Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-12-15
A Diamond Thief's Device.

An old horse-car conductor. telling Chicago
reporter of his experience with thieves on his
cars. mentioned the case Of DANDY Ben,"
ge-known pickpocket whom he had arrested
one day after a lady passenger hau discovered the
loss of a valuable diamond earring. HE was
searched" said the conductor. from the crown
Of his hat to the soles Of his boots but the dia-
mond was not discovered. 1t was not on his per-
son Twas beat; and when Dandy Ben sarcastical-
lyasked me if was satisfied. told him | was
Well. then. am not he said; Won will hear
from me again And. taking notebook from
mis- pocket. he cOOlly took down the number or
my car and stepped off. The car was again
searched for the earring. but in vain. and the
unhappy lady who had lost it was inconsoable"
Was it never found:"
Yes One morning, few DAYS after this
event. was lettering about in the car-barn
having half-hour between trips The only
other person around was the foreman of the
barn. and he stood in one of the wide-open
doors when shabby rusty. dilapidated old
tramp came lmping along. looking as iorlOrn
and wretched as the last rose OF summer. IT
was cold morning. and the old fellow sided
up to the door. and then suddenly whisked in
side to escape fierce gust of wind than usual
With rather fatigucd ar he asked tire fore
mans permission TO sit down in one of the cars.
where he could rest and be ont of the wind for
few minutes. He seemed SO harmless and
the old chap snufted along into the barn. He
passed three or four cars. looking at the num-
Der on each, before he finally clamberpd into
one and sat down In a corner. | noticed this.
but not with surprise, for / had recognized
the man. l don't know how | penetrated
his disguise SO readily. but the minute I
laid eyes on that old trampI knew it was Dandy
Ben. He didn't Seem to notice me. CT il he did.
he doubtless thought his disguise was all-suili-
Gent wondered what new game the "a seal
70 roI,, I.,l II
watching on nv own hook without imparting
the secret of my discovery to the foreman.
sauntered to and fro for several minutes. trying
to decide on the best course to pursue to find out
the friskers game: then. all OF a sudden.
thought struck me. Without any further hesi-
tation walked directly and rapidly to the car
which the tramp had entered jerked open the
door and stepped inside. While doing this
caught the sound of hurried movement on the
part of the occupant of the car. and by the time
got my eyes on him he was leaning back in his
corner feigning sleep But he had not had time
TO put out Of sight chisel and small saw
winch were only partially concealed beneath
his coat. The sight of these tools confirmed my
suspicion. caught the rO"ue By the collar and
jerked him out OF the corner. at the same time
calling to the foreman. who came to my assist
ance. In another minute Dandy Ben was our
prisoner And what do you think he had been
doing? With his chisel and saw he had been
cutting hole through a panel in the back of
the seat directly under the window. / knew in
stinctivelv what he was after, and We lost no
time In finishing the work he had begun. Grooming
in the aperture found what expected to lind
the missing diamond earring. This explained
the thiefs real object in taking the number of
my car that day. He had stolen the diamond
out OF the wonan's ear, but as she missed it be-
fore he could leave the car he knew his only
course was to get rid of it, As he had no pal
with him. he dropped the jewel down the crew
ice into which the window slides when it Is low
cred hoping to be able TO recover it at some
future time. He came very near succeeding
too. but miss is as good as mile, they say.
suppose the lady thought so when she got back
her diamond"