The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-07-07
A DETECTIVES TALE OE THE LONDON
SEWERS

SEWERS.
William Harvey, or, rs he was better
known, English Bill, had that morning plead
ed guilty to a crime which gave him to tho
State Penitentiary for life, and as | took him
back to his cell he told me to come and see
him the next day, and perhaps he could tel
me something that would astonish me. We
detectives are not easily astonished, however
and the ott-repeated assurance, by hopeless
criminals, that they could and would astonisl
us with wonderful revelations, too often tel
us little or nothing more than we know. A
few new dodges, some robbery yet in its in
fancy and only conceived, and occasionally
some really useful clues OF information, gen
orally being the substance of the prisoners
confessions, and made in the hopes Of It's be-
ING used to mitigate and shorten the present
punishment and confinement. 1t was moi
with the expectation of hearing anything OF
consequence that | went, the next day, there
fore. to English Bills cell. That he was a
celebrated burglar, thief and criminal had
long known, but as | said before it is seldom
! that reliable information, which can be made
of use to us detectives is furnished by such
men.
Bill seemed none the worse for the severity
Of the sentence, he had so lately received,
| though, to Il less hardened criminal. the bare
| thought Of confinement for life is generally 50
appalling us to age them in few hours.
But Bin had counted the cost over and oven
again, and now the game was up, the race
run, and all chance gone; he was prepared
to pay tie penalty and meet his fate like n
man.
| 1t is such men as these that alone make
the successful burglar or criminal; the COW
ard when his doom has come will have been
a coward before, and the chances are that
the very innate cowardice has been the
canse of unsteadying his nerve or hand and
had led to his detection and capture.
After Il few words of ordinary conversation
with Bill, he plunged into the matter of his
confession at once.
''You see, sir, he said (and I'll tell you it
| in nearly the same words) 81 have something
on my mind to tell You that think YOU ought
| to know You run me down in this ere
game, and did it well amt going to blame
you for doing that that's your business, not
but what it's mean kind Of business, too,
this running on Il man down; but somebody
has got to do it | suppose, and after all it
amt any meaner than 4 man like me, doing
something which requires officers TO run him
down. However, that's neither here nor
there, and l half forgive you for baggng
mel don't quite forgive You, you see-per-
| ltlS lllttl IL tOlt VA ttlitt lilC
in this little business, and you fix the folks
as fixed me, the id Williams"
| told Bill | could make no treaty or bar
gain with him. that all our dealings must
consist of his confession to me, but If he was
able TO give me such information rs would
result in my getting on the track of any
rogucs, he might rest assured Ed follow up
the trail and arrest them, and see due punish
ment metcd out to them if it lay in my pow
cr.
'Well, that'll have to do, suppose; all |
asked is to get them fixed and so here goes
for what the parson used to call open confess
sion You remember that robbery Of the
Surf Bank, down on Tide St, near the river.
How it got pretty we'll stripped, and how no
one ever got u trace of the fellows
| | remembered it too we'll, for the non-suc-
cess of the detective force in not being able
to get the remotest clue, had been constant
gall to us and the papers had taken care that
we should have Il rub up on the old sore
every two OF three days.
''Wcll,n said Bill, ''mc and my pals fixed
up that thing, and if the other fellows had
worked square. wouldn't be here now. I'd
be virtuous farmer in Australia or a res
pectable citizen out West living on my mon
ey and taking good care of myself.
That's what laid out to do it ON, thanks
to them william pals OF mine, and thought
| Td have another try to make me raise, and
that's what settled me.
Wei, you see, we had our eye on that
bank Il long time, and I'll tell You how it
CHANGED to come about.
| One night me aud some fcllcrs were out in
Il boat on the river looking around Ior some
thing that might be handy, and coming
around u pier what should we run into but Il
police boat. Well we pulled for shore, and
struck the hutment hard and stove i'll the
| boat.
The other felcrs grabbed the wharf and
run up it like cats and off they went. but |
was kinder stunned and couldn't run. |
looked around for u moment or so, and right
near me was the mouth of Il sewer put
into that like a streak and went up the pipe
on a run Sometimes I'd trip up and 90 on
all fours in the slush which flowed about six
inches deep in the bottom.
After Il little | stopped to listen and found
no one was after me. | had passed two or
three glimmers of light rs | ran and right
ahead of me was another. Going up to it
found that it came down an opening from the
street. Getting foothold against the wall
Of the sewer, clambered up, and stuck my
head through the opening.
1t was one of those long and narrow sur
face openings which enter the sewers under
the sidewalks at the street corners. 1t was
big enough for me to get my head and
shoulders through but no more The gas
above was burning brightly, and as looked
round the first thing | saw was the Surf Bank
right close to me, the width of the sidewalk
only separating Just then l heard the slow,
steady walk of a policeman, and tucked in
my head He passed within three feet, and
the first thing that struck me was, now if I'd
q grudge against that feller, how easily |
could out with my revolver and shoot i1 him :;
and then l thought who'd ever look down in
the sewer for the man who shot hm-and
how easily I could 60 down to the river and
get off. 1t flashed then over my mind-if q
feller was to rob place and had a friend
down the sewer, how nicely he could hand
him the swag, and then walk home with his
hands in his pockets, and if caught, nothing
could be proved.
These things set me thinking, and CON
cluded l had dropped on first rate thing.