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A SUDDEN CALL--GREAT CONSTERNATION AT THE ---- BANK IN WALL
STREET--TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN GOLD STOLEN--A HARD, INSOLUBLE
CASE--"TRY," THE SOUL OF SUCCESS--BANKS COMPELLED TO GREATEST
CAUTIOUSNESS--NO ESPRIT DE CORPS AMONG MONEY-CHANGERS--THE WAY
I "CREATED" DETECTIVES--RAG-PICKERS MADE USEFUL ABOVE THEIR
CALLING--AN UP-TOWN CARRIAGE HOUSE, AND ITS TREASURES--A
LAUGHING COACHMAN--A PRESENT--COMPLICATED EVIDENCE
UNRAVELLED--AN OLD OFFICE-WOMAN INVOLVED IN THE MYSTERY--A BIT
OF FUN FURNISHES THE DESIRED "KEY"--"SMOUCHING," AND WHAT CAME
OF IT--EXTENDING MY ACQUAINTANCESHIP--THE THIEF FOUND--A WALL
STREET BROKER--STUDYING HIM--HIS CLERK WILED AWAY--GOOD USE OF
THEATRE TICKETS--THE SCHEME OF IDENTIFICATION; A PLOT WITHIN A
PLOT--THE BROKER WORSTED--HE STRUGGLES WITHIN HIMSELF; GROWS
PALE--HOW HE EXECUTED THE ROBBERY--THE TERRIBLE "FORCE OF
EXAMPLE" SOMETIMES--THE THIEF BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE COMMON
COUNCIL--A SALUTARY WARNING TO OTHER THIEVES.
"Sir, can you come right down at once to the ---- Bank?" (It was and is
in Wall Street.) "Mr. ---- (the president) wants to see you if
possible," exclaimed a messenger, one day, less than ten years ago, as
he bolted into my office in great haste; and this was the opening to me
of a case in which I did, perhaps, more hard work than I ever performed
in working out any other case.
"No, I can't go now; don't think I can get there to-day. I've too much
to do; but what's the trouble?"
"O, dear, I can't tell you that. I only, know that Mr. ----, the
president, is greatly excited, and he told me to be sure to bring you
now; to hunt after you if you were not here, and bring you at any rate."
"Well, if it is so urgent a matter, I must run down there for a
minute--say that I'll be there in a half hour, if possible; if not, in
an hour, say. I've documents here that _must_ be finished and sent off
before I stir," said I; and an hour or so brought me to the bank,
between four and five o'clock of the afternoon. It was closed, of
course, for banking purposes, but the watching janitor hardly waited
for ordinary ceremony before I was half-dragged into the entrance-way.
The president at once took me to the private or directors' room, and
told me that a half hour before sending for me they had missed a bag
containing ten thousand dollars in gold, that every search had been
made for it, and that one of the clerks thought he recollected
something having been said by somebody that day about that bag. He even
thought somebody had taken it up or out in his presence, but his
impression was like a dim recollection of things passed twenty years
ago, and this was all the president could say about it. The making up
of the books, balancing accounts, etc., had kept the clerks after
banking hours, as usual, and he had sent for me as soon as possible,
thinking that I might devise some theory to account for the lost gold,
and that promptness was the best course.
I asked if there had been much business done there that day, and I
found that they had been unusually occupied. I learned the location of
the bag in the big safe, and saw that no thief could have come slyly in
and got to the safe without being detected, so numerous were the
clerks, some of whom were constantly behind the desks, back of which
the thief would have to go. There was no clerk whom the president dare
suspect. They were all well tried young men, in whom every confidence
had heretofore been reposed, and who had ever proved worthy of the
trust placed in them. Besides, none of them, except at noon, when they
had gone out to lunch, not singly, but two together at least, had been
out of the bank since morning, and it was sure that the bag was in the
safe that morning. In fact, it had then been brought there from the
vault, with other moneys; so that to suspect any one, rendered it
necessary to suspect another in concert with him. Moreover, if one had
been in concert with a thief, who had come in to receive the bag, he
could hardly have taken the bag out without some one's noticing him.
With these reflections and my examinations, I candidly told the
president that it would cost too much to work up the case on any theory
which I could conceive of; that his only hope was in waiting for
something to be disclosed by accident, perhaps; but that he probably
would never hear of the money, or know any more about the matter than
he now knew, unless this suspicion of mine should happen to be correct
(but how could we be sure of that?), namely, that the abstraction of
this gold was the work of some bold thief, who, having studied the
place, and giving himself a clerkly style, had suddenly dropped in when
the bank was full of customers and the clerks much occupied, and passed
himself off for one of them for a few seconds, taken the bag, and
walked off with it as coolly as he came in.
But the president, and I too, after surveying matters again, conceived
that an impossibility--"almost"--still there _was_ the barest
possibility that such might have been the fact. But if it were, how get
a clew to the thief? How ever identify one dollar, or rather a single
one of the ten dollar pieces? (for it was all in ten dollar pieces, in
rolls: a heavy bag to snatch and carry away unperceived). There was a
serious difficulty in that.
Of course I made the minutest inquiry as to the style of the bag, and
was shown three or four which were said to be exactly like it, and took
down upon my diary a copy of the special marks upon these. But I kept
thinking all the while that it was folly to do this; and I dismissed
reasoning upon the subject, and thought I might as well "trust luck" as
to refuse to, especially as the president, in his urgency, said if I
would "scour the city thoroughly," he would pay me so much a day for my
time, for a given number of days, and that if I found any of the money
I might have half of it besides. I told him his offer was hardly
acceptable professionally; that I had my certain charges for my work by
the day, dependent in amount a little upon the nature of the case, and
that that would satisfy me; and that although I had about as much
confidence in finding out the thief, or discovering the money, as I
would have in labelling a plank "Philadelphia," and throwing it into
the bay at ebb tide, with the expectation it would float directly to
the "City of Brotherly Love," and land itself duly; yet I would try.
"Well, that's all I can ask. 'Try' that's the word," said the
president; "and allow me to say that I know that _means_ something with
you, and I cannot say why I feel a confidence that you will succeed,
for everything seems to be against us. Yet I _do_ feel that success in
part, at least, will be yours. We shall hear where that money has gone
to, even if we cannot secure a dollar of it. But there must nothing be
said outside of the bank. I cautioned the clerks before you came; for
in my whole life I have never been more ashamed of anything than of
this loss, whether it is the theft of one person, clerk, or what not,
or another: and if it should be the fact that this is only one of those
bold robberies which have sometimes taken place, I should feel more
chagrined than ever."
So I was to keep the matter a profound secret, at any rate; which is
the reason why I may not at least introduce a name or two, which I
should, for some reasons, be pleased to make public.
It is not a wise thing for a bank to make known to the public a loss of
the kind. It looks like negligence in the conduct of its affairs. The
public, too, would be disposed to think, even when the truth is told,
that the statement is intended to cover the fact of a greater loss, or
that a defalcation for example, instead of a robbery, has taken place.
There is nothing like an _esprit de corps_ among banks. Each acts for
itself,--mercilessly, as regards every other bank,--unless, perhaps,
when some question of a proposed general tax, which may be thought too
high, is mooted; and each must look out for its reputation for
soundness with scrupulous care.
Time went on, and, engrossed in other affairs, I paid but little heed
to this, comparatively, though I did "try." My first step was to visit
several of the rag-gatherers and purchasers about the city, and offer a
large reward to each of them should he chance to become possessed of a
peculiarly marked bag (which I described), in such a manner as to be
able to trace its history into his hands. In this way I made
"detectives" of quite a number of persons. I suspected that the thief
would, of course, destroy the bag, yet I thought it possible that, in
the flush of his success, he might throw it by, and that with other
things--old papers perhaps--it might get to the old rag and paper men's
hands. Besides, I visited certain points where thieves resort, and
certain gambling saloons, with the intent of seeing if anybody there
was peculiarly "flush" with gold, and I secured the assistance of
certain brethren of the profession to the same end. But I could learn
of nobody who seemed to have had a "windfall" of late, and it was so
long before I got the slightest report from any of the rag-men, that,
when I did, I suspected that the money would be dissipated, or so
"scattered to the four winds," even if it led to the fastening of
suspicion upon somebody, that I had but little impulse to pursue the
matter.
But finally, a dealer in rags sought me, saying that he had come across
the bag in question, he thought, but that it was not in his possession,
and he had not thought it best to try to get hold of it till I had seen
it. It was in an up-town carriage-house, the latter belonging to one of
the old aristocracy, and he suspected the bag belonged to the coachman.
He had been called into the house, in the prosecution of his business,
to buy several bags of old rags, paper, etc., and as the rags, old
clothes, etc., were promiscuously thrown together into the bags,
without reference to color or quality, it was difficult to put a price
upon them; the white ones predominating, the housekeeper would not sell
them for the price he would give for unassorted rags, and so the bags
were taken to the carriage-house, to be assorted and weighed there.
While engaged with the stable-man and one of the servant girls in
running over the rags, his eye happened to light upon a bag tied with a
string, and hanging on a peg, which he saw, by a peculiar mark, must be
like the one I had described to him so long before; and he asked the
stable-man what was kept in that bag hung up so nicely, and got the
reply that it held some of the coachman's knickknacks; and he thought
best, to make no further inquiries then; but, putting his hand upon it,
he found it held several things which "felt hard, like iron;" and this
was all he knew about it, save that he, at the time he felt of it, took
occasion to examine the marks upon it further, and felt assured that it
was just the bag in question. He was quite enthusiastic over his
discovery, and wished me to go at once, and look for myself.
But I could not leave that day, and making an appointment with him for
the next day, met him as agreed, and proceeded to the carriage house.
Fortunately we got in, without being under the necessity of asking to
have the gate opened, as we watched an opportunity when the carriage
was about being driven out. My friend the rag-man engineered the
_entree_ under my instructions, referring to his having assorted rags
there a day or two before, and easily got on the good side of the
coachman, while I looked after the bag, which my friend had told me
where to find without trouble. I made up my mind instantly that that
was the bag in question, and sitting down lazily on a box in the
carriage-house, got into a good-natured talk with the coachman. It was
easy to be seen that he was an innocent enough fellow, and could never
have been guilty of the robbery, or of complicity therein. But I was at
a loss to know how to approach him on the subject of the bag. At last I
got up and walked about, and surveying the things,--various carriages,
light buggies, harnesses, etc., in the barn, which the coachman was
pleased enough to hear me compliment on their order and neatness,
etc.,--I at length listlessly approached the bag, and taking hold of
it, said, "Well, that's a funny mark--coat of arms, I 'spose?" giving
the coachman a slight wink.
He laughed in his easy-going way, and said, "You're disposed to joke, I
see. No, that's not _my_ coat of arms; I could not afford it--he! he!
he!--but it's my bag, I confess."
"I've got one just like it at home," said I; "pretty good bag to wear.
I wonder where a fellow could get another like it?"
"I don't know. I got that off a heap of rags, in a cart that was
standing on the corner here one morning, two or three weeks ago,--gave
the boy six cents for it. Don't know where you could get another."
"What will you take for it?"
"He! he! _hee!_" exclaimed the coachman, bursting with laughter, as if
I had said a comical thing. "Why, do you take me for a rag-dealer? he!
he! he! I wouldn't sell it for nothing; but do you want it much?"
"O, no, not much, but I should like it? want it badly enough to pay you
for it--what you've a mind to ask."
"Wal, I'll give it to you. I thought that morning I wanted it to put
screws and bolts in, but I've got a nice stand here since, and I can
throw 'em in the drawer," as he pointed out the "stand," and proceeded
to take down the bag and pour the bolts, etc., into the drawer, and
handing the bag to me, said, "Here, I'll make you a present of this
'ere thing,--he! he! hee!" I took it, of course, and thanked him.
Having got the bag into my possession, I asked him if he ever saw the
man before of whom he bought the bag.
"'Twasn't a man, but a boy, that goes by here, every few days, with a
cart."
"Would you know him anywhere you might see him?"
"Yes, he's got a curious look about him that everybody would remember."
"You've seen him often?"
"Yes. I have seen him go by here ever so many times within a year."
"Well, I want to find him; and can I hire you to go with me to-day and
pick him out? I'll take you among the rag-pickers, and I will pay you
well."
"He! he! _hee!_ That's funny that you want to find that nasty-looking
chap. Yes, I'll go with you now,--in ten minutes, if 'tain't too fur."
"We can go in an hour; but perhaps 'twon't be the best time to find
him. He may be out, and we shall not know whom to inquire for; and if
we get on track of anybody that we think is he, may be you'll have to
go again to-morrow. They'll tell us when he'll be apt to be found at
home."
"I'd know him by his dog, say nothing of himself," interposed the
coachman. "Yes, I'll go;" and the coachman got ready, and we started
off for Sixty-second Street, where there were then a number of low
houses, occupied by rag-pickers. I thought I would go up instead of
down in the city, as the coachman said the loaded cart of the rag-man
was headed that way. We took a Fourth Avenue car, and had not gone more
than half way to our point of destination, when the coachman, who was
standing on the platform, having given his seat to a lady, violently
pulled the bell, and called to me: "See here, mister" (for I had given
him no name as yet), "here's the very fellow we're after;" and I got
out with him, and he ran to catch the rag-man, whom we had just past,
and I came up as he had stopped him.
"This is the man, and that's the tarnal striped dog I told you of. See
here" (to the rag-man); "this man wants to see you."
The rag-man looked at me with wonder and some expression of fear. "Let
him see me, then, if he wants to," he muttered; "no _great_ sight, I
guess."
"Yes, I wished to see you a minute," said I; "and I wanted to talk with
you. I won't hinder you long, and will give you twenty-five cents an
hour for the time I hinder you. Here, take that to begin with,"
slipping a new twenty-five cent piece of silver into his hand. The
rag-man's eyes glistened, and he looked up with an air of mingled
surprise and gratitude.
"Your route" (for all these fellows have routes of their own, which
they observe with as much honor among themselves as bakers and milkmen,
never trespassing on each other),--"your route lies, when you go up,
along such and such streets?"--naming some.
"Yes, sir."
"Well, did you ever see this man before?" pointing to the coachman.