The Washington bee., 1912-03-23
RACE FOR A THIEF,
Wild Chase Through the Streets
In the Heart Of London.
A DETECTIVES QUICK WORK.
The Police officer Was Not Only
Rapid Himself, but Compelled an
Unsuspectins Bystander to Join In
the Mad Flight and Capture.

charges OF incompetence Contributor
to BIackwood's Magazine narrates an
incident in which he figured a few
years ago. when he accompanied his
wife to "a Bond street jewelers., where
she went in to match some pearls and
have some gems reset he awaiting
her on the street, where he smoked
his cigar. He says:
Il noticed three well dressed men
20 into the shop and several women,
when suddenly one of the well dress
ed men came out through the glass
doors of the shop and pushed rapidly
past me as he turned up the street.
At the same moment l was seized
violently by the arm by a milkman
who had been arranging his cans on
his handcart just in front of the shop.
"'Quick, governor he shouted. Aft
er him or We lose him! Look; he's pass
ed the bag to a palr
Now, for the life of me l cannot
tell you what impelled me. Pm not
the kind Of man that you can picture
tearing up Bond street in the wake
of an agitated milkman. But there
was something in the grip that man
took of my arm that impelled me, so
that 1 threw away my cigar and ran
after the man with the bag neck and
neck with the milkman, who exhorted
me to continue in my efforts by shout
ing:
Throw a leg, governor. If we
lose him we lose him forever"
I'VE tore up Conduit street. 1 don't
know what the pasSerSby thought. /
had no time to think Of them. When
we reached Regent street our quarry
dived into the traffic like a frog into
a mill race. We went in after him.
How | missed being knocked down L
don't know. The milkman took the
same risks. We were across almost
as soon as the man and sped after
him. | don't know what streets we
doubled down. | know that at this
period it flashed across my mind that
/ was making a conspicuous ass of
myself. Here ! was racing down the
slumS of Soho at the bidding Of a
strange milkman, who never stopped
in his eXhOrtatiOns to me.
Keep it up and we'll get himr
"Our quarry doubled and tackled. but
we stuck to him till just as we were
pacing down the very worst looking
street of the lot he suddenly slipped
into a low house, Of which the door
was open. My milkmaa never lost a
second. He whispered hoarsely in my
ear:
stop here. governor, and grab the
first person as comes out Of that
house, no matter who he is. ! know
the way behind
'In a flash he was gone. He had
nipped down an aIleyway and disap-
peared. l felt a real fool, and the
whole folly Of my action rushed in
upon me. / had left my wife strand
ed in a shop in Bond street. l had
lost my hat and my stick, and here /
was in an almost deserted street,
standing outside a door waiting with
/ orders from strange man to grab
the first person that came out Of il
In two seconds more l would have
left the place and gone to the nearest
halter. a wiser and chastened man.
But just at that moment a boy of
about fifteen came out Of the door
Nv milkmau must have left his spell
upon me- for ] Immediately threw my
arms around him.
"'Lemme 90. governor" he shouted.
. a t4E4ra r,17 fin 70 y-RrrT
He struggled hard, and the more he
struggled the more 1 felt impelled to
hold him. And then suddenly, as if
by magic. two policemen appeared on
! the scene and seized my boy for me.
/ Ny milkman. wreathed in smiles. ap-
peared in the doorway from which the
+ boy had Just come, saying blithely and
/ quite respectfully:
You've done that very well, sir.
We've got the other two inside He
then added, III just put my hands
over this young feIler.'
He took off the boys battered hat
and out of the lining came a roll of
$50 in Bank Of England notes He
then went through the boys clothes
and produced out of his socks a pair Of
ruby and diamond earrings which. to
my astOnishment. / saw were the very
Eewgaws that my wife had taken with
her to have reset. The detective, for
my milkman was nothing less, then
|pinched the boys ear and said:
Where's the lady's bagY
In the yard, sir he answered sulk-
lily enough.
The miikman retrieved it, and, sure
enough. it was my wife's bag.
But 1 said TO the detective how
did you know that l was connected
with the lady who owns this bag?
Its our business to know a few
things he said. But if you hadn't
been game to run we should have lost
the lot. We were only just in time
We left the boy and the two men
in the house in the custody Of con-
/ stables and took a cab back to Bond
! street. and here the strangeSt part of
/ |the story comes i'm. We found my wife
. still discussing her pearls with the
} jeweIeE quite unconscious Of the fact
that her bag was gone
] What is not good for the swarm is