, Don 
 Pedro?" 
 
 u Oh, yes ; I forgot to say at first that I 
 will be much amusement in requiring every 
 guest to be dressed in fancy costume and to wear 
 a mask. The masks will not be removed until 
 the dinner is served, and then, at a given signal, 
 the guests will expose themselves in their own 
 characters." 
 
 The Don's description of the intended pro- 
 gramme for the fete was soon repeated through 
 all the fashionable circles of Gloster, and the ex- 
 pectation of the whole city was raised to a high 
 pitch. No other social event had ever created a 
 like excitement, and it was the theme of conver- 
 sation at all times and in all places. 
 
 The day following the Taylor's party Don 
 Pedro seemed to have determined to get rid of as 
 much paper money in exchange for gold as pos- 
 sible, and during the day he sent more than 
 twenty thousand dollars to be exchanged ; of this 
 amount Lesparre and Madame Sevier handled the 
 greater portion, but even the young man, Salter, 
 was entrusted with three thousand dollars in 
 paper, for which he obtained gold at a trifling 
 discount. This method of exchanging money 
 was repeated several times, it being evidently the 
 Don's intention to retain nothing but gold in his 
 possession, and as he had already obtained the 
 greater portion of his plunder in coin, it was not 
 long before he had accomplished his object. 
 
 Meantime, the preparations for tho fete went
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 205 
 
 on apace, and the time of the Don and Lesparre 
 was quite fully occupied in planning an d arrang- 
 ing the details. The Senator called to see me 
 daily, and his constant urging somewhat excited 
 me, so that I became nervous and apprehensive 
 myself. Still, no news came from abroad, and I 
 could do nothing. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A Mysterious Stranger. An unexpected Meeting and a 
 startling Recognition. An old Friend somewhat 
 disturbs the Equanimity of Don Pedro. The Detec- 
 tives fix their Attention upon Pietro Bernard*. 
 Pietro and his unpalatable Reminiscences. The 
 Donna shows Spirit. 
 
 ARLY one forenoon Salter was called to the 
 -LiJ front door by a violent pull at the bell, and 
 on arriving there he confronted a rather disrep- 
 utable-looking character, who eyed him with an 
 extremely distrustful look. The man appeared 
 to be about thirty years old, and he was evidently 
 a foreigner. He was tall, well-formed, and mus- 
 cular, and his general bearing was quite at variance 
 with his ragged, dirty clothing. He had black 
 hair and moustache, a swarthy complexion, small 
 feet and hands, the latter soft and well-shaped, 
 and his dark eyes were piercing and brilliant. 
 
 "Good morning," he said to Salter, with a 
 haughty nod; " is Don Juan at home 2 "
 
 206 A MYSTEKIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 " No such person lives here," replied Salter. 
 partially closing the door upon the wolfish- 
 appearing stranger. 
 
 "I have good reasons for believing that Don 
 Juan is here," replied the man, "and is doubtless 
 the guest of the gentleman who resides here. At 
 any rate, I know that he is now in this house, 
 and I want to see him very much. He would be 
 equally glad to see me if he knew I were here;" 
 and so saying, he pushed Salter aside and entered 
 the hall. 
 
 This action still further prejudiced Salter against 
 him, and he said: 
 
 " Perhaps you mean Monsieur Lesparre, who is 
 a guest of my employer? " 
 
 "That may be," replied the man; " please say 
 that I wish to see him immediately." 
 
 Salter did not care to leave the stranger alone, 
 and so he told one of the female servants, who was 
 dusting the parlor furniture, to call Monsieur Le- 
 sparre. That gentleman was in Don Pedro's 
 room, discussing some plans for the fete, and, 
 when informed that a stranger wished to see 
 him, he told the servant to show him to the 
 room where he usually transacted business. As 
 the man passed before Don Pedro's door, how- 
 ever, Lesparre stepped out to learn who it was. 
 
 "This man wishes to see you, Monsieur Le- 
 sparre," said Salter, who was following the stran- 
 ger. 
 
 "That is not the gentleman I asked for," the 
 latter replied.
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 20Y 
 
 At this instant Don Pedro came into the hall, 
 and, as his eyes fell upon the stranger, he gave a 
 sudden start, and became very pale. The recog 
 nition was mutual, for the newcomer rushed for- 
 ward and said: 
 
 " Ah! Don Juan, I am delighted to meet you 
 again. I knew I was not mistaken when I saw 
 you yesterday and recognized " 
 
 "There, there!" interrupted the Don, giving 
 the speaker a warning look, " I am glad to meet 
 you again, Pietro; walk into my room, and sit 
 down." 
 
 Lesparre was about to follow, but Don Pedro 
 stopped, and whispered to him: 
 
 "Excuse me a short time, my dear Lesparre; 
 this is an old acquaintance whom I knew in bet- 
 ter circumstances years ago. He seems quite re- 
 duced now, and he may be sensitive enough to 
 object to telling the story of his loss of fortune 
 before a stranger;" and, so saying, the Don re- 
 tired to his room, leaving Lesparre and Salter 
 outside. 
 
 The latter immediately hurried into the closet, 
 where he could hear the whole conversation 
 within the room. 
 
 "Well, Pietro," began the Don, "where are 
 you from ? You have not been fortunate, it is 
 evident; but how did it happen ? " 
 
 " You are right; 1 have had bad luck," replied 
 Pietro. "It is the old story; I have had thou- 
 sands of dollars at times, and have lived lik 
 prin<(>: and again 1 li n Uullv tivalrii
 
 208 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 Dame Fortune, and have lived as I could; tut 1 
 have never before been so very miserable and 
 poor as now. Positively, it is most providential 
 that I have met you, for I have eaten nothing foi 
 twenty-four hours." 
 
 "Indeed, Pietro. you shock me," replied the 
 Don, sympathetically ; "shall I order some break- 
 fast for you ? " 
 
 " No; I can wait awhile, and I do not care to be 
 seen by your servants until I get better clothing. 
 But tell me where you have been since we parted 
 in Peru. You have certainly been as fortunate 
 as I have been the reverse; do you make much by 
 gambling ? " 
 
 "No, Pietro; I gamble very little, except in an 
 occasional game of cards with gentlemen of my 
 acquaintance; but I made a good sum that is," 
 continued the Don, checking himself a moment, 
 "I made a wealthy marriage, and my wife's for- 
 tune is ample for us both. By the way, how did 
 you happen to find me 1" 
 
 "Well, I have been enjoying life in New Or- 
 leans for some time, and, having won quite a 
 large amount there, I decided to come North as 
 the mild weather began. So I started a month 
 ago on one of those enormous Mississippi steam- 
 boats, and, of course, I gambled whenever I could. 
 My luck was bad from the start, and, on arriving 
 here, I had nothing except my clothing and 
 jewelry; these I pawned gradually, and soon I 
 was reduced to my present condition. Yesterday 
 I met you as you were entering the Globe Hotel
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 209 
 
 with a party of gentlemen, but I did not want to 
 mortify you by speaking to you in company ; so I 
 waited until you came to this house, intending 
 then to call upon you late in the evening, when 
 no one would see rne ; but you went out in your 
 carnage, and remained so late, that I put off my 
 visit until this morning. I thought that, con- 
 sidering our former relations to each other, you 
 would be willing to set me on my feet again." 
 
 " I shall be very glad indeed to do so," replied 
 the Don, eagerly, "and you must tell me what 
 you wish to do, and where you wish to go." 
 
 "Well, just now I should like to go to break- 
 fast, Don Juan," said Pietro, with a gaunt smile ; 
 " but I have no money to pay for my meal." 
 
 "Don't call me f Don Juan,' my dear friend," 
 said the Don. " I have adopted another name 
 for use in this country, and of course no one 
 knows me except as Don Pedro P. L. de Morito." 
 
 "Oh, ho! is that all there is of it?" asked 
 Pietro, with a laugh. "Well, I shall remember 
 in future to call you ' Don Pedro ' ; but what 
 can you do for me in the way of money and 
 clothes ? " 
 
 " I will give you fifty dollars at once, and you 
 can get a new outfit yourself ; then, when you 
 call again to-morrow morning, we will talk over 
 your future plans. I have a very important en- 
 gagement to keep. in about fifteen minutes, so I 
 must ask you to excuse me now. " 
 
 " But I can't get any respectable suit of clothes 
 and underclothing for fifty dollars," 
 Pietro.
 
 210 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 "Well, here are fifty dollars," said the Don 
 handing a roll of bills to Pietro, "and my secre- 
 tary, Monsieur Lesparre, will give you an equal 
 amount. You will then have enough to satisfy 
 your immediate wants, and we will arrange the 
 rest to-morrow." 
 
 So saying, the Don called Monsieur Lesparre 
 and introduced the stranger as Pietro Bernard!, a 
 fellow-countryman in distress. The Don was 
 quite pale and nervous, and though he did not 
 show any marked signs of agitation, a close 
 observer, like Lesparre, could readily see that his 
 new visitor was anything but a welcome one. 
 
 " I wish you to give Senor Bernard! fifty dol 
 lars, Monsieur Lesparre," said the Don, "and 
 order breakfast for him here, if he wishes it. I 
 am going out immediately, as I see the carriage 
 is waiting for me, but I shall return at lunch- 
 time. Au revoir, gentlemen ; call about nine 
 o'clock to-morrow, Pietro." 
 
 The Don then went to his carriage, and Pietro 
 followed Lesparre to his business-room, where he 
 received an additional fifty dollars. Pietro 
 quickly stowed the money away in his pocket, 
 and walked abruptly out of the house, saying: 
 
 "I'll not trouble you to prepare breakfast for 
 me, as I can get it down town just as well." 
 
 The moment Pietro was gone, Lesparre called 
 Salter out of the closet, and sent him out on an 
 errand ostensibly; of course, his real duty was to 
 "shadow "Mr. Pietro Bernardi, and report the 
 occurrences of the morning to me. Salter kepi
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STKANGER. 211 
 
 his man in view until he v. od at a popular 
 
 restaurant table, and then, knowing that some 
 time would be required before the Peruvian's ap- 
 petite would be satisfied, my detective hurried to 
 my office, and made his report. As it would not 
 be safe to detain Salter long away from his 
 duties at the Morito residence, I decided to keep 
 a watch upon Bernardi myself until Mr. Bangs 
 could send me a man from Chicago. Having 
 sent a telegram to Mr. Bangs, I went to the res- 
 taurant at once, being joined by Judge Key on 
 the way. Together we entered the restaurant, 
 and I quickly discovered Bernardi still lingering 
 over his breakfast. We each ordered a cup of 
 coffee, and I informed the Judge of the new de- 
 velopments in the case as brought out in the con- 
 versation between the Don and Bernardi. 
 
 " My opinion is," I said, in a tone audible only 
 to the Judge, " that this man, Bernardi, knows 
 some important facts relative to the past lif e of 
 Don Pedro, and if we can pump this information 
 out of him, we may thereby obtain valuable as- 
 sistance in our endeavors to outwit the Don. 
 Now it shall be my aim to learn all that this man 
 knows, for it may give us the means of proceed- 
 ing against Seiior Morito immediately; but even 
 if it should not, we may need such information 
 very much. You see, it is not impossible that 
 we may be forced to use threats to make him dis- 
 gorge; for I shall not let him escape with his 
 plunder without a struggle, even though no news 
 whatever should come from Peru or England. At
 
 212 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 present, however, we will devote some time to 
 this Pietro Bernardi, and see what he can tell 
 us." 
 
 The Judge fully concurred with me, and said 
 that, as I might be too busy to see Senator Muir- 
 head, he would call upon that gentleman and tell 
 him the latest news. W6 accordingly sipped our 
 coffee slowly until Bernardi was ready to go, and 
 then I followed him at a little distance, while the 
 Judge went to call upon Senator Muirhead. 
 
 Bernardi slowly sauntered down the street, smok- 
 ing a cigar, and soon reached a large retail cloth- 
 ing store. I remained in the street watching the 
 entrance of the store about an hour, when, as I 
 expected, Bernardi came out in a neat business 
 suit complete, but wearing the same old boots and 
 hat. These articles were soon replaced by new 
 ones, and after a bath and shave, Senor Bernardi 
 was a very different -looking person from the 
 rough customer who had visited Don Pedo in the 
 morning. In addition to his underclothing, linen, 
 hat, boots, and suit of clothes, he purchased at a 
 pawnbroker's shop some very decent jewelry and 
 he now appeared like a gentlemanly gambler, or 
 a member of the Board of Trade. He did not 
 conclude his business arrangements until he had 
 engaged a boarding-place and bought a trunk, 
 which was sent to his lodgings. He then ap- 
 peared to have relieved his mind of all care, and 
 he spent the afternoon playing pool and billiards 
 in a fashionable saloon. After dining at a res- 
 taurant, he went to a minstrel entertainment,
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 213 
 
 after which he returned to his lodgings to retire 
 for the night. When I went to bed at eleven 
 o'clock, after having followed Bernardi most of 
 the day, I realized that the duties of a faithful 
 "shadow" were sometimes excessively wearying. 
 
 The next morning, however, I found that a Mr. 
 Newton had arrived from Chicago in response to 
 my telegram, and I was thus relieved from any 
 further anxiety. He was a cool, shrewd fellow, 
 of attractive appearance and pleasing manners, 
 so that he was peculiarly fitted to obtain the con- 
 li donee of a man like Bernardi, and it was on that 
 account that I had selected him for the work. 
 He had no difficulty in tracking Bernardi to Don 
 Pedro's residence, and having seen him admitted - 
 there, Newton hurried back to report to me. I 
 then instructed him to follow Bernardi until he 
 should have an opportunity to make his acquaint- 
 ance; this could be done without difficulty in a 
 drinking or billiard saloon, and he was then to 
 cultivate an intimacy with him. * 
 
 On asking to see Sefior Morito, Bernardi was at 
 once admitted, and as soon as the Don closed his 
 door, Salter slipped into the closet to listen. 
 
 11 Ah! you are looking much better this morn- 
 ing," said the Don, as he scratched a match and 
 handed it to Bernardi to light his cigar. 
 
 " Yes, I am feeling much better too. This 
 
 ins quite like old times, doesn't it? As I sit 
 here and puff your fragrant Huvanas, I could al- 
 most imagine you were again in the real estate 
 business in Peru, lla! lia! (hat was a specula- 
 tion that paid well, eh?"
 
 214 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 "Pietro, you must be careful not to drop a 
 hint of those times to any one, or I should be 
 ruined," replied the Don; "I am in good society 
 here, and I hope to make a little money out of a 
 scheme I have on hand; but it is still quite 
 uncertain whether I shall succeed, and my 
 expenses in engineering the affair are fast eating 
 up all my capital. Now, T shall be happy to 
 assist you as far as I can, but it will be on condi- 
 tion that you leave town; for if you should get 
 tipsy and begin to talk about me, I should lose 
 everything. Next month, I may realize my 
 hopes, but I am playing a risky game, and I can- 
 not aiford to jeopardize it. What do you want ? 
 Tell me how I can serve you, and how much 
 money you need, and if I can help you, I will 
 gladly do so." 
 
 "That is fair enough, Don Juan Pedro, I 
 mean I only want a start, and I shall get along 
 without any difficulty; but to tell the truth, I 
 don't know where to go. I could not return to 
 Peru neither could you, for that matter and I 
 know of only one place where I could succeed 
 and be satisfied to stay. I have been thinking of 
 going to Buenos Ayres, if I could have a fair sum 
 to start me in good style on arriving there; but 
 it is a long journey, and I am in no haste to start. 
 By the way, where is your present senorita ? or 
 are you really married as you said? Is she as 
 handsome as the other was ?" 
 
 " Yes, she is very handsome," replied the Don, 
 curtly; "but she knows nothing about my his-
 
 A MYSTEEIOUS STRANGER. 215 
 
 tory previous to our meeting, and I do not wish 
 that she should ; so let us leave her out of our 
 discussion. I have some money left, though it is 
 decreasing rapidly, and I will assist you as far as 
 possible, if you will leave Gloster at once ; for I 
 am afraid that you will begin drinking to excess 
 again, and you know that when you are half 
 drunk there is nothing in the world you will not 
 tell. How much do you want ? " 
 
 u Oh ! Don Pedro, you need not fear that I 
 shall betray you ; but I can't start off on a long 
 journey so soon after the fatigue and hardship J 
 have undergone during the last month. Just let 
 me have three or four hundred dollars to enable 
 me to live in good style for a week or two, and 
 to get some better jewelry than this cheap stuff, 
 and I will be ready to start for Buenos Ayres as 
 soon as you wish." 
 
 " Well, I will give you three hundred dollars 
 now, and as soon as you have spent that, you 
 must be ready to leave Gloster on your way out 
 of the United States." 
 
 So saying, the Don stepped to his dressing- 
 case, opened and then closed a drawer, and said : 
 
 " There are three rouleaux of gold pieces, each 
 containing one hundred dollars. When that is 
 gone, I will buy your ticket to Buenos Ayres or 
 Montevideo, as you prefer, and will give you as 
 much money as I can possibly spare ; you must 
 he prepared to go then." 
 
 "All right, my dear Pedro," replied Bernardi, 
 rising to go; "I shall be ready at that time. You
 
 216 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 can trust my discretion, however, as long as 1 
 stay herf, and no one shall ever hear a word 
 from me to your discredit. I may call to see you 
 occasionally? " 
 
 " Oh ! certainly; come in the forenoon. By the 
 way, Pietro, let me caution you against gambling 
 while you -are here, for I have found that we are 
 no match for these Northern gamblers. They 
 will take every dollar from you if you venture to 
 stake against them. You will surely lose, and 
 then you will want me to supply you again; but 
 I tell you frankly I will not do it. I have hardly 
 money enough to carry through my scheme, and 
 if you choose to betray me, you can do so, but it 
 won't do you any good whatever; whereas, if you 
 are faithful to me, I can spare you a reasonable 
 sum to start you afresh in Buenos Ayres." 
 
 "Never fear, Don Pedro, I shall be mute as an 
 oyster," and so saying, Bernardi took his leave. 
 
 The foregoing conversation had taken place in 
 the Don's dressing-room, so that Salter had no 
 difficulty in hearing every word, even when the 
 speakers dropped their voices to mere whispers; 
 but there was another listener in the Don's bed- 
 chamber who was equally successful in overhear- 
 ing all that had been said. The Donna, having 
 heard of the arrival of this mysterious Pietro 
 Bernardi the day before, was anxious to know 
 who he was and what he came for. Accordingly, 
 she placed herself at the keyhole of their cham- 
 ber door leading into the Don's dressing-room, 
 and when Pietro had gone, she entered the Don's 
 presence.
 
 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 217 
 
 "Who was that person, Don Pedro?" sl.e 
 asked, with a sharp tone to her voice, foreboding 
 no good to her already nervous and irritated 
 spouse. 
 
 " Oh! his name is Pietro Bernardi, and I for- 
 merly knew him in Peru. He was quite a fine 
 young fellow then, but he has taken to gam- 
 bling, drinking, and general dissipation, so that it 
 is very unpleasant to have him turn up here as 
 an acquaintance." 
 
 " Is that the only reason why you dislike to see 
 him, Seiior Morito? " asked the Donna, her man- 
 ner becoming more clearly inquisitive and hos- 
 tile. " You are too anxious to get rid of him for 
 that to be the sole cause of your annoyance at his 
 presence." 
 
 "Well, my dear Lucia, the fact is, that he 
 knows enough about me in the past to be a very 
 dangerous person to have around just now, for 
 he might expose me to the people here, and ruin 
 our schemes upon the Diamond Company." 
 
 " Why did you not tell me about this ? There 
 must be no secrets which I do not share, for I do 
 not intend to be deserted by you as you have de- 
 serted others before. No, no, Don Pedro," she 
 continued, passionately, "I heard every word of 
 your conversation with this man, and you must 
 understand that you cannot treat me like a doll, 
 to be thnnvn ;i\vay when you are tired of me. 
 I am aide and anxious to help you in all your 
 plans, but I must have your full confidence. You 
 know that I love you, and you say that you re- 
 
 10
 
 218 A MYSTERIOUS STRANGER. 
 
 turn my love, but sometimes I distrust you You 
 deserted a senorita in Lima, and some day you 
 may try to desert me; but I warn you that [ 
 would follow you to the ends of the earth, and I 
 could easily find it in my heart to kill you if you 
 played me false." 
 
 As the Donna uttered these words, her deter- 
 mined tones clearly showed that she would havo 
 no hesitation in executing her threat. The Don 
 had no reply to offer, and finally the Donna 
 closed the conversation by saying: 
 
 " This is our first approach to a quarrel, and I 
 hope it will be the last. You know that I am 
 fearfully excited by any suggestion of the possi- 
 bility of losing you, and this man's words and 
 sneers have made me almost beside myself. But 
 recollect, I am not without friends, for there are 
 plenty of rich men here who would be delighted 
 to obey my lightest whims if I would permit 
 them, and if you should ever desert me, I would 
 tell all I know of you, and invoke their aid to 
 bring you to punishment. Now let us go along 
 together, without any secrets apart from each 
 other in the future, and we shall have no occa- 
 sion to quarrel again." 
 
 The Donna then left the room, and went out to 
 drive with Madame Sevier, leaving the Don 
 alone. Salter quickly slipped downstairs, but 
 was summoned back by the ringing of the Don's 
 bell. On entering the dressing-room, Salter found 
 his employer seated in a large easy-chair, looking 
 quite pale and agitated.
 
 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 219 
 
 "I wish you would bring me a decanter of 
 brandy and a glass, George," said the Don; "I 
 don't feel very well, and I think a sip of cognac 
 will do mo good." 
 
 Salter obeyed orders, and then went to Le- 
 sparre's room to report the conversations which 
 he had overheard while concealed in the closet. 
 Lesparre soon went into the Don's room to talk 
 over the plans for the fete, but Don Pedro was in 
 low spirits, and did not care to converse. He or- 
 dered his horse to be brought to the door, and 
 was soon galloping down the avenue as a relief 
 to his depressed nerves. Lesparre immediately 
 came to my office, reported what Salter had told 
 him, and then went about his duty of preparing 
 the island to receive the guests on the day of the 
 fete. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Pietro Bernardi and the Detective become Warm 
 Friends. A "T$te-d-T4te" worth One Thousand 
 Dollars. 
 
 "TTTHEN Pietro Bernardi left the Morito resi- 
 VV dence, he sauntered down town in a 
 leisurely manner, with Newton carefully fol low- 
 in LC at a safe distance. Bernardi was evidently 
 vain of his personal appearance, for he was dis- 
 satisfied with his ready-made outfit, and, enter
 
 220 P1ETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 ing a fashionable tailoring establishment, he was 
 measured for a complete suit of clothes. The 
 rest of the forenoon was spent in buying shirts, 
 underclothing, trinkets, and toilet articles of quite 
 an expensive character. After a hasty lunch at 
 a restaurant, Bernard! walked to the post-office, 
 where he met a man whose appearance indicated 
 unmistakably the professional gambler. They 
 seemed to be old acquaintances, and, after taking 
 a drink together, they conversed for some time 
 in low tones. Finally they separated, and Ber- 
 nardi went to his lodgings. About six o'clock he 
 reappeared, and Newton followed him to the 
 post-office again, where the gambler, who was 
 waiting in the morning, was met apparently by 
 appointment. The two men walked a short dis- 
 tance together, and then disappeared up a stair- 
 way, which, Newton was certain, led to gambling 
 rooms. He waited outside nearly an hour unde- 
 cided what to do, but at length he went upstairs 
 among a crowd of young sports, who seemed to 
 know the ways of the place, and he was allowed 
 to pass in with' them unquestioned. He found 
 Bernard! just rising from the dinner-table, which 
 the proprietors of the gambling house were in 
 the habit of setting for their regular patrons. 
 The faro-table was in full blast, and Bernard! 
 was soon seated at it with the air of an old 
 habitue. He was thenceforward so deeply inter- 
 ested in the game as to pay no attention to any- 
 thing else, and, as he was unusually lucky, his 
 pile of gold pieces rapidly increased. Newton
 
 riETRO ANT) THE DETECTIVE. 221 
 
 took a position at his elbow and watched the 
 game in silence for some minutes. At length, 
 seeing Bernardi win a large stake, he said in a 
 familiar tone : 
 
 " You are unusually lucky to-night, and I see 
 you play for all the game is worth." 
 
 Keeping his eyes intently fastened upon the 
 dealer's box, Bernardi replied carelessly: 
 
 " Yes, this is a game where a man must put 
 down his money freely if he wants to win." 
 
 The next turn of the cards was doubly lucky 
 for Bernardi, and, as he raked in his winnings, 
 he glanced up at Newton, scanned his face a mo- 
 ment, and said: 
 
 " I think I have met you in New Orleans, have 
 I not ? " 
 
 " Very likely, for I have often been there; but 
 I do not recall your name, though your face is 
 quite familiar to me." 
 
 " Why, certainly," continued Bernardi, appa- 
 rently quite pleased at the idea of meeting an old 
 New Orleans acquaintance; "my name is Pietro 
 Bernardi, and I have often seen you in the rooms 
 of French Joe on Magazine street." 
 
 " Oh! yes, I used to go there a good deal, and 
 we must have met frequently. Let us take some- 
 thing for old acquaintance' sake." 
 
 This was taking a short cut to Bernardi's friend- 
 ship, and as the two stood before the sideboard 
 clicking glasses together, a stranger would have 
 supposed them to be old cronies, as indeed Ber- 
 nardi actually believed to be the case. Newton
 
 222 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 instantly saw that Bernardi's frequent drinks dur- 
 ing the day and his later potations in the evening 
 had rendered him somewhat intoxicated; he was 
 not drunk, for he had a perfect comprehension . 
 his actions, but he had drunk enough to be very 
 happy, and he probably saw in Newton's face a 
 hazy resemblance to some one he had known 
 in New Orleans. He soon returned to the faro- 
 table, and, taking his seat, asked Newton whether 
 he intended to do any betting. 
 
 "No, not to-night," Newton replied, yawning. 
 "I am very tired and restless, and I make it a 
 rule never to bet when my nerves are shaky." 
 
 "Well, that is a mighty good rule," said Ber- 
 nardi, as he put out a pile of gold pieces. "If 
 you will only stick to that plan, you will be sure 
 to win. I can always feel when luck is with me, 
 and if I could only make up my mind to stop 
 when I know that I cannot win, I should be as 
 successful as could be wished; but sometimes I 
 get obstinate when the cards begin to run against 
 me, and then I buck against fate until I lose all." 
 
 Having an absorbing interest in the game, Ber- 
 nardi talked very little after this, but about eleven 
 o'clock he counted his winnings, and, finding that 
 they amounted to more than two hundred dol- 
 lars, he decided to withdraw. In company with 
 Newton, therefore, he left the room, and enter* ;1 
 a bar-room below. They drank and chatted to- 
 gether a short time, and then separated, Bernardi 
 going to a well-known house of ill-repute, while 
 Newton carefully dogged his footsteps unseeu,
 
 PIETRO AXD THE DETECTIVE. 223 
 
 Knowing that Bernard! intended to spend the 
 night where he was, Newton returned to his own 
 lodgings. They had agreed to meet at the post- 
 office about eleven o'clock next day, and Newton 
 knew that his services would not be required be- 
 fore that hour. 
 
 About eleven o'clock in the forenoon, Newton 
 and Bernardi met at the post-office, as agreed, 
 and, after a morning dram together, they went 
 to a restaurant for breakfast. 
 
 "How did you enjoy yourself yesterday even- 
 ing ? " asked Newton, as they were finishing their 
 meal. 
 
 "Oh! very well indeed. I met a young lady 
 whom I used to know in New Orleans, and she 
 was very lovely ; but I shall never meet one like 
 my senorita. She was the most beautiful woman 
 living ; " and, as he spoke, Bernardi sighed deeply, 
 and became moody, silent, and abstracted. 
 
 "Yes; I recollect having seen her with you 
 once in New Orleans," replied Newton, on a ven- 
 ture; " is she dead ?" 
 
 "No, her! I wish she was," replied 
 
 Bernardi, savagely. " She started to come North 
 with me, and I gave her everything she could ask; 
 but when I had won a large sum of money at Nat- 
 chez, she stole several thousand dollars from me, 
 and disappeared with a Mississippi gambler, whom 
 she had never seen but twice. I didn't care for 
 tho money, but I loved her passionately, and I 
 cannot think of her without becoming enraged.
 
 224 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 Come, let us go get some brandy ; I always have 
 to drink when I think of her." 
 
 While they were drinking together, Newton 
 asked Bemardi if he was always fortunate in 
 gaming. 
 
 "Oh! no, indeed; why, less than a week ago 1 
 had not a cent to buy my breakfast, and I did not 
 know whether to enlist in the army or commit 
 suicide." 
 
 "Then your present success is marvelous, for 
 you must have won, in all, four or five hundred 
 dollars," said Newton, inquiringly. 
 
 " No, I did not win it all ; in fact, I could not 
 have done so, for I did not have a dime to start 
 with ; but I met an old friend here who gave me 
 a few hundreds, and who will give me more 
 when I want it." 
 
 "That's the kind of a friend to have," said 
 Newton, warmly; "come, let us drink again to 
 his health. I wish I had met you before, for I 
 would have been glad to divide with you. We 
 ought always to stand by each other, especially 
 we Southerners, among these Yankee gamblers." 
 
 "Yes, that is true," replied Bernardi, taking 
 an immense drink of brandy ; " they are not so 
 generous to each other as we are down South. 
 Now, my friend, whom I spoke of, is one of the 
 right sort. He gave me enough for a new 
 outfit, and has promised to give me a good sum 
 when I am ready to go South again." . 
 
 " Is he a Southerner too ? " asked Newton. 
 
 " Oh ' yes," Bernardi replied, " he is from Peni,
 
 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 225 
 
 where I first met him, and we have had many 
 a gay time together. I used to keep a fine 
 suite of gambling rooms, which he frequented, 
 and he used to play with the utmost indifference 
 to the results ; he always seemed equally un- 
 moved whether he won or lost." 
 
 "I suppose you must have_been very warm 
 friends," said Newton, " or he would not now be 
 BO ready to assist you ? " 
 
 "Well, Don Juan is a very liberal fellow, I 
 admit," answered Bernardi ; "but he might not 
 be so generous were it not to his interest to be 
 so," he continued, with a knowing wink. 
 
 "Oh! ho! I see," replied Newton, nodding his 
 head expressively. "Your friend would not care 
 to have you talk about his past history, I sup- 
 pose ? " 
 
 "Exactly; he knows that I could tell some 
 tilings about him which might spoil his pleasure 
 here, and so he is anxious to keep on good ton us 
 with me. However, he needn't fear me as long 
 as he treats me decently, for I do not wish to 
 injure him, and when I am ready to go I shall 
 get a good sum from him to start me in business 
 elsewhere." 
 
 "Suppose he should refuse to give you any- 
 thing more, or have you arrested for blackmail- 
 ing him," suggested Newton. 
 
 "I'd like to see him try it," Bernardi ex- 
 
 . claimed, with a volley of oatli<. "I guess two 
 
 could play at tin- game of swearing out warrants, 
 
 and wlu'ii the account was balanced, his 
 
 10*
 
 226 PIETRG AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 onment would be twenty times as long as mine. 
 No, no; I have no fear that he will attempt such 
 a thing." 
 
 "I merely spoke of it as a possibility," said 
 Newton, "in order that you should be on your 
 guard. A man with wealth and position might 
 succeed in crushing a friendless poor man in 
 spite of the latter's protestations. However, if 
 any such thing should happen, you can depend 
 upon it that I will work for you until you are 
 released." 
 
 " That's right, my friend," replied Bernardi, as 
 he called for another drink of brandy. "If I 
 should suddenly disappear without warning to 
 you, don't fail to search for me everywhere, and 
 I will see that you are handsomely rewarded. If 
 Don Juan should attempt any treachery, I should 
 have him at my mercy as soon as I should get 
 free, and, together, we could squeeze a large 
 sum out of him." 
 
 Newton spent the day with Bernardi, and they 
 became quite inseparable. After driving about 
 the city for an hour or two, they attended a mat- 
 inee performance at one of the theatres, and then 
 had a long and sumptuous dinner at a fashionable 
 restaurant. In the evening they went to th 
 gambling-rooms where they had met the night 
 before, and Bernardi was soon absorbed in the 
 game of faro. His luck still clung to him, and, 
 on leaving the place at midnight, he had won 
 three hundred dollars more. As before, Bernardi
 
 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 221 
 
 went to enjoy the society of his New Orleans 
 charmer, and Newton went to his own lodgings. 
 
 After Newton had made. his report to me, early 
 the next morning, I told him to continue his in- 
 timacy with Bernardi, and to pump him as thor- 
 oughly as possible relative to Don Pedro's past 
 history. Soon after his ' departure to meet Ber- 
 nardi, Senator Muirhead and Judge Key entered, 
 and we discussed the possibility of doing anything 
 with this new witness, Pietro Bernardi. 
 
 "Would it not be possible to frighten him into 
 tolling all he knows of Don Pedro? " asked the 
 Senator. 
 
 "I hardly think we could," I replied. " In the 
 first place, you have no charge whatever against 
 Bernardi, nor any reason to suppose that he has 
 ever been a criminal anywhere; hence, how could 
 we frighten him ? Moreover, he is a man of con- 
 siderable nerve, and he would see that, as against 
 third parties, his interests would be best served 
 by supporting, instead of attacking, Don Pedro. 
 No, I don't see anything to be gained as yet by 
 showing our hands. Our object is to recover 
 possession of the money paid to the Don for 
 those bogus diamond fields, and to do that, we 
 must wait until we have a sure case against him 
 i'oi- his crimes committed elsewhere." 
 
 "I agree with you wholly/' added Judge Key. 
 "Besides, this fellow, Bernardi, knows nothing 
 of the Don's forgeries and frauds except those 
 committed in Peru, and as we have before shown, 
 \\v could makt- MM use of those accusations until
 
 228 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 we hear from Peru. Indeed, it is questionable 
 how far we can proceed even then, for we have 
 no extradition treaty with that country." 
 
 "Well, I do not mind that very much," i 
 replied, "for my chief dependence is upon the 
 moral effect upon Don Pedro. I think that we 
 can so work upon him as to obtain his consent to 
 go to Peru voluntarily, rather than to be detained 
 here until a requisition arrives from England. 
 He knows that if he be sent to England, he will 
 be transported for a long term of years; whereas, 
 in Peru, he may avoid conviction altogether, or 
 purchase his escape after conviction." 
 
 "But can we make him give up his plunder ?" 
 asked the Senator, anxiously. 
 
 " I think we can." said I. " You see that he is 
 liable to be held here for obtaining money under 
 false pretenses, and during the trial the money 
 could be taken by attachment. Then, oven 
 though he should not be convicted, the delay 
 would enable us to make sure of sending him back 
 to London, where a heavy sentence would un- 
 doubtedly be given him. Now, by representing 
 these things to him, we shall induce him to hand 
 over the money voluntarily, and after that we 
 shall not care whether he is taken to Great Brit- 
 ain or Peru." 
 
 " If that be the case, why not arrest him now 
 and get the advices from London afterward?" 
 asked the Senator, who was very anxious to 
 hasten matters. 
 
 " Because we could not present a sufficient
 
 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 to hold him under the preliminary examination," 
 replied Judge Key. " When we get official news 
 of the fellow's character from Peru, we shall 
 have a sure thing against- him, and then I shall 
 feel ready to act; but I agree with Mr. Pinkerton 
 that there would be danger in ove'rhaste. You 
 see, we have him carefully watched, and there is 
 no probability that he intends to make off until 
 after this fete champetre ; therefore, let us wait 
 for our foreign advices as long as we can, and in 
 case he prepares to go before they arrive, it will 
 be time enough to arrest him then." 
 
 "How about the Donna?" asked Muirhead. 
 " Do you propose to take any steps against her ? " 
 
 "I don't see how we can," I replied. "With 
 the exception of the sums she has received from 
 Mather, she has obtained nothing fraudulently; 
 and, as you may well suppose, we could never 
 get Mather to testify against her ; so I guess wo 
 need not trouble ourselves to interfere with the 
 lovely Donna at all." 
 
 Our conference then broke up with the under- 
 standing that we should assemble again the 
 moment any new facts in the case should be 
 developed. Just after the gentlemen had left, 
 Madame Sevier came in and reported a scene 
 between Mather and the Donna which had taken 
 pin*-" the previous evening. 
 
 The Don had remained at home entertaining 
 various guests until nine o'clock. He had tl 
 gone out with Lesparre and several other gentle- 
 men, to atlriid a baiujret and ball gi\-\ n by a
 
 230 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 
 
 semi-political club at one of the hotels. The 
 affair was attended by many highly respectable 
 ladies, particularly by those whose husbands had 
 any political aspirations, but it was not suffi- 
 ciently exclusive to satisfy the Donna, and she 
 remained at home. The visitors gradually drop- 
 ped out until only Mr. Mather remained, and 
 then Madame Sevier excused herself, on the plea 
 of fatigue, in order to retire. Instead of going to 
 her room, however, she hastened to the library 
 and hid herself behind a- statue standing in a 
 deep bay window, which was heavily shrouded 
 with drapery and^ curtains. Thus placed, she 
 was completely hidden from the sight of any one 
 in the library, though she had a perfect view 
 herself, and she could hear every word spoken in 
 the room. 
 
 As she expected, the Donna soon entered, fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Mather. The latter seemed to con- 
 sider that the Donna could refuse him nothing, 
 for he put his arms around her, and was about to 
 kiss her, when he found her fan quickly inter- 
 posed between their faces. 
 
 "You are too free with your caresses, Seflor 
 Mather," she said, coldly, slipping out of his em- 
 brace, and pointing out a chair to him at some 
 distance from the sofa, upon which she seated 
 herself. 
 
 Poor Mather was quite astonished, for, having 
 kissed her several times before, he supposed that 
 he could continue doing so whenever he wished; 
 but the Donna was an expert fisher of men, and
 
 PIETRO AND THE DETECTIVE. 231 
 
 she recognized the force of that old proverb. 
 " Familiarity breeds contempt;" besides, she 
 wanted some more money, and she knew that 
 her elderly lover would gladly purchase her kisses 
 at a round price. The folly of giving them away 
 gratis could not be indulged in, therefore, and 
 si 10 kept her sighing swain at a distance for a 
 little time. She was too politic to give even the 
 slightest hint of her object in the conversation 
 which ensued, but she used every possible allure- 
 ment to fascinate her victim, while she would 
 allow him no liberties nor caresses. Mather 
 could not fail to recollect the affectionate manner 
 in which she had received his previous gifts, and 
 ho therefore decided to try the same policy again. 
 
 " I saw a beautiful camel's hair shawl to-day," 
 h<> -said, "and I was going to get it for you, my 
 <1 \ir Lucia, but I did not know whether it would 
 suit you, and so I determined to let you select 
 your own gift. The shawl was worth one thou- 
 s.iixl dollars, and I made up my mind to give you 
 the amount that I should have paid for it, and 
 yon could then exercise your own taste." 
 
 "Oh! my dear Henry," she exclaimed, "how 
 thoughtful you are! How can I sufficiently 
 thank you?" and she made room for him on the 
 sofa, as he advanced holding out a roll of bills. 
 
 " You know how you can please me best," he 
 an-\voro<l, tondorly, bending over ho r. 
 
 "Oh! really, II<-nry, you mustn't," she pro- 
 o<l, feebly, as he showered kisses on her cheek? 
 and lips; "suppoM 4 any olio should COIPO in!"
 
 232 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 As she spoke, a carriage stopped in front of th 
 house, and their affectionate tete-a-tete was in- 
 terrupted by the unexpected return of Lesparre, 
 who, having left his watch at home, had returned 
 to get it. He did not enter the parlor nor the 
 library, but the Donna seemed veiy much agi- 
 tated at the mere possibility of being detected in 
 a compromising situation, and so Mather took 
 his departure. The coolness with which she 
 counted the money, after he had gone, was in 
 striking contrast with her simulated embarrass- 
 ment while he was present, and it was plain 
 that, having obtained the gift, she was quite glad 
 to get rid of the giver. She went immediately 
 to her room, and Madame Sevier then retired 
 also. 
 
 CHAPTER VIH. 
 
 Don Pedro anxious for Pietro BemardPs Absence. 
 "Coppering the Jack and Playing the Ace and 
 Queen open" A Gambler that could not be Bought. 
 Splendid Winnings. Diamond cutting Diamond. 
 Bernardi quieted, and he subsequently (It-parts 
 richer by five thousand dollars. 
 
 AT eleven o'clock, Newton and Bernard! again 
 met at the post-office, and the latter re- 
 marked that he intended making a short call 
 upon his wealthy friend. 
 
 "Come along with me," he said, "and you will
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 233 
 
 see what a fine place he has. I shall not remain 
 very long, and if you will wait for me outside, 
 we can pass the day together. I hate to go 
 around alone in a strange city." 
 
 Accordingly they strolled along until they 
 reached Don Pedro's house, and Newton agreed 
 to remain near at hand until Bernard! should 
 finish his call. Salter was on the lookout, and 
 when Bernard! was admitted, he led the way to 
 Don Pedro's room. The moment the door closed 
 on Bernardi, Salter took his place at the auger- 
 holes in the adjoining closet, and overheard the 
 entire conversation, as before. 
 
 "Well, Pietro, have you decided how soon you 
 will be ready to leave town?" asked the Don. 
 "From your clothes, jewelry, and other pur- 
 chases you have made, you must have used up 
 most of the money I gave you, and, if so, your 
 departure must take place soon; for I warn you 
 again, I shall give you nothing more until you 
 depart for some distant city!" 
 
 "Well, to tell the truth," replied Bernardi, in 
 an independent, indifferent manner, "I am in no 
 hurry to go away just yet. You see, I have 
 been very lucky since I've been here, and if I 
 keep on, I guess I can repay you the amount 
 you kindly loaned me." 
 
 "Do you mean that you have been gambling 
 again? " asked the Don, in a vexed tone. 
 
 "Yes, and I have won constantly, so that I 
 don't like to change my luck by making a move 
 right away. You know gamblers are supersti
 
 234 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 tious, and I have a strong feeling that it w ill be 
 for my interest to remain here for some time 
 yet." 
 
 "But you promised to go as soon as you felt 
 able to travel," said the Don. 
 
 " Well, there is no hurry. I haven't done you 
 any harm yet, and I don't mean to. Why are 
 you so anxious to get rid of me? " 
 
 Of course, Don Pedro's principal fear was that 
 Bernardi would learn how large a sum the former 
 had received for his bogus mines, and that he 
 would not be satisfied to go unless he got a large 
 slice of the plunder. It would not do, however, 
 to excite his suspicions by appearing too desirous 
 of sending him away, so the Don changed his 
 tone, and said: 
 
 " Oh ! I'm sure I don't want to get rid of you 
 as long as you keep sober and don't talk about 
 me; but you know how it is, Pietro; if you should 
 get drunk and talk about me, you would tell 
 everything you know, and the result would be 
 that I should have to flee the town without ac- 
 complishing my object. In that case, I should 
 lose not only all that I hoped to make, but also 
 all the immense outlay I have made in preparing 
 my scheme. If you want to go to New Orleans 
 again, I will start you in a faro-bank there, and 
 will come down there next winter to play with 
 you; but I confess I should feel easier if you were 
 out of Gloster for the present." 
 
 "Well, I will be ready to go in a few days, il 
 you insist upon it., but I don't see the necessity
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 235 
 
 of such haste. However, I will come in again 
 and talk about it before the end of the week. I 
 want to win a little more before I go." 
 
 "How have you been betting ?" asked Morito, 
 in a conciliatory manner. 
 
 "I have been 'coppering' the jack and play- 
 ing the ace and queen ' open,'* and I have won 
 constantly. I left them a few times and played 
 other cards, but I always lost when I did so. 
 Now I am going to stick to that scheme. righl 
 along." 
 
 "Where are you playing?" asked the Don, 
 carelessly. 
 
 "I generally go to Dave Carter's, in Mahogany 
 Block, for I think he deals a 'square' game." 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so," said Morito; "as much so 
 as any of them ; but they are all sharpers here, 
 and they may have been letting you win on pur- 
 pose, thinking that you had a large sum in re- 
 serve which they hope to catch hereafter. If 
 you will take my advice, you will stop while you 
 are ahead. You know, from your own experi- 
 ence as a banker, that the 'bank' always wins 
 in the end." 
 
 "Well, I shall try a few more games, and then 
 I shall be ready to talk with you about goin^ 
 South. I want to ran my luck while it is good," 
 and so saying, Bernardi rose to go. 
 
 * These are technical terms in playing faro. The player 
 
 meant that he was in the habit of making one bet that the 
 
 jack would foe a lo*intr card all the time, and another thai 
 we ace anil quivn would be winning cards
 
 236 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 "All right, Pietro," said Don Pedro, "be care- 
 ful not to get swindled, and to keep silent about 
 me." 
 
 The moment Bernardi was gone, the Don rang 
 his bell violently, and sent for Monsieur Lesparre. 
 When the latter entered the Don's room, hr 
 found his employer in a more disturbed and ex 
 cited condition than he had ever before indulged 
 in, and evidently he meant mischief to some 
 one. 
 
 "Lesparre, that fellow Bernardi, of whom 1 
 spoke to you the other day, has been here 
 again," burst out the Don. " I gave him a con- 
 siderable sum of money to set him on his feet 
 again, for old acquaintance' sake, expecting that 
 he would return to his friends in the South, or, 
 at least, behave like a decent gentleman ; but he 
 has returned to his old habits of gambling and 
 drinking, so that, at any moment, he may come 
 here and mortify me before a party of my 
 guests, or, worse still, claim me as his friend 
 when arraigned in a police court for drunken- 
 ness, etcetera. He promised to leave town as 
 soon as the money I gave him was gone, and I 
 was to give him then a respectable sum to start 
 him in business elsewhere; but he has won' con- 
 siderably at the faro-table, and he is now inde- 
 pendent of me, and therefore declines to keep his 
 promise until he is ready." 
 
 " Would he go, do you think, if he should lose 
 all he has ? " asked Lesparre. 
 
 " Oh ! yes, indeed ; he would be forced to yield
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 237 
 
 to my terms then, and I should give hin . j .othing 
 until he started." 
 
 " How would it do to suggest to the proprietor 
 of the gambling rooms that it would be doubly 
 for his interest to fleece this man? I think it 
 could easily be done, if the ' bank ' were so dis- 
 posed." 
 
 "I have no doubt of it, especially as I know 
 the way he intends to bet all the time," replied 
 t ho Don, eagerly; "he 'coppers' the jack and plays 
 the ace and queen 'open.' It must be a pretty 
 poor dealer who cannot ' stack ' those cards, with 
 such a stake in view. Suppose you drop a hint 
 (o Dave Carter, or to the dealer to-night, bei > 
 Bcmardi goes there." 
 
 " I will go down at once," replied Lespan-o, 
 "and I will promise him three hundred dollars 
 additional if he wins all that Bernardi has; that 
 is not too much, is it? " 
 
 "No, indeed!" exclaimed the Don; "I would 
 gladly give five hundred, if necessary." 
 
 Lesparre arrived at the gambling rooms about 
 noon, and at that early hour no one was present 
 except the proprietor and one of the dealers. 
 Lesparre obtained an interview with the proprie- 
 tor alone, and then asked him if he would like to 
 make a thousand dollars. 
 
 "Oh! yes," he replied, in an indifferent way, 
 "I should have no objection, although it would 
 not be such a novelty that I need take a groat 
 deal of trouble about it. The k bank' often wiiia 
 more than that in a single evening.''
 
 238 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOMX 
 
 "Well, there is a South American who has 
 been playing here recently, against whom I have 
 a bitter grudge. He has about six hundred dol- 
 lars now, most of which he has won here. He 
 has one regular system of playing ' coppering ' 
 the ja.ck and playing the ace and queen to win 
 and you can easily fix those cards so as to clean 
 him out in one evening. The moment you have 
 done that, I will give you five hundred dollars 
 more." 
 
 The gambler fixed a keen look upon Lesparro 
 for a moment, and then replied that he was no 
 gudgeon to bite such a stale bait as that. He 
 added that they played a " square " game, and if a 
 man won, he was welcome to his winnings; but 
 that no trickery would be resorted to against any 
 patron of the house. Lesparre was obliged to 
 withdraw, feeling that he had made a mistake in 
 proposing the plan so openly. 
 
 That evening, after a day spent in playing bil- 
 liards and driving about, Bernardi and Newton 
 again entered the gambling saloon. Bernardi did 
 not make any bets for some time, but stood 
 watching the game in silence, apparently guess- 
 ing as to the winning and losing cards to deter- 
 mine whether he was in luck. Finally he bet 
 fifty dollars on the ace and lost; this was followed 
 by one hundred dollars on the same card, which 
 again lost. He waited a few deals and then placed 
 two hundred dollars on the queen to win, and one 
 hundred dollars on the jack to lose. The cards 
 fell as he had hoped, and gathering in his stakes
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 239 
 
 and winnings, he began betting in earnest. His 
 luck was wonderful, and as all his bets were for 
 fifty dollars or more, he soon had quite a large 
 sum. Presently he stopped betting, and went to 
 the bar with Newton. They talked and drank 
 together for some minutes, but Bernard} was not 
 ready to leave just then. His winnings wore al- 
 ready quite sufficient to cause the proprietor to 
 regard him with a considerable degree of interest, 
 and when he returned to the faro-table, a seat 
 was given him at once. He made no bets for 
 some minutes, but at length he asked: 
 
 " What is your limit to-night ? " 
 
 " Five hundred dollars," was the reply. 
 
 Bernardi then placed four hundred dollars on 
 the nine spot, and, a moment later, he was again 
 a winner. He now seemed satisfied, for he pre- 
 sented his "chips" for payment, and received 
 cash therefor. The proprietor then invited Ber- 
 nardi and Newton to drink with him, and, while 
 standing at the sideboard, the proprietor asked 
 Bernardi whether he had many acquaintances in 
 the city. 
 
 "No," replied Bernardi, "I have very few; 
 why do you ask ? " 
 
 " Because one of them is your enemy, or else 
 he was trying to play a trick on the ' bank ' this 
 morning," continued the proprietor, watching 
 Bernardi narrowly. "He came in about noon, 
 :>nd wanted the cards put up so that you should 
 be cleaned out of all your money."
 
 240 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 ' The devil you say ! " ejaculated Bernard! ; 
 " why did he want to clean me out ? " 
 
 " That I can't say ; but he told me that he had 
 a bitter grudge against you, and that he would 
 give a great deal to injure you." 
 
 "I do -not know any one here who could say 
 that of me," replied Bernardi, thoughtfully. 
 "There is only one man in the city who knows 
 me intimately, and I do not see why he should 
 wish me to lose, even if he did hate me. Was he 
 a South American, like myself ? " 
 
 "No; he might have been a foreigner, but he 
 was not dark-complexioned." 
 
 "Well, I cannot imagine who it could have 
 been," mused Bernardi ; "and I guess I need not 
 be afraid pf him, if he goes to work in that round- 
 about way. However, I am obliged to you for 
 the information, and I will take care that he does 
 not drop on me unexpectedly. So-long." 
 
 As Bernardi walked down the street with New- 
 ton, he was evidently deeply abstracted, for he 
 muttered to himself in Spanish, and swore at in- 
 tervals in quite an excited manner. Finally, he 
 said aloud: 
 
 "I don't know what to think about this story 
 It may be that this gambler made it up to shake 
 my nerves, or to cover some plot against me; but 
 I have a sort of feeling that Don Juan is at the 
 bottom of it. I don't fear him one bit, but I want 
 to solve the mystery, and if he has been plotting 
 against me, I will have my revenge upon him. 
 But, no; I can't see what he could gain by it, and
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 241 
 
 I think, perhaps, this gang despair of bi eaking 
 my luck, and are planning to rob me by force." 
 
 " That seems reasonable/' replied Newton, "for 
 then you would attribute the act to this unknown 
 enemy, and they would escape suspicion. Still," 
 he continued, anxious to lead the conversation 
 back to Don Pedro as a subject, " your first sup- 
 position may be the correct one, and your pre- 
 tended friend may be scheming to ruin you." 
 
 ' ' But why should he want me to lose money? " 
 persisted Bernardi. "He knows that I should 
 come to him for more, and that he would be 
 obliged to give it to me." 
 
 " Perhaps he would like to get rid of your pres- 
 ence," cautiously suggested Newton; "and if you 
 were penniless, he could insist upon your de- 
 parture as a condition upon which alone he would 
 give you money." 
 
 " Caramba! I believe you are right, my friend," 
 Bernardi exclaimed, furiously; "and if I find that 
 it is so, I will make Don Juan, or Don Pedro, as 
 he carls himself now, regret the day he played me 
 false." 
 
 " Don't be over-hasty," counseled Newton, "for 
 the whole story may be a gambler's lie after all. 1 ' 
 
 "Oh! I will investigate it carefully," an- 
 swered Bernardi, "and, when I am satisfied 
 about the truth of the matter, I will consult with 
 you as to the best course to pursue. It is a good 
 thing to have a friend to advise with, especially 
 among such a gang of thieves as seem to hang 
 n
 
 24:2 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 'round these rooms. Meet me to-morrow, as 
 usual, and I will go see my friend again." 
 
 The men then separated, and went to their re- 
 spective lodgings for the night. 
 
 In the morning they met, took breakfast 
 together, and afterwards sauntered down to visit 
 Don Pedro. As before, Bernardi was conducted 
 straight to the Don's room, and Salter again sta- 
 tioned himself in the closet to listen. 
 
 " So you are still successful ? " was the first re- 
 mark he heard. 
 
 "Yes, moderately so," replied Bernardi; "but 
 it is strange how cards run sometimes." 
 
 " Well, you ought not to be astonished at any- 
 thing after your long experience in gambling." 
 
 "Oh! I'm never astonished," said Bernardi, 
 who had drunk a good deal of brandy before and 
 after breakfast; "but I was thinking how lucky 
 it was that I changed my mind last night about 
 playing those three cards the jack, ace, and 
 queen." 
 
 " How so ? " asked Morito. 
 
 "Well, if I had played the jack 'coppered,' 
 and the ace and queen ' open,' last night, all the 
 evening, I should have been entirely cleaned out; 
 what do you think of that ? " 
 
 " I think you were very lucky in having played 
 elsewhere," replied the Don; "but what's the 
 matter with you ? What makes you look at me 
 so strangely ? " 
 
 "I want to find out whether it was you \v ho 
 sent a man to tell Dave Carter, the gambler, how
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. '243 
 
 I was playing, and to ask him to fix the cards so 
 that I should lose all I had." 
 
 Bernardi's voice was husky with liquor and 
 anger, and he had evidently worked himself up 
 into a great rage ; but, in spite of his partial in- 
 toxication, he was very determined, and his tones 
 foreboded no good-will to the Don. In a contest 
 of words, however, he was no match for his op- 
 ponent, and Don Pedro instantly took the most 
 effectual method for quieting his visitor's sus- 
 picions. 
 
 "My dear Pietro," he began, contemptuously, 
 "I gave you credit for more common-sense than 
 you seem disposed to claim for yourself. Why 
 should I want you to lose ? On the contrary, I 
 would like to see you win enough to start in 
 business for yourself, and repay me what I have 
 loaned you, for I assure you that I much prefer 
 to have you spend your money than mine. I 
 have none too much for my own wants, and if 
 you could repay me, I should be delighted. What 
 is the reason for your question ? " 
 
 Bernardi did not reply for two or three 
 minutes ; he was evidently keenly scrutinizing 
 Don Pedro's face ; but at length he said : 
 
 " Well, it's all right now, and I suppose I was 
 wrong to suspect you; but the proprietor of the 
 place where I gamble told me that some one had 
 been trying to get him to play a trick on mo, 
 and I determined to find out who it was." 
 
 "Well, Pietro, I don't think you would have 
 thought of suspecting me if your head had not
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 been fuddled with liquor. Why can't you stop 
 drinking for a month or two? " 
 
 "What do you care about my drinking?'" 
 asked Bernardi, in a half -cowed manner. 
 
 " Because Pietro drunk is a very different fel- 
 low from Pietro sober; and some day you will 
 let out some damaging reports about me, and 
 then all hope of making anything here will be 
 destroyed. If I could feel sure that you would 
 remain sober, I would gladly start you in a good 
 'bank' here." 
 
 Of course, Don Pedro had no intention of doing 
 anything of the kind, but he saw that Bernardi 
 was in a dangerous mood, and that he must 
 handle him very skillfully if he wished to get 
 him to leave the city. The Don knew that to 
 urge him to leave would be the surest way to 
 make him stay, but that, if left to follow his 
 own inclinations, he would be anxious to go 
 South, where the climate and people were more 
 congenial to him. Hence, Don Pedro boldly 
 took the ground that he was quite willing for 
 Bernardi to stay if he would only keep sober, 
 and Bernardi quickly fell into the trap. 
 
 " I don't want to start a 'bank ' in this place," 
 he said, "and I can't get along in this climate 
 without drinking. I have been moderately suc- 
 cessful here, and I am in no hurry to leave, but I 
 should like to go back to New Orleans, if I could 
 lit up a good place there, and deal a first-class 
 game." 
 
 "How much would you need for that pur-
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 245 
 
 pose ? " asked the Don. " If I can let you have it, 
 I will do so, and you can stay here or go back to 
 New Orleans, as you may prefer; only I shall 
 make one condition: that you promise faithfully 
 to drink nothing but wine while you are in this 
 city, until I get ready to leave. Will three thou- 
 sand dollars be enough? " 
 
 " Hardly; I have won some money here, to be 
 sure, but it will cost a good deal to spread a hand- 
 some layout in New Orleans as for this place, 
 there are not enough gentlemen gamesters here; 
 the gamblers are all trying to live on each other. 
 If you will make it five thousand, I will start for 
 New Orleans day after to-morrow." 
 
 "That is more than I ought to pay out in my 
 present circumstances," said the Don, thought- 
 fully; "but I guess I can run the establishment 
 on credit for about a month, and that will help 
 me out; so if you will go to-morrow, I will give 
 you five thousand when you start." 
 
 " Done! " replied Bernardi, much gratified at 
 having obtained so large a sum. " I have noth- 
 ing to do except to get a young lady friend to 
 go with me, and she won't need a great while to 
 make her preparations. So you can have the 
 money ready to-morrow? " 
 
 "It shall be awaiting you any time that you 
 call for it," answered Morito, and Bernardi then 
 took hitj departure. 
 
 On joining Newton, Bernardi was in high 
 spirits, and he talked very freely of his intended 
 plans.
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 "My friend convinced me that he had nothing 
 to do with the trick which the gambler said some 
 one tried to play upon me, and as a proof of hia 
 regard, he is going to give me a start in New Oi - 
 leans. I shall leave here to-morrow, and if you 
 would like to go in with me, we can make a pile 
 of money there." 
 
 "I can't very well leave here for some time 
 yet," said Newton, "for I have a large sum 
 staked in bets on the races next month, and I 
 shall have no money until they take place. I 
 have a sure thing on a new horse, and I have got 
 such large odds that I have put up every dollar I 
 could reach. I shall clear about ten thousand 
 dollars sure, and then if you are so disposed, I 
 will join you in New Orleans." 
 
 "All right, we'll do it; but then, you may lose 
 everything instead of winning. I don't care to 
 bet on races, myself; there are too many chances 
 to deal from the bottom." 
 
 "There is no danger in this case, so you must 
 let me know where I can find you, and within a 
 month I will join you in the Crescent City." 
 
 Bernardi then went to see his fair and frail 
 charmer, to obtain her company on his Southern 
 trip, and Newton came to my room to report. I 
 instructed him to stay with Bernardi as much a>: 
 possible while the latter remained in the city, 
 and to be sure to obtain his address in New Or- 
 leans. I then called upon Senator Muirhead and 
 informed him of the proposed departure of Ber- 
 nardi. The Senator was very anxious to detain
 
 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 247 
 
 him in some way, in order to get his test imony, 
 in case we should fail to hear from England or 
 Peru in time; but I was unable to suggest any 
 plan for holding this man without exposing our 
 whole connection with the case. Bernard! vVcis 
 evidently ready to act in good faith with Don 
 Pedro, and any endeavor to retard his departure 
 would be regarded by him as coming from the 
 gang of gamblers from whom he had won money. 
 There was no doubt but that he would keep up a 
 correspondence with Newton, and we should thus 
 know where to find him in case his presence 
 should be needed. We decided, therefore, to let 
 him go as he intended. 
 
 Early in the evening, Bernard! and Newton 
 went as usual to the gaming-rooms. There they 
 met a stranger, who seemed to be a Spaniard or 
 Cuban. Bernard! addressed him in Spanish, and 
 after some conversation, they sat down to play. 
 By some freak of luck, Bernardi continually won 
 his small bets, but whenever he put out a large 
 amount, he lost. The Cuban stranger had the 
 same experience, and at length Bernardi rose in 
 disgust and left the rooms with Newton, having 
 lost about two hundred dollars. 
 
 " Those fellows have got some kind of a ' skin- 
 game' at work," he said, "and they tried to beat 
 me and that Cuban out of all our cash. I gave 
 him a hint in Spanish before I came away, and I 
 hope he will stop before they fleece him. Now 
 let us go to the theatre." 
 
 They attended one of tho theatres, and then
 
 248 DIAMOND CUTTING DIAMOND. 
 
 had a glorious supper at Bernardi's expense after 
 the performance was over. About midnight, 
 they parted with mutual good wishes, and Ber- 
 nardi promised to write to Newton as soon as ho 
 should reach New Orleans. 
 
 The next morning Bernardi called upon Don 
 Pedro and received the promised amount of five 
 thousand dollars, assuring him that he should 
 leave the city that afternoon. As soon as he left 
 the house, the Don asked Lesparre to keep a 
 watch upon Bernardi to make sure of his leaving 
 according to promise. When Lesparre returned 
 about three o'clock, and reported that Bernardi 
 was then actually on his way to Cairo, accompa- 
 nied by a young lady, the Don was overjoyed, 
 and he expressed himself greatly relieved thereby. 
 
 " Now we can take more interest in our fete 
 champetre, and we will make it the most delight- 
 ful affair ever known in this country," he said, 
 exultantly. " When it is over, my dear Le- 
 sparre, we will make a tour of the fashionable 
 watei -ing-places, and enjoy life to the full."
 
 "BOBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 249 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Important Information from the Peruvian Govern 
 ment. Arrival in Gloster of the Peruvian Minixtt-r 
 and Consul. In Consultation. "Robbing J*< f< / 
 to pay Paul." Mr. Pinkertorfs card is presented. 
 Juan Sanchez, I arrest ydu, and you are my Pris- 
 oner. Mr. Pinkerton not "For Sale." A Dra- 
 matic Scene. The Bubble burst. 
 
 SEVERAL days now sped by with no fresh de- 
 velopments, and Don Pedro was almost con- 
 stantly engaged in his preparations for the fete 
 champetre. As the day approached, society was 
 stirred to its very center, and nothing was spoken 
 of save this grand event of the season. 
 
 But four days remained before the fete, when I 
 was delighted by receiving a letter from the Sec- 
 retary of State for Peru, giving full particulars 
 of the forgeries and frauds committed by Don 
 Juan Sanchez in that country, and enclosing a 
 fine portrait of the man. One glance at the pio- 
 ture was sufficient to assure me of the identity 
 of Don Pedro P. L. de Morito with Don Juan 
 Sanchez, and I now felt ready to act. The letter 
 informed me that a Peruvian official would be 
 dispatched to Gloster at once, to obtain the arrest 
 of Don Pedro, though there were a great many 
 difficulties in the way, owing to the lack of an 
 extradition treaty. Every effort would be ma<li>, 
 however, to bring him to justice, and the Pom 
 11*
 
 ii50 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 vian Minister at Washington would be instructed 
 to confer with me. 
 
 I informed Senator Muirhead and Judge Key 
 of this news, and they were both much encour- 
 aged at the prospect, especially as we learned 
 that a Peruvian man-of-war had arrived in New 
 York from AspinwalL, it being doubtless intended 
 that this vessel should take the prisoner to Peru, 
 in case he could be frightened into surrendering 
 himself. 
 
 The fete was to take place on Wednesday, if 
 the weather should be favorable, or on the first 
 pleasant day thereafter, and everything was al- 
 ready in complete order for the grand occasion. 
 A large and elegant steamer had been chartered 
 to convey the guests to the island, and she was to 
 make several trips during the day for the conven- 
 ience of business men who could not go early. 
 There remained nothing further to be done, ex- 
 cept to pray for fine weather on the important 
 day. 
 
 On Monday morning I was told that two gen- 
 tlemen were waiting to see me, on very import- 
 ant business, at one of the leading hotels. I ac- 
 companied the messenger, and was at once shown 
 to the room of the Peruvian Minister, who was 
 accompanied by the Peruvian Consul at New 
 York. Before proceeding to business, I informed 
 the Minister that I was acting under the instruc- 
 tions of Senator Muirhead, and that I should like 
 to send for that gentleman, and for my legal ad- 
 visor, Judge Key. The Peruvian officials made
 
 " ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 251 
 
 no objection, and both Judge Key and the Sena 
 tor were soon with us, ready for consultation. 
 As the new arrivals were tired and dusty after 
 their long journey, we merely exchanged infor- 
 mation relative to Don Pedro, and agreed to meet 
 at ten o'clock next morning, to make plans for 
 his arrest. 
 
 At the appointed hour, Ve were all prompt in 
 arriving at the parlor of the Minister. The latter 
 and the Consul, in accordance with a suggestion 
 I had made the day previous, had not mentioned 
 their official rank to any one, and had remained 
 as secluded as possible, in order to prevent Morito 
 from knowing of their arrival in the city. 
 
 The Minister stated that the forgeries of Don 
 Juan Sanchez in Peru had been so enormous, 
 amounting to more than seven hundred thousand 
 dollars, that the government had taken up the 
 pursuit of the criminal with unusual zeal, and no 
 effort nor expense would be spared to bring him 
 to justice. Unfortunately, however, in the ab- 
 sence of any extradition treaty between Peru 
 and the United States, the chances of securing 
 Don Juan, even now that he had been discov- 
 ered, were not bright; indeed, the Minister ac- 
 knowledged that he saw no way of accomplish 
 ing it. 
 
 " By an appeal to law, " said Judge Key, ' ' noth- 
 ing can be gained; but it is possible that my 
 friend, Mr. Pinkerton, may have a plan which 
 will induce Don Pedro, as he now calls himself, 
 i;nvii<l'i voluntarily rather than stand trial
 
 252 " ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAXIL." 
 
 here or in Great Britain. Let us hear your opin- 
 ion, then, Mr. Pinkerton." 
 
 "Well, gentlemen," I replied, "this is a caso 
 where the greatest care must be exercised, for the 
 criminal is a bold, skillful man, of good educa- 
 tion and address, with, probably, a fair knowl- 
 edge of his legal rights. We cannot afford to 
 make any mistakes, f6V he would surely take ad- 
 vantage of them. We must, therefore, present 
 the case to him in such a way that he will be- 
 lieve it to be to his interest to give himself up. 
 The presence of the Peruvian man-of-war in New 
 York is very fortunate, for, once under her flag, 
 he cannot escape; but he must be induced to go 
 on board voluntarily, or else we shall be liable to 
 the charge of kidnapping." 
 
 I then explained the method by which he had 
 had swindled the citizens of Gloster, and showed 
 how difficult it would be to convict him of any- 
 thing, owing to the probability that his victims 
 would refuse to testify against him; besides, for 
 obtaining money under false pretenses, a short 
 imprisonment only could be inflicted, and then he 
 would be free to go where he pleased. 
 
 "However," I continued, "I think I can pre 
 sent to him his position in such a light that he 
 will regard a surrender to the Peruvian author- 
 ities as preferable to a long trial and detention 
 here, with the possibility of being sent to Cali- 
 fornia or Great Britain for trial on a more serious 
 charge. When he knows that we are fully ac-
 
 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 253 
 
 quainted with his past career, he may be willing 
 to accept our terms rather than to defy us. " 
 
 "Suppose, however," said the Minister, "that 
 he should refuse all terms, and determine to fight 
 it out?" 
 
 " In that case," I replied, "we should be obliged 
 to arrest him here for obtaining money undei 
 false pretenses, and be prepared to arrest him 
 again the moment he should be set free, repeat- 
 ing the operation as often as we could get differ- 
 ent victims to enter complaint against him. The 
 number of stockholders in this bogus company is 
 quite large, so that we could easily hold him un- 
 til a requisition could be obtained from California 
 or England." 
 
 "How large a sum has he in his possession 
 now ? " asked the Consul. 
 
 "About half a million dollars," replied the 
 Senator. 
 
 "Well," said the Consul, "that sum will go 
 far toward reimbursing the people whom he 
 swindled in Peru, so I think that Mr. Pinker- 
 ton's plan is the best that can be adopted. We 
 might induce him to go aboard our vessel by 
 promising to use our influence to lighten his sen- 
 tence, in case he makes restitution to his victims 
 in Peru." 
 
 The Consul made these remarks with a wise 
 expression, as if he thought he had hit upon a 
 very easy way of solving the problem The S 
 ator, Judge Key, and I exchanged looks of aston- 
 ishment and ainii- ni'-ut at tliis cool proposal to
 
 254: "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 take our citizens' money to reimburse the Peru- 
 vians; it was a case of "robbing Peter to pay 
 Paul " which we could not appreciate. Finally, 
 I said : 
 
 " I presume that there can be no question as 
 to the way to dispose of this money which Don 
 Pedro has in his possession. Not one penny of 
 it came from Peru, and we cannot permit any of 
 it to be taken there. On arriving here Don Pedro 
 had only a few thousand dollars, which he ob- 
 tained in England by forgery. This sum he has 
 already used up, and the only money in his pos- 
 session has been obtained by the sale of his ficti- 
 tious diamond fields in Peru. It would be mani- 
 festly unjust to allow this money to be taken 
 away, and it is our intention to obtain it at all 
 hazards, whatever may become of the Don." 
 
 " Oh ! I shall make no such claim, Mr. Pinker- 
 ton," said the Minister ; "that was only a sug- 
 gestion of the Consul, who did not understand 
 exactly how the money referred to came into this 
 man's hands. All that I care for is to get Don 
 Pedro on board our vessel, and I shah 1 be pleased 
 to pay for your services in the matter. We must 
 be careful, however, that there shall be no op- 
 portunity to charge us with kidnapping, for we 
 \vish to avoid any possibility of complications 
 with the United States ; the fellow has made us 
 trouble enough already." 
 
 "I will arrange that matter satisfactorily," I 
 replied ; " as .for the question of payment, I air 
 acting wholly in the interest of Senator Muirhead,
 
 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 255 
 
 and under his instructions, so that I can accept 
 nothing except from him." 
 
 We spent an hour or two more in preparing 
 papers and arranging the details of our plans, the 
 conclusion being that we should make the arrest 
 that evening, about seven o'clock, when there 
 would be f eV or no visitors at Don Pedro's house. 
 As I had supposed, there was no charge whatever 
 against the Donna, and pay only intentions with 
 regard to her were to see that she did not carry 
 off any of the money belonging to the Diamond 
 Company stockholders, nor assist the Don to 
 escape. It was decided to send Don Pedro to 
 New York immediately, in case he yielded to our 
 terms, and the Donna would be at liberty to go 
 or stay, as she might see fit. 
 
 On returning to my office, I found Bangs and 
 Lesparre awaiting me, and the latter said that he 
 believed the Don and Donna intended to take 
 flight immediately after the fete. They probably 
 desired to finish their career in Gloster in a blaze 
 of glory, and, as they would not be expected to 
 receive visitors for two or three days after the 
 , they would have a good start before their 
 departure would become known. I told Lesparre 
 to see that Madame Sevier and Salter kept a close 
 watch for the remainder of the day, and in case 
 any attempt should be made to remove the box 
 containing Don Pedro's coin, he must send Sailor 
 to m<> instantly witli the news. I also sugges 1 
 that the servants be kept out of the way that 
 t hut no one should know of om N i
 
 256 ''ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 Lesparre departed to attend to his duties, and I 
 remained to complete the details of my plans 
 with Mr. Bangs, who had arrived from Chicago 
 with two detectives, in obedience to my sum- 
 mons. 
 
 About six o'clock, Senator Muirhead and Judge 
 Key arrived, and a more nervous man than tho 
 former I never saw. In a few minutes the Peru 
 vian Minister and Consul arrived, and we pro 
 ceeded in carriages to Don Pedro's house, the 
 Senator remaining at the hotel, however. We 
 left the carriages a short distance away, so as not 
 to attract attention, and, while Mr. Bangs's two 
 men stationed themselves to watch the house, the 
 rest of my party ascended the steps and were 
 admitted by Salter. 
 
 " The family are still at dinner," said Salter, 
 "but they are finishing the dessert, and I pre- 
 sume Don Pedro will go to the billiard-room after 
 dinner to smoke, as usual." 
 
 11 Give him my card as he leaves the dining- 
 room," I said, " and tell him that I am waiting 
 to see him in the drawing-room." 
 
 In a few minutes, Don Pedro and Lesparre rose 
 from the table, and Salter gave my card to the 
 former. 
 
 " Pinkerton ! Pinkerton ! I don't know any one 
 of that name; do I, Lesparre ? " 
 
 " Possibly it may be some gentleman having 
 business with you in connection with the fete," 
 suggested Lesparre.
 
 " ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 257 
 
 " Ah! very true; where is he, George ? I will 
 see him at once," said the Don, unsuspectingly. 
 
 Salter led the way to the drawing-room, where 
 I alone was waiting, the rest of the party having 
 waited in the vestibule. As he entered, followed 
 by Lesparre, I rose and said: 
 
 " Juan Sanchez, I arrest you, and you are now 
 my prisoner! " and, so saying, I put my hand on 
 his shoulder. 
 
 He turned very pale, and sat down in the near- 
 est chair, while Lesparre quickly brought him a 
 glass of water. I then continued: 
 
 " Juan Sanchez, or Jose Gomez more properly, 
 we will retire to the library if you wish, as we 
 may be interrupted here by the arrival, of some of 
 your friends, and I do not wish to expose you at 
 present." 
 
 " What do you mean by addressing me in this 
 manner ? " he replied, trying to regain his com- 
 posure. " My name is neither Sanchez nor Go- 
 mez." 
 
 "It is a long time since you have been so 
 called," I answered, " but your victims in Brazil 
 and Peru still retain the names in their memories 
 without difficulty. I will now present to you the 
 Minister of Peru and the Peruvian Consul at New 
 York, both of whom have taken a lively interest 
 in your past life and actions." 
 
 Just as I spoke, the Donna and Madame Sevier 
 entered, and the former, seeing the abject appon r- 
 ance of her husband, asked what was the matter. 
 
 " Your husband is a prisoner, madam," I re-
 
 258 "BOBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 plied ; " and as our interview would be painful to 
 you, I must ask you to withdraw for the present 
 at least." 
 
 She immediately gave an hysterical scream, 
 and sank upon a divan sobbing frantically. 
 Madame Sevier succeeded in quieting her some- 
 what, and she remained on the scene with her 
 face buried in the Madame's lap. I felt confident 
 that much of her emotion was feigned, and that 
 she was an attentive listener to all that took place 
 about her; however, I made no objection, but re- 
 quested Mr. Bangs, who was watching in the hall, 
 to admit the Minister and the rest of the party. 
 As Mr. Bangs withdrew, the Don stepped up to 
 me and said: 
 
 "Mr. Pinkertoii, I wiU give you five thousand 
 dollars if you will leave me alone for half an 
 hour. " 
 
 I smiled, and looking at my watch, said: 
 
 "It is now seven o'clock; at ten o'clock you 
 will be on your way to New York." 
 
 "Toucan have ten thousand, if you will let 
 me go; I will pay you the cash in coin imme- 
 diately." 
 
 "Your offers are useless," I replied; "I will 
 let no guilty man escape if it can be avoided." 
 
 As I spoke, the Peruvian Minister, the Consul, 
 and Judge Key entered, and we proceeded in a 
 body to the library, leaving the Donna in the care 
 of Madame Sevier. On the way thither, the Don 
 made one more effort to appear in the role of au 
 injured innocent
 
 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY ,'AUL." 259 
 
 " I don't understand this proceeding at all," he 
 said, "and I claim my liberty. What authority 
 have you for arresting me in my own house? " 
 
 "I have the authority, and that is sufficient," 
 I replied, coolly. "If you desire to be taken at 
 once to jail, I have no objection to granting your 
 request; but I thought, perhaps, you might first 
 prefer to hear what these gentlemen have to say." 
 
 I have arrested and have watched a great 
 many criminals, but I have never seen one who, 
 having carried out such an extensive scheme of 
 villainy, was so utterly broken down as this man 
 was. I had feared that his nerve might be firm 
 enough to answer my threats with defiance, and 
 force me to bring him to trial in Gloster ; but I 
 saw that there was no danger of such a misfor- 
 tune, and so I stood aside while the Peruvian 
 Minister addressed him. 
 
 "Juan Sanchez," said the Minister, "I have 
 come here to obtain your removal to Peru, thai 
 you may be tried there for your numberless 
 forgeries in that country. A Peruvian war-ship is 
 now in New York harbor, and you will be placed 
 on board of her for transportation to Peru. Mr. 
 Pinkerton's superintendent will proceed with you 
 to-night." 
 
 The Don was speechless for a moment, and 
 then, glancing up, he said, in a sullen voice : 
 
 "I want to know what I am charged with, 
 and by what right you send me to Peru. I am 
 entitled to a hearing, and a lawyer to defend 
 me."
 
 260 "BOBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 "My friend, Judge Key, who is present, is a 
 most able lawyer," I replied, "and you can con- 
 sult with him if you wish advice; but first let 
 me show you your true position. Your real 
 name, Don Jose Gomez, was given you in Brazil, 
 where it is remembered only to be cursed; Don 
 Juan Sanchez was your name in Peru, and your 
 crimes there are also well known; as Don Jose 
 Michel, there are serious charges against you in 
 San Francisco; Don Pedro Michel is badly wanted 
 in Quito, where he would probably be shot, as 
 they treat criminals there rather unceremoni- 
 ously; and Don Jose Alias would undoubtedly be 
 transported for life if the London detectives 
 should discover his present hiding place, to say 
 nothing of a lively interest which the French 
 gens d'armes take in the same person. All of 
 these people are now informed that the person 
 whom they wish to find is living in Gloster as 
 Don Pedro P. L. de Morito, and they are at this 
 moment hastening agents here to arrest him. 
 By chance, the Peruvian authorities are the first 
 to arrive, and they have, therefore, the happy 
 privilege of making the arrest. Now, as you are 
 probably aware, the Minister will have some 
 difficulty in obtaining an order from Washington 
 authorizing me to send you to Peru, for want of 
 an extradition treaty; but while you are under 
 arrest here, we can easily get warrants from 
 either California, England, or France, and then 
 you can take your choice between being shot by 
 vigilantes in California, transported to Van
 
 " ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 261 
 
 Dieman's Land by England, or sent to vvoik in the 
 galleys by France. This is your present situa- 
 tion, and I am perfectly indifferent which course 
 you prefer. If you decide to go with the Peru- 
 vian Minister, you must agree to do so voluntarily, 
 until you are placed on board the Peruvian vessel, 
 and you must make an assignment of all your 
 money and property here to reimburse the people 
 whom you have swindled by the sale of fictitious 
 diamond-fields. If you are willing to comply 
 with these conditions, you will sign all the neces- 
 sary papers at once, and you will leave for New 
 York to-night, uefore the English extradition 
 writ arrives; if you refuse these conditions, 1 
 shall hold you until that writ, or one from Cali- 
 fornia, arrives." 
 
 The Don was evidently in no mood for defiance: 
 the knowledge of his past history which I dis- 
 played had wholly cowed him, and my allusions 
 to the vigilantes of California, and the galleys of 
 France, made him tremble like a leaf. He knew 
 perfectly well the extent of his crimes in those 
 places, and, also, that my hints of his probable 
 punishment were not fancy sketches. Finally, 
 h<- asked to see me alone, but I refused to grant 
 his request, knowing his object: Then he wished 
 to see the Minister alone, and I again objected, 
 but I accompanied the two to another room, 
 where they conversed in Spanish for some time. 
 The Minister told me that the Don offered the 
 whole of his money and property to allo\v him to 
 escape; but, finding his off ers useless, he agreed tc
 
 262 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 
 
 go to Peru for trial. No pledges were made to him 
 to infli icnce his decision, though he begged so hard 
 that the Minister would intercede for him with 
 the authorities in Peru, that his Excellency 
 finally promised, in view of the Don's consent to 
 go willingly, to recommend that his punishment 
 be the lightest that the law could allow. The 
 Don having fully yielded to the arguments of the 
 Minister and myself, nothing remained to be 
 done except to obtain his signature to the papers 
 which had been already prepared, and to pack 
 his trunk for his journey. Lesnarre and Salter 
 performed the latter task while the Don was 
 signing the papers, and writing out his voluntary 
 agreement to deliver himself up to the Peruvian 
 authorities. The most important document was 
 a deed assigning his furniture, horses, carriages, 
 paintings, statuary, books, and, in short, all his 
 personal property, to Judge Key, to be disposed 
 of at the latter's discretion, and the proceeds, 
 with the large amount of cash on hand, to be ap- 
 plied to repay the subscribers to the Diamond 
 Company stock. In case there should not be suf- 
 ficient to pay them in full, the payments should 
 be made pro rata; but should there be an excess, 
 such excess should be applied to the paymen t of 
 the Don's private debts, contracted prior to that 
 date. This provision was, of course, necessary to 
 shut out the bills for supplies and services at the 
 fete on the following day. Evidently it was too 
 late to interfere with that interesting entertain- 
 ment without throwing a heavy -loss on many
 
 "ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL." 263 
 
 persons who could not afford to be the sufferers, 
 and I saw only one way to prevent this, namely; 
 to let the fete go on, and make those who danced 
 pay the piper. 
 
 When the documents had all been signed, I 
 said: 
 
 *' Jos6 Gomez, you fully understand the mean- 
 ing of this paper?" holding up his surrender to 
 the Peruvian authorities; " it gives me power to 
 convey you to New York and place you on board 
 of a Peruvian vessel, using force, if necessary." 
 
 The Don bowed his head submissively, and said 
 that he so understood it. The acknowledgment 
 of the deeds was then made by Judge Key, who 
 was a notary public, and our success was com- 
 plete. The Donna was then informed that her 
 husband would be taken East that night, and she 
 professed to be much affected. I told her that 
 there was no charge against her, and that she 
 could go with her husband, or stay in Gloster, 
 according to her own wishes. She said that she 
 would go with him if Madame Sevier could ac- 
 company them. I had no objection to this, and 
 the two ladies retired to pack their trunks. There 
 was some uncertainty in my mind whether some 
 of the Don's cash might not be in the Donna's 
 possession; but I felt rather confident that she 
 kept her money entirely separate from his, and 
 that I could trust to Madame Sevier's acuteness 
 to discover how much the Donna had on hand. 
 I was not disappointed, for, while packing, the 
 Donna told the Madame that she had about nine
 
 26 i "ROBBING PETER TO PAY AUL." 
 
 thousand dollars, the remains of her gifts from 
 Mather, but that she could secure an immense 
 sum out of the iron box if she could get it opon. 
 I had already made the Don confess where he 
 had hidden his money, and one of my detectives 
 was placed to guard the box; hence, the Donna 
 was disappointed in her attempts to make a raid 
 on the treasury. While the packing was going 
 on, I sent to the railroad depot and bought eight 
 railroad tickets for the party, which was to con- 
 sist of the Minister, the Consul, the Don and 
 Donna, Mr. Bangs, Madame Sevier, and two of 
 my men. At half -past nine o'clock the party 
 was ready and the trunks were sent off. I had 
 kept a close watch upon the Don until now, and 
 I saw that he hoped to escape while traveling. 
 When the carriages were announced, I stepped 
 up to him and told him that my invariable cus- 
 tom in such cases would require me to put him 
 in irons to prevent any attempt at escape. 
 
 ''Shall you permit me to be treated in this 
 manner? " he said to the Peruvian Minister. 
 
 "You are not yet in the custody of the Peru- 
 vian authorities," I replied, " and I am responsi- 
 ble for your safe delivery in New York; hence I 
 must take such precautions as I consider neces- 
 sary. When you are on board the Peruvian ves- 
 sel, the Minister can give such orders concerning 
 you as he may think proper; but, until then, I 
 alone have the right to determine what shall be 
 done with you." 
 
 In a moment, I had placed a light set of
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 265 
 
 shackles on his feet, and handcuffs on his wrists; 
 he was quite submissive now, and only seemed 
 anxious to avoid observation. 
 
 As we passed out to the carriages, the Donna 
 handed me a note, addressed to Henry 0. Mather, 
 and asked me to have it delivered immediately. 
 I agreed to send it at once, though I sent it in 
 such a manner that he should not receive it until 
 the morning after the fete. The party arrived at 
 1 he depot in time to secure seats together, and at 
 ten o'clock the train bore them from the city. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 77ie F%te Champetre. A Grand Carnival. Tfie Dis- 
 appointed Married Lover. A Vain Tien nest. Un- 
 masked! A Shrewd Caterer and his lImnUi<tii'j 
 Demands. An Lnl!i/nant Deacon. Don J 
 t'ik&n, to Peru in a Man-of- War, where he is Con- 
 meted and Sentenced to Fifteen Years' Tin/>r 
 ment. But the Donna manages to Satisfy her 
 Affections in a quiet way in New York. 
 
 npo the great delight of hundreds of people in 
 JL Gloster, Wednesday morning revealed all 
 the indications of a pleasant day, and by noon 
 'veather was so lovely that nothing could 
 have been more auspicious for the grand occa- 
 sion. As the hour approached for the departure 
 of the steamer, carriage after carriage drew up 
 at the dock to discharge its load of brilliant ly- 
 
 12
 
 266 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 diessed and masked ladies and gentlemen. The 
 only person who was not completely protect r-d 
 from recognition was Monsieur Lesparre, who 
 stood at the gangway to receive the guests, and 
 wore a plain evening dress, with no mask. 
 
 In order to prevent the attendance of persons 
 who had not been invited, each guest ^*<is 1V 
 quired to present his or her invitation, and, as 
 there were, as usual, many who had forgotten to 
 bring their cards, Lesparre remained at hand to 
 pass them on board, on leaving their names. 
 When the hour of departure arrived, the boat 
 swung out into the stream, amid the laughter 
 and merry shouts of the gay revelers that 
 crowded her decks, as the band flooded the air 
 with music. 
 
 At first there was some embarrassment and re- 
 serve in the intercourse between the masquer- 
 aders, owing to the novelty of their situation, and 
 the fact that the ladies at first clung closely to 
 their own little parties, with whom they had come 
 and to whom they were known ; but soon this 
 feeling wore off. They began to enter into the 
 merry spirit of revelry which characterizes such 
 entertainments in the cities of the Old World. 
 The idea of personal identity began to be lost in 
 the gayety of the moment, and in its place was 
 substituted an identification of each person with 
 the character which that person represented. The 
 balmy airs of a perfect spring day wafted to them 
 the sounds of country life along the shores of the 
 river, and gave sensations both novel and plnas-
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 267 
 
 ing to the gaj denizens of the city, who rarely 
 experienced any change from their routine of 
 fashionable entertainments. During the trip by 
 steamer there was much speculation as to the 
 disguises worn by the Don and Donna, and though 
 oral persons were suspected of being the host 
 and hostess, there was no sufficient way of iden- 
 tifying them. 
 
 At length the island was reached, and the party 
 disembarked. The scene, as they took possession 
 of the tents, booths, and pleasure-grounds, was 
 brilliant and attractive beyond anything which 
 the guests had ever witnessed. The island was 
 covered with large trees, whose branches and 
 foliage afforded a delightful shade. The close 
 underbrush had been removed everywhere, ex- 
 cept in certain ravines and other picturesque 
 spots,- so that the island presented a fine example 
 of the beauties of landscape gardening. The fore- 
 ground, at the place of landing, was a level ex- 
 panse of green turf, which had been laid there 
 weeks before. This was partly arranged for 
 divliery grounds, while rustic seats and swings 
 were to be found under every tree. A large plat- 
 form, for open-air dancing, was placed at the foot 
 of the first ridge from the landing, while near by 
 \vufi an enclosed dancing-hall, to be used in the 
 evening. Two bands were in attendance to play 
 dance music constantly, one resting while the 
 other played. It was understood thaj dinner 
 would be served, at four o'clock exactly, in a long
 
 268 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 dining-room near the dancing-hall, and at that 
 time every one was to unmask. 
 
 As the party spread over the grounds and be- 
 gan to enjoy all the opportunities for pleasure 
 afforded them, they presented a most novel ap- 
 pearance. There were representatives, both male 
 and female, of nearly every known nationality, 
 and all 'the leading characters of historical and 
 fictional literature were admirably delineated. 
 Of course, among such members there were 
 many accidental repetitions of the same char- 
 acter, but there were also instances offac similes, 
 which were intentional. This was a frequent 
 cause of mistakes and embarrassing adventures, 
 and often, when a gay cavalier was talking in 
 tender tones to some lovely senorita whom he be- 
 lieved he knew, he would be astonished to see a 
 second senorita, exactly like the first, passing un- 
 concernedly by. 
 
 The afternoon was spent in rowing, sailing, 
 shooting, dancing, and flirting, and all agreed 
 that they had never known a more truly delight- 
 ful day. An elegant lunch was kept ready at all 
 times in a large buffet, adjoining the dining-room, 
 and all kinds of wines and liquors were served 
 freely. The hour for dinner was fast approach- 
 ing, and, of course, by that time, many recogni- 
 tions had been made, though large numbers still 
 carefully and successfully preserved their own 
 secrets; some, however, had already abandoned 
 their masks, still retaining the fancy costumes. 
 Among these was Mr. Mather, who wandered
 
 A GRAXD CARXIVA1 269 
 
 over the island half distraught. He had vainly 
 searched for the Donna all day, acd had been un- 
 able to enjoy anything because he could not dis- 
 tinguish her. Often he had believed he had 
 found her, but again and again he had discovered 
 that he was mistaken; so he continued his search 
 without his mask, hoping that she would make 
 herself known to him. At last he approached 
 Lesparre, just before four o'clock. 
 
 "My dear Lesparre," he asked, in imploring 
 tones, " I beg that you will tell me how to recog- 
 nize Donna Lucia. I have talked with every per- 
 son who could possibly be taken for her, and I 
 acknowledge that she is so perfectly disguised 
 that I cannot discover her. Won't you please 
 tell me how she is dressed ? " 
 
 "That I do not know myself," replied Le- 
 sparre. "She was very careful to keep the 
 knowledge from me, for fear I might be teased 
 into telling some one." 
 
 " Well, how is the Don dressed, then ? " asked 
 Mather. "Perhaps he will tell me about the> 
 Donna." 
 
 " I do not know how he is dressed, either," an- 
 swered Lesparre. " He was as secret in his 
 preparations as his wife." 
 
 "What! haven't you seen him to speak to 
 since the fete commenced ? " inquired Mather, in 
 astonishment. 
 
 "No, I have not seen him since last night," 
 said Lesparre. " You see, the Don and I made 
 all arrangements yesterday afternoon, and I
 
 270 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 came down to the island to superintend the plac- 
 ing of the fireworks in the evening. I spent the 
 night down here, and have not gone back to the 
 house since I left it after dinner yesterday even- 
 ing. The Don has not spoken to me to-day, and, 
 for all that I know about him, he may not ha\ e 
 come to his own fete." 
 
 Lesparre said this in a jocular manner, as 
 though he had made quite an impossible suppo- 
 sition ; but Mather seemed to catch an idea from 
 it. 
 
 "By Jove! I begin to think so myself," he 
 exclaimed, as if confirming a thought which had 
 already occurred to him. 
 
 Just then Judge Morgan, dressed to represent 
 the Fat Boy of the Pickwick Papers, rang a large 
 bell, which could be heard all over the island, 
 and the guests began flocking into the dancing- 
 hall, preparatory to unmasking and having a 
 grand march into the dining-room. When all 
 were present, the bustle and talk quieted down, 
 and all looked expectantly for the Don to give 
 the signal for unmasking. Several of the in- 
 timate friends of the host had assembled on the 
 dais at the head of the hall; and each of these 
 looked at the others to see which among them 
 was the Don. At last, Mather stepped forward 
 and addressed the whole company: 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen, somewhere among us 
 are the host and hostess of this, the most elegant 
 entertainment ever given in Gloster; they have 
 been successful not only in producing hero a
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 271 
 
 fairy spectacle of unequaled beauty, but also in 
 effectually hiding themselves from discovery in 
 their assumed characters. So far as I know, not 
 any person present can state positively the dis 
 guise of either Don Pedro or Donna Lucia. Am 
 I right? If any one has discovered either of 
 them, I ask him to let us all know it before the 
 signal for unmasking is given." 
 
 Mr. Mather waited a moment amid profound 
 stillness, but no one replied to his request. 
 
 "Well, now," he continued, "I respectfully 
 call upon the Don and Donna to come forward 
 to the dais, assume their rightful positions as 
 host and hostess, and give the order to unmask." 
 
 Alas! he was calling upon a pair of unfortunate 
 travelers, who were then far on their way to New 
 York, one in irons, and the other in tears. There 
 was no answer nor movement among the gay 
 masqueraders, and whispers of wonder began to 
 run through the throng. 
 
 "Oh! come, Don Pedro," said Judge Morgan, 
 whose appetite called loudly to be satisfied, "you 
 have shown that your disguise defies discovery; 
 now come forward and take your place. You 
 can laugh at our dullness all you please, but don't 
 keep us in suspense any longer." 
 
 Still there was no reply, and the astonishment 
 of all the guests began to assume a form of vague 
 suspicion. At length, Mather again spoke up, in 
 a husky voice: 
 
 " As our host is so retiring, I will take the 
 liberty of asking those present to unmask, and
 
 272 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 we shall then discover his disguise. Tap the bell, 
 Morgan. " 
 
 Judge Morgan immediately pulled the bell-rope 
 three times, and, as this was the concerted signal, 
 a gun was fired on board the steamer, and the 
 band struck up a spirited march. The confusion 
 of unmasking was quickly over, and the gu< 
 formed a long procession around two sides of the 
 hall, preparatory to marching to dinner ; but on 
 the dais the confusion only increased, as face after 
 face was revealed, and neither host nor hostess 
 was to be found. Eobert Harrington, Charlie Mor- 
 ton, Captain and Mrs. Kerr, Alexander Mclntyre, 
 Judge Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Benson, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simon, Charles H. Sanders, wife and daugh- 
 ter, Deacon Humphrey and daughter, John Pres- 
 ton and family, and several others, were there, 
 but not a trace could be seen of Don Pedro P. L. 
 de Morito and Donna Lucia. 
 
 "Where in the devil is the Don?" was the 
 forcible manner in which Charlie Morton ex- 
 pressed the sentiments of all present. 
 
 The absence of the host and hostess could not 
 fail to cause great confusion at any time, but, in 
 this instance, there seemed to be a host of sus- 
 picions flying about in a few minutes. Madame 
 Sevier's absence was also noted, and a sort of 
 panic seized every one. No movement toward 
 the dining-room was made, but all stood irreso- 
 lute, anxiously waiting for some one to determine 
 what to do, and set them an example. Lesparre 
 was sought for and questioned closely as to the
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 273 
 
 reason for his employer's absence, but he could 
 give no satisfactory answer. He told all in- 
 quirers that he had not seen the Don since the 
 ev oning previous, and that he was as ignorant of 
 the cause of his absence as any one. Then 
 several questions relative to the Don's pecuniary 
 affairs were asked, and Lesparre told all that he 
 knew. The fact that the Don had exhausted his 
 bank account, and had kept all his money in his 
 own possession, set a good many people to think- 
 ing about the circumstances of his arrival there. 
 Then the stockholders in the Diamond Company 
 began to grow suspicious, and it took but a few 
 minutes to put them in such a state of vague 
 uneasiness, that they hardly knew what to be- 
 lieve of the man whom they so lately admired 
 and honored. At length, a consultation was 
 held among some of the more intimate friends of 
 the Morito family, and it was decided to go in to 
 dinner as if nothing had happened. If there had 
 been any accidental detention of the Don and 
 Donna, they would, of course, be desirous that 
 the fete should proceed without them the same 
 as if they had been present; while if there was 
 any trickery connected with their absence, tl ; 
 would be no use of waiting for them to come 
 Accordingly, the procession was again formed, 
 the band struck up another march, and the party 
 proceed <M! toward the dining-room, headed by 
 Henry 0. Mai her with Mrs. Simon, and Richar-1 
 Perkins with Miss IVnson. 
 But now ocninvd I he most humiliating part of
 
 2H A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 the changed programme: Mr. George P. Wester 
 field, the caterer, refused to admit the guests to 
 the dining-room unless the payment of his bill 
 was guaranteed. Mr. Westerfiekl.was a man of 
 uncommon shrewdness. He had been accus- 
 tomed to furnishing the suppers at the grand en- 
 tertainments of the city for several years, and lie 
 was well acquainted with the circumstances < f 
 every person in the social world; hence, he had 
 seen a great deal of the Don and Donna during 
 their stay in the city. He had no more reason to 
 suspect them of having taken flight than the 
 others, but his native keenness and good judg- 
 ment led him to protect himself, and he resolutely 
 declined to open the dining-room doors unless his 
 bill was guaranteed. An animated discussion im- 
 mediately arose between Mr. Westerfield and the 
 hungry guests; but nothing would induce him to 
 change his resolve. He said that he was already 
 out of pocket largely by the lunch he had served 
 during the afternoon, and he could not afford to 
 lose his dinner too. 
 
 " But Don Pedro will pay for everything," said 
 Mr. Mather. " He is immensely wealthy, and he 
 always pays cash promptly for all he buys." 
 
 " Yes, that may have been true heretofore, but 
 how do I know where Don Pedro is ? " queried the 
 caterer. 
 
 " Why, he is probably accidentally detained in 
 Gloster," replied Mather. " I have every confi- 
 dence in him, and wheti he explains his unfortu- 
 nate absence to-day, those who have suspected
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 275 
 
 him will regret their hasty remarks derogatory 
 to his character." 
 
 " Well, then, Mr. Mather," said the shrewd ca- 
 terer, " if you have eveiy confidence in Don Pe- 
 dro, you can give me your guarantee that I shall 
 be paid in full, and then I shall be happy to serve 
 the guests the same as if the Don were here." 
 
 Mr. Mather hesitated a moment, and then re- 
 fused to do anything of the kind. He was, un- 
 doubtedly, so disturbed in mind that he hardly 
 knew what he was doing. If he had kept his 
 wits about him, he would not have hesitated an 
 instant to take the whole expense of the fete on 
 his own shoulders rather than have such a scene 
 occur as seemed imminent, for the sum would 
 have been a mere bagatelle to him ; but he knew 
 not what to think, and his suspicions ran far 
 ahead of those of any other person present. He 
 had on his shoulders the whole responsibility of 
 this man, Don Pedro, for he had invited him to 
 Gloster, and had largely vouched for his character; 
 hence, if Don Pedro should prove to be a swindler, 
 a great deal of blame would fall upon Mather. 
 This feeling contributed largely to confuse and 
 annoy him, while his passion for the Donna was 
 another cause of embarrassment. He therefore 
 adod in a most nervous, uncertain way, and 
 seemed quite unable to decide what to do. Mr. 
 -trriiold's proposition was reasonable enough, 
 and he was willing to accept the guarantee of any 
 other gentleman of known responsibility; but 
 singularly, tln-iv was nut uin- am.'iig all who had
 
 276 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 been intimate with the Don who would make him 
 self liable for the cost of the dinner ; conse- 
 quently the caterer refused to admit the throng 
 into the dining-room. By this time every one was 
 worked up into a state of righteous indignation. 
 The apprehensions of the owners of Diamond 
 Company stock were the first causes of the feel- 
 ing against the Don, and the disappointing termi- 
 nation of the long-anticipated fete was another 
 fruitful source of bitterness. As people's appe- 
 tites began to call loudly for dinner, it became 
 evident that the caterer's demands must be satis- 
 fied in some way, and finally it was agreed that 
 the dinner should be paid for by those who par- 
 took of it at the rate of ten dollars a plate. This 
 amount was to include the lunch and wine al- 
 ready furnished, and also all the provisions for 
 dinner with the remainder of the wine provided 
 under the contract with Don Pedro. Under this 
 agreement, the dinner was served in the best pos- 
 sible style to the long array of famished and irri- 
 tated masqueraders. It was not a very cheerful 
 meal, for too many of the participants were pre- 
 occupied with thoughts of their possibly lost in- 
 vestments in the stock of the Diamond Company ; 
 but, under the influence of excellent viands and 
 good wine, there was a slight reaction in the feel- 
 ings of the younger members of the party, and 
 when the last course had been served; they pro- 
 posed to go on with the entertainment the samn 
 as though nothing had happened. 
 On entering the dancing-hall, therefore, tho
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 277 
 
 greater portion of the young people prepared to 
 enjoy the evenyig in dancing; but here again an 
 obstacle presented itself: the bandsmen had taken 
 alarm from the action of the caterer, and they 
 refused to play unless their account was settled. 
 Not a note would they sound until their demands 
 were satisfied, and so the gentlemen contributed, 
 jointly, enough to pay them in full also. The 
 troubles' and annoyances of the later portion of the 
 fete were soon forgotten by the greater number 
 of the butterflies who formed the assembly, and 
 as they floated off to the strains of a beautiful 
 waltz, they unanimously decided to spend ih>i 
 evening in a delightful dance. 
 
 Meantime, however, many of the more staid 
 and elderly guests, having decided to go home 
 immediately after dinner, had gone down to the 
 steamboat landing to embark. To their aston- 
 ishment they saw the steamer tied up on the 
 opposite shore, her lights being just visible across 
 the water. After various attempts to hail her, 
 a reply was heard from a small boat, which con- 
 tained the captain. He pulled in near the shore, 
 and Judge Morgan, in an important tone, ordered 
 him to bring his steamer across the river and 
 convey a party back to Gloster. 
 
 " But who is going to pay me for the use of my 
 steamer all day? " asked the captain, resting on 
 his oars, within easy talking distance of 1h- 
 shore. Alas! he, also, had determined to follow 
 the example <>t' the ealeivr, and demand payment 
 for his services before admitting 
 on board his steamer.
 
 278 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 1 'Pay you " exclaimed the horrified Ethan 
 Allen Benson, who had paid so much for his din- 
 ner that his miserly soul was already repenting 
 having come; "why, Don Pedro will pay you, of 
 course." 
 
 "Well, I'd like to see him, then," said the cap- 
 tain. 
 
 An exciting conversation then ensued between 
 the indignant would-be passengers and the cap- 
 tain of the steamer. The latter, however, had 
 all the advantage, for he knew the masqueraders 
 must eventually come to his terms. 
 
 "What do you mean by refusing to take us on 
 board ? " demanded Deacon Humphrey, furiously. 
 " Don't you know that we can't stay here all 
 night?" 
 
 "I presume not," said the captain, "and I 
 don't suppose you will do so; but I must have 
 payment for the use of my steamer. You can pay 
 me in one sum by a check, or you can pay me at 
 the rate of three dollars a head: I don't care 
 which you choose, only I must be paid." 
 
 The altercation continued at some length, and 
 eventually the captain said that he could not afford 
 to waste coal in keeping steam up, and if they 
 did not agree to his terms, he would haul foes 
 and let his steamer stay where she was all night. 
 This threat brought the party to his terms, and 
 he was ordered to bring his steamer over. He 
 refused to make more than one trip, however, 
 and so the dancers were called away from the 
 ballroom at the end of the first waltz, thus spoil-
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 279 
 
 ing their gayety almost ere it had begun. As the 
 motley groups gathered on shore awaiting the 
 steamer's approach, a more deeply disgusted and 
 indignant assemblage wajS never known in the 
 annals of good society, and curses, both openly 
 and inwardly expressed against the Don, were 
 numerous and bitter. As they passed over the 
 gangway, the captain and clerk were at hand to 
 collect fares, and no one was allowed to pass with- 
 out paying cash or giving a check for the amount, 
 indorsed by some well-known man of wealth 
 and position. Finally, the whole sorrowful party 
 was embarked, and the steamer turned her head 
 toward Gloster. The excitement and continuous 
 dancing, which most of those on board had in- 
 dulged in during the day, had left them in a state 
 of nervous and physical fatigue little calculated 
 to improve their spirits, while the financial losses 
 of many were matters of an intensely depressing 
 influence upon them. A more ill-tempered, dis- 
 appointed, and irritable cargo cannot be imagined. 
 Their troubles were not ended even on their ar- 
 rival at the wharf in Gloster, for, being so much 
 earlier in returning than they had expected, no car- 
 riages were in attendance, and the ladies were 
 obliged to wait on board while their escorts went 
 to the livery stables to order carriages to take 
 them home. 
 
 Thus ended the fete champetre which had been 
 anticipated so fondly as a new departure in the 
 social world of Gloster. In this, however, it was 
 a success; for, certainly, its like had never
 
 280 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 seen before, and the guests were profoundly hope 
 ful that they never should see its like again. 
 
 The following morning the whole city was 
 talking of the flight of the Peruvian adven- 
 turers. Their late residence was besieged by t he 
 holders of Diamond Company stock, and thr tact 
 of their absence was then clearly established. 
 The servants had been paid off by Madame Sevier 
 a day or two before, and no one remained in the 
 house except Lesparre. To all inquirers he gave 
 the same answer as he had given at the fete : he 
 was entirely ignorant of the whereabouts of the 
 Don, and was as anxious as any one else to find 
 him, in order to obtain his last quarter's salary, 
 which was unpaid. The affair was a nine-days' 
 wonder, and the mystery was still further in- 
 creased in the minds of the stockholders on re- 
 ceiving a note from Judge Key requesting their 
 attendance at a meeting to settle their accounts 
 with Don Pedro. The meeting was strictly con- 
 fidential, only the actual purchasers of stock be- 
 ing admitted. Judge Key explained to them that 
 Don Pedro P. L. de Morito had been arrested and 
 carried away for forgery and other crimes, but 
 that, before going, he had assigned all his prop- 
 erty to Judge Key to satisfy the claims of the 
 Diamond Company stockholders. 
 
 "But how did you induce him to surrender 
 this money and property?" was the question 
 which was asked in various forms nearly a score 
 of times. 
 
 " I cannot give you any particulars, ' : replied
 
 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 281 
 
 the Judge; " you must be satisfied t :> know that 
 he made this assignment in due legal form, and 
 that the amount which I shall realize will pay 
 your claims nearly in full. The slight loss which 
 you will sustain will be serviceable as a warning 
 against throwing away your money so recklessly 
 hereafter." 
 
 The letter of Donna Lucia to Mr. Henry 0. 
 Mather was delivered to that gentleman early 
 the day after the fete. Immediately on reading 
 it he packed his trunk and took the next train 
 for New York. Meantime the party under the 
 charge of Mr. Bangs arrived in New York with- 
 out accident Thursday afternoon. In accordance 
 with telegrams sent by the Peruvian Minister, 
 the captain of the Peruvian man-of-war had 
 taken his vessel down into the lower harbor, and 
 was ready to sail at a moment's notice. A steam- 
 tug was in readiness at Pier 1 to take the party 
 out to the vessel, and Don Pedro was transferred 
 by carriage directly from the Hudson Eiver Kail- 
 road depot to the steam-tug. The party accom- 
 panied him on board the man-of-war, and the 
 tug towed the war-ship through the Nar- 
 rows. 
 
 The Don and Donna had an affectionate and 
 sorrowful parting in the cabin, and as the ship 
 made sail outside the bar, the tug dropped along- 
 side; the Minister, Consul, JJonna Lucia, Madame 
 Sevier, and the detectives, leaving the Don in 
 charge of the captain, then returned to New 
 York in the tug.
 
 282 A GRAND CARNIVAL. 
 
 Two days later, Mr. Mather also arrived in 
 that city, and quickly found his way to the Don- 
 na's presence. What they said to each other 
 may never be known, but it is probable that 
 the interview was satisfactory to both parties. 
 Thenceforward the Donna lived in New York in 
 the best style, though for some reason she failed 
 to enter the same social circle that she had 
 known before. As long, however, as she and 
 Mr. Mather were contented, they considered that 
 no one else need be troubled about their arrange- 
 ments. How long Mr. Mather's infatuation 
 lasted, I have no means of knowing, as I soon 
 recalled Madame. Sevier, and lost all interest in 
 the affair. 
 
 Jose Gomez was tried immediately on his arri- 
 val in Peru, and was sentenced to fifteen years' 
 imprisonment, but he made his escape within 
 two years from the time of his trial. His future 
 career I never learned, but it is altogether prob- 
 able that he pursued, during the remainder of his 
 life, the same style of money-making (though 
 perhaps on a smaller scale) as that which ren- 
 dered notorious the name of Don Pedro P. L. 
 de Morito, 
 
 THE END.
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Mr. Pinkerton, at a Water- Ciire, becomes interested in a 
 Couple, one of whom subsequently causes the Detec- 
 tive Operation from which this Story is written. 
 A wealthy Ship- Owner and his Son. The Son 
 "found dead." A Woman that knows too much 
 and too little by turns. Mr. PinJcerton secured to 
 solve the Mystery. Chicago after the Great Fire. 
 
 DURING the summer of 1870, 1 was spending 
 a few weeks at a water-cure for the benefit 
 of my health. The place was one not widely ad- 
 vertised nor generally known, and the number of 
 frequenters was not large; hence, I became some- 
 what acquainted with most of the visitors, and, 
 as a matter of habit, noticed their traits and pe- 
 culiarities with more attentiveness than a casual 
 meeting would naturally warrant. Of course I 
 had no idea that I ever should make any use of 
 my observations, but I simply kept up a cus- 
 tomary oversight upon everything about me. 
 Among those whom I thus noticed was a lady.. 
 about forty -five years of age, and her son, who 
 was about twenty-six years old. The moth or. 
 Mrs. R. S. Trafton, was a pleasant woman, well 
 preserved, and comparatively youthful in appear
 
 284: THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 ance. She was afflicted by a rheumatic affection, 
 which caused her to visit these springs for relief; 
 and her son accompanied her partly to look after 
 her comfort, and partly to obtain a vacation from 
 work. He was a tall, robust young man, with 
 fine physique and strong constitution, but he 
 showed the effects of overwork. I always make 
 a point of observing the character and habits of 
 those around me, and long experience has given 
 me considerable accuracy of judgment with re- 
 gard to my acquaintances, even where I am not 
 an intimate associate with them. The more I 
 saw of Stanley D. Trafton, the more I was inter- 
 ested in him. His mother was devoted to him, 
 and he to her, so that they were rarely seen 
 apart. 
 
 Springville was a very quiet, dull place, and, 
 aside from the invalid visitors, there was nothing 
 about the society to relieve the usual monotony 
 of an uninteresting country town; hence, I wns 
 thrown largely upon my own resources for amuse- 
 ment, and I had little else to do except to observe 
 the different strangers and speculate' about them. 
 Among them all there were none who afforded 
 me a more interesting study than young Trafton, 
 and, although I never formed his acquaintance, 
 I began to feel that I understood his character 
 quite thoroughly. 
 
 He was about five feet ten inches in height, of 
 compact, muscular build, full chest, stout limbs, 
 and erect carriage. His complexion was clear 
 and healthy, his features regular, his expression
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 265 
 
 intelligent and open, and his manners were very 
 frank and attractive to most people. His general 
 appearance was that of an intelligent, handsome 
 man, of more than ordinary ability and steady 
 character. 
 
 I learned that his father, Mr. Richard S. 
 Trafton, of Cleveland, was a wealthy ship-owner 
 and merchant, and that his son attended largely 
 to the purchase of grain in the West for ship- 
 ment in his father's vessels. I judged that 
 young Trafton was a good business man, with 
 an eye to details as well as general results, and 
 while he had no appearance of being small- 
 minded, he did not despise economy in his 
 business affairs. He did not seem like a person 
 who would spend money for mere display or 
 effect; yet, neither would he deny himself the 
 comforts and luxuries belonging to a man of his 
 wealth and position in society. There was 
 nothing of the profligate about him, and his 
 devotion to his mother showed that he must 
 have a genuine and hearty respect for the whole 
 sex. 
 
 In the course of a few weeks I left Springville, 
 much improved in health, and I soon forgot all 
 about Mrs. Trafton and her son, until the latter 
 was brought under my notice again amid very 
 tragical ami sorrowful < ircumstances. 
 
 Early in the winter of the following year, I 
 was deeply engrossed in business, having an ac- 
 cumulation of cases on hand which taxed my in- 
 genuity and energies to the utmost. I therefore
 
 286 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 placed almost all of the less important operations 
 in the hands of my superintendent, Mr. Francis 
 Warner, though I kept a general supervisory 
 control over every case on the books of the 
 Agency. One morning, as I was conversing with 
 Mr. Warner, two gentlemen were admitted to my 
 office by my confidential clerk, who informed me 
 that they had suspicions of foul play as the cause 
 of the death of one of their friends, and they 
 wished the circumstances fully investigated by 
 the Agency. The gentlemen were Mr. John Up- 
 dike, of Cleveland, and Captain Edward R. Dai- 
 ton, a ship captain, of Buffalo. They introduced 
 themselves, produced credentials and references, 
 and then told me the following story: 
 
 In November previous, Mr. Stanley D. Trafton, 
 of Cleveland, left that city to go to Chicago. He 
 was the son of Mr. Richard S. Trafton, a wealthy 
 shipper of Cleveland, and the father was anxious 
 to keep his vessels employed. Captain Dalton 
 commanded one of Mr. Trafton's schooners, and 
 he expected to arrive in Chicago harbor about 
 November 20. Accordingly, young Trafton was 
 to meet the vessel there, and, in case she did not 
 obtain a charter at a paying rate, he was to pur- 
 chase a cargo of oats on his own account. He 
 brought, therefore, a considerable amount of 
 money and negotiable paper. He had about 
 eight hundred dollars in currency, two thousand 
 five hundred dollars in United States five-twenty 
 bonds, and a letter from his father authorizing 
 him to draw upon him for a large amount. The
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 287 
 
 bonds were the usual coupon bonds of the de- 
 nomination of five hundred dollars each, and for- 
 tunately Mr. Trafton, senior, had the numbeis of 
 these securities. 
 
 Stanley Trafton arrived in Chicago November 
 22, and found the schooner awaiting him. He 
 tried to obtain a room in one of the hotels, but 
 he soon gave this up as a hopeless task, for the 
 reason that there was no hotel in the city which 
 was hot already crowded almost to an unsafe de- 
 gree. He then took up his quarters on board the 
 schooner, getting his meals at a restaurant. This 
 was not at all pleasant, and he finally discovered 
 a place where furnished rooms were to let near 
 one of the hotels. He therefore announced to 
 Captain Dalton that he had taken a room at 92 
 West Madison street. They met each other every 
 day, however, and at last, seeing no profit to be 
 made by purchasing grain in the then condition 
 of the market, Mr. Trafton informed the captain 
 that he might sail for Cleveland on Friday, De 
 cember 1. On Thursday he visited the captain 
 and promised to return on board again that even- 
 ing; he failed to do so, however, and the schooner 
 sailed next morning. 
 
 Five days afterward, Captain Dalton received a 
 dispatch, sent by a firm of commission merchants 
 in Chicago, announcing that Stanley D. Trafton 
 had been found dead in his bed. Mr. Updike, 
 who was a warm friend of the family, and Cap- 
 tain Dalton, then visited Chicago, arriving De- 
 cember 8. They found the body of Mr. Trafton
 
 288 THE SHIP OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 at the Morgue awaiting claimants, together with 
 a quantity of valuables which had been in his 
 possession when he died. There were two five- 
 twenty bonds, one being torn in two pieces, a set 
 of diamond studs, a small amount of loose change, 
 and three one-hundred-dollar bills. A coroner's 
 inquest had been held, and a verdict of death by 
 congestion of the lungs had been rendered. 
 
 The circumstances of young Trafton's death, 
 as related by the officials in charge of the body, 
 created considerable suspicion in the minds of 
 Messrs. Updike and Dalton, who, therefore, pro- 
 ceeded to investigate the affair. In the first 
 place, they were well aware that fifteen hundred 
 dollars in bonds, and nearly five hundred dollars 
 in currency, were missing; secondly, they learned 
 that Trafton had been found dead in bed Friday 
 morning, December 1, only about eighteen hours 
 after he had left Captain Dalton in perfect 
 health. 
 
 Accordingly, Mr. Updike and Captain Dalton 
 visited his late lodging-place, which was kept by 
 a woman named May Sanford. 
 
 The building was a two-story frame residence, 
 which, like thousands of others after the Great 
 Fire, had been rearranged for business purposes. 
 The lower floor was occupied as a furniture store, 
 while the second floor was also partly occupied 
 by business offices. A covered stairway on the 
 side led to the upper story, and, while the front 
 hall bedroom, the front parlor and the next 
 room back, were used as offices, the rear portion
 
 SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 was occupied by Mrs. Sanford, who rented most 
 of her rooms as sleeping apartments. 
 
 On stating their object in calling, the two 
 gentlemen were admitted to Mrs. Sanford's sit- 
 ting-room, and she then gave her account of the 
 circumstances connected with young Trafton's 
 death. She stated that she met him first 011 the 
 street and recognized him as an old acquaintance 
 who had been intimate with her husband and 
 herself when they lived in Buffalo; that he stopped 
 and talked with her for a time, and, learning that 
 she had furnished rooms to let, he said he would 
 rent one. He stayed there five days, and, on the 
 sixth, which was Thursday, November 30, he 
 came to his room in the evening and complained 
 of feeling unwell. He had been drinking veiy 
 hard all the week, and she said that this evening 
 he was quite drunk. He complained that he 
 could not keep anything on his stomach, and 
 asked Mrs. Sanford to cook something nice for 
 him. Accordingly she -boiled a chicken, but he 
 could not eat it, and he 'then went to bed. Dur- 
 ing the evening, she heard him snoring very 
 loudly as she passed his door, but she thought 
 nothing of it, and went to bed at eleven o'clock. 
 About seven o'clock next morning, she knocked 
 at his door, but he made no answer, and she 
 pushed the door open, the bolt being a very slight 
 one. She then found Mr. Trafton lying diago- 
 nally across the bed, with his head hanging down 
 and froth on his lips. Becoming alarmed at his 
 appearance, she called in a gentleman named 
 
 13
 
 290 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 Taylor G. Pratt, who occupied her back parlor ;is 
 a real estate office and sleeping-room. Mr. Pratt 
 examined the body of Mr. Trafton and told her 
 that he was dead, advising her to inform Iho 
 police authorities of the fact. She immediately 
 closed the room and went to the nearest police 
 station, where she reported the circumstances 
 relative to the death of Mr. Trafton so far as she 
 knew them, and asked what she should do with 
 the body. The police sergeant promised to send 
 the coroner as soon as possible to make an investi- 
 gation, and she was instructed to leave the body 
 and room untouched until the coroner should 
 arrive. That evening an inquest was held by the 
 County Physician, and a verdict of death by 
 congestion of the lungs was rendered. Mrs. 
 Sanford gave an account of the finding of the 
 money and bonds, which exactly agreed with 
 that given by the County Physician, whom she 
 assisted in making search for Trafton's valuables. 
 In one boot, lying under his head, they found a 
 five-twenty bond for five hundred dollars and 
 half of another one, the remainder of this tora 
 bond being found in the right-hand pocket of his 
 pantaloons. In his vest pocket were found three 
 United States notes for one hundred dollars each, 
 and a small quantity of loose change. A set of 
 diamond studs still remained in his shirt, and, as 
 the story was related by her, there was nothing 
 suspicious about the affair except the suddenness 
 of his death. 
 Having heavd all that Mrs. Sanford and the
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 291 
 
 County Physician had to say on the subject, Mr. 
 Updike and Captain Dalton took charge of the 
 body, and si lipped it to Cleveland, where the} 
 placed it in the hands of four experienced sur- 
 geons, with instructions to make a thorough and 
 oful examination as to the cause of death. 
 The first thing noticed by them was an evidence 
 of considerable external violence on the right 
 side, over the liver, there being a large bruise, 
 about the size of a saucer, apparently caused by 
 a blow. The coagulation of blood beneath the 
 skin showed that this injury must have been 
 caused during Trafton's lifetime, but very 
 shortly before his death. A similar, though 
 smaller bruise, was found on his thigh, while sev- 
 eral bruises on the base of the neck and throat 
 showed that the windpipe must have been 
 severely compressed just previous to death. 
 None of these marks had been noticed by the 
 County Physician in making the post-mortem 
 examination, and it seemed probable that he had 
 first guessed at the cause of death, and then 
 made only a sufficient examination to find some 
 corroboration of his theory. The Cleveland sur- 
 geons had great difficulty in accounting for Traf- 
 ton's death, but they were unanimous in scout- 
 ing the theory of death by congestion of the 
 lungs They found the body to be healthy in 
 every part, except the external bruises ; and, 
 while these were not of a sufficiently serious 
 character to account for the death of so robust a 
 man, they could find no other cause whatever
 
 292 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 These facts, together with the disappearance of 
 fifteen hundred dollars in bonds, and about five 
 hundred dollars in currency, which Traf ton was 
 'known to have had in his possession, caused his 
 relatives and friends to believe that he had been 
 mmdered for his money, and that the murderei 
 had been shrewd enough to leave a large portion 
 of the plunder to allay suspicion. The trick had 
 proven to be a most excellent one, for, as the 
 County Physician afterward acknowledged, the 
 idea of foul play never occurred to him, owing to 
 the apparent lack of incentive thereto; had there 
 been no money, or only a small amount, found 
 on the body, he would have made a much more 
 rigid examination; but no suspicion even crossed 
 his mind, and he acted with the haste which 
 characterized almost all operations in Chicago at 
 that time. 
 
 In order, therefore, to discover all the facts in 
 the case, and to recover, if possible, the mis- 
 sing money and bonds, Mr. Trafton, senior, had 
 decided to put the affair in my hands for a 
 thorough investigation, and Mr. Opdike and Cap- 
 tain Dalton had called upon me for that purpose. 
 
 Having heard their statement, I asked a num- 
 ber of questions, which elicited the following 
 additional information: 
 
 On returning to Chicago the second time, they 
 had again visited Mrs. Sanford, and found that 
 she had taken every particle of furniture out of 
 the room where Trafton had died. At the time 
 of their call, they saw a policeman whom she
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SOX. 293 
 
 called Charlie, with whom she seemed to be very 
 intimate. She said that Charlie was the first 
 person to see Trafton after she found he was 
 dead that morning, he having been sent over by 
 the sergeant as soon as she reported the fact. 
 This story contradicted her former statement, 
 that she first called Mr. Pratt into the room; 
 moreover, the sergeant of police had told them 
 that the policeman did not go to the room at all, 
 but merely took the number of the house and 
 went away. 
 
 At this interview, Mrs. Sanford gave them the 
 blank power to draw upon Mr. Trafton, senior, 
 saying that she had found it at the foot of the 
 bed since their former visit. She also showed 
 them a gold coin which she said young Trafton 
 had given her as a keepsake. Both gentlemen 
 recognized this coin as one which Trafton prized 
 very highly for some reason, he having refused 
 to part with it even to his mother; it seemed 
 hardly possible that he should have given it to a 
 chance acquaintance like Mrs. Sanford. 
 
 During this conversation she claimed to have 
 lent Mr. Trafton three hundred and twenty-five 
 dollars, though she did not seem greatly disap- 
 pointed when they refused to repay her that 
 amount. Mr. Updike gave her twenty-five dol- 
 lars, however, to pay for Mr. Trafton's board and 
 lodging, and to recompense her for hel- trouble. 
 The story that Trafton had borrowed money of 
 her was absurd on its face, and she acted as if 
 she hardly expected to be believed.
 
 294 ^ THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 
 
 efore coming to Chicago this time, Mr. Up- 
 dike had written to Mr. T. B. Vei-non, of Buffalo, 
 asking for information relative to the ant' 
 ents of this Mrs. Sanford. Mr. Vernon had re- 
 plied that she had a very bad reputation in Buf- 
 falo, having been divorced from her husband for 
 adultery, and having been arrested in March 
 previous for being drunk and disorderly. She 
 had a paramour at that time, named James Mc- 
 Sandy, a police-station keeper, and it was sup- 
 V/posed that he had gone West with her. 
 
 Another circumstance had been noticed by 
 Captain Dalton, which led him to believe that 
 Trafton had been murdered with his clothes on, 
 and afterward undressed and put to bed: the sole 
 of one of his boots was covered with whitewash, 
 as if it had been violently pressed and scraped 
 along a wall. Now, the room where he was 
 found had been newly whitewashed when they 
 arrived there, so that any marks on the wall 
 made by him in his struggles would ( be wholly 
 obliterated. 
 
 Having learned all the facts bearing upon the 
 case known by my visitors, I informed them of 
 my terms for conducting an investigation of this 
 character, and sketched a hasty outline of my 
 plan of operation. As they had already hinted 
 their suspicions to a member of the city detective 
 
 force, wji QyWBp -"^IJ n ^ ^v-ma fcgjvcrh f. rvPJJTgjn I 
 
 ^suggested that they inform him that they had 
 changed their minds in the matter, having 
 learned from the Cleveland physicians that death
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 20? 
 
 /was surely caused by congestion of the lungs. 
 They then took their departure, saying that they 
 would lay my plan before Mr. Richard S. Trafton. 
 and he would telegraph to me whether I should 
 proceed with the operation. On Christmas day, 
 I received a telegram from Mr. Trafton, briefly 
 instructing me to proceed, and my plan was put 
 in operation at once. 
 
 Before proceeding further with the history of 
 my connection with this case, it will be necessary 
 to remind the reader of the anomalous condition 
 of social and business affairs in Chicago at the 
 time of which I write; for, without any explana- 
 tion, he might have difficulty in understanding 
 many things in connection with the story. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Great Fire of 
 Chicago occurred October 8 and 9, 1871, and this 
 case was placed in my hands only about nine 
 weeks afterward. At the time of Mr. Traf ton's 
 death, a pall of smoke hung over the city, and, at 
 night, the still-smouldering heaps of coal through- 
 out the ''burned district" glowed like volcanic 
 fissures, casting a weird fantastic light about the 
 ruins, and illumining the clouds of smoke over- 
 head with a ruddy glow which was visible for 
 miles away. The streets were filled with dust 
 and ashes, while the fumes of carbonic acid gas 
 were sometimes almost stifling. To venture at 
 any time, into the waste of ruins, which stretched 
 more than three miles in one direction, through 
 the formerly richest portion of the city, was not 
 a pleasant undertaking; but to make such an ex-
 
 296 THE SHIP-OYVNKK AND HIS SON 
 
 cursion at night was attended with more hazard 
 than most peaceably-disposed men would care to 
 run. There were no gaslights, no sidewalks, no 
 street indicators; in many places, piles of stone 
 and brick were heaped in almost impassable bar- 
 ricades from one side of the street to the othei ; 
 all landmarks were gone, and the old resident 
 was as liable to lose his way as the stranger. 
 
 The city, moreover, was crowded with what 
 13 sometimes called "a floating population," a 
 species of driftwood, or scum, gathered from 
 every quarter of the globe; indeed, a large per 
 centage seemed to have come straight from the 
 infernal regions, with all the passions and habits 
 incidental to a prolonged residence there. Hence, 
 the labors of the police force were increased to 
 an extent which taxed their abilities to the 
 utmost, and made the task of protecting the re- 
 spectable portion of the community about all that 
 could be required of them; that they should be apt 
 to suspect foul play, in a case where the coroner had 
 no suspicions, was hardly to be expected. Besides 
 this, there was nothing settled on any permanent 
 foundation ; business men flitted hither and 
 thither wherever they could best obtain accom- 
 modations for the time being, and whence people 
 came or whither they went was a matter which 
 no one had time to inquire into, much less tc 
 investigate. 
 
 -\- The destruction of thousands of business blocks 
 and dwellings left the city without adequate ac- 
 commodations for offices and residences, even fo/
 
 THE SHIP-OWNER AND HIS SON. 297 
 
 its own regular population; but when the rush of 
 strangers swelled the aggregate nearly twenty 
 per cent., there seemed hardly sleeping-rooms for 
 them all. Dwelling-houses by thousands were 
 converted into stores, manufactories, and offices, 
 until fabulous prices were offered for the merest 
 closets in the vicinity of the new temporary 
 business centers. Every hotel was thronged 
 from the basement to the Mansard roof, and late 
 arrivals were oftentimes happy if they could get 
 a straw mattress on a billiard-table, or an army 
 cot in a hall. 
 
 I call especial attention to these things to ac- 
 count for certain apparent anomalies in the 
 action of different persons connected with this 
 tragedy. For instance: a young gentleman of 
 Mr. Trafton's wealth and respectability would 
 never have rented a mean little room in a petty 
 lodging-house, if he could have found any other 
 place equally convenient to business; the County 
 Physician would not have taken things so much 
 for granted, if he had not been so hard at work 
 and so pressed for time, owing to the immense 
 army of gratuitous patients who thronged the 
 offices of the County Agent and the Belief and 
 Aid Society; the police would not have been so 
 remiss in failing to examine into the death of 
 Mr. Trafton, if they had not had their hands full 
 of other business to an unprecedented extent ; 
 and, lastly, when I came to work up the case, I 
 should not have had so much difficulty in finding 
 witnesses, if it h;ul not bcc-n that people canio
 
 298 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 and went through Chicago like the waves of the 
 sea in mid-ocean, leaving no trace by which they 
 could l>e followed or identified. 
 
 These circumstances, combined with certain 
 facts which will appear in the course of this nar- 
 rative, made the task assigned me one of unusual 
 difficulty. Mr. Warner was intrusted with the 
 general management of the case, though he fre- 
 quently consulted me in relation to it ; and, 
 though we were continually working in the 
 dark, we never despaired of our eventual suc- 
 cess. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Detectives at Work. Mrs. /Sanford Described. 
 Charlie, the Policeman. Mrs. Sanford develops 
 Interest in Government Bonds. Chicago Rdnf 
 and Aid Benefits. Mrs. Sanford 's Story of Traf- 
 ton's Death. A. nice little Arrangement. Mr*. 
 Sanford explains to the Detective her method of 
 " Quieting People. " Ingham "Makes a Raise." 
 Mrs. Sanford fears being Haunted, but is not easily 
 Frightened. 
 
 THE day after Christmas a tall, well-built man 
 called at No. 92 Madison street, and asked 
 for the lady of the house. Mrs. Sanford soon 
 entered the sitting-room, and the stranger said 
 that, having seen the sign, ''Furnished Rooms 
 to Rent," he had called to engage lodgings. He 
 introduced himself as John Ingham, and said
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 299 
 
 -that he was a book-keeper, temporarily out of 
 employment. Mrs. Sanford received him with 
 great cordiality, and seemed much pleased to have 
 him as a lodger. She said that she had no suit- 
 able room just then, but that a married couple 
 were about to leave, and then Mr. Ingham could 
 have their room. She then showed him through 
 the house. The two front rooms were occupied 
 by an insurance company, and the back parlor 
 was used as a real estate office and sleeping-room 
 by two brothers, named Pratt. At the head of 
 the stairs was a small bedroom, through which 
 it was necessary to pass to obtain admission to 
 the rear part of the house. The passageway 
 from this bedroom to the sitting-room was made 
 by partitioning off a small entry from the back 
 parlor. There were four doors in this sitting- 
 room: one opened from the entry; at the opposite 
 side was one which opened into another entry; 
 the third was adjoining this second door, and it 
 opened into the large bedroom occupied by the 
 married couple; the fourth door led into Mrs. 
 Sanford's own room. At the end of the back 
 entry was an unfurnished room and a kitchen. 
 The front bedroom was occupied by two younu; 
 women who worked in a bindery, and their ac 
 commodations could hardly have been very agree- 
 able, as every one was obliged to pass through 
 their room on the way to the other rooms in the 
 rear. 
 
 Mrs. Sanford was a good-looking woman, about 
 thirty i\vo y<>;irs old. Her features were quite
 
 300 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 pretty, and her expression was pleasing. Sh< 
 was very plump, and her skin was smooth and 
 soft. She had brown hair, a nose slightly 
 retrousse, and a pleasant smile. Her eyes, how- 
 ever, were a bluish gray, cold and ivatchful as 
 those of a hawk. She might have been called 
 handsome but for the effects of dissipation, 
 which were plainly visible in her face. She had 
 a pleasant voice, and she was naturally easy in 
 her manners. If she was in a good humor, she 
 could be quite fascinating; and almost any stran- 
 ger, after talking with her for a few minutes, 
 would feel satisfied that she had once occupied a 
 social station far above that in which she was 
 
 HOW placed. Shft h^ a. good odnrnfirmj nnrl vpry 
 
 frequently she would give evidences of having had 
 ajwide range of reallv~ good reading; AFTimes. 
 fier recitations and declamations, wholly from 
 memory, were exceptionally fine, and, but for 
 her two ruling passions, she might have been arx 
 actress of a high rank. 
 
 She had two controlling vices, one natural, the 
 other acquired: her greed for money was inborn, 
 and it seemed to absorb at times every other 
 faculty; while the habit of using morphine had 
 become so fastened upon her, that she could no I" 
 shake it off . She was a most contradictory med- 
 ley of compounds, however, and while her thirst 
 for money seemed to overpower all other consid- 
 erations with her as a general rule, on some occa 
 sions she would be as wasteful and careless of 
 expense as the most prodigal woman in the
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 301 
 
 But when she had set her mind on the 
 'acquisition of any particular money or piece ot 
 personal property, there was no length to which 
 she would not go to attain her object. The mere 
 sight of money seemed to act upon her with an 
 effect almost of insanity, and she would then 
 have no regard for consequences until after she 
 hud secured the coveted prize. 
 
 It will be readily understood, of course, that 
 Mr. John Ingham, usually known as Jack, was 
 one of my detectives, sent to obtain lodging with 
 Mrs. Sanford, to win her confidence and learn all 
 that he could. 
 
 Ingham agreed to take the large room in the 
 rear, but he wanted to come immediately. Mrs. 
 Sanford agreed, therefore, to make up a bed for 
 him on the sofa in the sitting-room until the de- 
 parture of Mr. 'and Mrs. Graves, who were then 
 occupying the back room. Having agreed upon 
 the terms, Ingham went away, promising to re- 
 turn that night. Accordingly, he came in again 
 , about nine o'clock in the evening, and found that 
 Mrs. Sanford was entertaining a policeman. He 
 was a rather good-looking fellow, and was in full 
 uniform, except his star. He remained until 
 nearly twelve o'clock, and when he went out, 
 Mrs. Sanford followed him to the door, with 
 many affectionate caresses and tender remarks. 
 After he had gone, she began to converse vcrj 
 confidentially with Ingham, tellrig him that she- 
 was engaged to be married to Charlie, trie police- 
 man.
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 "Don't you think a policeman is good enough 
 
 marry ? " she asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " replied Ingham, " and your Charlie 
 seems to be a fine fellow." 
 
 "Well, he is awfully fond of me," she contin 
 ued, ''and he spends all his time off duty with 
 me ; but I don't know whether I care to marry 
 him. What do you think about it, Mr. Ingham '. " 
 
 " You ought not to be in any hurry about it," 
 he replied, "for you might see some one whom 
 you would like better." 
 
 "Oh! I have had a number of offers lately, "she 
 said, laughing. " I have had to work hard for a 
 living, and have saved up quite a good sum; and, 
 besides that, my father sent me two thousand 
 dollars a short time ago, so that I have a snug 
 little fortune. But Charlie doesn't know any- 
 thing about it, and I shan't tell him until after we 
 are married." 
 
 After some further conversation, she said that 
 she was hungry, and wished she had some one to 
 go to the nearest restaurant with. Ingham vol- 
 unteered to act as her escort, and they went out 
 together. While eating supper, she suddenly 
 asked whether government bonds were good 
 property to invest in. Ingham replied that they 
 were very good indeed, since the interest was 
 payable in gold, and there were no taxes to pay 
 upon them. 
 
 "Well, suppose you should lose them," she 
 queried; "could any one who found them make 
 use of them without being discovered?"
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 303 
 
 "Yes, I think so,' said Ingham. "There is no 
 means of learning how they came into the bear- 
 er's possession." 
 
 " Did you ever own any?" she inquired. 
 
 "No, but I used to cash the coupons for my 
 employer in Louisville, and I know a good deal 
 about them." 
 
 "What business were you in there ? " she asked, 
 with a considerable show of interest. 
 
 "I was bookkeeper for a wholesale liquor 
 firm, and the senior partner used to put all his 
 money into government bonds." 
 
 "Why did you leave Louisville?" she contin- 
 ued, seemingly desirous of learning as much as 
 possible of his history. 
 
 " Oh .! well, I got hard up," he replied, evasive- 
 ly, " and there was some mistake in my accounts 
 which I couldn't explain satisfactorily, so I 
 thought best to go out of town for awhile. You 
 know we are all liable to mistakes when we are 
 hard up." 
 
 "Yes, indeed, I understand," she replied, in a 
 satisfied tone of voice. " What are you going to 
 do here ? " 
 
 11 Well, I can't tell yet. I have a small job of 
 closing up a set of books for the year, and when 
 that is done I shall look around for something 
 else. I'm not particular what I do, if it pays 
 wrll." 
 
 Perhaps you could get employment from the 
 Relief and Aid Society/' she said, "and then you 
 could get lots of nice things for me. This man,
 
 304: THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 Graves, whose room you are to have, is em- 
 ployed there, and he steals enough to keep the 
 woman who is with him in good style." 
 
 "Why, aren't they married?" asked Ing- 
 ham. 
 
 " No, I don't believe they are married," she re- 
 plied, " and I've given them notice to leave. Mr. 
 Graves gets hardly any pay, but he brings her 
 all kinds of .presents, and she sells them to the 
 pawnbrokers." 
 
 On their return to the house, Mrs. Sanford 
 made up a bed on the sofa for Ingham, and then 
 went to her room. 
 
 The day following, Ingham went down to his 
 work on the South Side, and did not return until 
 eight o'clock in the evening. He said -that he 
 knew of a chance to buy a cigar stand in one of 
 the leading hotels, and that he would like to do 
 it if he could raise the money. Mrs. Sanford 
 seemed to have taken a great fancy to her new 
 lodger, for she told him that she would assist 
 him, if it did not cost too much. 
 
 " By the way, I was sorry you were not here 
 this afternoon," she said. "There was a very 
 pretty young lady friend of mine here, and I 
 would like to have you meet her." 
 
 " What was her name ?' 
 
 " Ida Musgrove." 
 
 " Have you known her long ? " 
 
 " Oh ! no ; I have only lived in Chicago a few 
 months. I used to live in Cleveland before I 
 (Separated from my husband, and we had a fine 
 stone-front house there."
 
 fHE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 305 
 
 "How did you happen to leave your hus- 
 tyand ?" asked Ingham. 
 
 " Well, he began running after other women, 
 rid, though I forgave him several times, when 
 e brought his mistress to live in the same house 
 
 ith me, I left him." 
 
 " He must have been a very hard case to do 
 uch a thing as that," said Ingham, sympathiz- 
 
 ngly. 
 
 Yes; and then he sold the house, promising 
 to give me half if I would sign the deed ; but he 
 never gave me a cent, so that I have had to work 
 hard to support myself and my little girl, who is 
 boarding at Riverside. However, I am all right 
 now, for my father sent me three thousand dol- 
 lars the other day, and I shall have plenty of 
 money hereafter." 
 
 11 Hadn't you any friends here who would have 
 helped you? " asked Ingham. 
 
 " No, I hardly knew any one; but I met an old 
 friend from Cleveland about a month ago, and he 
 died here in my house. Haven't I told you about 
 that?" 
 
 u No, indeed ; how was it ? " 
 
 " Well, you see, this Mr. Trafton was a former 
 lover of mine in Cleveland, and he was very rich 
 and handsome. He came here last month and 
 took the back room in my house. He was very 
 kind to me, and wanted to marry me; but he 
 drank hard for a week and began to show the 
 effects of his dissipation. Finally, he came home 
 one evening quite drunk, and he complained of
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 feeling sick. I boiled a chicken for him, but he 
 could not eat it, and he went to bed. Next 
 morning he did not call me as usual, and I went 
 to his door and knocked ; there was no answer. 
 and so I pushed open his door. He was lying in 
 bed with froth about his"' mouth and a ghastly 
 look on his face which frightened me terribly. 
 Then I called in Mr. Pratt, who roomed in the 
 back parlor, and he said that Mr. Trafton was 
 dead. When the coroner came, we found twenty- 
 five thousand dollars in Mr. Trafton's pockets, 
 besides his diamond studs and other property. 
 Oh! it was a dreadful thing for me to think that 
 such a handsome fellow as my Stanley should die 
 in my house." 
 
 " What was the matter with him? " asked Ing- 
 ham. 
 
 " The coroner held an inquest, and a post-mor- 
 tem examination showed that he died of conges- 
 tion of the lungs." 
 
 "Did you know that he had all that money 
 with him? " asked Ingham, significantly lowering 
 his voice. 
 
 " No, I did not know it until afterward," she 
 replied; " why do you ask? " 
 
 " Oh! for no special reason; but," he added, in 
 a determined way, "you might have helped your- 
 self to some of that money and no one would 
 have been the wiser. I tell you, I wouldn't have 
 let such a chance as that slip." 
 
 "Well, I know I might have taken some of it," 
 she answered, thoughtfully, "but I couldn't steaJ
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 from him. Oh! I have mighty good ( .red it 
 among people here now, for every one knows 
 about that money, and that I could have taken 
 it all if I had wished. A reporter came here, and 
 afterward stated in the paper that there was only 
 a small amount, about fifteen hundred dollars, 
 found; but I had it corrected." 
 
 She prattled on for some time about her inti- 
 macy with Mr. Traf ton, until she was interrupted 
 by a noise in the hall bedroom. On going to seo 
 what was the matter, she found the two bindery 
 girls in great excitement, as they had been 
 awakened by a strange man in their room. Ing- 
 hani also went to the door, when Mrs. Sauford 
 told him to get his revolver, as she wanted to 
 shoot any man who should try to break into her 
 rooms. No one was found, but the lower hall 
 door was open, and Ingham went down to lock 
 it. On his return, Mrs. Sanford said that she 
 had a revolver, and that she knew how to use it 
 too. It was about midnight before they retired, 
 but Mrs. Sanford seemed to consider it quite an 
 early hour. 
 
 The next day Ingham was again absent until 
 evening, and Mrs. Sanford scolded him a little for 
 not staying more time with her. He replied that 
 he had been out looking for a chance to make a 
 raise. 
 
 " What kind of a raise?" she asked. 
 
 " Oh! any kind," he replied; " I'm not particu- 
 lar, provided I can get enough to pay for the 
 trouble. If I know of any good hiding place, 1
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 could get a lot of valuable goods some night with 
 out much work, and with no danger." 
 
 " You can brin^ them here, and I will hide 
 them so that they will never be found," she re- 
 plied, in a whisper. 
 
 "That will be a pretty hard thing to do, for 
 these policemen and detectives can find almost 
 anything if they want to. I shouldn't like to 
 bring any plunder here and then have it found in 
 your house, for you would then be punished for 
 receiving stolen goods. 
 
 " Never you fear about me; I know some sharp 
 tricks if I am a woman. I can hide anything you 
 bring, and if they get after you, I can hide you 
 too." 
 
 Iiigham then told her about various criminal 
 devices for obtaining money, which he had prac- 
 ticed in New York several years before, and 
 called her attention to the ease with which they 
 might rob strangers by the "panel " game. She 
 was very much interested, and said that she 
 could easily get hold of some fellow with plenty 
 of money, make him drunk, and then rob him. 
 
 "How I wish you had been here when Mr. 
 Trafton died, for you could have got away with 
 ten or fifteen thousand dollars without any diffi- 
 culty whatever." 
 
 " Yes, it would have been a good chance," he 
 replied; "but I guess we can do nearly as well, 
 if you will be true to me and help me." 
 
 " You can depend upon me for anything," she 
 answered, with great determination, but adding
 
 TEE DETECTIVES AT WORK SOS 
 
 suddenly, in a cautious tone, "that is, anything 
 except murder, you know. I shouldn't like to do 
 that. But I would protect you even if you should 
 kill a man not willfully not willfully, you un- 
 derstand; but if you should be obliged to do it to 
 save yourself, I should not blame you very 
 much." 
 
 "I am determined to 'make a raise,' soon," 
 said Ingham; "but I don't know whether I can 
 trust you." 
 
 "How so?" she asked, as if greatly surprised 
 
 "I am afraid you will 'give me away' to that 
 policeman whom you think so much of." 
 
 "You need not fear anything of the kind, "she 
 said, leaning forward, and speaking slowly and 
 emphatically. " I can help you a great deal, and 
 I would never betray you to any one. I don't 
 think so much of Charlie as I pretend to." 
 
 Soon afterward she had to go into the unfur- 
 nished room to get something, and she asked 
 Ingham to hold the light for her. 
 
 " Why can't you hold it yourself ? " he asked. 
 
 "Well, to tell the truth, I don't like to go into 
 thai room alone," she replied, trying to laugh in 
 an unconcerned way. 
 
 "Why not? You aren't afraid of anything, 
 are you ? " 
 
 "No, not afraid; but I have never felt like go- 
 ing in there since Mr. Trafton died there 1 . 1 < ;m- 
 not help refolUvting the way he looked when 1 
 first saw him hanging over the bedside, with the 
 froth on his lips. I took out all the furniture on
 
 HO THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 that account, but I am going to furnish it again 
 next week, as I can get a good rent for it." 
 
 Ingham went with her as she requested, and 
 he noticed that all the time she was in the room 
 overhauling a trunk containing the things she 
 wanted, she was very restless and nervous. Sev- 
 eral times when she heard a sudden noise she 
 would start and turn pale, as if much frightened. 
 
 Presently the two girls occupying the front 
 room came in and said that they should leave 
 next day, as they were afraid of a man coming 
 into their room as one had done the night before. 
 Mrs. Sanford was evidently not sorry to have 
 them go, and they soon went to bed. 
 
 Ingham and Mrs. Sanford then talked together 
 about their plans for getting money for some 
 time. Her whole mind seemed bent upon one 
 object, to obtain money ; and she seemed to 
 have no scruples whatever as to the means em- 
 ployed. 
 
 "Don't you know of any wealthy fellow who 
 carries considerable money about with him ? " 
 asked Ingham. 
 
 " Oh ! yes ; I know two or three who come 
 here to do business, and I expect one from Can- 
 ada next week. He always has plenty of money 
 with him, so that I have no doubt we could get 
 a big sum out of him." 
 
 "Does he ever drink?" he asked; "I don't 
 want to tackle a sober man, if I can help it." 
 
 "That needn't trouble you," she replied, in a 
 whisper; " I can give him something to keep him 
 quiet."
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 31] 
 
 " How can you do that ?" he inquired, with ap- 
 parent astonishment. 
 
 She then showed him a bottle of morphine, and 
 said that she always kept it for Jiej^^mJiis%-anti 
 that she knew how to give just enough to produce 
 a deep sleep. They finally agreed to lay their 
 plans together, and to make a big haul at the first 
 opportunity. 
 
 Ingham went out again on his prospecting tour 
 next day, but when he returned, in the evening, 
 he had not discovered any good place for a rob- 
 bery. He told Mrs. Sanford, however, that he 
 thought he could get a quantity of counterfeit 
 money at a very low price, and that they could 
 pass a great deal of it, if they were skillful. She 
 liked the idea, and said that she could pass it on 
 a great many people who would never recollect 
 where they received it. She also said that she 
 had a good place to hide it, and that some time 
 she would show him where she had hidden some 
 property, when the police were looking for it. 
 
 "Oh! how I wish you had been here when 
 that man died with eighteen thousand dollars in 
 bonds in his pockets!" she exclaimed. "You 
 could have helped yourself to all you wanted." 
 
 "Yes, indeed," he replied, "I should have 
 made myself rich for life." 
 
 " But could you have disposed of the bonds 
 without being suspected? " she asked. "Wouldn't 
 his friends catch you if they had the numbers of 
 the bonds?" 
 
 "Oh! that wouldn't make any difference.
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 There are millions of dollars afloat of these bonds, 
 and they cannot be traced any more than money." 
 
 "His bonds were all for five hundred dollars 
 e.ich, and they had little tickets on the end, which 
 could be cut off for the interest," she said. "I 
 saw them when the coroner was examining 
 them." 
 
 "Yes, they were undoubtedly five-twenty 
 bonds, and were worth their face in gold." 
 
 " Well, another time, if we get such a chance," 
 she said, "we will take enough to make our- 
 selves comfortable, and leave the rest to remove 
 suspicion." 
 
 On the following day, Ingham returned to his 
 room at Mrs. Sanford's about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and she told him that the two girls and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Graves had left. She said that she 
 had a great fuss with the latter, and that they 
 went away in a state of high wrath against her; 
 besides this, she had had a quarrel with Charlie, 
 the policeman, who had sided with Mrs. Graves 
 during their quarrel. Mrs. Sanford said, further, 
 that Charlie had acted very meanly in not mak- 
 ing her any Christmas or New Year's present, 
 and she didn't care whether he came there again 
 or not. She said that Mrs. Graves had left her 
 trunk to be called for, and that there was no doubt 
 she had stolen some of Mrs. Sanford's towels and 
 other things. She then went to the trunk, opened 
 it, and took out a number of articles, which she 
 said belonged to her. She took the articles into 
 the kitchen, and secreted them in a hole in the
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 813, 
 
 floor, where she was able to take up a board. 
 Ingham thought it rather strange that she should 
 hide these things, if they were her own property, 
 but he said nothing on the subject to Mrs. San- 
 ford. 
 
 About five o'clock a young lady called to see 
 Mrs. Sanford, and they seemed very intimate 
 with each other. When they entered the sitting- 
 room, Mrs. Sanford said: 
 
 " Ida, let me introduce to you Mr. Ingham; this 
 is Miss Ida Musgrove, Mr. Ingham." 
 
 " Mrs. Sanford has spoken of you in such com- 
 plimentary terms, Miss Ida," said Ingham, "that 
 I have been very anxious to meet you." 
 
 "Now, how can you be so foolish, May," said 
 Miss Ida, addressing Mrs. Sanford; "you always 
 talk about me so extravagantly that people are 
 very much disappointed when they meet me. " 
 
 "Oh! that is quite impossible," chimed in 
 Ingham. "I am sure that Mrs. Sanford hardly 
 did you justice." 
 
 "I see, Mr. Ingham, that you are, like all the 
 rest of your sex, a great flatterer," simpered Miss 
 Ida, who was evidently greatly pleased with his 
 compliments, but who wished to appear too 
 modest to believe him to be in earnest. 
 
 Miss Ida was a brilliant brunette of fine fea- 
 tures and figure. She was stylish and graceful 
 in her appearance, and her dress showed re- 
 marknbly good taste. She was very vivacious 
 and merry, but a close observer would have 
 noticed that she was n>t o"l<\\v<l \vith much 
 14
 
 314 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 sentiment, and a physiognomist would have o 
 that she was more interested in the size of a man'a 
 fortune than in his looks or powers to please. 
 The three chatted together very pleasantly for 
 some time, and when Miss Ida rose to go, sh9 
 said that she hoped to have the pleasure of seeing 
 Mr. Ingham again; but she did not inform him 
 where she lived, and was apparently rather indif- 
 ferent with regard to him. 
 
 The next day Mrs. Banford refurnished the 
 back room where Mr. Trafton had died, and 
 Ingham took the room vacated by the Graveses. 
 On the same day, Mrs. Sanford missed her watch, 
 and, after searching for it everywhere, she came 
 to the conclusion that it had been stolen. She 
 was greatly distressed about it, but she could not 
 imagine who could have taken it. 
 
 A few days after this, Ingham came hurriedly 
 into the sitting-room looking as if he had been 
 running hard. He found Mrs. Sanford and Miss 
 Ida in the kitchen, but when the former came 
 into the sitting-room, he gave her a significant 
 look, and said that he had " made a raise." Mrs. 
 Sanford was highly pleased, but she had no time 
 to make inquiries, as Miss Ida came in from the 
 kitchen a moment later. They took supper 
 together, and had a very gay time, as both Ingham 
 and Mrs. Sanford were quite excited over the 
 former's adventure. After Miss Ida had gone 
 home, Ingham gave Mrs. Sanford ten dollars, and 
 told her that he and another man had followed a 
 stranger into the " Burnt District" just at dusk,
 
 THW DETECTIVES AT WORK. 315 
 
 * 
 
 and while the other man choked the stranger, 
 Ingham had ' ' gone through " his pockets. Owing 
 to the fact that there were very few persons and 
 no ga"s-lamps in their vicinity, they had not been 
 observed in their work of robbery until they let 
 the man go, when his shouts had attracted atten- 
 tion. He said that some men had chased them, 
 and that he had escaped by running into a lumber- 
 vnrdj where he h?id-lrrfidftn"thft prrp.fl.ter part, of 
 the plunder. He said that he had obtained a roll 
 of bills, but that he could not tell how much 
 money there was in all, as he had not had time 
 to count it. He said that he did not expect to 
 get much out of it, as he would be obliged to 
 divide with his partner. The day following, Ing- 
 ham, on his return to the house in the evening, 
 found Mrs. Sanford standing in her room fixing 
 her hair, while a man' stood beside lier with his 
 arm around her waist. The door of her^oom 
 was. open, so that Ingham coulcTnbT help seeing 
 them, and he did not stop, but went straight to 
 his own room. Mrs. Sanford soon afterward 
 came to his door and told him that the man ho 
 had seen was Mr. Taylor G. Pratt, the real estate 
 agent, who occupied the back parlor; that he 
 was one of her best friends, and that he wanted 
 to marry her. He had been away for the holi- 
 days, and had only just returned. She had told 
 him that Ingham was her brother from Detroit, 
 and that he was going to remain with h<>r for 
 some time. Ingham was then introduced to Mi 
 Pratt, and they talked with each other until
 
 316 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 supper -time. * Pratt was a middle-aged ii.an, with 
 a mean looking face and suspicious manner. 
 They went to a restaurant for supper, and the 
 gentlemen paid the bill equally. Pratt seemed 
 to oxpect Mrs. Sanford to pay her share, and this 
 made her angry, though she said nothing about 
 the matter at the time. When alone with Ing- 
 ham, however, she said that Pratt was a miserly 
 cub, with no generosity whatever. She borrowed 
 five dollars from him, nevertheless, and then 
 invented a story about having lost the money to 
 escape paying it back. 
 
 The next evening, when Ingham returned to 
 his lodgings, he found Mrs. Sanford in a sad 
 plight ; one eye was wholly closed and discol- 
 ored, while her whole face was bruised and in- 
 flamed to such an extent as to make her an un- 
 pleasant object to look at. Charlie Stokes, the 
 policeman, was sitting by the stove, and Mrs. 
 Sanford, with her head done up in wet towels, 
 was moaning on the sofa. She explained that 
 Mrs. Graves had been there, and had seized her 
 by the throat, beaten, scratched, and kicked "tier 
 until she was perfectly helpless from her in- 
 juries. Charlie, the policeman, was trying to 
 condole with her, but he was evidently out of 
 favor, for she finally told him to go out and not 
 bother her any long< 
 
 Ingham told her that she certainly ought to 
 have Mrs. Graves arrested and punished se- 
 verely, and he petted her so nicely that she said 
 he was her best friend, and that she would do
 
 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 311 
 
 anything for him. He prepared a dressing for 
 her black eye, and got some supper for her, tell- 
 ing her that on Monday that day being Satur- 
 day she ought to get out a warrant for the ar- 
 .rest of Mrs. Graves. 
 
 " Why didn't you hit her with the poker ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 "I did pick it up," she replied, "but I was 
 afraid to hit her for fear I should kill her." 
 
 "Well, it would have served her just right, 
 for she had no business to attack you first." 
 
 "I know that; but if I had killed her, just 
 think how awful it would be ! Why, her ghost 
 would haunt me forever after. I don't want to 
 be haunted. I'm afraid now to go into the room 
 where Trafton died, and 1 wouldn't go in there 
 alone after dark for fifty dollars." 
 
 Ingham comforted her all he could, but finally 
 he said that he must go out for a time, and he 
 did not return until about ten o'clock. He then 
 went upstairs quietly, and went to bed. Two or 
 three hours later, a heavy, groaning sound was 
 heard in the house. It was difficult to tell ex- 
 actly whence it came, but Ingham heard Mrs. 
 Sanf ord spring up and open her door. He did the 
 same, and saw her listening at the half -open door. 
 The groans were not exactly like those of a person 
 in distress, but they resembled the eff orts of some 
 singe ghost in a blood-and-thunder drama. Sud- 
 denly Mrs. Sanf ord stepped out, with her revolver 
 in her hand, and began to walk toward the hall. 
 He instantly overtook her and askod her, in a
 
 318 THE DETECTIVES AT WORK. 
 
 whisper, what she was going to do. She made a 
 significant motion with her revolver, and again 
 stopped to listen. He then took the pistol away 
 from her, saying that the noise was probably duo 
 to some drunken man who had got into the hall. 
 He told her to go back to bed, and he would in- 
 vestigate. Accordingly, he went into the hall, 
 and soon Mrs. Sanford heard him dragging a 
 maudlin drunken fellow downstairs. This affair 
 had been arranged by me, in the hope of fright- 
 ening Mrs. Sanford into making some kind of a 
 confession, but she was not so easily alarmed as I 
 had hoped. The door had been left open by 
 Ingham on his return to the house, and another 
 detective had been sent to the top of the stairs to 
 make the groans. From the determined way in 
 which she walked out, with her pistol in readi- 
 ness, it was evident that she would not have hesi- 
 tated to shoot the unfortunate ghost on sight. 
 
 The next day Ingham showed her a fine gold 
 watch, which he said he had snatched out of a 
 man's pocket in a crowd. She wanted him to 
 steal one for her, and he promised to do so, if 
 possible, though it was more difficult to get a 
 lady's watch. She then advised him to be careful 
 to see that there was no private mark on the 
 watch, lest he should be detected thereby. Then 
 she asked whether the numbers on government 
 bonds were all different. He said that there were 
 different series, which were exactly alike except 
 the letter, and he tried to explain the matter to 
 her, but she could not understand it. She also
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 310 
 
 wanted to know whether the bonds could be sold 
 in a foreign country, and he told her yes; thai 
 that was the best way to sell them, if there was 
 anything wrong about them. After some fur- 
 ther conversation, she said she thought of going 
 to Canada soon, and perhaps she would like him 
 to take charge of her rooms while she was away. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 The Dangerous Side of the Woman's Character. Mr. 
 Pinkerton makes a new Move. Robert A. P////,-- 
 erton as Adamson, the drunken, but wealt/t>/ y 
 Stranger. A "funny " Game of Cards. 2 he 
 drunken Stranger has a violent Struggle to escape 
 from Mrs. Sanford, and is afterwards robbed 
 according to the Papers. Detective Ingham ar- 
 rested, but vert/ shortly liberated. 
 
 IT has already been observed by the reader 
 that, while Ingham had learned nothing 
 new about the fate of poor Trafton, he had ob- 
 tained a very excellent understanding of Mrs. 
 Sanford's character. Her most prominent char- 
 acteristic was the love of money, and this passion 
 seemed to overpower all others. HexJanguage 
 and manners at times showed that she had once 
 
 h^r rend 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ing and declamations from Shakespeare and other 
 poets^gavnTeviSonco of groat natnTaT" talents. 
 Combined with her greed for money was a strong
 
 320 A " FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 element of sensuality, and though she usually 
 granted her favors only where she expected a 
 large pecuniary reward, still, at times, she was 
 apparently as prodigal in that regard as if she 
 had no care whatever for money. 
 
 Her mind, was naturally powerful, and I had 
 little hope of breaking down her will ; she would 
 evidently show fight to the last, and all that I 
 could hope would be to learn enough secretly to 
 insure her conviction without her confession. 
 She was as shrewd as if all her life had been 
 passed in evading the toils of the law; even in 
 her sleep, or when pretending to sleep, she would 
 talk with great freedom; but, as she never gave 
 any intelligence of importance on such occasions, 
 I put little faith in the soundness of her sleep. 
 In her readiness to assist Ingham to hide his 
 plunder, I saw the dangerous side of this woman's 
 nature strongly revealed. If she were so willing 
 to act as an accomplice in one crime, why not in 
 another? As she had been so successful in her 
 encounter with Trafton, might she not be glad to 
 carry out the same scheme again? At least, there 
 would be no harm in puling an opportunity be- 
 fore her, and her actions in one case might give 
 some clue to those by which she had succeeded 
 in the former affair. 
 
 " Yes, that will be a good plan," I soliloquized; 
 "I will send a young fellow there with a large 
 sum of money, and he will get drunk. Then, if 
 she tries to rob him, I shall be certain that she 
 did the same with young Trafton."
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDH. 321 
 
 I therefore arranged that Ingham should pre- 
 tend that he had made the acquaintance of a 
 stranger from the East, who had a large sum of 
 money; he was to tell Mrs. Sanford that he would 
 bring the stranger to her rooms to spend the 
 evening; the stranger would be rather drunk 
 when he arrived there, and uhey would-giy_hini. 
 more liquor, until he should bo quito drunk; if 
 she should then try to rob him, he would get 
 away as well as possible, and Ingham would go 
 after him. In a little while, Ingham would re- 
 turn and show her a package of bonds, stolen 
 from the stranger, and tell her that he had 
 knocked the man down with a brick, bfore rob- 
 bing him. The next morning a noMce would ap- 
 pear in the papers to the effec^that a stranger 
 had been found in the burnt district, lying on the 
 ground in an insensible condition, having been 
 knocked down and robbed. 
 
 Ingham was instructed as to his part in the af- 
 fair, and next day he told Mrs. Sanford that there 
 was a young fellow down town whose acquaint- 
 ance he had made, who had a large amount of 
 money with him. Ingham said that the man's 
 name was Adamson, and that he was a gambler in 
 good luck. He wanted to bring Adamsou to the 
 house that evening, and she was very anxious 
 that he should come. 
 
 I intrusted the stranger's part to my son, Rob- 
 ert A. Pinkerton, who assumed the name of 
 Adamson for the occasion. 
 
 Accordingly, the two detectives met at my 
 U*
 
 322 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 office, and Adamson was given five hundred dol 
 lars in fifty dollar bonds. They then went to 
 Mrs. Sanford's house, and, on arriving there, 
 Mr. Adamson was quite unsteady on his legs. 
 Mrs. Sanford was nicely dressed to receive the 
 stranger, and she made herself very agreeable to 
 him, in spite of his apparent drunkenness. They 
 caE&rTTogether for a time, and then Adam- 
 
 son proposed to play euchre with Ingham seven 
 points for five dollars a game. While they were 
 playing, Adamson became quite reckless, and he 
 threw down his cards with such a look of 
 drunken gravity as to be quite amusing. He lost 
 almost every game, and, at length, he wanted to 
 go out for a drink. Mrs. Sanford told him to go 
 on with his game, and she would get what he 
 wished. 
 
 "What do you want to drink?" she asked. 
 
 "Anything excep' warrer," he replied. 
 
 " What do you know about water? " asked Ing- 
 ham; "I don't believe you can tell how it looks." 
 
 "Tha's a lie. I know how to tell warrer 's 
 well's you. I (hie) can allus tell warrer it looks 
 jus' like gin. Get us some gin." 
 
 While Mrs. Sanford was gone, Ingham and 
 Adamson arranged that the latter should pretend 
 to have lost all his money to the former, and 
 that he should insist upon playing one game for 
 fifty dollars. This he was to lose, and he was to 
 become angry and go away. Adamson then gave 
 Ingham about fifty dollars to show as his win- 
 nings, and presently Mrs. Sanford came in. She
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 323 
 
 had been introduced to Adamson under the as 
 sumed name of Mrs. Eobertson, and he therefore 
 addressed her by that name. 
 
 " Mi-s. Bob'son, 'f you'd come sooner (hie), 
 you'd ha' seen th' funniest game 't ever was 
 played. Never 'ad such bad luck 'n m' life, an' 
 now I've los' all m' money. Gimme big (hie) 
 drink of gin." 
 
 Mrs. Sanford poured him a glass half full, and 
 also poured a little into two other glasses. When 
 she turned her head, Ingham emptied the con- 
 tents ot^ws-gl^ajJitoJLQ.cpal-scuttle, exchanged 
 glasses with Adamson, and emptied his drink into 
 the same place. When they stood up to drink, 
 Mrs. Sanford was the only one who really did so, 
 the two men merely going through the motions, 
 with great apparent satisfaction. Adamson then 
 became more and more exjcited. 
 
 "Tell you, Miss'r Hang'em, or whatever y'r 
 name is, I'll play you a (hie) game f'r fiffy dolls; 
 can beat you 't euchre any day th' week. Wha' 
 you say? Wan' to play? " 
 
 " No, I don't want to play for so much, but I'll 
 play you for twenty-five dollars." 
 
 " Fiffy or nothin'. Come, now; 'f you're'fraid 
 to play, say so. I c'n play like a steam- whissle, 
 I can." 
 
 " I'll play you for twenty-five," replied Inghaiu, 
 irresolutely. 
 
 " No, sir; I won't (hie) play'ny more small 
 games. You've won more'n fiffy doll'rs fr'm me 
 IKJW. 'n I wan' in' ivvcii-v. Yougoin'ter gimme 
 a (hie; chance f win it !
 
 32* A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 " All right," said Ingham ; "I'll play you just 
 one game for fifty dollars, and then we'll stop, no 
 matter who wins. Just wait a minute, until 1 
 go to my room for a handkerchief." 
 
 While he was gone, Adamson pulled out a 
 package of ten United States bonds, of the de- 
 nomination of fifty dollars each, and said that lie 
 would put up one of them against Ingham's fifty 
 dollars, and that he should send the rest to his 
 mother. When Ingham returned, he counted 
 out fifty dollars, and Adamson laid down one of 
 his bonds. 
 
 "What's that?" asked Ingham. "Is that 
 worth fifty dollars?" and picking it up, he ex- 
 amined it carefully. 
 
 " Yes'r ; tha's worth more'n fiffy doll'rs; tha's 
 worth fiffy doll'rs in gold." 
 
 " Will you guarantee that it is good and all 
 right ? " asked Ingham. 
 
 "Course I will; didn't you ever see a (hie) 
 bond b'f ore?" 
 
 " Oh ! I know that's all right," said Mrs. San- 
 ford, who was beginning to show the effect of 
 the gin very strongly ; " I've had bon's like that, 
 too. Th' young man who died here had eighteen 
 thousan' bonds like this." 
 
 "Well, all right," said Ingham; "let us cut 
 for deal." 
 
 / As the game progressed, Mrs. Sanford felt the 
 /strength of the gin more and more, and she soon 
 / became quite sick. Ingham got her some warn? 
 \ water, and she went into her own room to vomit 
 
 V^
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 325 
 
 She soon returned, feeling much better, a nd the 
 game went on, Ingham winning by one point. 
 Adamson then became very angry, and said he 
 was going out ; and, although the others begged 
 him to stay, he put on his overcoat and insisted 
 on going away. Ingham finally said that he 
 didn't care whether Adamson went or stayed, and, 
 so saying, he walked off to his own room. Mrs. 
 Sanf ord used every argument to induce Adamson 
 to stay all night, but, with a drunken man's obsti- 
 nacy, he refused to remain any longer. He walked 
 downstairs, with Mrs. Sanford clinging to him 
 and coaxing him all the way, until they reached 
 the lower landing, when she rjujjimx.ta^fe-s^ainst' 
 thejiooj^-and rofuood to let hiKUQut. They then 
 had a violent struggle, in the course of which she 
 tore open his coat and vest in the endeavor to get 
 at the bonds in his breast pocket. Finally, he 
 was obliged to use all his force to get away, as 
 she was like a tigress in her anger, and was evi- 
 dently determined to rob him. Indeed, had he 
 not been an active, muscular young man, she 
 would, undoubtedly, have finished him then ainl 
 there ; as it was, he barely succeeded in making 
 his escape, by forcing her back upon the stairs, 
 and then springing out of the door before she 
 could seize him again. 
 
 Meantime, Ingham was a silent spectator of 
 this scene from "the top of tn^^tairs7^v5iereTTe~ 
 stooorieldii]^ike4amp-. SsHoon as Adamson was 
 out, Ingham rushed down and told Mrs. Sanford 
 that he intvu<k-d t<> ha\v thofe bonds anyhow.
 
 326 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 He told her to sit up for him, and then ran out 
 after Adam son. In less than an hour, he re- 
 turned and saw Mrs. Sanford watching for him 
 from a front window. When he went upstairs, 
 she was still somewhat under the influence of the 
 liquor she had* drank, but she asked him where 
 he had been. 
 
 "That's all right," he replied, flipping over the 
 ends of the package of bonds; "I guess I've 
 made a good enough haul this time." 
 
 "Oh! you are a splendid fellow," she said, 
 leaning on his shoulder. "I didn't think you 
 would dare to do it." 
 
 "I dare to do anything where there is any 
 money to be made. You won't go back on me, 
 will you?" 
 
 " What do you mean? " she asked. 
 
 " I mean, that you won't give me away to the 
 police ? " he asked, anxiously. 
 
 "Why, of course I won't," she replied. "I 
 never yet went back on any one who did the fair 
 thing by me; and I know you will do that, won't 
 you?" 
 
 "Oh! certainly I will ; I will make you a nice 
 present to-morrow." 
 
 " I don't want a present to-morrow," she said, 
 sullenly ; " I want my share now." 
 
 " But I shall have to cash these bonds first," he 
 said. " They would be of no use to you in their 
 present shape." 
 
 " I can get them cashed as well as you can," 
 she replied. "Come, hand over; I don't want 
 half, but 1 want m now."
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 327 
 
 " What is your hurry ? " he demanded. " Can't 
 you wait until to-morrow ? " 
 
 " No, I can't; I want my share, and if you are 
 
 going to be mean, I will be mean too. You can't 
 
 keep those bonds unless I say so, and if I choose 
 
 to report you, I can have them all taken from 
 
 ^ you, besides sending you to Joliet." 
 
 "Oh! if that's the way you talk," replied Ing- 
 nam, "I shall know what to do. If you can't 
 trust me until to-morrow, I can't trust you at all. 
 You can't scare me by threats, and if you want 
 to get any of this money, you must deal fairly 
 with me; I'm not afraid of being arrested." 
 
 "All right, then," she answered, with a wicked 
 look in her eye; "we'll see whether you will 
 ' come down ' or not. If you want to keep it 
 all, I shall take care that you don't keep any of 
 it. I'm going to the police station at once." 
 
 She was, evidently, just ugly enough to do as 
 she said; and, as Ingham had the bonds in his 
 possession, he did not fancy the idea of letting 
 her go for the officers just then; so he replied: 
 
 " You can go right along, if you want to, but, 
 in that case, I shall go somewhere else." 
 
 He then quickly brought his hat and overcoat 
 into the sitting-room; and, seeing that she was 
 still making preparations to go out, he took a 
 hurried departure, taking a room at a small hotel 
 for the night. 
 
 In the Chicago Tribune of January 14, 1872, 
 the following item appeared:
 
 328 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 " HIGHWAY BOBBERY. 
 
 " At about twelve o'clock last night, an officei 
 of Pinkerton's Preventive Police stumbled ovei 
 the body of a man near the corner of State and 
 Washington streets. Stooping down, he discov- 
 ered that the man was half drunk, half insensi- 
 ble, bruised and bleeding. On being restored to 
 his senses, he gave his name as Robert Adamson, 
 stating'that he had come from Troy, New York, 
 having with him several hundred dollars in cur- 
 rency and bonds. The time between drinks was 
 very short yesterday afternoon, and he has no 
 clear idea of what happened after dark, up to the 
 time the officer found him minus his money and 
 valuables. He remembers drinking frequently 
 with a stranger, who made himseli>very agree- 
 able, but cannot state the time when they parted 
 company. He describes the stranger as a tall 
 slender man, with black side- whiskers, giving a 
 sufficiently minute description of him to afford 
 the police a valuable clue, and it is lively that the 
 highwayman will soon be overhauled^" 
 
 About noon of the day that the above was pub- 
 lished, Ingham went to cah 1 upon Mrs. Sanford, 
 and she received him very coolly. 
 
 " How do you feel this morning ?" he asked. 
 " Does your head ache ? " 
 
 "No, I feel all right," she replied. "Have 
 you seen that fellow that was here last night ? " 
 
 "No, I have not seen him," he replied. " Why 
 do you ask ? Has he been here looking for me ? "
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 329 
 
 "Yes, he came here this morning, and asked 
 me all kinds of questions about you; and now, if 
 you are arrested, it will be your own fault. I 
 would have shielded you, if you had done the 
 fair thing by me; but now you must look out for 
 yourself." 
 
 "You are very unreasonable, Mrs. Sanford,'' 
 he replied; "it would have been very dangerous 
 to have left any of those bonds with you, for if 
 the man had brought the police here, they would 
 have searched the house, and would have found 
 the bonds. Then you would have been arrested, 
 and you would have been obliged to tell where 
 you got the bonds. Now, as soon as I get the 
 bonds cashed, I will treat you handsomely, but I 
 do not intend to run any risks." 
 
 "There would have been no danger of their 
 finding the bonds, if you had left them with me; 
 and, even if they had found them, I never would 
 have told where I got them. You might have 
 been fair enough to give me one hundred dollars 
 at least." 
 
 "He did not have any money besides what I 
 won from him, except the bonds; and, as I said 
 before, I did not dare to leave those in the 
 house." 
 
 I ever let you intojnj--kogse," 
 **! thought a great deal of 
 ypu, and I expected to assislfytra-^wfeeirl received 
 my^mryaey-fJjut now I have lost confidence in 
 you. I suppose, if you got a chance at my 
 money, you would take that too. I begin to
 
 A 
 
 , \ 330 A " FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 ML 
 
 \ think I know where my watch went ; the letee- 
 tive wanted to search you for it two or three 
 times, but I wouldn't let him, and this is the way 
 you reward my confidence." 
 
 "Mrs. Sanford, you are talking wild," he 
 answered, angrily. -" I have always treated you 
 well, and when I made a raise the other day, I 
 gave you a part of it. I intended to do the same 
 this time, but you acted so suspiciously that I 
 thought best to wait awhile. Now, as soon as I 
 get these bonds cashed, I will give you some 
 more money, but not till then." 
 
 " You can keep your old money," she retorted ; 
 "I don't want any of it. You think you were 
 very smart, yesterday, but you don't know what 
 danger you are in. I could have 
 this verv-daauf I chose.' 
 
 :now you could ; but what good would it 
 do you? I shoujd-be punished, to be sure, but 
 you would not get a cent ; while, if you keep 
 quiet, I will make you a fine present." 
 
 "I don't want your present, nor you either," 
 she replied. "I don't want you in jnjUiQuse^ any 
 longer." Thenfas^TrlgJia^n^siiarfed toward his 
 roV5m7~s1ie said: "Keep out of there; you can't go 
 into that room, for I've let it to a young couple, 
 who are in there now." 
 
 "All light, then," replied Ingham; "I will call 
 again to-morrow." 
 
 "You needn't take things so mighty cool," she 
 replied, perfectly white with anger. ""pu 
 firj^-^otifselfin jail before you know it."
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 331 
 
 "I know it," he answered, carelessly; "but it's 
 my nature to take things cool, and so, if you 
 want to put me in jail, you can; but you can't 
 scare me a bit, and you may as well understand 
 it first as last." 
 
 The following morning, I received from Mr. 
 Trafton, who was then in Philadelphia, the num- 
 ber of the bonds which were missing. They 
 were five-twenty bonds of the issue of 1865, num- 
 bers 57,109 and 87,656, series A, and number 
 37,515, series B. Information of the robbery had 
 been sent to the Treasury Department at Wash- 
 ington, and to all the sub-treasurers in the United 
 States, in order that, in case any of the interest 
 coupons should be presented for payment, they 
 might be traced back, possibly, to the hands of 
 the thief. 
 
 In The Tribune of Monday appeared the fol- 
 lowing item : 
 
 "BEATEN AND ROBBED. 
 
 "A MAN TAKES A WALK WITH A COMPARATIVE 
 STRANGER, AND IS KNOCKED DOWN AND ROB- 
 BED OF NEARLY $1,000 IX GREENBACKS. 
 
 "Mention was made in yesterday's TRIBUNE of 
 the finding of a man, named Robert Adamson, 
 on the corner of State and Washington, strc- 
 he having been bcairn and robbed of several hun- 
 dred dollars in greenbacks. The police were look- 
 ing for him yesterday, but failed to find him. It 
 was ascertained that he had been boarding at No.
 
 332 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 92 West Madison street, and that, on Saturday 
 night, he indulged in several games of euchro 
 with a man who also boarded at the place. While 
 the game was in progress, and Adamson was ui? 
 der the influence of liquor, he displayed an ex- 
 press company's envelope full of money. At the 
 conclusion of the game, the two men went out to 
 'take a walk.' Yesterday morning, Adamson's 
 companion returned to the house, and, it 4s said, 
 offered che landlady $500 if she would say noth- 
 ing about his having played cards with Adamson. 
 She refused, and would not allow the fellow to 
 take his trunk away, which he wanted to do very 
 badly. The landlady sent her little daughter to 
 police headquarters for an officer, and one was 
 sent over to arrest the man; but he had left pre- 
 vious to the officer's arrival. It is not known 
 how much money Adamson had, but it must 
 have been in the neighborhood of $1,000, or the 
 man who took it would not have made such a 
 munificent offer to have the fact of the theft 
 kept secret." 
 
 In accordance with my instructions, Ingham 
 went to Mrs. Sanford's house about noon on 
 Monday. He told her that he had read in the 
 paper that she had reported him to the police as 
 being the assailant of Eobert Adamson. She de- 
 nied ever having done so, and offered to swear 
 that she had never betrayed him. He replied 
 that he felt sure there must be a mistake, as he 
 could not believe it possible that she would be-
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 333 
 
 tray him. He felt perfect confidence in her, and 
 had no fears that she would try to have him ar- 
 rested. 
 
 "Besides," he continued, "I don't care now 
 whether they arrest me or not. I'm not afraid 
 of being held, for I am generally sllfuvvd wfough 
 to cover my tracks pretty thoroughly, if I have a 
 start of two or three days." 
 
 "You can't prove that you didn't rob that 
 man," she replied. 
 
 "I don't need to; all the proof must come from, 
 the other side, and they haven't any witnesses 
 who can swear that I did the robbery." 
 
 "I could prove it, if I choose to go against 
 you," she said. 
 
 "No, you couldn't," he replied. "You didn't 
 see me; and, while your testimony would, per- 
 haps, be circumstantial evidence, your oath 
 would be no better than mine, as you have no 
 one to swear to the same thing." 
 
 have great cr 
 she said in a boasting manner. " They recollect 
 the finding of eighteen thousand dollars under 
 the pillow of the young man who died here, and 
 they have all confidence in me, for they_koTrT 
 might have easfly r T5toien-^4Lhe-kah l3ut I think 
 it is best never to do anything wrong, and then 
 there is no fear of getting into trouble." 
 
 "That's all right, if you can do it," he replied; 
 "but I must have a living, and if I can't get it 
 one way, I will another. " 
 
 Just then some one knocked at the door, and
 
 334 A " FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 presently Charlie Stokes, the policeman, walked 
 in. They talked together a few minutes, and 
 then Stokes said: 
 
 " Step this way a moment, Mr. Ingham, I wish 
 to speak to you alone." 
 
 They walked to the head of the stairs, and Ing- 
 ham then asked what he wished to talk about. 
 
 " Well, there seems to be some kind of a mis- 
 understanding at the police station/' said Stokes, 
 keeping his eye^-QBr-the-grQund) " and-they have 
 sejiti me4e-^sk you towall_arQimd to the-office." 
 "misanderstanSmg about what ? " asked 
 Ingham. ' " What do you mean?" 
 
 "Well, you know all about it," continued 
 Stokes, in the same mysterious way. 
 
 " I beg your pardon ; I don't know what you 
 have reference to ; please explain." 
 
 "Oh! you know well enough. You are 
 ranted on account of that man you robbed last 
 'Saturday night." 
 
 " I did not rob any man Saturday night, and I 
 am surprised that you should make such a 
 \charge against me, knowing me as well as you 
 lo," said Ingham, in an injured tone. 
 
 " I have nothing to do with it," replied Stokes. 
 " I am simply obeying the captain's order, and I 
 have no personal feeling against you whatever ; 
 but I have been sent to take you down to the 
 station, and I must obey orders." 
 
 "-Theiry&iL2J?i j estr s me^ inquired Ingham. 
 
 " Well, you must go to the station with me to 
 see the captain."
 
 A. "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 335 
 
 "Not unless you arrest me," replied Ingham. 
 " I want to know whether I am to consider my- 
 self under arrest." 
 
 "Yes, you can consider yourself arrested, if 
 you want to," replied Stokes, who did not seem 
 to like fVKAq,Ve f.hft rftspansubiJ-il^ nf nulling 
 ciieiuustaiices. 
 
 "I don't want to, and I shan't, unless you say 
 so," persisted Ingham. ' 
 
 ' ' Well, then, I do say so, and we will go now. 
 We ,can walk along to^etker-4iko two friends. 
 howeyjay ^anfFrKrone neea^know that you are my 
 prisoner." 
 
 "I don't care who knows it," said Ingham; 
 "but I think there is somethingustfange in tha 
 way of arrestingjne." 
 
 ^ W ell, JTTiope you will come out all right," 
 Stokes replied, adding significantly, "and per- 
 haps you will, if certain folks don't appear 
 against you." 
 
 "I'm not afraid," replied Ingham; "there is 
 no one who can say anything against me." 
 
 On arriving at the station, the same considera- 
 tion was shown to him, and the station-keeper 
 asked him to make himself comfortable in the 
 main sitting-room. 
 
 "Am I under arrest ? " he asked again. 
 
 "I^oTHot exactly j^you can take it easy for a 
 time, and you Tvill-harvo an examination Soon.'' 
 
 "If ! am not under arrest," Ingham replied, 
 "I shall not stay here." 
 
 "Why not?" asked the station-keeper.
 
 A "FUNNY' GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 " Because I have no business here unless I am 
 a prisoner," was Ingham's reply. 
 
 llWfi-cgii lock youjipja-^rt^TITlFwS waul, to, 4 * 
 feaid the station-keeper; "but we thought you 
 would prefer to be comfortable up here." 
 
 "^hen I flr,m a-pri spn erJ-" again inquired Ing- 
 ham, wn7)~-!5el3rned anxious to have his status 
 satisfactorily explained. 
 
 "Yes, confound it ; if you are determined to 
 have it so, you are." 
 
 About five o'clock the sergeant of police came 
 in, and asked Ingham his name. 
 
 "Ingham," was the reply. 
 
 4 ' Jack Ingham ? " 
 
 "No ; John Ingham." 
 
 "What is your business ? " asked the sergeant. 
 
 "I'm not employed at all, just now. 
 
 "Have you ever had any work to do in this 
 city ? " again queried the sergeant. 
 
 "No; not yet." 
 
 "Who was that man you were playing cards 
 with the other night ? " 
 
 "What night ? " asked Ingham. 
 
 "Well, Saturday night." 
 
 " Whereabouts ? " 
 
 <l At your boarding place." 
 
 " Oh ! I play cards with a great many fellows," 
 Ingham replied. "I don't know which one you 
 mean.'' 
 
 "Well, we know who he was," said the ser- 
 geant. 
 
 "Then what are you asking me for?" said 
 Ingham. " Am I under arrest? "
 
 A "FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. '/ 337 
 
 'I guess you will have to stay here awhile," 
 was the sergeant's reply. 
 
 Presently a number of persons came into the 
 room, and Ingham thought he saw among them 
 one of the bindery girls who had formerly lodged 
 with Mrs. Sanford. She looked at him very hard, 
 and then went out into the hall, where he could 
 hear her talking with the station-keeper and 
 Stokes. He also heard the sergeant call a police- 
 man and give him some instructions, in which 
 Ingham caught the words, " Pinkertoii's office." 
 The man then put on his coat and went out. 
 Presently the sergeant approached him again, 
 and, looking at him significantly, said: 
 
 ''Now we know all about your playing cards 
 with that man, and afterward fobbing him." 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," Ingham re- 
 plied; "I don't know what man you are talking 
 about." 
 
 " Didn't you see that piece in the paper yester- 
 day? " asked the sergeant. 
 
 " I saw a number of pieces in the paper yester- 
 day, but I can't tell which one you are referring 
 to." 
 
 The sergeant then showed him the item headed 
 " Highway Robbery," and said: 
 
 " Now, we can prove that you came back to 
 your landlady with a large package of money, 
 and offered her five hundred dollars to keep quiet 
 about the fact of your having played cards with 
 this young fellow, and then having followed him 
 out." 
 
 13
 
 338 A " FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 
 
 " Well, if you can prove that, you had better 
 do it," said Ingham; then, changing his tone, and 
 looking straight in the sergeant's face, he added: 
 
 any 
 
 them." 
 
 muttered something about lock- 
 ing him up, .and started to go out. 
 
 " If you lockT me up," replied Ingham, coolly, 
 " I kepe~-yoiL_are prepared Jo_tak:e the conse- 
 querrees^ 
 
 " Who the deyil^are you, anyhow? " agkd tho 
 
 " No relation of yours, I assure you," was the 
 reply, and the sergeant went away. 
 
 At this time, a tall, dignified man came in and 
 asked the station-keeper a question. The police- 
 man replied that there was no such man there. 
 
 " I know better than that," said the stranger, 
 " and I must see him," 
 
 The station-keeper declared positively that they 
 had no such man, and the stranger then went up 
 stairs. In a few minutes the sergeant came in 
 and told Ingham to follow him. As they were 
 going upstairs, they met the tall stranger coming 
 down. Ingham felt confident that this man was 
 looking for him, and, in passing, he pinched the 
 stranger's leg. The pinch was returned, and the 
 tall man stopped; but Ingham and the sergeant 
 went up to the captain's room. After asking 
 Ingham his name, the captain said: 
 
 "Where were you last Saturday night ? " 
 
 " That is none of your business," said Ingham.
 
 A c ' FUNNY" GAME OF CARDS. 339 
 
 "Come, now, you needn't put on any airs," 
 said the captain; "I want to know all about 
 this." 
 
 " Captain," Ingham replied, " if you have any 
 charges against me, I should like to hear them. 
 I don't put on any airs, but I want to know what 
 I am under arrest for." 
 
 Turning to the sergeant, the captain said : 
 
 " How long would it take you to bring that 
 man on here, sergeant ? " 
 
 " Three or four days, at least," was the an- 
 swer. 
 
 Just then the tall stranger entered, and the 
 captain took him into a private room, where they 
 remained some time. When they came out, the 
 sergeant joined the captain for a few minutes, 
 while the tall gentleman introduced himself to 
 Ingham as Judge B , and said that the cap- 
 tain would let him go. This prove<l true, for the 
 captain very soon came out, and told Ingham 
 that he was at liberty.
 
 340 CONNECTING LINKS 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Connecting LinJes. Mrs. Stanford's Ability as an Imi- 
 tator of Actors. One Detective tears himself away 
 from her, and another takes his Place. Mrs. San- 
 forcVs mind frequently burdened with the Subject of 
 Murder. New Evidence appearing. A. Peep at the 
 stolen Bonds. The Shrewdness of the Murderess. 
 
 INGHAM did not return to* Mrs. Sanford's un- 
 til late in the evening of the day of his arrest. 
 On arriving there, he was admitted by Charlie 
 Stokes, the policeman, who seemed very much 
 surprised to see him. Mrs. Sanford was also 
 quite astonished, and turned very pale on seeing 
 him. However, they soon began talking in a very 
 friendly way, expressing their regret at his arrest 
 and their pleasure at his release. Charlie did 
 not remain long, and after he was gone Mrs. San- 
 ford made all kinds of inquiries as to the manner 
 of his escape. 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Sanford," he replied, "I told you 
 they couldn't hold me. There was absolutely no 
 evidence against me, and they were afraid to 
 dven lock me up. I have been ten years in this 
 business, in New Orleans and elsewhere, and I 
 have never been caught yet. The only thing 
 which puzzles me, is to account for my being ar- 
 rested at all ! " 
 
 "You don't suspect that I had any hand in it, 
 I hope ? " asked Mrs. Sanford.
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 341 
 
 " Oh, no indeed ! I trust you perfectly; but T 
 think that one of those bindery girls may have 
 seen me with Adamson on the street. One of 
 them came into the station while I was there, 
 and looked at me very hard, as if trying to identify 
 me. Still, I don't see how she could have sus- 
 pected anything, unless some one put her up to it. " 
 
 " Perhaps-some bartender may have seen you 
 drinking with him during the afternoon," she 
 suggested, "and he may have described you to 
 the police." 
 
 " Well, I should like to know who it was," he 
 said, savagely, "for I would shoot him like a 
 dog." 
 
 As Mrs. Sanford had rented Ingham's room, 
 there was no place for him to stay, and he went 
 away about midnight, telling her that he would 
 return next day. He did not go there, however, 
 until after dark, as he felt confident that the police 
 would try to "shadow" him. He found Mrs. 
 Sanford quite uneasy about him, as she thought 
 he had been arrested again. He invited her to 
 go to the theatre, and, on their way home, they 
 stopped at a restaurant to get a late supper. As 
 there were no accommodations for him, he was 
 obliged to go to a hotel for the night, but Mrs. 
 Sanford promised to have a bed put into the un- 
 furnished room for him the next day. The next 
 afternoon he called ng;iin, and Mrs. Sanford said 
 that Charlie had been there, and had told her all 
 about their visit to the theatre the night befoiv. 
 She said that he knew exactly where they had
 
 342 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 been, what they had had for supper, and. what 
 they had paid. Ingham was thus made aware 
 that he was being watched, and his position, 
 therefore, became very embarrassing. 
 
 "Oh! by the way," she exclaimed, suddenly, 
 " did I tell you that I got back my watch ? " 
 
 " No; how did you recover it ? " he asked. 
 
 "Well, that man Graves had it, and I had to 
 pay one hundred dollars to get it back." 
 
 "That was a great shame," said Ingham, sym- 
 pathetically, as if he fully believed her. 
 
 ' ' Yes, I got my watch and several other trin- 
 kets, which I had all together in one box. See, 
 here they are," she said, producing a box. 
 
 Ingham looked at them with great interest, 
 and, among the old sleeve-buttons, odd earrings, 
 and other broken pieces of jewelry, he saw two 
 gold shirt studs, one diamond-shaped, and the 
 other star-shaped. This was a small matter, but 
 it was one of the connecting links, nevertheless, 
 in the chain of evidence against her; for, from 
 the description, I felt sure that these were young 
 Trafton's missing studs. 
 
 Ingham spent the evening with her, and she 
 was very friendly indeed, seeming anxious to re- 
 move any suspicion he might have that she was 
 responsible for his arrest. She had made no ar- 
 rangements for him to sleep there, however, and 
 so he went to a small hotel for the night. When 
 he reported at my office the following day, I g; 
 him four hundred dollars in money, and told him 
 to show it to Mrs. San ford as the proceeds of the
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 343 
 
 sale of the stolen bonds. Accordingly, when he 
 wont there in the afternoon, he counted .over a 
 large pile of bills before her astonished eyes, and 
 asked her if he didn't know how to make things 
 pay well. 
 
 "Why, where did you get all that money?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "I sold those bonds which I showed you the 
 other night," he replied. "I tell you, it isn't 
 every man who knows how to dispose of prop- 
 erty when it falls into his hands." 
 
 " Now you will be flush for a long time, won't 
 you?" she said, in her most amiable manner. 
 " What are you going to do with all that ? " 
 
 " Oh ! I shall have to divide with my partner 
 first," he replied. 
 
 "Did you have a partner hi this affair?" she 
 asked. " You did not tell me about him." 
 
 " Oh ! yes ; I had the same partner as in the 
 other case," Ingham replied. "He held Adam- 
 son, and I struck him with a brick. However, 
 here is a present before I go, May," he con- 
 tinued, tossing two ten-dollar notes into her lap. 
 " I will give you some more in a day or two." 
 
 Mrs. Sanford was very much gratified, and 
 said that she cared more for him than for any 
 one else, and he could depend upon her for any- 
 thing. Ingham then left her, and came to my 
 office to return the money. In the evening he 
 took Mrs. Sanford and Miss Ida Musgrove to the 
 theatre, and the latter, evidently having heard 
 of his improved fortunes, treated him with great
 
 344; CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 cordiality. They returned to the rooms of Mis? 
 Ida after the theatre was out, and Mrs. Sanford 
 gave some fine imitations of different actors and 
 actresses, in a way which showed great powers of 
 mimicry, as well as considerable dramatic force. 
 It was very late when Ingham and Mrs. Sanford 
 got home, and they immediately went to bed. 
 
 The next day, Ingham went away as usual, 
 and stayed until nearly dark. When he saw Mrs. 
 Sanford, he professed to be in a very sulky mood, 
 and said that he had been gambling all day. 
 
 "At first I won right along, and I was nearly 
 two thousand dollars ahead at one time; but the 
 cursed luck changed, and I began to lose every 
 bet; so that, when I left, I had only ten dollars 
 in my pocket out of all that money I got for the 
 bonds." 
 
 Ingham could not control his feelings as he 
 thought of his loss, and he swore and raved like 
 a craey man. Mrs. Sanford was very much dis- 
 appointed, also, but she did not say much, except 
 that he ought to have known better than to gam- 
 ble. There were two or three new lodgers com- 
 ing in and out while he was there, so that he did 
 not have much time to talk to her, and he went 
 away early in the evening. 
 
 Owing to the arrest of Ingham, and his quarrel 
 with Mrs. Sanford, I had decided to relieve him 
 from this operation, and to put another man in 
 his place. His story about gambling was a part 
 of my plan; and the next day, when he called 
 upon her, he was under instructions to announce
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 345 
 
 bis intended departure from the city. Accord- 
 ingly, he did so, giving as a reason the fact that 
 he had lost all his money, and that the police 
 were watching him so closely that he was afraid 
 to attempt another robbery in Chicago. He told 
 her that he was going to St. Louis, and that he 
 should come to see her immediately, if he ever 
 should return. 
 
 / She appeared very much distressed at the 
 / thought of losing him, and told him that when 
 
 / she got her money, she would let him have as 
 much as he wanted. She made him promise to 
 
 I write to her, and when he went away, she cried 
 \with seemingly genuine sorrow. 
 
 Three days later Mrs. Sanford received a visit 
 from a gentleman who said he wished to rent a 
 furnished room. Mrs. Sanford seemed to like his 
 appearance, and she offered him the small back 
 room at a low rent. Having decided to take it, 
 he told her that his name was Henry C. Morton, 
 recently from England. 
 
 " Oh ! I am so glad you are from the old coun- 
 try," said Mrs. Sanford, "as I am from Edinboro' 
 myself, and my father is Lord Chief Justice of 
 the courts there. He is very rich, and has treated 
 me very liberally since I left my husband ; why, 
 only last week, he sent me three thousand dol- 
 lars." 
 
 Just then a Mr. Bruce, the owner of the furni- 
 ture store below, came in, looking rather tipsy. 
 Mrs. Sanford introduced the two men, and Mr 
 Bruce said something about being an Irishman 
 
 15*
 
 346 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 what a strange coincidence," said Mr 
 Morton. "Here are three persons, each repre- 
 senting one of the three kingdoms of Great Brit 
 ain. If I had some one to send for some ale, 
 we would drink a toast to Britannia, God bless 
 her ! " 
 
 After talking together for some time, Mrs. 
 Sanford and Mr. Morton went into the sitting- 
 room, and Mr. Bruce went down to his store. 
 Then Morton said that he had left his valise at 
 the Stock Yards, and that he would go for it at 
 once. On his return, he found two rough-look- 
 ing men at the door trying to get in, but the bell 
 would not ring, and so Morton went away for 
 half an hour, leaving the men knocking and kick- 
 ing on the door. About eight o'clock, he came 
 back and found the door open. He went up- 
 stairs and entered the sitting-room. Mrs. San- 
 ford was full of apologies for having locked him 
 out, but she said that she had had trouble with 
 one of her boarders, and she had resolved to keep 
 him out of the house. While they were talking, 
 the two men whom Morton had seen at the door 
 came in, and a quarrel immediately sprang up 
 between Mrs. Sanford and the younger of the 
 two. In a short time, they both became furiously 
 angry, and they used the most bitterly oppro- 
 brious language toward each other. Finally, 
 Mrs. Sanford, who was ironing, rushed at the 
 young man with a flatiron in her hand, and she 
 would undoubtedly have seriously injured him if 
 he had not escaped into his own room at the
 
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 347 
 
 head of the stairs. She then laid a heavy poker 
 on the table beside her, and said that she would 
 mash his skull if he came near her again. In 
 a short time, he again reentered the room, 
 when, seizing the poker, she rushed at him like 
 a fury. He succeeded in avoiding her until Mor- 
 ton and the other man induced her to give up the 
 poker; and both the strangers then went away, 
 saying that they should be back at eleven 
 o'clock. 
 
 After their departure, Mrs. Sanford dropped 
 into a chair and cried for a time, saying that she 
 never had acted so before in her life, as no one 
 had ever treated her so shamefully. Then she 
 became loquacious and confidential, telling Mor- 
 ton the old story of her father being Lord Chief 
 Justice of Scotland, and her husband a wealthy 
 man in Buffalo. She recited the reasons she had 
 for leaving her husband, and said that her father 
 first sent her one hundred and fifty dollars after 
 the separation, but that she thought so small a 
 sum was an insult, and so she sent it back. She 
 added that he had promised her three thousand 
 dollars very soon, and that she expected to re- 
 ceive it in a week or two. From this subject, 
 she drifted to the story of young Traf ton's death, 
 which she told with great minuteness. She said 
 that when she found he was dead, she fainted 
 away, and did not recover for nearly two hours. 
 
 While she was running on in her story, a loud 
 noise was heard, and she explained to Morton 
 that Mi. Briu-e had been drinking all day, until
 
 348 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 he was afraid to go home, and that now he was 
 quite drunk in her room. She said that he had 
 been very kind to her in letting her have furni- 
 ture on credit, and so she wanted to make him 
 comfortable until he was sobered off. During 
 the evening she recited a number of selections 
 from Byron, Scott, and Longfellow, and even 
 gave several parts from Shakespeare's plays with 
 great force and beauty of elocution. She also 
 talked a great deal about Jack Ingham, a former 
 lodger in her rooms, and she seemed to have a 
 very high opinion of him. Bhe said that he was 
 obliged to leave town because the police were 
 after him about something he had done, adding, 
 that she didn't care for that, however, and she 
 would never go back on a friend, but would shield 
 him for anything except murder. It was after 
 two o'clock in the morning before they retired, 
 and as she had not fitted up Morton's room prop- 
 erly, she made a bed for him on the lounge in the 
 sitting-room. As Mr. Bruce was lying dead- 
 drunk on her bed, she was obliged to sleep on the 
 floor of her room. 
 
 About four o'clock Morton was awakened by 
 Mrs. Sanford, who said that she could not sleep 
 in her room, as Bruce snored so loudly, just aa 
 Stanley Trafton did the night he died. 
 
 " Oh! it is horrible to think of," she said, shud- 
 dering. "I shall go crazy if I stay in there any 
 longer." 
 
 She then lay down on the table and covered 
 herself with a bedspread she had brcught from
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 349 
 
 her own room. About six o'clock they were 
 awakened by a loud noise at the outer door, and 
 Mrs. Sanford said that those drunken loafers had 
 come back_agaia She immediately got up, took 
 a revolver from her room, and went down to the 
 door, where she told the men to go away, as she 
 would not admit them at that time of night. 
 While she was talking Bruce began moving 
 around, and he found his way into the hall. 
 Then Morton heard a great crash, as if some one 
 had fallen downstairs, followed by a call from 
 Mrs. Sanford, in tragic tones, for him to come and 
 help her. Morton went out and found that Bruce 
 had fallen from the top to the foot of the stairs, 
 and on going down he discovered the unfortunate 
 representative of the Emerald Isle lying in a 
 heap against the front door. The two men out- 
 side had evidently been scared away by the noise, 
 and they did not return until eight o'clock. 
 Bruce was not hurt, except a cut on his hand, 
 which Morton bound up, and then quiet reigned 
 again until after daylight. About nine o'clock 
 Morton went in to see Bruce, whom he found 
 sitting up in bed. Bruce said that his mo: 
 was gone, and that Mrs. Sanford had drugged 
 him the night before to enable her to steal it. 
 Morton called Mrs. Sanford, and asked where 
 Brace's money was. She said she had put it 
 away for safe keeping, and, lifting the mattress, 
 she took out two pocket-books and a box con- 
 luining hot- watch, trinkets, etc. Having given 
 Bruce his pocket-book, she went out, and he then
 
 350 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 counted his money. He said he ought to have 
 eighty-one dollars, but that she had helped her- 
 self to ten dollars; it was not worth while mak- 
 ing a fuss about it, but he said that he knew she 
 had drugged him. 
 
 After awhile, Mr. Graves came in, and had a 
 private interview with Mrs. Sanford. She seemed 
 afraid of him, while he acted as if he had some 
 hold upon her. When they came into the sitting- 
 room, where Bruce and Morton were talking to- 
 gether, Mrs. Sanford asked Graves to lend her a 
 dollar, but he refused. 
 
 ' ' Pshaw ! I don't want it, " she replied. ' ' I only 
 asked to see whether you'd lend it, as I have 
 quite enough of my own; " and, so saying, she 
 took out her pocket-book. 
 
 Morton saw her count out nine ten-dollar bills 
 and nine one-dollar bills. From the fact that she 
 showed just ninety-nine dollars, it was probable 
 that she had only recently changed one of the 
 one-hundred-dollar bills taken from young Traf- 
 ton. She then opened another compartment, and 
 took out two pieces of folded paper, of a creamy 
 tint, apparently about the size of two sheets of 
 foolscap. They were folded several times, and 
 were crammed in pretty tight. 
 
 "Do you know what those are?" she asked. 
 
 " No, I do not," he replied; " what are they? " 
 
 She merely laughed, and closed the pocket- 
 book, whispering that she didn't want Graves 
 and Bruce to see her money. She said she did 
 not wish to be left alone with Graves, for fear ha
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 351 
 
 should rob her; so Morton asked him to go out 
 and play a game of billiards. Bruce was in a 
 great state of anxiety, lest his wife should have 
 come down to the store to see where he had spent 
 the night, and he remained with Mrs. Sanford. 
 
 Morton did not return to Mrs. Sanford's until 
 late in the evening, and he found her dressing to 
 go to a ball. She insisted that he should go, 
 offering to pay all the expenses. He pretended 
 to be very much hurt at her suggestion, saying 
 that he never would permit any lady to pay any- 
 thing when he took her out. She was dressed 
 very tastefully, and presented a very stylish ap- 
 pearance, so that she attracted a good deaf of at- 
 tention at the ball. Before going, she sent Morton 
 to a drug store for a drachm of morphine, saying 
 that she must have it, as she used it constantly. 
 
 The next morning, they did not get up until a 
 late hour, and Mrs. Sanford said that she did not 
 feel very well. While talking together, they 
 drifted into a discussion about money. Morton, 
 like a genuine John Bull, maintaining there was 
 no safety except in gold, or Bank of England 
 notes. 
 
 " But we don't have either in this country," 
 said Mrs. Sanford; "and now, suppose you had a 
 largo sum of money, what would you do with 
 it?" 
 
 " That's just what I would like to know," he re- 
 plied. " I expect to receive one hundred pounds 
 from England very soon, and I don't know where 
 to keep it."
 
 352 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 " Well, I shall put my three thousand dollars 
 into bonds," she said. " They can be registered, 
 so that no one can use them except the rightful 
 owner, and the interest is payable in gold." 
 
 "I don't know anything about bonds," said 
 Morton, ' ' especially these American bonds, which 
 sometimes depreciate very fast." 
 
 " Oh! the bonds of the United States are good 
 anywhere," she replied, "and they will sell for 
 their face in England or Canada just as well as 
 here. They are the best securities there are. I 
 have some now, and I intend to get some more." 
 
 While talking, Morton picked up a card which 
 was in her work-basket, and saw that it was an 
 advertisement of a gift concert or lottery. She 
 noticed it, and said that it had been left there by 
 a man named Druen, who used to come to see 
 her. She said that he had stolen a five-hundred- 
 dollar bond from her, however, and he had never 
 been there since. Soon afterward she went to 
 sleep again, and did not awake until evening, as 
 she was very tired from the effects of the ball. 
 Morton remained in the house all day; and, when 
 she woke up, he got supper for her. She seemed 
 very much pleased at his thoughtfulness, and 
 said that she never had had any one so kind to 
 her since she left her husband. 
 
 " I want you to go to the bank with me some 
 day," she said, " as I want to draw the interest on 
 some of my coupons, and then you will see what 
 good securities American bonds are." 
 
 "I shall be very glad to go with you," said
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 353 
 
 Morton ; "for, if they are really good securities, 
 I will invest some money in them." 
 
 " Oh ! there is nothing better," she replied, 
 rl and I will show you mine." 
 
 She then took out the pocket-book she hud 
 shown him before, and unfolded one of the 
 pieces of paper. Morton saw that it was a five- 
 hundred-dollar bond, of the issue of 1865, pay- 
 able in 1885, with about twenty or thirty coupons 
 attached. He was so surprised and excited at 
 seeing the bond, that he could hardly tell what to 
 do, and so he failed to notice the most important 
 point the number. By the time she had opened 
 the other bond, however, he had his wits a little 
 more under command, and he was able to re- 
 member that the figures of the number were 
 five, seven, one, zero, and some other figure; but 
 he could not recollect positively the order in 
 which they came. 
 
 " You can go to the bank to-morrow and get 
 the coupons cashed for me, can't you?" she 
 asked, after putting away the bonds. 
 
 " Oh ! certainly, if you wish me to do so," he 
 replied. 
 
 Then she laughed, and said : 
 
 "You would be arrested if you should take 
 these bonds to the bank." 
 
 "How so ?" he asked, apparently in great sur- 
 prise. "Why should I be arrested ? " 
 
 "Because the bonds belong to me, and you 
 would have to give an account of the way in 
 which you obtained them."
 
 354 CONNECTING LINKS. 
 
 "Oh! well," he replied, "you could give me an 
 order, and that would make it all right." 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so," she said, carelessly. 
 
 Her object, evidently, was to make Morton 
 believe that it would not do for him to attempt 
 to steal the bonds; for, though she trusted him 
 to the extent of showing him her money and 
 valuables, she was eternally suspicious and care- 
 ful. 
 
 Of course, on receiving Morton's report, I felt 
 quite confident that the two bonds he had seen 
 were a part of those taken from young Trafton. 
 Still, I had no positive proof of their identity, 
 and, in accordance with my invariable custom, I 
 took no hasty step, being confident that my 
 detective would soon elicit all the facts. I wrote 
 to Mr. Eichard S. Trafton, however, suggesting 
 that he have himself appointed administrator of 
 his son's estate, so that he could begin proceed- 
 ings instantly, the moment I was ready. 
 
 Several days passed, during which Morton 
 gained Mrs. Sanford's confidence more and more. 
 She was anxious one evening that he should rob 
 Mr. Bruce, who came in half drunk; but Morton 
 told her that he never worked that way. 
 
 "Why, Jack Ingham would have killed a man 
 to get money out of him," said Mrs. Sanford. 
 "Jack wasn't afraid to do anything for money." 
 
 "Well, that isn't my style," said Morton, con- 
 temptuously. "Do you suppose I am going to 
 have a scuffle and struggle, ending perhaps in 
 murder, when I can make ten times as much by
 
 CONNECTING LINKS. 355 
 
 a little skillful work with my pen ? I don't want 
 the police to be snuffing 'round my heels on ac- 
 count of highway robbery and such small game ; 
 when J do anything to set them after me, it will 
 be for a big stake, and even if they catch me, 
 they will be mighty glad to compromise. Oh ! 
 no ; not any little jobs for me ; it is only the big 
 rascals who can work safely." 
 
 Morton succeeded in inducing her to leave 
 Bruce alone, though she had evidently meant to 
 drug him, for she to6k a glass of beer, which she 
 had poured oat for him-, and threw it into the 
 sink. They all drank considerable beer, however, 
 during the evening, and Mrs. Sanford, having 
 taken also a large dose of morphine, became 
 nearly insensible. On seeing her condition, Mor- 
 ton and another lodger thought they had better 
 put her to bed ; but as Bruce was in a drunken 
 stupor in her room, Morton determined to try the 
 effect of putting her into the room where young 
 Trafton had died. No sooner had they laid her 
 on the bed, however, before she sprang up, gazed 
 around an instant, and then rushed shrieking 
 from the room, saying that she dare not lie there, 
 and that she had seen "him "lying beside her. 
 She was then placed on the lounge in the sitting- 
 room, where she became quite hysterical. Mor- 
 ton sat beside her, and soothed her until she 
 became quiet, and about midnight she fell asleep. 
 
 Morton said to me, on making one of Ins 
 reports, that she would often determine to give 
 up morphine and liquor, and live more respect-
 
 356 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 ably. Then she would become excited from the 
 craving for the drug, and would take a dose, 
 which would soothe her. make her amiable, and 
 givo her energy enough to do anything ; gradu- 
 ally she would become wild again, and 'voukl be 
 almost unbearable, while the maddening effect 
 lasted, especially if she took any liquor to add to 
 her temper ; finally, the vnfluence would pass off, 
 leaving her weak, despondent, and stupidly affec- 
 tionate. I saw that she was not likely to confess 
 anything to any one, and I therefore decided to 
 bring the affair to a crisis without delay. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A moneyed young Texan becomes one of Mrs. Sanford's 
 Lodgers. The Bonds are seen, and their Nuti>l>< rs 
 taken by the Detectives. Mrs. Sanford Arrested. 
 Sudden and Shrewd Defense by the Prisoner. /She 
 is found guilty of "involuntary Manslaughter" and 
 sentenced to the Illinois Penitentiary for Jive years. 
 Misdirected Philanthropy, and its Reward. Mr. 
 Pinkerton's Theory of the Manner in which Trafton 
 was Murdered. 
 
 HAVING discussed my plan with my superin- 
 tendent, Mr. F. Warner, I sent for one of 
 my youngest men, named Thomas Barlow, and 
 gave him explicit instructions as to the course 
 which he was to pursue in connection with Mrs, 
 Sanford.
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 357 
 
 On the first day of February, therefore, a young 
 fellow called at Mrs. Sanford's about five o'clock 
 in the afternoon, and asked if she had any rooms 
 to rent. She was very civil to him, and offered 
 him the room at the head of the stairs, for three 
 dollars a week. While she was showing him the 
 rooms, she asked him a number of questions 
 arJout himself ; and as he was a smooth-faced, 
 innocent-looking young man, he told her all 
 about his affairs. He said that his name was 
 Thomas Barlow, from Texas, where his father 
 was a great cattle-raiser ; he had brought several 
 hundred head of cattle to the city, and had sold 
 them at a high price; he intended staying in Chi- 
 cago for a short time, and then he should go up 
 the Eed Eiver of the North, in the early spring, 
 to do some fur trading, as he believed there was 
 a good deal of money to be made up there, by any 
 one with sufficient capital; he intended to have a 
 good time in Chicago first, however. 
 
 As soon as Mrs. Sanford learned that he had 
 money with him, she became very affectionate 
 indeed, telling him that she would make him 
 more comfortable than he could be anywhere else, 
 and that she would treat him like a prince. She 
 introduced Morton as her brother, and said that 
 they would all go to the theatre together. At 
 first, Barlow refused, but she insisted so urgently, 
 that he finally consented to go. He went away 
 for an hour to get his valise, and when he re- 
 turned, Mrs. Sanfonl \vas dressed in her most 
 stylish clothes, as if determined to make the best
 
 358 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 possible impression upon him. He was very 
 good-natured and boyish, apparently believing all 
 she told him, and laughing at all her attempts to 
 be funny. After leaving the theatre, she learned 
 that one of her old acquaintances was to have a 
 'grand opening" in a new saloon, and she was 
 obstinately determined to find the place. After 
 walking about for an hour, she called a hackman, 
 and offered him five dollars to find this new 
 saloon, where she was anxious to take a drink, 
 as she said, " for good luck and old acquaintance' 
 sake." After driving about until midnight, she 
 learned that the opening was postponed, and 
 they then went to a restaurant near her house to 
 get supper. It was two o'clock before they went 
 to bed, but before going, Mrs. Sanford learned 
 that Barlow was to receive his pay for the cattle 
 in a check for over four thousand dollars. She 
 talked with him about the risk of carrying money 
 around on the person, and told him that he ought 
 to buy bonds, as then they would not be lost even 
 if they should be stolen. He agreed with her, 
 and said that he would try to buy some bonds 
 when he got his check cashed. 
 
 The next morning they took breakfast with 
 Mrs. Sanford, as she seemed anxious to keep 
 Barlow with her as much as possible. It was 
 noticeable that she did not, as she had usually 
 done in all previous instances, tell him anything 
 about young Traf ton, who had died in her house, 
 "with eighteen thousand dollars in bonds in hig 
 boots. " She told Barlow that she had some bonds, 
 and he would do well to get the same kind.
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 359 
 
 "I don't know much about them," he replied, 
 " but if you think they are good, I guess they are 
 good enough for me. What are they like? I 
 never saw any." 
 
 "I will show you mine," said Mrs. Sanford. 
 "I am going to sell one of them soon, as my 
 lease is up at the end of the month, and I want 
 to buy a house." 
 
 She then went into her bedroom, closed the door, 
 and remained several minutes. When she came 
 out, she had a fat pocket-book in her hand, and 
 she took from it the two pieces of folded paper 
 which she had shown to Morton. On opening 
 them, she spread them out, and both Barlow and 
 Morton saw the numbers plainly, as they looked 
 over her shoulder. 
 
 " There, these little tickets are coupons," she 
 explained to Barlow; "and every six months T 
 can get fifteen dollars in gold by cutting off one 
 from each bond." 
 
 " Did you say you wanted to sell one ? " asked 
 Morton. "If you do, perhaps you might sell it 
 to Mr. Barlow, as a sample of the kind he wants 
 to get." 
 
 "Yes, that would be a good idea," said Barlow; 
 "then they can't fool me with any other kind, 
 when I go to buy." 
 
 " Well, I guess I will do it," said Mrs. Sanford ; 
 "at any rate, you can see me about it before you 
 go to buy yours." 
 
 She then put the bonds into the pocket-book 
 again and went into her bedroom. On her re
 
 360 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 turn, Barlow told her that he must go down town 
 to get paid for his cattle, and he asked Morton to 
 go with him. Accordingly, the two men went 
 out about noon, but Mrs. Sanford called Morton 
 back a moment to tell him to stay with Barlow 
 all day. 
 
 "Don't you lose sight of him for a minute, * 
 she said ; "and bring him back here with all his 
 money." 
 
 They did not return until after four o'clock, 
 and Barlow told her that he had been obliged to 
 go to the stockyards to get paid. He then went 
 to his room for a few minutes, and Mrs. Sanford 
 asked Morton whether Barlow had his money 
 with him. 
 
 "Yes, they gave him a check for the amount, 
 but it was too late to get it cashed, and he will 
 have to wait until to-morrow." 
 
 " Couldn't we get it away from him and forge 
 his name to it?" she asked. "We could get it 
 cashed the first thing in the morning." 
 
 "It would be too risky," he replied, "as they 
 probably know him at the bank, and we should 
 be arrested at once. But you can offer to go 
 with him to the bank in the morning, and he is 
 so soft that you will not have much trouble in 
 getting a large sum out of him." 
 
 During the evening, Mrs. Sanford was very 
 affectionate toward Barlow, and she learned all 
 about him. He told his story in such a way, that 
 she belioved him to be an innocent country boy 
 from Texas, whose most dangerous experiences
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 361 
 
 had hitherto consisted of hairbreath 'scapes from 
 steer and bull. He showed her a check on the 
 First National Bank for about four thousand dol- 
 lars, and told her that when he got it cashed in 
 the morning, he would give her a nice present. 
 It was then agreed that she should go to the bank 
 with him next day. The evening was spent in 
 reading aloud and singing, and they all retired 
 much earlier than usual. 
 
 When Morton and Barlow left Mrs. Sanford at 
 noon, they had, of course, come to my office to 
 report their discovery of the stolen bond's. There 
 was now no possibility of a mistake, as they had 
 seen the two bonds of the series A, numbered 
 57,109 and 87,656. I therefore instructed Mr. 
 Warner to obtain a warrant for her arrest, and 
 a search warrant for her house, both to be served 
 the next morning before the hour appointed for 
 going to the bank with Barlow. Everything was 
 prepared in advance, a trustworthy constable was 
 obtained to make the arrest, and a telegram was 
 sent to Mr. R. S. Trafton in Cleveland, asking him 
 to come to Chicago immediately. A reply was 
 received the next morning, stating that he had 
 left by the evening train. 
 
 About eleven o'clock on Saturday. February 3, 
 
 Mr. Warner and the constable arrived at Mrs. 
 
 Sanford's rooms. On knocking at the door of the 
 
 sitting-room, they \\viv admitted by Morton, who 
 
 y v/aii ted. 
 
 "I would liko to engage rooms, if there are 
 any to rent," said Mr. Warner. 
 
 10
 
 862 MRS. SAXFORD AHRESTEH. 
 
 "I will speak to the landlady," said Morton, 
 going to the door of her room 
 
 " Tell the gentleman, to call again," said Mrs. 
 Sanford; "I am not dressed, and can't see him." 
 
 "I only wish to see her a few minutes," Mi'. 
 Warner replied, addressing Morton in a tone loud 
 enough to be heard by Mrs. Sanford, whose door 
 was slightly ajar. 
 
 "Well, I can't see the gentleman until this 
 afternoon," she replied. 
 
 " I have some important business, and I must 
 attend to 'it now," answered Mr. Warner, putting 
 his foot in the opening and pushing the door in 
 with his shoulder; then he continued, addressing 
 the constable, "This is Mrs. Sanford, and you 
 can arrest her now." 
 
 The constable immediately took charge of her, 
 and she was allowed to complete her toilet, 
 though Mr. Warner first searched her dress, be- 
 fore letting her put it on. He then made a care- 
 ful search of the bedroom, during the progress of 
 which Mrs. Sanford was very noisy and trouble- 
 some, crying, and pretending to go into hysterics 
 several times. Once, when Mr. Warner was look- 
 ing very carefully through her trunk, she said to 
 him, in very tragic tones: 
 
 " By the way you act, one would think you 
 were looking for a murdered man." 
 
 " Well, perhaps if we had come a little sooner, 
 we might have found one/' he replied, quickly, 
 giving her a sharp glance. 
 
 As nothing had been said to her or to any ona
 
 MRS. 8ANFORD ARRESTED 363 
 
 else about any charge except that of larceny, this 
 remark was highly significant; and, on her trial, 
 it undoubtedly had great weight with the jury. 
 
 Mr. Warner soon found the pocket-book con- 
 taining the bonds under the mattress of her bed, 
 and after examining them sufficiently to identify 
 them, he gave them to the constable. Mrs. San- 
 ford was then taken to my office, and, as Mr. 
 Trafton had arrived from Cleveland, we tried to 
 have an interview with her relative to young 
 Trafton's death. She was too crafty, however, 
 and she pretended to go into hysterics whenever 
 we began to question her. 
 
 Meantime, Morton and Barlow had accompa- 
 nied her, and Morton offered to get her a lawyer 
 to advise her. She was very grateful to him, and 
 said he was her only friend. He soon brought in 
 a lawyer well versed in defending criminals, and 
 the whole party then went to the justice's court- 
 room. At the close of the examination, she was 
 held to await the action of the Grand Jury, and, 
 in default of two thousand dollars bail, she was 
 sent to the county jail. She told Morton that her 
 lawyer could not hah lie, and that she sjiould not 
 pay him a cent. She stood up, when the jus- 
 tice's decision was announced, and made quite a 
 speech; and the native cunning of the woman 
 \vas never more clearly shown than in this pica, 
 \vliich was undoubtedly invented on the spur of 
 the moment. She claimed that young Trafton 
 had given her the bonds to support her child, 
 whose father he was, and she spoke with so much
 
 364 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 vigor and cunning that many persons believed hei 
 statement to be true. Thus, \vithout consulta- 
 tion or legal advice, she invented in a moment 
 the strongest possible defense against the charge 
 of larceny, the charge of murder had not then 
 been brought. 
 
 When she was removed to the jail, she gave 
 Morton the keys to her rooms, telling him to take 
 charge of everything there, and to find a pur- 
 chaser for her furniture. He therefore informed 
 two young men who were lodging there that M rs. 
 Sanford had been arrested, and that they must 
 find other rooms, as he intended to sell out the 
 furniture. After they had gone he cleaned up 
 the house, packed Mrs. Sanford's trunks, and 
 made everything look as well as possible. While 
 she was awaiting trial, he visited her every day 
 and gave her various delicacies to improve the 
 prison fare. One day he pretended to have 
 pawned his overcoat for five dollars, in order to 
 get her some lemons, tea, and sugar. She was 
 very much touched, and she gave him five dol- 
 lars to get back his coat; but this action was 
 due to a momentary impulse. She had plenty of 
 money, and was able to get anything she wanted; 
 but her desire to hold fast to her money \vas 
 greater than her wish for good food. Indeed, 
 bhe came near jeopardizing her cause by refusing 
 to pay the lawyer she had engaged, but finally 
 she gave him a retaining fee of fifty dollars. 
 
 She was very anxious to learn who won 1 ihc. 
 detectives employed in working up the case, and
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 365 
 
 she said that she believed Barlow had had some- 
 thing to do with her arrest. Morton agreed with 
 her, and, as the papers had said that there were 
 three engaged in the case, he suggested that pel 
 haps the two men whom she had turned out of 
 doors were also detectives. She never suspect < <1 
 either Ingham or Morton for a moment ; and 
 when Ingham called upon her in jail, she was 
 delighted to see him. She tried to get bail from 
 the two brothers, named Pratt, who had occu- 
 pied one of her rooms, as one of them had been 
 very intimate with her; but they were afraid of 
 getting mixed up in her difficulties, and so re- 
 fused to help her obtain bail. She also asked 
 Ingham to swear to a number of falsehoods 
 about her intimacy with Traftori, and when ho 
 refused to do so, for fear of being tried for per- 
 jury, she said that she could get " her Billy" to 
 swear to anything. This "Billy" proved to be 
 one William Simpson, a barkeeper, and her for nit -r 
 paramour. He was tracked for some time by 
 my detectives, but he suddenly disappeared, and 
 was not seen again until her trial for larceny, 
 when, just as she said, he was willing to swear 
 to anything. He then disappeared again, but I 
 did not take much interest in following him up, 
 I knew that he would not dare to repeat his 
 perjury when the murder trial should take place. 
 His testimony was to the effect that he had over- 
 heard a conversation between Mrs. Sanford and 
 young Trafton, in which the latter acknowledged 
 that he was the father of Mrs. Sanford 's child,
 
 366 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 having been intimate with her in Buffalo about 
 eighteen months before. The question of a sup- 
 port for the child was discussed between them, 
 and Trafton said that he would give her fifteen 
 hundred or two thousand dollars in bonds, to 
 enable her to bring up his child in comfort. The 
 witness also testified that Trafton and Mrs. San- 
 ford were very intimate with each other, often 
 occupying the same room together ; that Mrs. 
 Sanford often spoke of her former intimacy with 
 him; and that he inferred from their conversa- 
 tion that Trafton had been the cause of her sepa- 
 ration from her husband. This testimony was 
 very skillfully manufactured and artistically de- 
 veloped, so as to make Trafton appear in the 
 light of a libertine and profligate, and Mrs. San- 
 ford as a confiding wife, led astray by the wiles 
 of a treacherous man. In spite of the bad char- 
 acter and appearance of this fellow Simpson, his 
 testimony had enough weight with some of the 
 jury to cause a disagreement, and Mrs. Sanford 
 was remanded to jail. 
 
 Mr. Eobert S. Trafton was anxious to bring 
 her to punishment, as he felt confident that she 
 had caused the death of his son. The circum- 
 stances of the case caused considerable delay, and 
 it was not until January 27, 1873, nearly a year 
 after her arrest, that the trial on the charge of 
 murder took place. 
 
 The testimony in this trial was highly interest- 
 ing on many accounts. The County Physician, 
 who had made the first post-mortem examination
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 367 
 
 of the remains, and who had given congestion of 
 the lungs as the cause of death, stated that he 
 found the deceased lying dead in Mrs. Sanford's 
 rooms, and that he took charge of the property 
 found in his possession. He stated that he 
 should have made a closer examination if he had 
 not found the bonds and money; but he did not 
 suspect foul play, and therefore made only a 
 hasty investigation. 
 
 By the testimony of two or three witnesses it 
 was shown that on the night of Traftoii's death 
 Mrs. Sanford went into two saloons about mid- 
 night, asking for "her Billy," meaning the man 
 Simpson, by whose testimony she escaped con- 
 viction on the larceny charge, he being then liv- 
 ing on her bounty. While looking for him she 
 was very wild and excited, her clothes being dis- 
 ordered, and her watchchain broken. To one 
 witness she said that she wished Billy to come to 
 her house to look at the "prettiest corpse she 
 evei saw." One witness testified that she re- 
 turned to his saloon about five or six o'clock in 
 the morning, and induced him to go up to her 
 rooms to look at the body; he did so, and found 
 the body of a man lying in bed, partly covered 
 up. She had a large roll of money and papers in 
 her pocket-book. 
 
 A surgeon of the highest reputation in Cleve- 
 land was called, and gave his testimony in the 
 most direct and convincing manner, like a man 
 -who knew perfectly well what he was talking 
 about, and who was not guessing at any of the
 
 368 MRS. SAIN FORD ARRESTED. 
 
 facts as slated by him. He declared that death 
 resulted from the blow on the right side, aided 
 by the violence on the throat and neck. There 
 was very slight congestion of the brain and of 
 the lungs, but he was positive that death was not 
 the result of either of these; indeed, leaving out 
 of consideration the marks of external violence, 
 he said that he should not have been able to ac- 
 count for Mr. Traf ton's death. At the conclusion 
 of his re-direct examination he said that death 
 could be caused by a heavy blow of the fist, fol- 
 lowed by choking, and he would swear positively 
 that Trafton's death was produced by violence. 
 The testimony of this witness was corroborated 
 by that of several other surgeons of high reputa- 
 tion, and then a sensation was created by the call- 
 ing of John Ingham for the prosecution. 
 
 As Mrs. Sanford saw her well-beloved friend, 
 Jack, take the stand and acknowledge himself to 
 be one of Pinkerton's dreaded detectives, she 
 broke down and cried bitterly. Ingham related 
 the history of his connection with the affair, 
 stating the different stories which Mrs. Sanford 
 had told about Trafton's death, and also her fear 
 of going in the room where he died. He then 
 gave the inside history of his arrest for the 
 alleged robbery of Adamson, showing that it had 
 been planned in advance by me to induce Mrs. 
 Sanford to give him her confidence. After her 
 arrest for larceny, he had visited her in jail, and 
 she had tried to get him to swear that he had 
 heard Trafton promise to give her the bonds to
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 369 
 
 f 
 
 support her child. When he objected, on the 
 ground that he might be arrested for perjury, she 
 had told him that "her Billy," meaning William 
 Simpson, would swear to it anyhow. 
 
 The testimony of Mr. Warner relative to find- 
 ing the bonds in Mi's. Sanford's possession was 
 corroborated by that of the constable; they also 
 repeated Mrs. Sanford's remark made during the 
 search, before any charge of murder had even 
 been suggested: "By the way you act, I should 
 think you were looking for a murdered man. " 
 
 When the testimony for the prosecution was 
 all in, the defense had a turn, and they produced 
 as many medical experts to prove that Trafton 
 did not die of violence, as the other side had to 
 prove that he did not die a natural death; indeed, 
 from the medical testimony given, there might 
 have been grave doubts raised as to whether he 
 had any business to die at all, for, according to 
 both sides, no adequate cause of death had been 
 discovered. Several witnesses testified that they 
 believed him to have been on a long spree just 
 before his death, but these were soon rebutted by 
 equally trustworthy witnesses for the prosecution. 
 
 In summing up, the counsel for the people 
 presented a highly plausible theory of the man- 
 ner in which the murder was committed, and 
 asked a verdict on the following grounds: 
 
 Young Trafton, as shown by the testimony of 
 his 'father and others, visited Chicago to buy 
 grain, and he was, therefore, under the necessity 
 of carrying with him a large amount of money, 
 
 16*
 
 370 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 
 
 Being unable to get a room at any hotel conve- 
 nient to business, he probably entered the first 
 place where he saw the sign, "Booms to Bent," 
 and engaged a sleeping-room, taking his meals at 
 a hotel near by While lodging with Mrs. San- 
 ford, he was trying to buy grain at a paying 
 figure, and he was daily in consultation with 
 Captain Dalton, who commanded one of his 
 father's schooners. Finding that he could not 
 buy to any advantage in the existing condition 
 of the grain market, he sent the schooner back 
 to Cleveland on the last day of November, in 
 order that she should not be caught in the ice in 
 the straits at the close of navigation. He was 
 then ready to return himself, and, doubtless, on 
 going to his lodgings, he so informed Mrs. San- 
 ford. As he had made no secret of his reason 
 for visiting Chicago, she was, probably, well 
 aware of his object, and also of the fact that he 
 had a large amount of money with him. Seeing 
 his careless ways, the idea occurred to her to rob 
 him, and, having his expected departure in view, 
 she knew that she would have only one more 
 opportunity to carry out her scheme. 
 
 On his return that evening, therefore, having 
 just parted from Captain Dalton in perfect health 
 and sobriety, he was invited to eat supper with 
 her. Suspecting 110 harm, he sat down and ate 
 a hearty supper. In some way, either in his food 
 or drink, a dose of morphine was given to him, 
 and he soon fell fast asleep. The woman's oppor- 
 tunity was before her, and all the natural thirs<
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 for money which characterized her came upon 
 her with full force, urging her on and inciting 
 her to any lengths necessary to accomplish her 
 object. Having laid him on his bed, she began 
 to search his pockets with the stealthy touch of a 
 practiced hand. Finding nothing at first to re- 
 ward her search, she pulled off one of his boots 
 and discovered the United States bonds, which 
 he had concealed there. But the violence neces- 
 sary to remove the boot caused him to partly 
 waken from his drugged sleep, and he became 
 vaguely aware that some one was trying to rob 
 him. Still in a drowsy, confused state, however, 
 he was unable to do more than to sit up and 
 clutch wildly at his assailant; having caught one 
 of the bonds, he clung to it until it was torn in 
 two pieces, the fragments plainly showing how 
 they had been wrenched asunder in the clasp of 
 two determined hands those of the murderess 
 and her victim. But she soon found that he was 
 gaining his senses too rapidly, and that she 
 would be foiled in her attempted robbery; hence, 
 with every blinding passiou aroused, her greed 
 and her fear equally Inciting her to action, she 
 struck him a heavy blow on the thigh and an- 
 other more powerful one on the side. Partly 
 stunned by the concussion, he fell back, and she 
 then seized him by the throat.. Her round, plump 
 hands, though powerful enough to strangle him, 
 left only slight marks of abrasion on the skin, 
 and in a few minutes all was over. His property 
 at. her meivy, and she #ivo no thought tc
 
 872 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 the body of her victim until she had seized every 
 piece of valuable paper in his possession. 
 
 But her position was a dangerous one, and, on 
 cooling off somewhat, she saw that something 
 must be done to remove any appearance of foul 
 play. How could it be done most effectually ? 
 Manifestly by giving no apparent ground for sus- 
 pecting that she had any object in his death ; 
 and no course would be more effectual than to 
 leave such an amount of property in his posses- 
 sion as to make strangers believe that none of it 
 had been taken. -It may well be imagined that 
 this was her hardest task ; for to give up money 
 was probably a greater hardship for her than 
 for some people to give up life. Still, it would 
 never do to run the risk of being accused of mur- 
 der ; so, reluctantly, she placed one bond in his 
 pocket, and, by accident, included with it one- 
 half of the torn bond, the other half being placed 
 under his head, in the boot from which it was 
 taken. She then undressed the body, placed it 
 naturally in bed, and went out to look for "her 
 Billy," her paramour and panderer in vice. 
 
 This was the history of the crime, as pictured 
 by the prosecution ; and all her actions since 
 that fatal night had been in harmony with such 
 a theory. Her allegations of intimacy with 
 young Tiafton were unsupported, save by the 
 testimony of this William Simpson, her para 
 mour. It was noticeable that, while this man 
 had testified in the trial for larceny that he had 
 overheard Mr. Trafton's acknowledgment of
 
 MES. SAKFORD AERESTED. 373 
 
 being the father of Mrs. Sanford's child, in the 
 murder trial he was not asked to give any such 
 testimony, nor was the existence of such a child 
 ivcn hinted at by the defense. The counsel for 
 Mrs. Sunford were well aware that she had never 
 had a child, and that this fact could be proven if 
 necessary. On discovering, too, that Jack Ing- 
 ham was a Pinkerton detective, instead of Mrs. 
 Sanford's best friend, they saw other reasons 
 why it would not be advisable to cause Mr. Wil- 
 liam Simpson to perjure himself again. 
 
 The defense contented themselves with claim- 
 ing that there was no sufficient evidence to prove 
 that Mr. Trafton had died a violent death at all, 
 and that there was no evidence whatever to show 
 that, even if foul play had occurred, Mrs. San- 
 ford had been the guilty person. This plea was 
 ably presented by the counsel, and the judge 
 then briefly charged the jury as to the law, and 
 the form of their verdict. During the early part 
 of the trial, Mrs. Sanford behaved very badly, 
 often contradicting witnesses aloud, and making 
 many audible remarks to the jury and the Court; 
 after the testimony for the defense began, 
 however, she paid very little attention to the 
 proceedings, often dozing and sleeping in her 
 chair. This habit was, undoubtedly, due to the 
 use of morphine, of which she consumed large 
 quantities. 
 
 The jury retired at three o'clock, and, on the 
 first ballot, they stood nine for conviction and 
 three for acquittal. After discussing the n >ti-
 
 374 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 mony for more than four hours, a compromise 
 was reached, and the judge having been in- 
 formed that the jury had agreed upon a verdict, 
 the prisoner was brought in to hear the finding. 
 
 All being in readiness, the clerk read the 
 verdict as follows: 
 
 " We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of in- 
 voluntary manslaughter, and fix her time of 
 imprisonment at five years in the penitentiary." 
 
 At the word "guilty," Mrs. Sanford gave a 
 violent start; but, as the remainder of the finding 
 was read, she seemed to feel agreeably surprised. 
 Hhe asked for a glass of water in a low tone, 
 i urned very white, and then fainted away before 
 the water could be handed to her. 
 
 She was then removed to the jail to await the 
 argument on a motion for a new trial. While 
 there, she gave one of the most effectual evi- 
 dences of her ruling passion greed. She was 
 the object of considerable sympathy among a cer- 
 tain class of sentimentalists, and the amount of 
 compassion wasted upon her was remarkable to 
 those who knew her real character and habits; 
 but there is no accounting for tastes, and so Mrs. 
 Sanford was treated with great consideration by 
 a number of well-meaning but unsophisticated 
 people. Among the Good Samaritans who took 
 the most interest in her was a lady named Mrs. 
 Jones,, and this lady visited her quite frequently 
 in her cell, bringing her books and papers. 
 
 One morning, Mrs. Jones complained of feel- 
 ing unwell, and Mrs. Sanford immediately gave
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 375 
 
 her a glass of water. Soon after drinking it, 
 Mrs. Jones became very sleepy, and in a few 
 minutes, she was in a sound slumber. This ef- 
 fect had been produced, of course, by a dose of 
 morphine in the water, and Mrs. Sanford then 
 proceeded to rob Mrs. Jones of all her valuables. 
 Mrs. Jones was in moderate circumstances, and 
 her purse was not sufficiently well filled to satisfy 
 Mrs. Sanford's avaricious demon; hence, she 
 made a thorough search for other plunder. It 
 happened that Mrs. Jones, having lost all of her 
 upper teeth, had supplied their place by an arti- 
 ficial set, mounted on a plate of solid gold. Not 
 content, therefore, with plundering her benefac- 
 tress in other respects. Mrs. Sanford actually 
 took the set of teeth from Mrs. Jones's mouth, 
 and hid them in her own trunk. 
 
 Of course, on awakening, Mrs. Jones missed 
 her teeth and charged Mrs. Sanford with having 
 taken them. The latter denied having done so, 
 railed and swore at Mrs. Jones, and tried to pre- 
 vent the officers from searching the cell. The 
 teeth and other articles stolen from Mrs. Jones 
 were found at the bottom of Mrs. Sanford's 
 trunk, and Mrs. Jones retired from the jail 
 strongly impressed with the conviction that phi- 
 lanthropy had its hardships as well as rewards. 
 
 The motion for a new trial being overruled, 
 sentence was pronounced in accordance with the 
 verdict of the jury, and Mrs. Sanford was con- 
 signed to the Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet. 
 
 in iv-;ar-l (o the manner in which young Traf
 
 275 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 
 
 toil was murdered, I have always had a theory of 
 my own; and, while of course I do not pretend to 
 any surgical learning, I give it for what it is 
 worth, prefacing it, however, with the remark 
 that several eminent physicians concur in my 
 opinion, or, at least, admit its strong probability. 
 
 It will be remembered that Mrs. Saiiford used 
 morphine continually, and that she boasted of 
 her ability to administer it in just the proper pro- 
 portion to cause her victims to fall into a heavy 
 sleep. In all probability, as suggested by the 
 State's Attorney, she gave young Trafton a dose 
 at supper; but it is also possible the effect was 
 not sufficient, and that when she tried to rob him, 
 he slightly revived, struggled, and, seizing one of 
 the bonds in a convulsive grasp, tore it in two. 
 
 So far, the theories are identical, but I failed to 
 see a sufficient cause of death in the slight blow 
 and mild choking, especially as the lungs did not 
 present the conditions which would have ap- 
 peared had death resulted from strangulation or 
 asphyxia. On searching Mrs. Sanford's rooms, 
 Mr. Warner found two or three small syringes, 
 intended for making hypodermic injections, and 
 these led me to believe she caused Traf ton's death 
 by morphine alone. My idea was as follows: 
 
 When she found that Trafton was not suffi- 
 ciently drugged to enable her to rob him in safety, 
 she probably let him alone, and the drug again 
 took effect to the extent of putting him to sleep. 
 She then resorted to a subcutaneous injection of 
 morphine, knowing that the soporific influence of 
 the drug would thus be made more rapid and
 
 MRS. SANFORD ARRESTED. 87'l 
 
 powerful. This operation was performed on the 
 side, and then near the large veins of the leg, and 
 thus were caused the apparent bruises filled with 
 extravasated blood. Now, the effect of morphine 
 raries largely, according to the constitution, tern 
 j^erament, and habits of the persons to whom it 
 is given; but the combined result of internal and 
 external doses almost invariably is death. 
 
 It seems altogether probable to me, therefore, 
 that Trafton came to his death in that manner, 
 and that the traces of morphine in the wounds, 
 as in the stomach, had wholly evaporated before 
 the Cleveland surgeons made their examination, 
 twelve days after death. 
 
 Whatever may have been the means, however, 
 there can be no doubt that murder most foul was 
 committed, and that Mrs. Sauford richly deserved 
 a greater punishment than was awarded to her. 
 Whether she had any accomplice will never be 
 known, but it is probable that she had some one 
 in the house who was aware of the murder a fin- 
 it had been committed, if not before. This 
 would account for the absence of the fifth bond, 
 which was never recovered, but which was after- 
 ward traced back from the Treasury Depart- 
 ment, when it was presented there, to some un- 
 known woman, who had sold it in Milwaukee. 
 This woman was evidently not Mrs. Sanford, but 
 her identity could not be discovered, and, there, 
 fore, all trace was lost. 
 
 THE END.
 
 C. W. DILLINCHAM, Successor. 
 
 1887. 
 
 1887. 
 
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 alp Hunters iM 50 The White Chief. 
 
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 The Habits of Good Society The nice points of taste and good manners. . I 
 
 The Art of Conversation Kor those who wish to be agreeable talkers 
 
 The Arts of Writing, Rear^ag and Speaking For Self-Improvement ... 
 New Diamond Edition T^e above three books in one volume small type. 50 
 
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 His CompleteWritiiy-^With biography, SteeTPortrait and 100 Illustrations.$2 oo 
 
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 MRS. MARY J. HOLMES' WORKS. 
 
 TEMPEST AND SUNSHINE. 
 ENGLISH ORPHANS. 
 HOMKSTKAD ON HILLSIDE. 
 LENA RIVKK:-;. 
 MEADOW BROOK. 
 DORA DEANE. 
 COUSIN MAUDE. 
 MARIAN GREY. 
 EU1TH LYLE. 
 
 DAISY THORNTON. (New). 
 
 DARKNESS AND DAYLIGHT. 
 HUGH WOkTHINGTON. 
 CAMERON PRIDE. 
 ROSE MATHER. 
 KTHKLYN'S MISTAKE. 
 MILLBANK. 
 EDNA BROWNING. 
 WEST LAWN. 
 MILDRED. 
 ' FORREST HOUSE. | (Ntw). 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 - Mrs. Holmes' stories are universally read. Her admirers are numberless. 
 &ho is m many respects without a rival in the world of fiction. Her characters are 
 Iw^ys life-like, and she makes them talk and act like human beings, subject to the 
 same emotions, swayed by the same passions, and actuated by the same motives 
 which are common among men and women of every day existence. Mrs. Holmes 
 is very happy in portraying domestic life. Old and young peruse her stories 
 with great delight, for she writes in a style that all can comprehend." fievt 
 York Weekly. 
 
 The North American Review, vol. 81, page 537, snys of Mrs. Mary J. 
 Holmes' novel. "English Orphans": "With this novel of Mrs. Holmes' we have 
 been charmed, and so have a pretty numerous circle of discriminating readers to 
 whom -,ve have lent it. The characterization is exquisite, especially so far as 
 concerns rural and village life, of which there are some pictures that deserve to 
 be hung up in perpetual memory of types of humanity fast becoming extinct The 
 _ ics are generally brief, pointed, and appropriate. The plot seems simple, 
 :iy iin.l n iturally is it developed and consummated. Moreover, tht. story 
 thus gracefully constructed and written, inculcates without obtruding, not only 
 pmc l'liri-.tian MI orality in general, but, with especial point and power, the depen- 
 dence of trui'. success on character, and of true respectability on merit. ' 
 
 " Mrs. Holmes' stories are aU of a domestic character, and their inveres*. there- 
 fore, is not so infuse as if they were more highly seasoned with sirsation 
 but it is of a healthy and abiding character. Almost any new book whi-.h ha 
 publisher nii;ht choose to announce from her pen would g-t -n immediate and 
 general reading. The interest in her tales begins at once, ai..i is mainta.i-.ed to 
 the close. Her sentiments are so sound, her sympathies so warm .tml \ 
 
 of miuincrs. character, and the -aried incidents of ordinary 
 jfe is so thorough, that she would find it difficult to write any other than an 
 it tale if she were to try A." --Boston Banner. 
 
 ire all handsomely printed and bound in cloth, sold *verjr 
 nd sent by mail. /,'.t tiigr /rrr, on receipt of price [1.50 each], by 
 
 G. W. CARLETON & CO., Publishers, 
 
 Madison Square, A~fx\ York.
 
 CHARLES DICKENS' WORKS. 
 
 A NEW *& EDITION. 
 
 Among the many editions of the works of this greatest ol 
 English Novelists, there has not been until now one that entirely 
 satisfies the public demand. Without exception, they each have 
 some strong distinctive objection, either the form and dimen 
 sions of the volumes are unhandy or, the type is small and 
 indistinct or, the illustrations are unsatisfactory or, the bii.-J 
 ing is poor or, the price is too high, 
 
 An entirely new edition is now, however, published by G. W. 
 Carleton & Co., of New York, which, in every respect, com- 
 pletely satisfies the popular demand. It is known as 
 
 "Carletou's New Illustrated Edition." 
 COMPLETE IN 15 VOLUMES. 
 
 The size and form is most convenient for holding, the type is 
 entire!)- new, and of a clear and open character that has received 
 the approval of the reading community in other works. 
 
 The illustrations are by the original artists chosen by Charles 
 Dickens himself and the paper, printing, and binding are of an 
 attractive and substantial character. 
 
 This beautiful new edition is complete in 15 volumes at the 
 cxtrsmely reasonable price of $1.50 per volume, as follows 
 
 I. PICKWICK PAPERS AND CATALOGUE. 
 
 2. OLIVER TWIST. UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER. 
 
 3. DAVID COPPERFIELD. 
 
 4. GREAT EXPECTATIONS. HAIY AND AMERICA. 
 
 5. DOMBEY AND SON. 
 
 6. BARNABY RUDGE AND EDWIN DROOD. 
 
 7. NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. 
 
 8. CURIOSITY SHOP AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 9. BLEAK HOUSE. 
 IO. LITTLE OORRIT. 
 II. MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. 
 13. OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. 
 
 13. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. TALE OK TWO CITIES. 
 14. SKETCHES BY BOZ AND HARD TIMES. 
 
 H. CHILD'S ENGLAND AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 The first yolume Pickwirk Papers contains 
 j catalogue of all of Charles Dickens' writings, with their 
 I positions in the volumes. 
 
 This edition is sold by Booksellers, everywhere and single 
 specimen copies will be forwarded by mail, postage free, on re- 
 ! :eiut of price. $1.50, by 
 
 6. W. CARf-ETON & CO., Publishers, 
 
 Madison Square. New York.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES 
 
 COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below. 
 
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