Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-03-21
4 DETECTIVES STORY.
He Had m Assistant Who CsoiA Nos ne
sist Temptation.


80 ~ A..,stant who CsulA Not Re-
sist Temptation.
"Do you know that the 'hold-up'o1
train in Virginia recalls to my mind
q similar occurrence that took place
when was young man in the bust
ness mn near Pittsburgh at q station
named Greensburgh?" said we'll
Iknown railroad detective. 1.-THE details
are verv similar. The train was success
! fully held up; the express car robbed OF
q GOOD round sum, and the robbers
made a break for Pittsburgh after
crossing the Conemaugh river, near
which the robbery occurred. re-
ceiyed the details of the robbery in
Pittsburgh from my superior officer q
short time after it occurred, and
something told me they would use the
Conemaugh to cover up their tracks.
81 had an assistant at the time who
lived on the outskirts OF Allegheny
CITY, at one of those little summer
places. There was a telegraph Office
at the place, and at'once telegraphed
him to be on the lookout for the men,
and that would see him in the morn.
ing. At the same time took another
route so as to cover as much ground as
possible. The details OF my assistants
movements that night gathered from
him two years later in the Cook county
Jail, Chicago.
SIT seems that he was in the tele-
graph office when my message was re-
ceived, and in few minutes was on his
way toward the river. 1t was pitch
dark, but he kept on until he reached
point in the road that led through
considerable stretch of woodland. He
had stopped to take his bearings when
he heard a wagon coming up the road
at furious rate OF speed. He left the
road and sought refuge behind good.
sized tree. The wagon came up and
passed on but only about dozer yards.
He made out the forms of five men as
the wagon went by, and he was in the
act of following them when the wagon
stopped. Again he darted back into the
woods and saw the robbers, for SO they
proved to be, lug out good-slzed box
and drag it into the woods. Hastily
digging hole they buried the box, and,
after marking several surrounding
trees, hurried back to the wagon and
continued their rapid driving toward
the city.
my assistant, after assuring himself
that the men were well out of the way,
hastily dug that box up and loaded him
self with currency. On reaching home
he found he had something like seven
teen thousand dollars, and the temp
tation was too strong for him. He de
cided to keep it. He lived in his old
home for nearly Il year, and was
shrcwd enough not to use any of the
money. Then he left for Chicago and
shortly afterward bought quite farm
in southern Illinois. About the same
time arrested man for breaking into
freight car.
"This fellow was far gone with con-
sumption and took him to the hos
pital. There he confessed to me that
he was member of the gang that had
held up the express messenger year
and half before, and the result of the
burying Of the treasure in the woods.
| went out on the road and found the
telegraph operator, who told me of the
quick delivery of the messa ge / had
sent. l put two and two to ther and
decided to follow up my assistant.
After considerable trouble located
him and decoyed him into Chicago.
There 1 put him under arrest and
bluffed him into n confession. I re-
covered twelve thousand dollars, and
the president Of the company, John
Hoey, gave me percentage that
amounted to twenty-five hundred dol
lars.-'Washington Star.