La Junta tribune., 1907-06-29
The Purser's
Confidence
Iy HUNTLrY xrYMA,!
Copyrighted y, l. c. Parcels

/. was spoken OF rs the siickcst rob
tcry ever pcrIetrated on q l>ohdoi
jcweiry house. Lady stanton wai
looking at . diamond tiara and being
waited on by one Of the partners wheI
q gentleman Iounged forward, famil
IarIy addressed her and. picking W
the tiara. walked out Of the store with
IT, The act was 80 audncious that be
Was given time to mix with the throna
In the street and get safely AWAY.
II was . jewelry house that had
never been. robbed before, md the de
cision was inmedlate to spare no e1
penSe to run the robber down. The
case wss given TO the police. with a
grand reward attached, and Scotland
Yard put Its best detectives at work.
Two or three private agencies took uT
the trail for the reward there WAS In II,
and when u clew seemed to lead 10
Paris "A French detective prepared TO
follow IT, From some line Of reasoning
not made public all the officers came to
an agreement that the robber was an
American and that he would seek 10
get away on the Blue Star liner Mon
arch. The press didn't say anything
about trails. but four OF the detectives
followed their noses at least and Sc
cured passage on the Monarch. Had
one OF the male passengers come to
them half m hour before sailing and
admitted that he was the robber and
held out his hands for the bracelets
none Of the four would have sailed. AZ
II WAS. no one came forward. and they
felt Il duty to make the voyage to
New York and keep an eye on every
fellow passenger They knew nothing
of each others presence In an official
way II any one OF them was TO give
his confidence to any one. the purser
WAS the man 10 unbosom to. and II was
not long before he had call. II was
Scotland Yard man. He WAS wear
Ing false side whlskcrs and passing
himself on as Il retired English retail
grocer who was making the trip TO see
his sister In New York
81 think I have n cIcw already" he
said as the purser promised TO respect
his confidence aud assist him In amy
way lie could There IL n Frcnchmau
aboard calling himself Dubois. He
speaks English passably well aud
claims 10 be going over in the inter
csts Of the wine business. but he isn't
fooling Inspector Saunders little bit
He's my man or don't know n crook
when ! zee one"
The next burs, OF confidence came
from Dubois. He identified himself ~
bclonstpg 10 tho Paris bureau and
added:
.'rist, IT WAS easy enodgt. ] PICK
e.l him out from the 300 passcngers' nj
most nt a',gIancc.. JIe Is an English
muu aud claims 10 be a retired grocer.
and lehafl give hIm rope uptIi We
reach quarantine on the other side.
Should he suspect me and try 10 jump
overheard | hope may hrre your ms
sistance."
Mr. Dubois was assured that the
parser and all the other officers Of the
boat stood ready to lend justice all
possible assistance. and he then made
way for detective from private
London agency. The man wore false
stomach and wig and used the Ian
as John Stone and asked for the purs.
er's confidence Mt once.
I've got him right between my
thumb aud finger. this way he said,
with grin. THE trail led me as
straight as a turnpike. ] can't ask til"
Monarch to turn back. OF course. but
I'll have the darbies on the fellow as
soon as we sight Sandy Hook. Lord.
but IL was dead easy. He calls himself
n French name and tries to disguise his
Eurlish, but any child could spot him
of. Help me TO keep an eye on bu-
hols and there will be something in IL
for you"
The purser smiled inwardiy and gave
his promise. He thought there were
others to come and he was not mis-
taken Mr.. Hiram Wilkinson next in
troJuccd himself as being from pri-
vate Liverpool agency. He had Wig
md goggles and was trying 10 talk
through his nose and be taken for n
New Englauder He felt that lie had
come to the right party In coming TO
the purser. and he didn't shut his
mouth until his secret was out.
ITS the fcller as calls hisself Stone.
he whispered. II spotted him the In
slant lie came mp the gangplank. but
lasn't tackle him on sight am max
Ing the voyage To play my hsh- III
ret pounds TO shillings I make him
trap bisseif in less than three days.
lie claims TO have a brother In the
butcher business at Albany. but OF
course that's all In your eye.
you think he's the mant Ineriei
the purser in AN absent way - he be
rnn TO see the humorous side OF the
situation.
Say. now. take n good long look at
him yourself He looks the thief from
head to heel. Haven't You noticed his
Hes afraid he's been
followed. He'll make fight OF II
when we sight the American coast. but