The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-05-08

WAS CAUGHT IN THE ACT.
She Stole Knife From a Woman S
Pocket and Said Another Girl
Told Her to do so. The IN
concerned Story of Her
MANY Experiences.

SsfA 7OANA iNhlbShtl.
As he was watching tho crowd in the
monkey houss his attention was attract
cd by the actions of Il small girl. appar-
entity not more than Is or years old
She was neatly dressed and carried
over her arm canvas bag such rs chill
drcn use for carrying schoolbooks. AS
the detective watched her he saw that
she WAS paying good denl more alton
ton TO tho women who were standing
around her than to tho animals III the
cages He thought that he saw one of
her hands feeling for pocket in the
dress of a woman who stood beside her.
Aftor fumbling around this woman's
skirt for minute sho walked over to
another part OF tho house and talked
earnestly with girl apparently about
her own age. Savage had forgotten the
Incident when, half IN hour later. no
heard n woman turn upon little girl
who stood beside her and exclaim:
You little wretch. what is your
hand doing in my pockct?'
1t was the girl he had noticed earlier.
AS she freed her hand from the woman's
grasp she made some explanation which
the detective didn't hear The woman
apparently thought that she had made a
mistake, for, after scowling ut the girl,
She walked out of the house. BY this
timo Savage felt certain that the girl
was picllpocket. So he watched her
closely. She wiggled around in the
crowd and went through half dozen
pockets without finding anything.
In one or two cases tho women whose
pockets were being searched felt the
Juggling at their skirts and looked down,
to find only schoolgirl who had an.
parently rubbed against them The girl
succeeded i'll getting one pocketbook out,
SO that tho detective could SEQ the top
of it, but at that moment the woman
who owned 1t moved and the little pick
pocket was forced to let it go. Savage
followed the girl until he finally saw
her put her hand into the pocket of Miss
Buling. She drew out knife and
slipped it into tho schoolbag which she
carried. Then she pretended to look Mt
the monkeys. The detective arrested
her and asked Miss Buling if she had
not lost something from her pocket TO
her surprise tho detective pulled out Of
the schoolgirls bag Miss Billings pearl
handled knife.
The girl said that she was Mary
Fisher, and that she was years old.
She admitted stealing the knife and
talked about her experiences as a pick
pocket i'll very unconcerned way.
II didn't intend to steal that knife
at all. Mary Robinson who was with
me, told me TO do it, l told her that it
would be stealing, and that if 1 did
take the knifo would just sharpen my
pencil with 1t and put it back. When
the policeman arrested me, Mary ran
away
How did Mary Robinson know that
the knife was in this woman's pockot?"
why, she knew" said Mary. ''Sho
won't around and sounded the pockets
and knew what was i'll them, and then
she told me to take the things -
Mary said ut first that she had been
picking pockets in the monkey house Mt
Central park for the past three weeks.
and later she asserted that she had never
picked pocket before. She said that
Mary Robinson, who is about her own
age, had taught her how to do it.
Mary showed me a prayer book and
some beads, " She said, three weeks ago
chat she had got III church I told her
to put them back. and she asked me
why. 1 said, It's stealing and SHE
said, Nav, it isn't; it's findings, and
findings is keepings.' I didn't know
that. Then Mary told me that we conld
get findings up to the park. She told me
how to do it. She said for me to get
CLOSE 10 woman, and while the woman
was looking at the monkeys to put my
hand in her pocket, and that was find
'ngs Ii the woman looked around, Mary
told me 10 look hard at the monkeys and
pretend not to notice her -
In addition to Miss Buling knife tho
detective found in Mmys schoolbag
pocketbook containing 10 cents. half
dozen postage stamps and some small
Catholic medals. When no one turned
mp to claim the pocketbook, Mary assert
ed that 1t was hers, and that her mother
had given 1t to her for birthday pres
ent.
~ have seen a good many Of them at
work, p" said Detective Savage, "but
never saw an old timer who was slicker
at her business than this little girl. She
went through the pockets of a number
Oh women while / was watching her
and did it without attracting their a.
tention. have never noticed her in the
monkey house before, but she certainly
has had some experience in that sort of