Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-03-27

Tony. / have nRN# 8Hmbpf 81
the regular policn. 81 se my van-
~ will be pardoneN Nb say that I
considered myself y two above
ID; since IL must s. ssnt 90 every
one that dali perses be and oflen
i . servieeahie polle while de-
tcctive has no rhaa< saecees with-
opt ready pereepli< close shady
Of human nature. S9IIiyely pos
.essed Of iacully 81 asIon. which /
have cultivnfed - eFeAt SER
vice TO me In my bs.s 4 enables
me 10 assume il : = ...r nnFnsss ea.s.s,l-
I nxx. tkn - ssa salaneEA- 4
please. Indeed, so1nang different parts
have I played and in such various COM
pany have I mixed, that Il appears to
me a serious problem at tunes where
my proper position in society lays.
| have a partner in this business
whose real name have no right TO
make public. He is a coarse featured
fellow, and is capable Of converting him.
self by means of dress ints one of the
most rough looking and repulsive Of men.
While in one of the meanest DISCUSSES
some one gave him the name of SLOUGH
and this rather repulsive sobriquet, at
sached 10 him at first in the spirit of
pleasantly, is now about the only name
by which address him. He is good
hearted fellow, muscular and courage
ous, and he has in more than one instance
saved me from great peril if not actual
ly my life. Slouch has a remarkable
faculty of reading CRIME IN the face.
His conclusions are generally correct:
yet how he arrives at them has always
been a mystery to me. My own sus-
picions are the result Of some theory,
and | will freely confess that my imag-
inatIon has often led me astrsy. Il is
different with SLOUGH. A single look at
the suspected person seems enough for
him. He has often upset nicely wo-
ven tissue of apparently coFroborative
incidents tor me by glance at the sus-
pected, a shake of the head and grufF
and provoking dissent. Only one in-
stance occurred where / was right and
he was absolutely wrong, but as its re-
cital would be digressuon, shall re-
serve it for another time.
We are sometimes together, and at
other times widely separated. There
is not a railroad, canal or steamboat
route in the United States that one or
other of Us has not travelled over in the
pursuit of our calling. Recently we
have been sojournihg IN San. Francisco.
Some time since, the officers OF the
tP- Bank IN the city 0g New York
gave information, that their notes had
been extensively countertelted in man.
ner so alarmingly perfect that many OF
the spurious bills had passed through
their own hands without detection, in
fact, the first intImation OF the crime
was the perceptible imitation of their
paper in circulation. Every line and
shade of the original bill was reproduced
in the counterfeit in such perfect man
ner that without the aid of microscope,
detection was utterly impossible. Once
discovered il was plain that there was
no other way TO initiate the genuine out
the art of photography. and in that
science the manipulatoFs must have been
skilled.
SLOUGH and ! went to work at once,
led by the incentive OF very large ad-
ditional reward. We labored many
weeks without success. There was not
a single Photographic establishment in
that large city that escaped. our visits
in disguise, and in my zeal TO succeed
in the undertaking | studied the art
from beginning TO end. Nearly three
months had been fruitlessly spent in
this way, when one evening a messen-
ger was sent to Us from the cashier OF
the bank requesting US 10 hurry to his
room. He informed us that two pas
senger tickets had been bought that day
at the California steamship Office, ev-
cry dollar of which had been paid in
spurious bills. He made some inqui-
ries himself in the matter, and informed
us that the ticket agent had no recollec-
ton Of the persons from whom he re-
ceived the money, and that the steamer
would sail at nine o'clock the following
morning.
SLOUGH and / took the matter into
consideration, and urged by the advice
and counsel ol the bank officers, we de-
termined to take passage on the same
boat. A trunk was hastily packed with
our motley wardrobe and after agreeing
upon our DISCUSSES We sailed ont next
morning, taking different routes, and
and proceeded without any show oil
haste 10 the vessel. ! hesitate to say
that | was much disguised on this trip.
because my appearance, as near as
could make it up. was that Of a well
dressed gentleman Of fortune travelling
for pleasure; and of course the FIRST
cabin was chosen for my quarters.
Slouch had selected very repulsive
disguise. and might have been seen, as
the vessel left the pier, awkwardiy strid-
ing among the strange passengers the
most perfect semblsnce Of asnesk thief
ever saw. As precautIoa we bore q
letter Of introduction TO the master oi
the vessel, Endorsed BY the chief of the
New York police. Slouch and were
Of course apparent strangers, and were
as widely as possible separated on ship
board.
Only a few days Of our voyage had
passed before had succeeded in win.
ming the good opinion of my compan-
ions in the CABIN, while my partner in
the same time. by bis manners and ap.
pearance, had made himself an obiec
of suspicion and distrust to the whole
steerzge.
There was an unusually small mum,
lber Of Us IN the cabin, and among them