Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-28
AN INNOCENT CRIMINAL


do not wonder whether ought or ought not
to make a certain large contribution to the
so-called conscience fund.-" said q noted
New York lawyer who recently visited
Washington. 1.-THE problem with me Is as
to whether a man should feel called upon
to contribute to the conscience fund who
has only Involuntary defrauded the gov
eminent. certainly did that once upon
time. and in a most extraordinary way.
Eighteen years ago this coming summer.
after vacation Of o couple OF months In
Europe, I sailed from Liverpool ON tho
steamer Alaska for New York. On the
second day out an attractive and refined
looking woman Of forty or less, who sat
next to me at the table, and for whom, as
she was travelling alone, I had been able
TO render few little courtesies customary
In ocean voyag1ng, approached me as I sat
reading In the ships library.
I have just ascertained,' she said. that
you are Mr. Blank the lawyer. qualifying
the lawyer with number OF highly COM
plimentary adjectives that probably appeal
ed strongly to my sense of vanity, and /
am delighted that you are on board this
snip, for have case which am DESTROYS
OF placing in your hands,
Then she told me that she was Mrs. So
ano-So, wealthy Chicago widow whose
name l had often seen mentioned In con-
nection with acts of benevolence. as well as
".sAA ~IOSoSh0 6oCiSl dlIdlES, Inc western
city. Then she proceeded to tell me that
she was somewhat dissatisfied with the
methods of the Chicago firm of lawyers who
had charge Of her legal interests, and she
the services of a New York lawyer of
presuse, such as you possess as she put 1t,
TO my profound embarrassment, to handle
certain matters Of hers connected with an
on Long Island Z
AT TINS point politely suggested to the
Iaoy that, while l should be delighted to
give her the inesti1nable benefit of nv adj
y, wee ana services when reached my Office
IN New York, I scarcely felt equal to the
TASK OF taking up my legal burden while
on the deck of an ocean steamer and that
any way, should not consider my annual
yea Nacati0h at an end until l had arrived in
new fork-'and never so much as open
a letter while am on my vacation con-
cluded. .oi-
Inc lady smilingiy replied that she had
int Zen On or asking me to go very deeply
oeslreo to make an arrangement with me
LOT d consultation a week or so after the
steamer reached New York. We set a day
~ It lne consultation and I arose to escort
made deck. '-As ~ oAAe-
On. by the by she said to me then 7
am gong to ask you to do little favor
number Of papers that are of verv great
Value TO me, and as l am alone I am con-
stantly pursued by the fear that i shall
t tbsy tne ,., wallet containing them, or that
lney might De stolen from me by some
predatory person imagining that the wallet
conLalns something of negotiable value.
Mlgnt ! ask You to take charge of This
" valet ior me until call upon you for 1t
than women how to take caro- Of such
things, you know
could do nothing else, Of course. but
~ o1 the lady that should be delighted
re ov,1
the papers. She hurried away to her state
room ana presently returned to where /
STOOD waiting for her on the promenade
G ;,. Sne carried In her hand an exceeo-
insiy large black wallet Of fine morocco
Ieather, tightly bound round with heavy
RUBBER hands, I took the wallet and de-
posted 1t in the purser's safe, not caring
" ~ MAKE the lady feel sheepish by telling
Aer that sne could herself have saved her
worry by placing the wallet in the custody
of the purser 49,
The. lady and I had many pleasant talks
un Inc promenade deck and at table after
el. Sne was an astoniShingly well-in-
formed woman, with a ninble wit and
manner OF expressing herself that was oc-
caslonaily- nothing short Of brilliant. On
the day We were to arrive in New York T
mentioned the matter of the wallet to her
and she told me that its possession wouId
only make her nervous in the hurried busI-
ness OF debarking from the steamer, and
requested me to keep it for her ninth sha
called at my Office for It,
had an exceedingly important matter
70 attend to on the very afternoon the
steamer warped into her slip. and I was
probably the first OF the cabin nassen.srs
to leave the vessel. I had. even Of tbat
time, large customs practice and was
well known to all of the custom house en-
ployes. so that the examination which they
made OF my baggage was merely perfunc.
tory. was Off the pier and bound for INV
ONCE long before most OF the steamers
passengers had even stepped down the
gangway.
''At about 4 o'clock that afternoon. after T
had finished my business at my Office and
was preparing to go to my home uptown to
meet my family-who were coming I'M from
the country that evening-the lady whose
wallet had in my inside coat pocket STEM
ped into the office. with a smile.
You are doubtless surprised to see ma
50 soon,' she said. but after you had left
the steamer 1t occurred to me that I was
asking too much Of you to REQUIRE YOU to
take care of my papers after the conclusion
OF the voyage, especially after you had been
so kind, and. as you told me that you had
something important to attend to at your
office. I have come down to relieve you of
the care Of my wallet
The explanation was natural enough, and
wallet. and handed 1t to her. Telling me
that she would surely call at my office on
the day that had been set for the consulta-
ton as to her legal matters, she departed
graciously and gracefully, leaving me rather
habbergasted over the unexpectedness Of
her appearance.
"Ten minutes later was seated In an up
town elevated train, with an evening paper
in my hands. On the first page Of the
evening paper was sensational story, with
big headlines, stating how famous shop
LITTER confidence woman, smuggler and all
around female crook-the very cleverest fe-
male swindler alive, the story stated-had
been held up on the pier by the customs
officers upon the arrival that day of the
steamer Alaska, on suspicion that she was
trying to smuggle into the United States
$S5 coo worth Of diamonds which she was
known by customs agents abroad to have
purchased in London and Paris few weeks
before. There was picture and an elab-
crate description of her in connection with
the story of how she had been searched
several times by the women customs en-
ployes of how her baggage had been gone
over with a fine-tooth comb of how even
the heels Of her shoes had been examined
to find out II they were hollow and con-
tanned diamonds. but all to no avail. No
jewelry Of any sort had been found con-
cealed in her baggage.
81 recognized the picture and the descrip-
ton Of the woman Instantly. The famous
female crook was my prospective client. for
whom I had 1accommodatingly struggled
into New York $8J00O worth Of diamonds,
and the reason why she had called for the
wallet at my Office was made clear to me-
rba hod %oI oh hot