The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-07-01
StIfftt0 saisfeIIann.
A DETEuTIyE'S TALE OF THE LON
DON SEWERS.


William Harvey, or. as he was bette
known, English Bill, had that morning
pleaded guilty TO q crime which gave hin
TO the State Penitentiary for life, and as
took him back to his cell he told me {,
come and see him the next day, and per
haps he could tell me something. tha
would astonish me. We detectives are no
easily astonished, however, and the oft-re
peated assurance, by hopeless criminals
that they could and would astonish u
with wonderful revelations, too often tel
MS little or nothing more than we know
A few new dodges. some robbery yet In 1T
infancy and only conceived, and occasion
ally some really useful clues or informa
ton, generally, being the substance OF th'
prisoners confessions, and shorten th'
present punishment and confinement. /
was not with the expectation of hearing
anything of consequence that went, the
next day, therefore. to English Bills cell
That he was a celebrated burglar, thief anC
criminal I had long known, but as l said
before. it is seldom that reliable informa'
ton, which can be made of use to us de-
tectives is furnished by such men.
Bill seemed none the the worse for the
severity of the sentence he had so lately
received, though, to less hardened Grim
inal, the bare thought of confinement fol-
life is generally so appalling as to age them
in few hours. But Bill had counted the
cost over and over again, and now the game
was up, the race run, and all chance gone
he was was prepared to pay the penalty
and meet his fate like man.
1t is such men as these that alone make
the successful burglar or criminal; the COW
hoc xrTIlI h0u hna
q coward before, and the chance are that
the very inmate cowardice has been the
cause of unsteadying his nerve or hand
and had led to his detection and capture.
After a few words of ordinary converse
ton with Bill, he plunged into the matter
of his confession at once.
sfYou see, SIR, he said (end I'll tell you
it in nearly the same words) Il have some
thing 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 60
ing to blame you for doing that; that's your
business, not but what it's mean kind OF
business too, this running on a man down;
but somebody has got to do it l suppose,
and after all it amt meaner than man like
me, doing something which requires Off
GERS to run him down. However, that's
neither here nor there, and half forgive
you for bagging mel don't quite forgive
you, You see-perhaps thatn come, and it
will come if you and me put together in
this little business, and you fix the folks as
fixed me, the d-d villains.
I 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 sucl information as
would result in my getting on the track OF
any rogues, he might rest assured I'd fol-
low up the trail and arrest them, and see
due punishment meted out to them, if it
lay in my power.
"WeIl, that'n have to do, suppose; all
1 asked is to get them fixed and so here
goes for what the parson used to call
open confession. You remember that rob
berry of the Surf Bank, down on Tide street,
near the river. How it got pretty well
stripped, and how no one ever got trace
of the fellows.
1 remembered it too well, for the nom
success of the detective force in not being
able to get the remotest clue, had been
constant gall to as and the papers had Ia
ken care that we should have a rub upon
the old sore every two or three days
"Wen, said Bill, s'me and my pals fixed
BID that thing, and if the other fellows had
worked square, wouldn't be here now
I'd be a virtuous farmer In Australia or
respectable citizen out West, living On my
money and taking good care of myself.
That's what laid out to do it on, thanks
70 them villain pals of mine, and thought
I'd have another try to make me raise, and
that's what settled me.
We'll, you see, We had our eye on that
bank a long time, and I'll tell you how it
chanced to come about.
One night me and some fellers were ont
in q boat on the river looking around tor
something that might be handy, and COM
inc around pier what should We run into
but a police boat Well we pulled for
shore, and struck the butment hard and
stove in the boat.
The other fellers grabbed the wharf and
run up it like cats and off they went, but
was kinder stunned and couldn't run. L
looked around for amoment or so, and bright
near me was the mouth of a sewer. / put
into that like streak and went up the pipe
on a run. Sometimes I'd trip up and go
down on all fours in the slusb which flow
ed about six inches deep in the bottom.
E1After little Istopped to listen and found
no one was after me. had passed two or
three glimmers of light as ran and right
ahead of me was another. Going up to 1t
I 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.
lit was one of those long and marrow sur
face opening 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
4 l~.r- nd oc lr.ralr =
ed 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 policeman, and
tncked in nv head. He passed withlR three
feet, and the first thing that struck me,
was. now if I'd grudge against that feller,
how easily could out with my revolver
and shoot him; and then thought who'd
ever look down in the sewer for the man
who shot him-and how easily could go
down to the river and get of. 1t flashed
then oyer nv mind-if a feller was to rob
a T1Ieee and had friend down the sewer,
how nicely he could hand him the swag,
and then walk home with his hands IN his
rockets, and if canght, nothing could be
proved.
These things set me thinking, and 1 con-
clnded / had dropped on first rate thing.
Won know yourself there amt any difficulty
worth mentioning in the way of us fellers
getting into any bank in the city, but the
0olice catch us as we go home with the
stuff. II amt the getting it that bothers
as. but it's the way to fetch it home through
fhe streets. Well, to make a long story
short Ilaid out to break into that very
honk which was SO handy to the sewers. I
bod the choice OF pals, and picked out
tbose M thought could trust. was mis-
teten ,S in that, but I'll fool 'em yet. l got
= teller to hire the basement under the
ba,,E and then for month or so let the
,natfer Law still, only was mstarlng my
oIans all the while At last all was ready,
and six of us had sworn to stand by each
other through thick and thin and to share
eouaIly the danger and the stnff, only L
was TO have ten per cent. on the fve others
for finding out and planning the lay.
Scotch Rob and me and Gentleman linn,
and Jerry Nudge was to be INSIDE the base.
80 Gentieman Tim was the man that
l.;~sd II for brokers' Office, and Charley
Ferris was to BE in the sewer ana cute
Jaclr Was to be in the street
We ali four were to be In the basement
ON Saturday, and as time for locking up
came three of us got into big press sup
nosed to be full of papers. Gentleman i'm
then walked out OF the Office and gave the
Janitor the key of it. He then came pack
and opened the door which he had not