The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1913-07-10


retired detective friend of mine, for he
has a fund of incidents that occurred
during the days of bis active service
that, find interesting. Some of them
happened to him personally. and some
were told him by his fellow craftsmen
during idle hours. This is one of Ath-
erton's stories that especially pleased
me from the ingenuity and assurance
perpetrated by a rogue:
There are two ways by which crooks
work, the one with, the other without
confederates. Both ways have their
advantages man who works alone
doesn't have the fear of being betrayed
by his pal for where one. is offered an
easy letting off from a hard sentence
If he will squeal he is pretty liable to
elueal. But man who has a con-
ederate can do what one man can't do
alone.
In one way crook pals will usually
stand by each other. When one is in
danger the other will do all in his pow
er and take considerable risks to help
him out | was once put on a job to
track down man called Jerry Wilson,
who was in the confidence department
of roguery. Wilson usually worked
countrymen. He was one of the most
accomplished swindlers | ever met.
He had been an actor and was prof
cient in the art of making up. We
would hear of him one day passing as
q stockbroker, at another as a clergy
man and again as a cotton planter
with perfect southern dialect. OF
course we didn't know at the time that
these were one and the same man, but
we often suspected 1t and in time learn
ed it from Wilson himself.
One day countryman reported al
police headquarters that he had been
victimized by man who passed him.
self off for an Englishman. The coun.
tryman had come from England TWEEN.
ty years before and had never become
Americanized. >Englishmen seldom be.
come natura liZed. You will find thou
sands of them In this country, and 9th.
er countries for that matter. who have
become old men and not seen England
since they were children and are still
British subjects.
The man who picked him up doubtless
heard him speak with his British lingo
had stepped up to him and hailed him
as fellow countryman One born
he said. under the British flag anG
once accustomed to the home accent
could always he placed as an English
man. Then he launched out on the de
merits of this bloody country" ant
won the farmers heart completely.
A confidence man becomes very ex
pert In drawing out information from
a greenhorn. and the new acquaintance
Henderson he called himself-was
evidently an adept at this work, fol
the farmer soon learned that they botf
came from the same county in Eng
land and from the same town and
knew the same persons. Henderson
being later arrival, gave his former
fellow townsman lots Of information
as to what had become of many of his
old friends--who were living and wht
were dead and who had married. The
result was friendly drink at pub
lic," as they call saloon in England
followed by friendly game. with the
consequent transfer of several hundred
dollars Of the farmers money to the
pockets of Mr.. Henderson, who, when
he had drained his fellow country
mans resources, slipped out through q
back door.
Well, we got on to Mr.. Henderson
but were deficient in proof The farm
er's testimony might have been met
by an alibi and other subterfuges, and
l decided to capture him at his own
game, Having located him, stood
near him and. adopting the British ac-
cent, began to talk about dear old
Merrie England. The fellow chimed
in, and we were soon hobnobbing to.
gether. had my pocketbook stuffed
with marked bills, which passed into
my countryman's possession. Then I
tipped confederate the wink. and to-
gether we took him in.
There couldn't have been a surer
case against a man than that, could
there? From facts gathered and the
mans ability to personate different
characters | believed | had got the
slippery Wilson, and | intended to put
him where he would trouble the public
no longer In making up jury to try
him we got nine good men. when
somehow we couldn't get any further.
Some were exempt and some had suffi-
cient excuses. When we got the elev-
enth man so much time had been lost
that the judge was getting impatient
A gentlemanly looking man in the
courtroom said that If the trial would
not occupy mRch time he would help us
out. He was Immediately served with
summons. accepted and sworn in
The trial didn't require or it was not
given long time, The evidence was
perfect, and the conviction was consid-
cred mere matter of form Besides.
there was the gentleman. who had vol
unteered TO serve on the case provided
he would not be long detained. After
he had been sworn in he told the judge
that he was really exempt. but would
not claim exemption provided he was