The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-07-17
After An Escaped Convict.

ordinary skill IN the recapture Of escaped prs
oners. Il have had pretty good luck in re
turning our runaways," he sad IN response Il
an inquiry, and suppose | could tell you
some interesting stories about my experiences
IN that line but am by no means clear that
| ought to do so. Night not give away, as
it were, the capital upon which | work, the
very thing that enables me to be successful
if tell yOu how | get on the track of escap
ed men and hunt them down? Criminals are
not fools, especially those who have the energy
and inventive capacity to plan ana execute
successful escapes from strong and well
guarded prison like this. Suppose tell you
about recapture in which | got my points
from other ConviCts, the returned mans friends
will he likely 20 know at once who my inform
ants were, and in course of time they will let
him know my intormants will be charged
with treachery perhaps punished for it, and |
will have lost avenues of information for
those whom have betrayed will never trust
me again, and the knowledge that have be.
trayed them will get abroad and make others
afraid 10 trust me.
"Wcll, perhaps I can tell yod one story
which il not open 10 those object. ons--,hHt OF
Clarence Brown. And it's not bad one
either, rs illustrating the chances that detect
ives have 10 take sometimes anu the labor that
is required to hunt down en- escaped convict
1t was away back when Alfred Walker was
warden here, five years ago, that we had among
the convcts young man who chose to be
known at the time by the name Of Clarence
Brown. He was not strong, and pretended to
be II good deal more ailing than he was, SO, as
he seemed 10 be a quiet wclbehaved young
chap light work was found for hIm IN the
Wardcn's kitchen. and he was unusually kind
" treated. lie encouraged the idea that lie
liked the prison as sort of refuge from the
cold and hGartcss world, and did it SO success
fully that keepers would say, Oh! you could
not drive Clarence Brown away with club
Except that he had to sleep in the prison. he
was about as free as a hired man could have
been, going wherever he pleased In the War
deus house and about the grounds.
But one night when they came to look fOl
him at lockingup time he was not to be found
Poor Clarence they said, something must
have happened to him; he must be around
somewhere But | said, Look sharp and SEE
what else besides Clarence Brown is missing.
They looked and found that handsome new
suiJ belonging to the Wardern's son was gone
Clarence had taken advantage of the absence
of both the Warden and his son, had gone uI
to the young mans room and there had chang
ed his convict dress for the broadcloth suit
had appropriated fine watch, some jewelry
and otner uncOnsidered triiies, fancy shirt, hat
boots, &c, and not waiting to fold his tent,
ike the Arab, had silently stolen away o
course he marched out past the guards, wh'
never thought of challenging that rig.
well, had reasons OF my own for bcliev
ing that he came from Troy, although he haC
SAID that he was from Baltimore In fact,
worm" that out of a woman who had com,
to Sc IN long before, and little suspecte,
that was con,radctiDg him, or that the in
form on was of any importance to me. o
cou' never told him that knew As soor
as We had settled it definitely that 1t hadn'
needed any club to send poor Clarence away
ran up to Troy. John Mckenna was Super
lntendcnt OF police in Troy, and when | dc
scribed to him the woman who had called a
the prison to see Clarence Brown, he identified
her AZ the daughter of man whom | viii
call smith, who lived on River street
~ e took stroll down that way to try aut
see II we could see her to make sure; ant
wncn we got within a block or two of til,
house, | saw her coming along, and knew he
at once. There's the woman now said |
And she's John Smiths daughter said he
OF course, took good care she should no
see me.
Now said |, hes sure to write to her, ant
if we could only get at his letters, we coulC
tell easy enough where TO lay hands on him
What sort Of man Is your posmastery ~,
you think he'd help us"
"Mckenna said he didnt know, but wet
90 and see We went, but | saw at the frs
glimpse OF him that there was no chance III
was dignified serious, elderly man. with
big sense Of responsibility, one who would n,
more think of connlving at tamperlng witt
the mail, even for a good purpose, than Ii,
would of picking a pocket He had been
judge-and he looked it,
But did manage-no matter hOW--tO fine
exactly when a letter for Miss Smith was pac
cd in the letter carriers hand The pO-lmaste
would have let me know the pCslmark upol
1t, but that was not enough for wanted H. b.
sure what The fellow was doing and where h,
was going knowing as did that he woulC
keep on the move all the time One day saw
this carrier come out, and | hnd reason Il
know that lc had with him a letter for Mis-
SMITH. Away went TO get 10 River stree
ahead OF him. did so, glided up on Smith
stoop, and waited until the carrier was within
three or -four doors Of me Then | wentdowI
with hurried step and took care that he saw
me coming met him, passed HIM, and said, n
if the idea had just occurred To me:
ON, by the way, anything for us th
morning" What name? sand he. smith.
said witt my heart in my mouth for lea
he ight know Smith-and added the numhe
OF the house had just come from the stooI
Of. Bat he didn't know Smith, luckily. III
just glanced hurriedly at the letters In hi
hand, picked one out, SAID innocently Yes
one handed it TO me- and was off on hi
rounds. / went as fast as could in an oppc
site direction, and when got IN safe plac
opened the letter. Clarence Brown was a
Reading, Pennsylvania, and told where he wa
going next
81 started by the next train to in,erscepi hun
but was an hour too late. Then | tracked hin
uD through PENNSYLVANIA IN a northuos, A
rection, TO Rawlings, then TO Schenectad,
Springfield, Mass, and finally to Boston
was 30 close on HIM there that he only got
few minutes start TO Cohasset, where lac ha
a relative OF course, it was simply chanc
thai he rushed along like the Wandering lev