The Washington times., 1922-04-30

years. Thomas desperate criminal with a gentle
face and the respectful Of the mdest and most
courteous Of men.
OF course, had heard of the coldblooded and
the endless holdups and robberies Of Thomas and his
gang had never met him. had horror Of crimes of
violence have said. Murder part Of my pro-
fession.
1t little three years ago that read casual
ly in the newspapers that Blanche Gray notorious
woman of Atlantic City, had been held up and relieved
of worth of diamonds at the point of pistols of
two masked robbers. Such things happening fire.
queny there clue of the hodup men, and gave
little attention the report which had few details
My associates in speciality of the criminal world were
not engaged in that particular line of industry
William Humphreys, my old companion in the I'm
derworld, happened to be away and was living very
comfortably at my apartment in West Seventeen street
in New York My home then the house where
the gambler Elwell lived and murdered. knew
Elwell WELL
had said, read the newspaper report of the rob-
berry of the Atlantic City woman. She had as remem-
her it, motored with two friends crooks of course from
her resort in Atlantic City to Philadelphia, where the
three put up at hotel One of the crooks who prob
ably engineering the robbery, went to prominent cafe
and cabaret where he passed the evening and furnished
an unbreaksble alib in of suspicion The other
crook and Blanche Gray went to theatre together in full
dress and she wore her blaze of diamonds
In the meantime "Skush' Thomas and one of his
cuthroas had taken in the hotel the floor
the Gray woman They got pass-key to the room
from the chambermad, believe, and putting on masks
cover their faces hid in closet. AS they
heard the crook and Blanche Gray enter the they
of the closet held pistols to the heads of the
pair and Thomas said calmly in disguised vOice-be-
he had often been at the womans place in Atlantic
City, and she knew him well:
"If you move will kill youl''
OF course they taken by surprise and pretty well
frightened While of the gunmen kept the pair
cred with his pistols the other took the crook bound him
hand and foot, gagged him and locked him in the bath
They then gagged and tied Blanche Gray in spite
Of her resistance which resulted in her being badly
bruised After her diamonds and all the money in the
possession of the pair had passed to the pockets of
Skush' Thomas, the lights were put out, the two gun
removed their masks and quietly let themselves out
their bags paid their bill and left the hotel.
But the newspaper report very brief and lacked
the details which have given and which learned later
It the next day, in the afternoon, that Humph-
reyes whom had not for several weeks dropped in
and called at home that Of Gambler Ewell
Humphrcyes and were not working together much at
that time and rather anxious drop all connection
with him.
Humphreys very amiable and had not been visit
ing many moments in the pretty little boudor the
third floor Of my house when he asked me a favor.
II have three friends motoring in from Philadelphia
ne said "and would be obliged, Mar
garet, If you would entertain them for few days"
Now, OF course though he did not tell me, knew
these friends OF his were crooks But Also of course
never dreamed that they gunner never dreamed
in my widest imaginngs, that Humphreys who had
worked with the arstocracy Of the Underworld with the
Gondorfs Frank T. Thompson, Harry Homer and the In
Citations With thugs. And while disliked to receive