Arizona republican., 1894-10-26
HE WAS COOL.
A Thief, Confidence Man and
 Gambler Jailed.
w. H. Ferguson Deserves Brass
 tiary for Adroitness.

W. H. Ferguson, sneakthief, gam bier and all round confidence man, is in the county jail. His latest display of talent was at the Gregory honse yes terday morning. The performance was brilliant. but luck was against him.
 When Miss Bertha Lichtenstein, the we'll known violinist, entered her room after half hours absence she was con- fronted by we'll dressed and fresh hammered stranger.
 "What are you doing here?" asked Miss Lichtenstein when she had re- covered from her first suspense.
 "Ah, beg your pardon" replied the stranger, "I was only testing; you see I thought this was a cham mbermaid's room," and putting his hand into his pocket produced $4-50 in silver and handed it to Miss Lichtenstein. It had been taken from her purse, which was lying on dresser. ''Let me see," said the stranger, "I believe I gave you $4.50; took only $4, so that I've given you 50 cents too much," and Miss Lich- tenstein corrected his oversight by re- turning him 50 cents. He again apolo- gized for his mbarrassing testing and passed into his own room farther down the corridor.
 A few minutes later Miss Lichten- stein discovered her trunk had been unlocked and that an expensive gold watch had been taken.
 She went down stairs and reported the loss to MT. Gregory. Just then Ferguson, the stranger, came down the stairway and Mise Lichtenstein said ''That's the man." Ferguson made no reply but went out of the rear door and Mir. Gregory watched him go into the water closet and come out.
 He asked him what he had been do- ing in Miss Lichtenstein's room. Fer guson denied that he had been there and being taken before her maintained his denial.
 An officer was sent for but before his arrival Ferguson went to Miss Lichten- stein and told her the watch would be returned to her if she would make no trouble for him. In the meantime MT. Gregory caused the water closet to be searched and the watch WAS found and returned to the owner. Constable Bay ley who had arrived arrested Ferguson. He was taken before Justice Kincaid and his hearing took place in the after noon and it was then that his greatest ability as a crook was made manifest. He seemed quite at home. His smile was one of confidence rather than bravado. As Miss Lichtenste1n took her seat to testify against him he bestowed upon her smile of re- cognition and her answering smile seemed to indicate that the whole thing was an unpleasant joke.
 Miss Lichtenstein proved to be an unwilling witness. She could not swear with exact positiveness that Ferguson WAS the man in her room. Neither could she exactly remember that he had offered to return the watch if she would not prosecute him and when the assist ant prosecuting attorney MT. Moriarty attempted to lead her, there occurred the unusual episode of a defendant in 8 criminal action attempting to protect the prosecuting witness from the per tinacity of the attorney for the pro. secution. The prisoners objections were overruled and the witness was forced to admit that Ferguson was the man and that he had sought to have a felony compounded. The hearing re. suited in the holding of the prisoner to the grand jury. He made state ment in which he fatly denied that he had been in the witness room. He said that he was railroad man by oc- cupation and had come from that in- definite locality known as the north west.
 Ferguson came to the Gregory house two weeks ago and registered from Ogden, Utah. He had no apparent oc- cupation but frequented gambling tables and occasionally played at craps. He usually played high. It is said that one night he won $500 and he said he made winning of $100 on Thursday night. When he was searched there was found in his pockets only the fifty cent piece returned to him by Miss | Lichtenstein, Ferguson claims to be