The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-01-03
A Thousand Pounds Reward


EFrom the Chicago Record-Herald.1
Speaking of luck versus cunning"
said Captain ToOle. the former detec-
tive, the biggest reward I ever got and
the best piece of work I ever did were
both realized by a stroke Of laundering
luck. was coming fast in the Scot
land Yard service. when the De Num-
Russell robbery took place in Chelsea.
Il was really the beginning of a re-
markable series Of robberies committed
upon members Of the rich St. Vrain
club, a gambling hive for the elderly
gwells that fourished twenty years ago
an Pail Mall. The cute thieves founo
cut the doings that went on in ths
clubrooms Swallowed the winners az
they left during the night, and either
robbed them in the dark highways or
followed them home and burglarized the
house.
1T seems that Colonel De Munn-Rus-
sell, who was a retired East Indian mer-
chant had won about $1,000 that night,
and left for his Chelsea home at in the
morning in a chaise. He wasn't drunk,
but he had his fill of liquor, and prob
ably boosted at the door of his winnings.
He lived in great style, his son alone
though there were three servants in
quarters specially built for them over
the stable. When the robbery was first
reported it seemed straight case OF
porch climbing. as we call it in this
country, and nothing was missing eX
cept the $4,000 But the same morning
Captain Beverly Russell, the son, came
down and notified the inspector that all
the family jewels which had been kept
in a steel safe in the Office or library OF
the house, were gone
Il found upon investigation that the
robber must have opened the combina-
tion lock and secured the rich haul be-
IOre the young captain woke up anO
discovered him According to the sons
story 1T must have been about g. 30 in
the morning when he was awakened by
the click of the heavy safe door. Sus-
pecting nothing he supposed that his
father was just coming home, so he
made light and went into the hall in
time to see a strange man, pistol level
ed, retreating down the staircase. He
had a good look at the intruder before
he ran back for his own pistols, but
meanwhile the burglar quickly descend
ed the stairs and escaped by a side VIM
dow, which he had left open for the pur-
pose. Then the captain save the alarm,
but when the servants came Colonel De
Mum Russell was found sleeping
soundly, the dressing case by his bed
ransacSed and the pOcketbook which
had contained his winnings gone. I had
gotten thus far with my investigation
when, as I said, the colonel and his son
discovered that the family jewels
mostly diamond set necklaces. tiaras,
rings and brooches which had been
ff0AA ny MIS-. LIE Nllllli- ENtl75tAs VINO
was dead-were gone. Pehaps there
had been $4,000 or $4,000 worth of vail
uables, but the old chap was heart
broken over the loss and said that hs
would not lose them for ten times theh
worth in money.
THE case looked easy to me by rea-
son of Captain Russell's certainty that
he could identify the thief. and in about
three days. having corroborated this
first description with what the cabbies
had seen about the st. Vrain club. I felt
pretty sure that g young American
thief, then beginning to win police az
tention in Paris and London, was my
man. We called him Cardinal Kinney,
but he earned a dozen other aliases
later, and finally graduated into a high
class bank swindler and forger. But
I'm getting ahead of my story. nat
urally supposed that Kinney, if guilty,
would jump for the continent and so
was a bit staggered to nab him just
where I expected. He wasn't a bit
fustered and admitted as cool as you
please that he knew I'd be after him
for the De Munn-Russeu robbery. But
you're wrong this time. Mister Toole,
he grinned. and asked me to have a
drink. I knew he was the burglar then