The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-08-21

Sne.u range lengthened list OF sons,
Beside her more than royal ones,
Her Washington and Lee.
AUGUST 1, 1868. MICS.
81. !----------o-s~
A DETECTIvE's STORY.
What life is more thrilling than
that of police detective, what more
full Of startling adventure? An in
cident in the experience of two men
well known in. the city of New Or
leans as the most skillful and accom-
plished detectives in the Southern
country, has been related to the re-
porter. It is useless to say who they
are, their names are household words
throughout the valley of the Missis-
sippi. The event about to be related
is of recent occurrence. It is one of
the unpublished histories of crime,
one of the heart beats underneath
the Social current OF the great city.
But the words of the detective in
vest the relation with an interest
more potent than the reporter can
accord it.,sLet him tell the story.
A robbery had been committed in
one of our large commercial houses,
under very singular circumstances.
The day preceding the crime. o large
amount of money had been received.
and left in the safe over night.
Part of this money consisted of $40
and $50 bills. Unknown to any one
but the proprietor. they were marked
with small cross in red ink in the
left hand corner. The safe was lock-
ed at night; in the morning it was
open, the night clerk asleep, under
the influence of chloroform, and the
money gone. The cashier was
young man of high social position,
and about to be married to the
daughter of the proprietor. He
alone carried the keys of the safe.
1t was evident the lock had been
picked, or opened with the KEY.
Our observations convinced us it
was the latter. Still we kept our
: own counsel. At the request of the
merchant, the whole matter was kept
profound secret. 1t furthered our
chances of detecting the robber that
it should be so. Before we had left
the store, we had settled in our
minds the identity of the thief; but
it was necessary to obtain the proof
before our suspicious were divulged,
or his arrest attempted. Descrip-
tions of the money stolen were left
with certain parties, under whose
observation it was most likely to
come if put in circulation, with liz
>structions to detain the person offer
ing it, until we were sent for. This
was all thst could be done for the
present. We went home to await
developments. Still we kept our
eyes on the cashier. He was young,
and although he never drank to
excess, he was "fast." He spent
a great deal of money, and, to
use common expression, was the
deuce among the girls. Ones or
twice we saw him walking in The
squares of evenings, with very
pretty young English girl, q milliner,
working on Canal street. There was
something very noticeable about the
girls face-a sort of melancholy and
sadness, that went straight to our
hearts. Any one would have felt
kindly towards her by just looking
at her. Somehow or other, I felt q
presentiment that this girl was mixed
up in the robbery. 1 couldn't get
rid Of the idea. It haunted me. In
this way several weeks passed. One
day we received message in q great
hurry, to come to the steamboat
landing, 1t was late in the after
noon, and the boats for st. Louis
were about leaving. Arriving there,
we went Mt once en- board the Re-
public, and up to the clerks desk.
Standing at the counter was the
pretty English girl, and in the hands
of the clerk we're two of the marked
$40 bills. She had just offered them
in payment for her passage to st.
Louis. I felt now that the eashie,
was in my clutches. But il was
necessary to proceed carefully and