Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-11-29
IDENTIFIED.
BY AN OLD LOCKSMITH.

! I-II ..ttIsdgdHsSH II 'h5 90 dh dppreil
--ksSASsSEGa{G tlce to a promi
V&i3l1G%N/ nenu Boston lock
TX - smith, MAJ
VI came into the
shop to get Mr.. Searle, my employer
to open safe, ono of the keys O
which had been lost, and the posses
sor OF the other being away for some
days.
Mr.. Searle questioned the man con.
corning the make of the safe, and by
his replies understood the character
of the lock, and being too busy to at.
tend personally to the job he called
me, gave the necessary directions,
and told me to accompany the mes.
senger.
was at this time seventeen years
old, had been some two years at the
trade, was apt and had acquired un-
usual skill in it for so brief a
period, and Mr.. Searle, pleased
with my progress and interest
in the b siness, had confided
much of his own secret knowledge of
the craft to me, and particularly of
his method of ascertaining the in
terror mechanism and arrangements
of locks of rival makers, by which he
was generally enabled to pick even
the most difficult of those then in use.
went with the man, who was q
messenger in a brokers' office on
State street where the locked-up safe
was, and on arriving proceeded at
once to my work. Several persons
besides the proprietor were present,
and all watched with much interest
my movements, for which l did not
care so long as they did not interfere
with my space and light.
The safe was one of the best
fire-proof makes of that ii me.
and the lock an excellent
one OF the clever" kind, So
called; but in less than half an hour
had fitted n key to it, roughly made
but sufficient to unlock it, and great
were the expressions of wonder and
admiration at my skill.
Now, without making an effort to
do so, had, during the operation,
noted the various persons present,
and among them was one young man,
who said very little, but watched my
efforts with marked interest, and
whom ! Judged to be clerk in the
office. He Was not over thirty wears
of age, was of medium height, of
light complexion, with nothing strik-
ing about his general appearance to
distinguish him from ordinary men,
but, as on one occasion he turned his
head aside to answer some question
of the brokers'. saw a small. bright
red mole on the back of his ear, or,
rather, there were two moles Joining
so as to form an outline of the figure
8 inverted.
l had been taught by Mr.. Searle
that, in a job of this sort, my work
was accomplit he'd with the picking OF
the lock, and that it was no part of
the locksmith's business to afterward
open the door. unless at the Gus
toner's request. Therefore l arose
and said to the broker:
There, sir, it is unlocked. You
can now open it,"
He at once did SO, and revealed the
contents of the safe, which consisted
principally of papers and books, but
! noticed in addition-laid in one
corner where there was no shelves-a
small steel box or chest, which /
recognized as one which | had about
a month before fitted n key at the
shop, However, | did not wait, but
after the broker had given me an or
der to make n suitable key for the
safe, which could do, of course, from
the skeleton | had made in unlocking
it, | went back to the shop-but the
mole on the clerks ear still haunted
me.
About fortnight later / was one
night returning home from the old
National thea ter. l had Just turned
from Haymarket square into Cross
street and gone few yards when, in
a dark part, l felt myself firmly
seized, n cloth bandage thrust over
my eyes, and u rough voice. in sup
pressed tones, said:
MAKE no noise, boy. We don't
want ter hurt We, but II hev ter # yer
don't come along quietly. We've got
n little job for We ter do fore we go
home, m theirs n knife stickin' right
toward we we make the least troub-
le."
| had already ceased what little
resistance | had attempted at first,
tor was neither 6 largo nor strong
lad of my age, and | felt that l was
in the grasp of at least two strong
men; so / allowed them one on each |
side, to hurry me along. The night |