Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-01-30
suRRoWlNc For $4,000.
Tho Wanderings or ar Astonishcd womAD
Spoiled n Big Robbery.

pdllY puSntN Nv II clever plckpOckeb
called "Mollio Matches" alias John
Larney. He was man of enterprise.
courage and brains. aud, what was just
as important in Il job of this sort, he
had noney-lots Of it. Alatcnes was
not II gopher man" himself. and in
no wise worked on banks in practical,
personal way. He belonged To the
aristOcracy of rogueS, was prime
pickpocket. i'm fact and il some light.
fingered McAllster ever writes book
he will tell YOU such man belongs to
roguery's "40J."
/ Matches did the outside work. He
procured the tools the section Jim
mics, the sprcaders. pullers, wedges,
mauls. sucllon-pump, putty. powder
fuse, saws. files, drills and drill brace,
as well rs various corrosive acids for
eating iron and steel. These tools are
necessarily handmade, IA in the
nature of thtgs they can only he
ordered of trusted men. The men who
make them are among the best artisans
in the world and the cracksman tools
they turn out are light. elegant, ac-
curate and OF great power. The toOis
for the New Jersey robbery were made
~
man who was once the chief police
officer of that city. They cost Matches
$l.S00 The bank was selected be-
cause of vacant dwelling-house on
one side while two streets and IN alley
were on the other three.
I 1t is well TO say right here that
banks. and especially those weak banks
in small country towns which are the
"gophers' pride and JOY, had better
know who has possession next door.
That is where danger generally comes
from.
Matches BEGAN by bribing the janitor
| of the bank. who was also its night
Waterman. He let the talented robher
inside one night and an accurate plan
of the bank with its money vaults was
made. Then Matches rented the house
next door, paying for month in adj
vance. Ono Saturday evening the
gang assembled and the work began.
! Saturday was selected because the
work was going to take time aud they
would need until Monday morning TO
complete it. Their purpose was 10
tunnel into the bank from the neigh
/ boring house. Descending to the base
mcnt they began, guided by their map
of the bank.
All night they moiled and toiled in
! the basement. A good deal of work
was before them. rs they had to tun-
mel under The open yard between the
! buildings for space of ten feet. But
they kept on. for they were within fifty
! feet of 500. 600. At last the earth
taken ont began 10 cucumber that part
of the basement where the "gophcrs"
/ were at work. One was detlilcd To
] carry it back in II large basket and
/ dump it in rear room. This rear
room had half-windows from which
one could see into the back yard. but
the ''gophrrs" never Thought of that;
they were thinking only of the bank
and the $2O0.00O. Matches was not
with them, or this mistake might have
been averted. lie told me this story
himself. and was confident nothing
/ would have gone wrong ii his master-
mind were there.
/ Trouble began in this wise. The
card For Rent" was still in the front
window. The thieves overlooked that,
too. 1t caught the eye of an old Irish
woman bound for early mass on Sum
day morning. She coveted the ediice
for "boordin'- house" 1t WAS locked,
so she went about peering iato tho
windows and deserted n pile of fresh
earth on the floor. The ".Ophers"
bad been dumping dirt there about
thirty minutes.
"Av Oi tux it," said tho old Irish
woman TO herself. "Ofd make the
landlord clane out the basement shure."
Aud then she journeyed Oh to- early
mass and tile consolation OF her sOni.
The morning aud part OF Sunday
afternoon sped 10y. No bees ever
worked like the dilgent "gophers"
nearing the 5000 900. The pile Of
earth in the back basement grew
apace. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon
the old Irish woman. her mind fraught
with "boOrlin'- house" determined 10
take another look ut the eligible
structure that STOOL next the bank. She
was astounded ut the growth of the
mound OF earth in the rear basement.
From "A small. inconsequrntial heap it
hal grown until tons OF earth were
now cumbering tho floor.
"Howly virgin. but the house is
haunted completely" exclaimed .he
auA wv IVA
IL priest.
Tue cleric was not superstiiious and
smiled ut the spook theory. He started
for the house. On the way he notified
II sergeant of polite ut n minor
station. The sergeant knew his buS-
ness aud at once OWNED the scheme at
the thieves. lie was also au ambitious
officer. aud determined to make the
capture withoat first notifying the GEN.
trial office. THIS was contrary TO police
rules aud disarrangnd matters might
iy. If he had notified his superior the
tnieves would have got away. The
careful Match hal the chief fixed"
aud nret messenger was in constant
waiting IN sight of any signal which
the chief might give. tn fly to the men
at work aud notify them of discovery.
The signal was simple. The chief was
10 put up certain window OF his
Office. That means ''Lnok outr'
But {, e sergeant did not notify tho
chief. He wanted the credit himself;
so he took squad and captured the
industrious 'goDhers" in their tunnel.
And tmev wure within two hours of