A Detective's Yarn

"It is not very ;ften," said Detactiv Riley, "that a detective is forced to as sumo a disgniso to get information, bn someHmes it is absolutely necessary The last time that I had to go into den of thieves in a bogus character wa a good many years ago, and I had a rather lively expeiience and enough o excitement to staud me nntil the eud o my days. "We received a report of the cscap of a urook from the Charlestown prison and from what the authorities ther had been able to gather it was supposec that the convict had come to this city They sent a description of the man, ant the only thing that I saw ws of any use was that on the man 's right arm were the iuitials 'A. T.,' with a flaj, above and anchor below them in india ink. I looked over our records and founc that we had there the pedigree of Abe Taylor, and he had the same marks on his right arm. The rest of the descrip tion that we had did not tally ver; closely with the one sent from Charles town, but I thought thai there was good grouud for the belief that the es caped convict was Taylor, who was one of the most snccessfnl jail breakers in the country. "In order to be certain of the identi ty of the convict I went to Charlestown. I found that the man had been convicted tinder the name of John Smith for the robbery of the Pittsfield bank, anc the style of the work was in line with the business nsualJy touchedoff by Taylor. I took a run over over to Pittsfield, got a descriptiou of the two men who had done the bank ont of $160,000 anc became convinced that the man who had been shot and arrested and who escaped was Abe Taylor, and that his partner was Jerrv Connors. "I knew that I was up against a 6tiff game, and on the train from Boston ] laid ont a plan which I thought would give me a show to get on the track of the men. Abe and Jerry I knew were partners with Petey Slade, who ran a notorious fence and dive in Washington street, near Canal, and I made up my mind that some time or other the pair of them would land in Slade's place. I decided that my strongest hold would be to get in with Slade and his gang on their own terras. I knew. the risk I was taking, for the gang were about the ioughest set of thugs and assassins in ;he city and would not hesitate to glit a man's wizen in a secondupon the slightest provocation. I put up a scheme which I thought would beat their game, and it worked to the queen's tatse. "When I reached the city, I had myself arrested for a fictitious crime and was tried and sent to the Blackwell's island penitentiary in a perfectly reguar way, with the assistance, of course, of Recorder Hackett. The warden in the penitentiary knew my game and aided me in carrying out the business. After I had been locked up a few days made my escape from the island after dark. The next day the ïiewspapers conained a thrilling account of my escape, and the story was that I dug my way out of my cell and swam across the iver to this city. I must have had a errible time, as the papers told it, but as a matter of fact I crossed the river n a boat, and the story was given out o make me solid in the work I had aid out to do. "When I reached the city, it was ark, and I walked down to Slade's dive in my convict's rig, which had een soaked with water to carry out my cheme. I sent a boy into the dive to ;et Slade to come to me, and I told him he story of my escape and said that a hief who had started to get away with me, but had lost his nervewhenit came to taking the swim, had told me that when we reached the city we coald go to Slade's and put up until the thing blew over. "Slade was very cantious. He feit my clothing and took me in a back room in the den and carefully examined the clothes and shoes to see if they were the genuine convict's outfit. He was satisfied on that poict, bnt was suspicious when I could uot give him the name of my partner. I did not dare to fake a name, for Slade knew where every thief was who had been sent away that he ever did any business with. I told him that the man was known to me as Jack, and as Jack McCarthy, one of Slade's gang, happened to be on the island at the time my story was taken as being straight, and I was given a room on the second floor to bunk in. The next day Slade saw the story of my escape in the papers and becanie my friend at once. ' 'I must admit that I never got better treatment froni any onethan Idid from Slade and the gang. He told them that I was all right, and they were glad to know a fellow who had the nerve to swim aeróse the Eaet river, where the tide runs like a mili race. I had to keep in the house all the time, and in case the pólice got on to me in any way I was shown a way that I could escape bv gettiug into an underground passage, whicb led to a sewer in the street. I was fuá like a fighting cook, and nothing tnrned up for abont three weeks. Then early 011e morninj, while I was sleeping, some or.v came into my room, and I heard a whispered cousultation. There was a dim light in an adjoining room, and I could sec four figures. Mj' hair stood np on end, for I naturally thought that they were fialking abont me, and that I had been found out. I made up my mind to give them as good a fight as there was in me, but after awhile the men went into the next room, and I hpard them get into bed. In the momiii{ my heart gar a big thninp whii I tAvr that the ntyr arriyals wora I Abe Taylor, Jerry Connors and Andy Cumrnings, the men I was affov. "My íirst idea was to conuéct vrith the outside and havo the placo pulled, aud I1 would havo done this if I had not lfiarued that a schemo had been put up to turn off a BavingB bank in Newark. Cumming8 and Tayior had been a week in Newark plantiDg the place. I was introduced to thein by Slade, and Taylor took mo right away as a jail breakcr after his own heart. I worked my cards as skilliully as I could and let tho gang know that I was dying of dry rot. In the conrse of my business I had natural!y pk-ked up every detail of the crook's trarie and let Taylor know that I was anxious to get into soma good bank lift. They waited about a week and then got word from Newark that the bank was ripe. I was delighted when Taylor told me I could go along, and I earried some of the jimmies. "When we reached the Pennsylvania depot in Jersey city, we split up, and ] went to a lavatory. I found a bootblack there, and I gave him a message for headquarters here and the chief of the Newark pólice, informing thciu of the attack that was to be made on the savings bank. The boy did his work right, and when we reached Newark I saw that we were picked up by some of the local pólice on tho dead quiet. We went to the house of Eed King and learned that a hole had been pushed throngh the wall of the building adjoining the bank. When we lef t King'a to go to the bank, I saw three New York detectives on the way. I could not arrange for any signal and did not know when the attack would be made upon us. "A dozen policemen were in the bank office waiting for us, and after we had got through the hole behind the safe and were getting ready to go to work the pólice rushed in on us. I dashed for the hole and feil on purpose so that I blocked it, and as every man was covered with a gun there was nothiug to do but surrender. I went in with the gang, and they did not learn who I was until the next day. The gang swore they would kill me, but haven 't dono it yet. Taylor and Connors were sent to Massachusetcs on the Pittsfiold affair, and the rest of the gang got a taste of Jersey juatice.