The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-01-03

asked for his name and address. however
he hesitated, and gave but "A meagre ac-
count OF himself. and "a name which ev-
cry one present believed TO be a false
| one.
Thus far the case seemed clear enough
| --an unknown tramp taken almost In the
act OF smashing and likely TO suffer
smartly for IT, But the singular feature
| was yet 10 come in.
! An ordinary smasher would have been
| content with telling the usual pathetic
| story OF having received the money from
some one else TO hold or keep for him /.
| and then would have begun 10 speculate
\ on the temperament of the judge who
would sentence him, and on the possible
| ~ OF other convictions cropping UP
| against him 20 affect the length of his
/ sentence. But this one did not drop into
apathetic inaction. When he was remit :
ted 10 the hign Court he sent for me. and
surprised me by saying
You get the name OF not being hard
on man when he's down. I'm going 20
tell you all about that business with the
half-sovereigns. and all about myself. II
you VIII promise TO try ana catch the real
criminal"
That is what am employed 70 do ]
cautiously returned let me hear your
story, and III do what j can.
lie then admitted that he had given
false name. that his real name was John
Turnbull. and that he had been I'm busi-
ness In a small way in Glasgow. but had
gone through i AZ IN Way mat @ eSo *
had escapeu-from whom. indeed, he was
In hiding. Then came n repeution OF the
story OF having got the two half-sover-
eigns IN change for a pound outside the
rail OF the booking office.
Il went for 10 first TO the window and
offered the pound. but tho clerk said 4
haven't Change-gO outside the rail- ard
wait little TN We taken some chanse
| went out and waited. ard waited iii me
| began To get feared that l would lose
the train. Then. while | was askiag u
he could gle me change yet. r4gentiemanl
"a real swell with kid gloves ana liSht
tweed suit on-said ne could give me half-
sovereigns tor 1t. so took II and paid Tor
my ticket with one OF them
"How did IL happen that you had ex-
actly pound and no more money IN your
possessiong' ! asked. conceaiing my IN
credulity best / could.
Because ] had just got pound sent
from my eldest lassie I'm Glasgow that
morning. | hadna penny In the world
till the order came couldna even afford
a lodging the night before and had to
walk the streets TIL morning.
"'rho pound came by Post Office order
YES; got the letter at the General
only an hour before 1 took oot my
And signed your real name for the or
der?"
Yes"
That was all / wanted 10 know. II he
had lied l could prove II by q call AT
the Money Order Office. lie had not lied;
The receipt and order were there. signed
! by him and sent by his daughter, ana the
sum sent was exactly what he had stat
ed-one pound. His other statements
were one by one proved To be correct. al
but the. alleged changing OF the note; OF
clerk remembered Turnbull coming TO the
window and presenting pound Tor
change, and also Of telling him to wait
little. so his case was all but clear. and
| began 10 try how 1 could best keep my
part Of the agreement py s looking rad lor tns ne
ha m fOlCrahlX
certain that II did not get hold of an
other, he would suffer for the crime.
But for singular weakness IN humani-
clue That weakness Is a reluctance to
examine too closely the coins in ones
possession. No one likes TO discover that
he is carrying false coin, as that implies
A certain loss 10 himself, and. consequent
iy, much OF the base coin manufactured
remains I'm circulation indefinitely. Some
days after the remittinG or Turnbun,
however. a half-sovereign was brought TO
the office by n victim more sharp-eyed
and honest than the mass, and as this
mans idea was that he had got the coin
In change at one OF the booking offices on
the railway. we began 10 believe that the
real smasher was still at work In that d.
recton. The coins were identical In
make. date and finish.
Now in one sense a half-sovereign Is a
bad coin to pass with profit, especially at
a railway booking once. for no very ex-
pensive ticket could be asked for. and by
going repeatedly 70 the same windows,
the emasher was likely TO become known.
However the person in this case seemed
To have a weakness for the railway, on
account probably of the haste, and
squeezing. and excitement always 10 be
found there. and there IL was that l
looked for him
The time was July, when the trains for
Portobello, Ausselburgh. and the other
seaside resorts were running every TWEEN
~ minutes or so. and generally crowded
withal. There was always a great crush
at the booking -office OF these trains es-
pecially on SATURDAY,, and IL sometimes
happened that the window OF the ticket
office had 60 be slammed TO before all
were serVcd--the remainder being coolly
told to wait for the next train.
Gro BE CONTINUED)