Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-30
CHAPTER XXX.
CULTIVATING UNCLE"


A II have said, Mr.. William was
n %illism Va: not = We very - pretty Ssy
small and wiZened; aSSertiYe,
uuarrelSome and shrewiSh. Rarely ola
appearances more belle the truth. She
was O dear, clever, delightful person.
She had a great gift OF silence ana an
equally great gift OF what one mlgnt
term, inconspicuousneSs.
VERY few people who were, tor
time. with Mrs. Williams H. William.
could afterward give any sort OF
identificatory description OF her.
The third of the trio who kept hope
alive in my heart was that astonishing
product of his times and environment.
to whom I have already referred, and
whom will now describe, the crooks
"Uncle"-albeit his help was given TO
me, in this case, unwittingly and un1n-
tentionally.
How shall one describe Uncle?
For he was at once a shameless liar
whose word was his bond, cunning
rogue of guileleSs mind, an nveterate
thief with whom one could trust ones
property as with a bank; murderer OF
the sweetest nature, q pleasant and
gentle performer of cruel deeds.
In the good-or bad-old days.
! Uncle, a very prominent underworld
politician, had been one of the best
known saloon-keepers in Chicago: and
was, in these times, an even more I'M
portant politician and proprietor OF one
! of the best known Speak-eaS1es OF the
same city.
The police rested assured that Uncle
would give them no false information.
and bear no false witness whereby some
| innocent stranger should suffer for a
crime committed by one of Uncles
| friends.
Crooks. on the other hand, knew
| that there was not enough money in
all the world to bride him to betray
q trust.
And although this strange creature
was admittedly and professedly the
| friend, helper and confldant Of crooks
| and criminals, he was not regularly
engaged in the pursuit of any form OF
crime-save indeed that of vender Of
Illicit alcohol.
Nor was Uncle in any sense Of the
word q receiver of stolen property.
albeit he did, at times, mind" for his
| friends large sums Of money and
articles of the highest value, such as
| jewelry, which he must have known or
very strongly suspected to have been
stolen by those who intrusted them tc
hts care.
For this service he made fixed but
reasonable charge, and once q crook
had deposited money or jewelry with
Uncle, he knew 1t to be as safe as II
1t were in q bank.
Uncle was not only useful indirectly
to the police, but was also, for political
reasons, under the protection OF some
powerful "higher-up," for Uncle swung
big vote.
williams H. william, like the
chief of police, was Of opinion that II
anybody in America knew anything at
all about the gang who had got away
with the st. Clair diamond, 1t would,
sooner or later, be my friend Uncle"
For not only was he a clearing house
for all the information OF crookdom.
but was also the personal friend Of all
the biggest crooks.
Naturally 1t would be idiotic to walk
into Uncle's speak-easy and simply say
to him:
who was it kidnapped st. Glars kid
and touched him for the big sparkler?"
| Uncle would merely regard the
speaker with cold suspicion and ask
him what he was talking about.
No, our plan. as sketched out by
williams n. william, was that he and
his wife should impinge most gradually
upon the consciousness Of Uncle, in the
role of obviously very wealthy and sue
cessfM crooks; that they should very
gradually cultivate him, and that after
weeks and months-and, II necessary, a
year-they should attain to inti-
macy, and win his approval and conf
dence.
Not, Of course, in any hope that they
would be able to induce him to betray
any secrets or Intentionally to tell us