The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-02-16
THE CRACKSMAN'S DEFEAT.

y
ested in burglars, nor are their habits q
very choice theme in polite literature
but then that occurrence at Glen Spring
was really an extraordinary affair. You
see, the way came to get wind of it was
through "Calico Charley, as they called
him. was on the force then as a SER
geant. That was when Acton and Ken
nedy made it too hot for both the poll
ticians and the thieves. We used to
boast at that time that we had the best
police force in the world. Well, "Calico
Charley went up for ten years for help
ing to crack old Oppenheimer's place
there in the Bowery. 1t was an unlucky
job for him all through, and as / was one
OF the specials that "piped" and took
him. and as l had known him off and on
fOr long time before that, it was Just
like me one day, when / was up at Sing
Sing, TO 60 over TO the stone quarry and
get the keeper to let me have talk with
him. | got his whole history. He WASH t
ono OF your common cracksmen Not a
bat of IL. He was too smart by long
shot for that sort of thing. Don't you
run away with notion that burglars are
such awful smart chaps. That's queer
idea that people get out of the story pa
pers. Let me tell you that I've had nigh
onto fifteen years chance to find out, and
I've never seen one that wouldn't run his
head into slip-noose the minute he had
the least luck. Oh, no. / heard the
chaplain say once, over to the island.
that man whose mind and body were
all right wouldn't be a thief no more'n a
healthy fellowd be a pauper. There's
always something the matter with EN-.
A twist III 'em somewhere that knocks
'em fiat when n sound man gets after EN-.
Calico Charley, as | was going to say,
was pretty much of an exception. He
WAS brought up well. His father was
one OF the best machinists in the coun-
try. and he took more pains TO make
man of his boy than the fellow deserved.
The old man had a little place down
there in Maiden lane when I was
shaver. / recollect it well. 1t was
kind of machine shop, where he made
and sold three or four tricks he'd invent
ed himself. He had the boy Charley
with nina bright, smart chap he was
then. When he was 81 he got to be
pretty lively about town, for the old man
had eaved up handsome property and
let Charley have more money than was
good for him. Then they got up new
safe-lock, and it made a big stir, and L
believe they went into that sort of thing
pretty heavy. Any way Charley went
over t. the first worlds fair in London.
There he got tripped up. I never heard
exactly how it was. They put up
job on him of some kind, and got him
mixed up with pretty bad London
Sc mob. The story that we heard was
that he picked safe-lock for party
that shouldn't have been picked. Any
way, he got in with the wrong crowd,
and they wouldn't let go of him. He
staid over there about five years and
1yot to be a regular first-class sneak, and
worked half dozen jobs in the most
scientific manner. We got word from
Scotland Yard that he was coming back,
's1d J dropped in at the old mans place
Ghere in Maiden lane to try and find out
something. Old Calcott (that was his
nancy had got rich. What with his
bank lock ana his other inventions, his
mean way of living, and his lucls in buy
ing some downtown property before the
people had an idea Low big the city was
going to be, he'd come to be regular
nabob. / couldn't get word out of him
about his boy He said he'd given him
up, and was going to retire from bust
ness. Money must have come in pretty
fast to the old fellow. He showed me
half dozen patents chat he was going to
'seh out; any one of 'em must have been
worth pile OF dollars.
Now think of il, it was Calcott who
put the first Franklinite in an iron safe,
and he invented the rubber fiange which
prevented tie thieves from using the air.
pump when thy wanted to blow up a
safe.
1t seems that when Young Calcott
started for America he'd made up his
mind " cut has London acouaintances
and tricks, aud square il by going back
10 the old man. None of ma knew II at
1.-THE time. Well, when he got here n On.
lrious thing happened. We had q man
IN the Central Office by the name os
MeehaD, who was ina with an East s;da
mob. He was broke about wear after.
ward. Mcehan had got word from tbe
London gang, and he met young Colcott
on the dock with facts enough to so,,J
him up and he made a straight Offer 90
him TO stay with the Fast side 80, "a =,