The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-01-10
TRAP 10 THE THIEF
HOW ONE DETECTIVE WON A REPU-
TATION FOR eLEvERNESS.
He Got the Clew While He Was
Asleep In the Station House That
RcRulted In the Arrest and Convic-
ton of the Criminal.

He Got the Clew While He Wa.
Asleep In the Station House That
Resulted In the Arrest and Convic-
ton of the Criminal.
81 was just thihking." said one Of par
~ of cid time detectives, lust thinking OF
how, away back in &C, Ernest Fischer
fooled all the other detectives in Newark
and cleared zp the mystery of a series of
house robberies in the upper part of the
city. 1t seems that q happy thought
which solved the problem came to him
one night when he awoke suddenly from
a sound sleep. lie couldn't rest after it,
and when he got up in the morning, sew
eral hours ahead of his usual time he told
me about it. Fischer was an old fash
Toned German, with an active mind and
an ability to see into and reason out
things in a remarkable manner. In this
way he earned a splendid reputation as
detective.
There was only one police station in
Newark at that time. 1t served as head
quarters and everything else. and from it
the whole city had to be covered. Wat
is now the best residential part OF The
Eighth ward was then nothing but open
HelOS ana NOOulduus. JUST belOIe ludl
time Cyrus K. Woolson and number of
others realized the future of that section,
invested in large tracts Of land there and
built and occupied quite few houses.
Soon after the houses were taken pos
session OF the police began to get frequent
reports of robberies in that section. De
tectivcs and ordinary policemen were rut
on the matter, but they accomplished
LII 10
came SO frequent as to cause the police
department much worry and the resi-
dents of the new settlement in the Eighth
ward much alarm.
Every policeman who did duty in that
part of the city was given special instruc-
tions and practically was made drtec-
tive. while the entire regular detective
force was told to devote all the time pos
sble to the series of robberies. Even this
resulted in nothing, however.
No one had worked harder on the mys-
FERROUS affair than Detective Fischer. but
while the others discussed it and ventured
guesses and theories he said little.
1.-The Dutehman's doing lot of pow
erful head work was the way his fellow
detectives sized up Fischer; but they
didn't think it would amount to anything.
Ii came his night to sleep in the station.
Before he went to bed he was discussing
the Eighth ward robhcries with me. He
was worried but not hopeless OF catching
the robbers. as most others were. As h.
started f"r l'esl II" la"ghingly exclaimed,
we catea h'.a yes
TO NY -. 5l!.", E.s":!or e2rP down at
once in the middle Of III" night. ! C-n't
sleep he tlPeIareti. 'Mayrc you thimN m
crazy on th. robbery business eh? u Ii.
| Amt. and tonight | catch the roh""r.
You don't believe me-what? Well. sct
him just the same
what are you going to do, Ernest ?
asked.
bop he queried in surprise. Just
wait until ! arrest the mason
Then | laughed heartily. The mason
TO whom he referred was a well known
young man who worked steadily at his
trade in and around Newark and who
lived in Bellevile. he had for some time
been working in New York. and every
morning had come down from Bellcville
with his white canvas bag filed with tools
thrown across his shoulder. he passed
through the newly settled part Of the
Eighth ward and took train in Newark.
Detectives and policemen knew him and
spoke to him nearly every morning. They
even asked him to watch out for sus-
picious characters while on the way from
his hcme to the railroad, station. To sus-
uect him Of wrongdoing seemed prepos-