The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-19
AN AMrHIRIors cRIMINAL.
Ii Was the simplest Thing when
They Only know How He Did IL.
Prom the washington Star.

They Only know How He Did IL.
From the Washington Star.
The retired detective was talking for
the benefit OF the Star writer. and the s.
W. was letting MIN do as much Of it as
he wanted to do.
lone of the hardest chaps to run down
ever came across" said he, was one
had something TO do with when / was on
the London police force, many years ago.
He was an all-around thief, ready and
willing to crib anything he could get Ms
hands on, from a house and lot To hot
stove, and he never let anybody get their
hands on him if he could help it and he
always did, while / was on the force. For
five Of the years ! was working along the
dock district that fellow kept at his WORK,
and we couldn't catch him. one night he
cracked a safe and got away with a
thousand dollars or more, and a reward
was offered for him. This put US all on
our mettle. and was keen to make rep
utation. and had everything and every
body spotted. Not a hair Of him, though,
showed for as much as three months, and
then one night I flushed him and gave
chase. He went for the dock, and / was
sure / had him, for there was only one way
to get out of that. and that was by the
water. and in this particular place he
couldn't sneak under the flooring, but had
TO take TO the open water. I wasn't ten
yards behind him as ne went out the
dock on a run, and ! saw him go over and
heard the splash. 1t couldn't have been
second till / was in sight of all the
water where he went in, but when l got
there there wasn't any sign of my man,
and the whole place was well lighted with
lamps. ] made a thorough search, going
all around under the docks beyond, the
only place where he could get under, but
there wasn't any man there. l was sure
then that he had been drowned. and we
dragged the place, but could find moth
ing in the shape of a man, although we did
fish out a dead woman who had evidently
been i'm the water for a month.
His body had fioated on and that was
all there was to 1t, and we congratulated
ourselves on getting RID of him, even
If we had lost the reward. However, six
weeks later, a detective detected" him
one night on a boat on the Thames, and
just as he was going 10 take him in he
went overheard and disappeared in the
dark waters. Of the river. Every effort
was made to find him again. but wi slout
success and this time we weSe sure he
had been drowned. For a year after
ward nothing was seen of him, and then
we heard of him in Liverpool and one
of the Scotland Yarders went there to
take him If possible. He spotted him, as
usual, down about the docks, where he
seemed TO be careless, and again he took
TO the water and escaped. BY this time
we felt that he wasn't born to be
drowned, and that he would turn up
again. He did, several times, and each
time he got away. At last, about five
years after l had been in America, re-
ceived a letter from a friend of mine at
Scotland Yard to the effect that the
water dog as we called him, had been
seen near the docks by a roundsman. and
chased, and as he went toward the water
across the dock he tripped on rope and
fell, striking his head on a stanchion, and
falling into the water in an unconscious
condition. He was fished out and resus-
citated. but before they brought him
around they discovered his amphibious-
ness, so to speak. Fastened about his
neck was a rubber tube ten feet or so
long, with a mouthpiece ready handy
at one end, and the other end fastened
went into the water he staid there, either
swimming away or, holding to a dock
pile, but never coming to the surface for
air. as he got all he wanted through the
tube, with its open end in the float, which
wouldn't be noticed one time in a thou
sand in the dark in such nasty water
as is about the docks. or course. they
would have got onto him after while,
but the accidental falling saved time
and explained a mystery, which he no
doubt guarded sacredly, even from men
of his class, for l know none of the
thieves we ever caught could give him
awaV"