San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-08-30

have an enviable position, one that
hundreds of men would be glad to
secure. After talking for an hour on
the incidents of his business, we
asked him how he liked it. lie look.
ed long and earnestly at the wall
opposite where he sat, choked up
a little as some recollection came to
him, then with q tear in his eye he
said, "Well, George, there are some
things about it that are pleasant, but
there are some that are enough to
break mans heart. If we could
shadow train robbers entirely, men
who have no friends, no home as
sociations, there would be a certain
romance about it that could be en-
ioyed. but suppose you have letter
containg money, stolen from the
mails. You report it to the post
master, and detective is put on. He
finds where the letter was probably
lost, and has his suspicion of a Ger.
tain postmaster, or route agent, and
that man is Swallowed. Decoy let
ters are sent and the poor fellow
takes one that has money in it, mon
ey that is marked. Then we have to
90 for him. We have the evidence
before he is arrested, and his convic-
ton is dead sure, and very likely he
breaks down and confesses the whole
thing. The heart breaking part of
the business is going into a quiet
home and taking the husband and
father and tearing him from the wife
and children who do not think he is
guilty, and taking him away from
them, knowing that he is doomed to
q felon's cell, and that he is disgraced
forever. To have the wife of a man
who has just commenced stealing
beg and pray with you to let her hus-
band go, and have her hold up her
little baby and ask you for the baby's
sake, to release the father, and to
feel little children pulling at the
skirts of your coat, crying and plead
ing, is enough to make man who
has got children of his own go out
and club himself. But those who
lose money must be protected, and
a man cannot give up to his feelings,
though many times have felt like
paying the money out of my own
pocket, rather than arrest man.
One of the saddest things I ever did
was to take boy who was clerk in
a postofice, at night, around his
fathers house to the barn, where he
had concealed a lot of letters that he
rifed. AS we passed the house the
father and mother of the boy, who
knew nothing of the robbery, were
sitting by the freight singing some
good old Methodist hymns, and we
could hear them as we dug under
the hay in the barn for the letters,
with the boy showing us where they
were. Then we had to go in the
house aud break the news to the old
father and mother. AS we walked
towards the house the voice of the
father was lifted up in prayer, and
we stood on the steps with uncovered
heads, waiting for him to finish the
prayer, and it was the sadest scene
I ever witnessed. I had the thieving
boy, or young man, by the wrist, and
as the father asked God to watch
over their only child, and keep him
from temptation, and deliver him
from evil, the boy trembled ali over,
broke down in flood of tears, and
I was not much more composed than
he was. I tried to think of some
way to get out of going in there, but
the boy had papers in his room that |
we must have, and there was no 9TH
way. It is said that government
officials seldom die, and never resign,
but I swear to you I was willing to
die, or resign, almost, at that mo-
ment, when the old gentleman got up
from his knees, after the evening
prayer, and went over to his dear old
wife and reverently kissed her, the
mother of my prisoner, on the fore
head, and then began to sing. Near
er, my God, to Thee" I thought of
my mother, and of my father, and
of my children, and if my boy had
skipped out 1 don't know whether
1 would have had strength to catch
him or not, but he never could have
escaped. l will not dwell upon the
scene in that house. 1t haunts me
like nightmare, and 1 never see
a good old father or mother without
wondering if they have got boy
that is going wrong. Well, George,
whatever you do, don't be gov
eminent detective" and the officer
GOT lin and walked AWAY with his