The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-04-05

you propose to crack tonight ?"
"This here one"
Anime p
"Yourn."
"Oh I" .- --.
And Old Reginald prepared to ring
the bell. .s
: PLEASE dun't do that guy'nor.-
You ain't never agoin' to give me into
custody a,.-- ~ - =. -,-i.. -
81 think had BETTER" ..
"No, no, guv'nor, dun't do thai
Listen to me first amt agoin' to
hurt you. It's my turn to crack your
crib tonight. Now, will you help
me 7"
81 hardly see my way" said Old
Reginald, thoughtfully. "Still, if l
can be of any use"
Look here, guv'nor, each member
OF our gang is bound to get fifty
pounds worth of sway from each crib
he cracks. If he don't he's shot
Now, see handsome silver salver
and coffee-pot and cream jug as I
came in here. Wot might be the
value of that handsome silver salver
and cofee-pot p
"The cream jug is electro The
ooffse.pot, with sugar basin and salver,
may be worth five and-forty pounds. -"
That's near enough. I'll take
'em. Here is Aimsy for fifty quid."
And he handed old Reginald, q
bank note for the amount. ...
Still don't quite understand -"
81 want you, guv'nor, to be SO good
IS to leave your bedroom window
open tonight, and place that silver
and them silver traps where 1 can
get 'em. l shall have cracked my
crib. bagged my swagg, and made
myself safe until my turn comes round
again." -.
"Certainly," said old Reginald.
holding up the bank note to the light.
"But let me ask, how can you af-
ford to pay so handsomely for your
depreciation I"
There was dozen On US. sir
Each on u, cracks crib once in tour
mouths, aud each swaggs at least fifty
pounds worth often more, but Mt
!eat thai. Af r each plant the prot
its are divided. Last quarter the
twe.ve cribs cracked brought Us in
eleven hundred p"unds-that's ninety
pounds old apisce Wien my turn
CONES pay "a fair price for the fifty
pou .d.' worth swagg (lor I have
been honora'.ly brought up). and l
gets forty pounds t" the good And
turty pounds quarter is 4 hundred
and sixty pounds year. And l lives
on it. Sometimes it's more-now and
then it's less, but whatever it Is l
lives on it."
And the honest fellow took q re-
ccipt for a po,e and del arted.
Id Reginald was IS good as his
wor,l. He left his bedroom window
op. and placed the saiver where the
Honest Burglar was as good as his
word, and at 2 O'clock in tue morning
he came and found it.
So far, all was simple and straight
warl ,Iough. But now comes the
curious and incredible part of my
story.
The fifty pound rote was a part of
the proceeds or a previous burglary.
The number of the note was known,
and traced TO Old Reginald, who had
10 account tor its being in his posses
sion.
Now the twelve burglars, had in
the meantime been arrested by the po-
lice Ithis is also Incredibly, and were
condemned to penal servitude for lite.
So Old Reginald had no hesitation
in stating the facts as l hays stated
them.
No one believed him, as no one will
me.
So he appealed to the Honest Bur
glar to coroborate his story.
But the Honest Burglar. having
discovered the whole thing. coffee pot,
saiver, and ell, was the conn. onest
electric, was SO shocked at Old Regi-
maids dishonesty that not only did he
decline to corroborate his story, but
actually, and | think very properly,
identified him rs an accompiice.
And Old Reginald was also sen
fenced to penal servitude, and he and
the Honest Burglar worker for many
years together on the same works.
and had many opportunities OF talking
the matter over from its moral, social,
and political point oil view,-London
Fun