The evening world., 1888-01-25
THE WORLD. WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 25, 1883

hearty liking.
So our respectable friend, who had on q
gold watch n heavy gold chain, and had q
wad Of 5000 in his waistcoat pocket, thought
he would enjoy the view Of this mans back o
good deal better than having him in the rear,
where his movements couldn't be 30 well OBJ
served.
He Jagged O little TO allow the fellow TO
pass. The young fellow staggered up, and
as he was opposite to the gentleman whipped
his hands out of his pockets and made q grab
for the gold watch and chain. He was so
quick that he would have wrenched the chain
from the button-hole IL it had not been IN
usually strong. As it was, the gentleman had
time to clutch hold Of II, and in a state of
great alarm he yelled for the police.
The thief, In running his a into the
gentleman's pocket, may have felt the roll Of
bills. He had probably meant to get AVA
with the watch and let the gentleman 60.
But when he felt the roll of bills and saw
what a respectable looking man he was he
thought 1t would pay TO make q bigger job
Of 1t.
There was not much time to be lost. The
cries Of his victim might reach the ears of o
policeman, though there did not happen to
be any in sight.
As If to favor the thief, or possibly because
he had tried to grab his man at this point, o
load of brick was lying near the sidewalk.
The young fellow snatched up a brick from
the heap and ran after the man, who had
broken away from him. He had not much of
q start, because grabbing the brick took only
O moment, and the young fellow soon over
took him.
He caught hold of the gentleman's vest as
he came up and gave such o wrench to II
that he fairly tore it half way of. His VIC
tim redoubled his cries, and the thief, seeing
he had not got what he wanted, and losing
patience, brought down his right hand with
the brick in 1t with crushing force on the
other ones head.
1t broke into his skull and he dropped to
the pavement, his legs twitching as If he were
in a fit. The young man went through him,
relieved him of his watch, the roll Of bills
and o pocketbook with several valuable pa
pers in 1t, and made off.
The gentleman was found by the patrolman
lying senseless on the sidewalk. An ambu-
lance was summoned, and he was conveyed to
the hospital. His brain was injured, and for
some time he lay unconscious between life
and death, and then had a violent fever.
When he recovered sufficiently he gave such
q description of his assailant as he could. A
young, strongly built fellow, not more than
twenty, with a b~ristling mustache. His eyes
had been too shaded by the hat to tell what
color they were, and the gentleman confessed
to having been so excited that he did not get
q very clear idea of the rascal's appearance.
Most of the prominent crooks of a neigh
borhood are known to the police. I had
some idea of who it might be that had done
the thing. I put on citizep's clothes and be-
gan to work on the case.
The attack had been made In the neigh
borhood of Canal street. From the use of
the brick I did not believe the thief had
meant to infict any injury on the gentleman,
but at first intended, as I said, to snatch his
watch and get off with 1t. At the utmost he
had probably thought of nothing more than
knocking the man down. But finding that
he seemed to be q good subject with plenty
of money about him, and seeing the pile of
brick at hand, he had adopted the idea of
knocking him. in the head with the brick in
order to ~paralyze him, and if it killed him
that was not a thing that would worry the
thief very much. -.
So I concluded that my man came from
somewhere in that ~neighborhood, nj if 80,
there was no place as likely TO be either his
residence or his refuge as Rotten Row."
I hung around there trying to get some
clue. would drop into the beer-saloons and
barrooms and listen to the men talk while
pretended to read the papers. Sometimes
would get into conversation with the mer
that would lounge in for drinks.
There was q cheap clearinghouse along
there, and fellows would often bring in some
girl and have supper there. One evening
was in this place, sitting at one of the NAL
tables, near two men who were taking some
thing to eat. While We were there q CIR
| came in alone and walked along with q sor1
! of swagger air to a table in the corner.
The two men followed her with their eyes
Then one of them said in an undertone K
r the other
l Isn't that Jim's girl ?"
: used to be-" said the other, shortly
, He's got another one now. I hain't seel
him with her for a month"
where is JIM I haven't seen him 70
SOM time"
II guess you won't see him for a while
s He's layin' low" returned the second fell
Q low.
a why, what's he ben up to, now ?" in
n quired the first.
Don't know" was the answer. But
think he knows something - Here tn
8 speaker lowered his voice so that I could no
catch what he said, although I was listenin
o very attentively. The first man leaned hi
head over SO as to catch what the other said
Q THE Teller amt dead, is he ?" he inquire
audibly enough for me to hear, after the re
mark was finished.
a Dunno. He was taken to the hospital,