The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-07-09

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heavy price was on his head for the
murder of Mr.. Dyson. Peace fell In
love with Mrs. Dyson, and pestered
her so much that the husband inter-
fered, whereupon the passionate
wooer produced a gun and shot him
dead at his home.
When this crime was committed
Peace wore venerable gray beard.
Immediately after the murder he cut
off his alfalfa and called himself Mr..
Thompson. He also equipped himself
with false arm, having an iron hook
at the end. Mr.. Thompson, with
his clean-shaven face and his false
arm, took up his abode in London
suburb, and it never occurred to any,
body that he was other than he SEEM
ed. He was highly popular in the
neighborhood when once people got
used to his atrocious face. He al
ways had good cigars in his pocket,
and wasn't stingy with them; and in
another pocket he carried supply of
candy, and when he met school chill
dren he treated them and begged
them to obey their parents and Sun
day school teacher, that they might
grow up to be good men and women.
BY day Mr.. Thompson worked over
various inventions. One Of them was
freman's helmet, which was used
in London for many years. Another
was a devise for raising sunken ves-
sells. In after years admiralty off,
cials inspected it and pronounced 1t
the work of a man of genius. Among
other things Mr.. Thompson invented
q folding ladder, so small that it
could be carried in hip pocket; yet
so strong that man could lean it
against a house and enter second
story window by it. That ladder to-
day is one of the most admired curl
osities in the Black Museum of Scot
land Yard.
In the evening Mr.. Thompson usu-
ally hitched up his fat pony and took
a long drive into the country. He was
troubled with insomnia, he said and
the doctor had recommended such a
course. The months went by and
some famous burglaries occurred.
Various immense hauls were made
and the police could not find a clew.
They believed the work was done by
an expert who worked alone and that
was as far as they could get it.
One night Mr.. Thompson didn't
come back from his drive and the
morning papers announced that a
burglar had been caught in the act
of robbing a residence, by Constable
Robinson. The constable was shot
during the scufae, but he hung onto
his prisoner. For two weeks that
prisoner refused to say word, and
nobody could guess who he was. Had
he stuck to that course he might
never have been identified, but finally
he talked too much. The police
weighed his remarks carefully and
put two and two together and con-
cluded that they had the much want
ed Charles Peace in custody. 1t was
the happiest day they had experience
ed in a coon's age.
He was tried for the murder of
Mr.. Dyson and found guilty without
the least bit of trouble, and sent
enced to death. Immediately after
his sentence he became extremely
pious and sent out the usual mes
sages to the young. When within
a day or two Of execution and he
realized there was no hope of a re-
prieve he called in minister and
confessed that he was the slayer of
Constable Cock, for whose murder
William Habron was serving life
sentence. Habron was pardoned and
the government gave him $4,000 and
he lived happy ever after.
If this story shows anything, it
shows that a bad reputation is the
worst asset a criminal can have and
lawbreakers should govern them
selves accordingly.