The Cook County herald., 1902-11-22
TRICKS OF KNAVES.
Ingenious Methods by Which They
Evade Pursuing Officers.
Some Schemes Of ShaRDers aAA Trick
sters Which Have saved Them
from Terms OF Penal
Servitudo.


To the habitual criminal It II otter
of vital Importance that he should be
able to communicate swiftly and Sc
cretly with an acqomplice, either to
elaborate a scheme of rascalty OF
send warning of imminent danger
from the police. Nobody knows bet
ter than he, however, by availing him
self of the orthodox channels he runs
The risk of discovery. Hence it is
becoming common practice for clev-
er rogues never to communicate in q
straightforward way if they can avoid
it, but, instead, to set up and use Pc
culiar post offices, which are essen
TALLY their own, says Cassell's Sat-
urday Journal
A typical case was that Of q man
who was wanted" in connection with
certain notorious turf frauds. When
the warrant was issued he sought shell
ter in a shabby lodging in q back
street not five miles from the Bank Of
England. He had friends who strong
ly objected to his capture, mainly be-
cause his appearance in the dock
would have led to unpleasant conse-
luences to themselves. But they
we're all SO well known to the police
and detectives that it was impossible
for them to send a message directly to
the fugitive, though he had adopted an
alias, much less to pay him q visit.
All Of them, however, agreed to keep
watch on his behalf and to send him
word immediately they had reason to
fear his place of refuge was in dan
ger of discovery and the time come
Tor him TO make final bolt.
One OF the watching gang learned Of
the coming danger to the fugitive by
Methods he saw fit not to talk about,
md carelessly sent the servant of his
lodgings to dispatch d wire to another
If the allies in Edinburgh, to the et-
tect that his aunt was dead. The be-
:eaved nephew mastered his grief 30
sar as to in turn dispatch a wire ac-
:ompanied by telegraph money or
ier, to a hostler in the city of Lon
Ion, desiring him to send half a dozen
black ties to a given address without
delay. The articles were duly taken
TO the gentleman in retirement by an
unsuspecting errand boy, and the
trick was done. Every apparently In
significant detail was part of pre-
arranged code. The firm sending the
ties, their number and color-all con-
7eyed a hint to the person most inter-
ested as to the safest mode of fight,
the best port at which to attempt en-
barkation, and the very street in
which he was to jostle against a sup
posed stranger who was to surrepti-
6ously transfer to him a store Of
money and his passage counter>foils,
which had been taken under . false
name.
Nothing IL too elaborate or ineen-
iously audacious to men playing q
game the loss Of which means penal
servitude to them. In a midland town
lived in lordly style and the odor Of
outer respectability person who was
strongly suspected Of being in league
with gang of "smashers"-that il,
coiners-who also disposed of sham
foreign notes and did quite brisk
business in worthless securities.
There was no doubt that, while they
were all scattered about the country.
their operations were being directed
by master mind, whom the authori-
ties had no moral doubt was identical
with the aforementioned gentleman,
who may be called Smith. Smith was
never to be seen in dubious company.
and the postman never brought him q
letter which he was not willing to af-
fably show to anybody. For months
there came to Smiths house every
morning q young milkman With q
placid smile and shiny brow Of inno-
cence; He had set himself up to ex.
plain to his customers generally with
q legacy left to him by his uncle, and
every morning he handed quart can
of milk In at Smiths area door-and
every morning Smiths illegal corre-
spondence was lying it the bottom 81
that quart can in q metal box, and the
stout cook who took it in (for appear
ances are shockingly deceitfull was
one of the most cool and daring OF Ill
Smiths tools, while the milkman was
another, The "smashers'' had ret him
up in business simply and solely thai
they might have an innocsnt address
to which to send the missiyeo Il va his