The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-09-12

hr. UOnISOn dU once Cdlleu III Uue pO-
lce, and AN experienced detective was
sent to gather all the information on the
subject he could. On hearing the cir
cumstances of the case, this gentleman
ut once recognized the agency of "a
sneak thief, and impaired his suspicious
to the proprietor5 of the store, and his
reasons for them.
al should like to have few words
with your porter" he said.
Certainly; but l hope you don't
suspect him, as he is an old favorite,
aud has been in our employ for years"
mot i'll the least but fancy he can
help us for all that. Did you ever hear
of Il sneak thief, SIR"
mo. What are they Z"
"If you will send for the porter, and
stay here while l question hun, you viii
soon understand that"
The porter shortly entered the room,
looking very much alarmed. He had
heard Of the robbery, and that u police
officer was Gle seted with Mr.. Johnson,
and naturally feared that he had fallen
under suspicion. The first words Of the
detective, however, relieved him from all
apprehension on that score.
Now, my man, want to ask you a
few questions, and you must answer me
carefully. Don't be frightened; we
know that you have had nothing to do
with this robbery, but fancy you can
help me i'll finding out who has
VERY good, SIR; but L don't know
how"
"Who closed the warehouse last
night"
81 did, sir"
"Are you certain that all was securely
fasten, d."
Exactly the same as every other
night"
And the fastenings had not been
tampered with in any way when you
undId them this morning 7"
mo, sir"
We'll, now, who was the first person
to whom you spoke to- day y
81 think it was Mr.. -" Naming
one of the clerks)
"Ah, but thinking won't do. Did not
any one speak to you, or ask any ques-
ton OF you!"
"Yes, gentleman did ask me what
time Mr.. johnson usually came to the
store, as he wanted to see him about
some orders"
What sort of a man was he Can
you describe him :"
He was a young gentleman, very
pleasant-spoken, dark, with a NOUS
tache, and very well dressed. He said
he came from the country, and was
traveller to a firm in the same line as
ours, who were going to buy largely
from us."
"Was he alone?'
mo, there were two others with him,
sir, both nice looking young gents"
did he come i'll 7"
80, yes, he came in; / had Just
opened the door, and was sweeping the
floor, so he walked straight up to me-,
and"
Did his friends come in, too r
I'm not quite sure of that, but l
think they must have, as it was raining,
and they wouldn't stand out in the
wet"
Should you know them again, if yor
saw them =
Il should know two of them-the one
who spoke to me and another, who had
a carpet-bag in his hand. He walked a
little lame"
"Thatll do, porter; you need not say
any thing outside, but I'm afraid we
have not learned much"
"All right, sir"
AS soon as he had gone, the detective
turned to Mr.. johnson and said You
will soon get your property back, l eX-
pect, sir. Those three men are sneak
thieves, and if they are the same be-
lieve them to be, think l know them.
They always pursue the same plan
First of all they discover from confed-
crate, generally a female, the place
where the best booty is to be most cas-
lily obtained. They then rise early in
the morning, and wait outside until the
porter opensathe door, taking great care
that no one is observing them. One then
enters, and addresses the porter, telling
him some such tale as this fellow told
yours, and while he is talking the other
two adroitly slip whatever they can into
bag which they have with them, and
decamp as soon as it is filled. They are
always well dressed and would appear
to be thorough gentlemen to those not
coAversant with their tricks, and men
tion that they have just come up from
the country, in order to account for
their being about so early in the morn
ing. You will hardly believe it, per-
haps; but thieves carry about with
them external marks of their profess
sion, which to detective officer are
unmistakable. For instance, they have
a peculiar walk, and movement of the
arms; they are generally ungloved, and
carry nothing in their hands, while they
are continually glancing on one side or
the other, to see if they are being
watched. would guarantee to pick a
thief out from among one hundred hon
est men, let his general appearance be
what it may"
The detective then took his departure,
promising to communicates again with
Mr.. johnson as soon as he had any
thing of Importance to tell him, and
proceeded to headquarters toreport. He
had observed three young men frequent
ly walking about together, and from
their general appearance had set them
down in his own mind as thieves of
some sort or other, although he knew
nothing positively against them. He
was irresistibly reminded of the trio by
the robbery in Broadway; and the de-
scription given by the porter of the man
who conversed with him coincided re-
markably with one of them who had
attracted his especial notice. He deter
mined, therefore, to keep sharp look
out and trace them home, should he
again run against them.
NJ Jobpeo,, ,,,oonu,b;1o alton aftapd