Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-10-22
ALADDIN of LONDON
or LOD EST Ar
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used conduits, extended from the
corner of Suffolk Street Pail Mall
away to the confines of St James
Park-and as more daring explorers
aver, to the river Thames itself. Here
Is very town of tunnels and arches
OF odd angled rooms, of veritable
caves and depths as dark as StyX If,
In common way 1t be shut by the
circumstances of the buildings above
to the riff-raff and night-hawks who
would frequent it, there are seasons
nevertheless, when the laying of new
foundations, the building of hotets
and the demolition of ancient streets
In the name of Improvement" fling
its gates open to the more cunning
of the "destitutes" and they flock
there as rocks to a field newly sown
OF these welcome opportunities
the building Of the Carlton Hotel Is
the best remembered within recent
times; but the erection Of new houses
off st. James Street in the year 1908
brought the ladies and the gentle
men Of the road again to it's harbor
age; and they basked there for many
weeks in undisputed possession.
Molesting none and by none molested
it was an affair neither for the watch
man whose glances 'askance earned
them many a handsome supper) or
for the police who had sufficient to do
in the light of the street lamps that
they should bury themselves with
supposed irregularities where thut
light was not The orgies thus be-
came nightly feature of the vag-
rants life There was no more popu.
lar hotel in London than the Goal
Hole" as the wits Of the company
delighted to style their habitation.
A city below a city! Indeed imagI-
nation might call it that. A replica
of famous catcombs with horrid faces
for your spectres, ghoulish women
and unspeakable men cropping in the
darkness as though. vampire-like,
afraid of the light Why Alban Ken
nedy visited this place, he himself
could not have said. Possibly a GER
tain morbid horror Of 1t attracted
him. He had, admittedly. such a
| passport to the caves as may be the
reward of a shabby appearance and
a resolute air The criminal company
he met with believed that he also
was criminal. Enjoying their con
| f1dence because he had never excited
their suspicion. they permitted him
to lie his length before Redeemed en-
bers and hear tales which fire the
blood with every passion of anger
and of hate. Here, in these caverns,
he had seen men fight as dogs-with
teeth and claws and resounding yells,
he had heard the screams of woman
and the cries of helpless children. A
sufficient sense of prudence compel
led him to be but an apthetic specta-
tor of these infamies. The one bat
tie he mad fought had been impotent
to save the object Of his chivalry.
When first he came here, heroic
resolutions followed him. He had
| thrashed ruffian who struck wo-
man, and narrowly escaped with his
life for doing SO. Henceforth he
could but assent to truce which i'm
piled mutual liberation; and yet he
understood that his presence was not
without its influence even on these
irredeemables. Men called him "The
Hunter" or in mockery. "The Dock"
He had done small services for one
or two of them--even written beg
ging letter for rogue who could not
write at all, but posed as an "old pub
| lie school man" fallen upon evil days
Alban was perfectly we'll aware that
this was shameless imposition, but
his ideas of morality as it affected
the relations of rich and poor were
even primitive and unstable. IF this
old thief gets half sovereign, what's
it matter?" he would argue, the
other man stole, his money, sup
pose and can we'll afford to pay up"
Here was gospel preached every
day in Thrawl street. He had never
stopped to ask It's truth
Alban crossed St. James Street.
| furtively and climbed, as an athlete
should climb, the boarding which de-
Tended the entrance to this amazing
habitation. A contented Waterman,
doing by a comfortable fire. cared
little who came or went and rarely
bestired himself to ask the question.
There we're two entrances to the cave
one cramped and difficult, the other
broad and open; and you took your
choice Of them according to the posi-
ton of the policeman on the beat.
| This night, or rather, this morning,
of the day following upon the meet
ing in Union Street. discovered Alban
driven to the more hazardous way.
| His quick eye had detected on the
| far side OF the enclosure, an amiable
/ Irritation between man Of the law
and lady of the busters; and avoid
ing both discreetly he slipped into a
trench of the newly made foundation
and crawled as swiftly through an
aperture which this descent revealed.
Here laid bare by the picks and
shovels of twentieth century Trade
Unicnism. was a veritable Gothic
arch, bricked up to the height Of a
tall mans waist but open at the
tympanum Alban hoisted himself
to the aperture and slipping through
mis- feet discovered the rocking floor
of dank and dripping subway: and
guiding himself now by hands out.
stretched and fingers touching the
fungi of the walls, he went on with
confidence until the roof lifted above
him, and the watch-f1res of the con-
fratrnity were disclosed. He had
"a