Ten Years Among the Mail Bags Part 10

Pat thanked his employer, and backing out of the room, promised to be at his post that night.

"Well, what do you think of him?" inquired the postmaster.

"I think," said I, "that if he _is_ the robber, and can come here and appear in that way, he is smarter than either of us. But we shall see."

For the week following, but few of his movements were unknown to me.

His duties at night were very indifferently performed, and the hours during the day usually improved by the other night clerks for rest, were by him devoted to dissipation; so that, before half the night had pa.s.sed, he would often be found in some out of the way place, fast asleep.

His discharge (which he no doubt desired) was thought best, in order to throw him upon his own resources, with the hope of bringing to light some of the stolen funds, if they were still in his hands. Much of the money, which amounted in all to some $8000, could be identified. The Middletown package of --2000 consisted of small bills, put up in parcels of --200 each; and upon every bill there was a mark by which it could be readily known. Up to this time none of the money contained in this package or the others, except that mentioned as coming from Vermont, had found its way to the banks by which it was issued.

One day, about noon, I observed Pat's giant-like form crossing Broadway, and for more than an hour I followed him without his knowledge, until he brought up in a stone-cutter's establishment. As I pa.s.sed and repa.s.sed the door, I thought I observed him paying over some bank-notes to the occupant. After he had left, I stepped in, and was soon in possession of three $5 notes of the Middletown (Ct.) Bank, with which he had paid for the _grave-stones_ of "_his darling boy!_"

The bills were clearly a part of the --2000 Middletown package, being of the same denomination, and exhibiting the same unmistakable marks.

This accidental meeting, at once supplying a key to the mystery, was one of those misfortunes that so often befall criminals at some point of their guilty career, and even when they imagine themselves perfectly successful, and permanently secure against the possibility of detection.

I must here tell the reader a secret, explanatory of a question that naturally arises, namely, why, with such overwhelming proof in my possession, an arrest was not at once made. It was simply because he would have gone clear before any tribunal, had I depended on the case as it then stood. The bills of the --2000 package were all marked as stated, but unfortunately a large amount, with precisely the same peculiarities, was in circulation at this very time, though not supposed to be in that vicinity. Had the arrest taken place then, and the cas.h.i.+er been summoned to testify on the point of ident.i.ty, he would have said that he put _such_ bills into the Philadelphia package, but could not have sworn that they were some of the identical notes.

Besides, it was no unimportant part of this difficult business, to effect a return of the funds, as far as possible, to the pockets of the victims of these robberies.

The scarcity of live game in any direction within several miles of Brooklyn, and Pat's supposed want of experience in the use of the "shooting iron," suggested the possibility that his frequent excursions to a neighboring wood had some other object than hunting.

Possibly it might be the guarding of his hidden treasures.

Therefore, on a bright October morning, I concluded, if possible, to know more upon this point, and, disguised in the garb of a shabby-looking hunter, with a gun and dog borrowed of a friend for the occasion, I strolled off in the direction in which Pat had so often been in the habit of going. Before fairly reaching the woods, he and two of his companions pa.s.sed me in a rough-looking vehicle, and soon after turned from the main road into the burial-ground. From a somewhat secluded spot, I could watch their movements tolerably well, and it soon became apparent that at least one of the objects of this trip was to place the marble stones--the payment for which had so singularly betrayed him--at the grave of his deceased child.

The whole party were evidently under the effects of the "critter;" and the prospect seemed to be, that they would soon have occasion to mourn the departure of other beloved _spirits_, for the jug circulated freely, and a more jolly set of fellows, considering the lugubrious nature of their errand, is seldom met with.

But when they arrived at the spot where the child was sleeping, their mirth grew less boisterous, and Pat in silence commenced his labor of love; and as he proceeded in his melancholy task, I could see that he refused to join his companions in further potations, for although their respect for the place, or for their friend's affliction, seemed to overcome for the time their rum-inspired loquacity, they did not cease to resort to the jug for strength to enable them to bear his grief, while sitting in the cart waiting for the completion of the task which brought them there.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

At length the little white stones stood in their places, showing, by the short distance between them, how brief was the pa.s.sage from the cradle to the grave, of the being whose whole history, so far as concerned the world at large, was inscribed on these marble pages.

A parent's heart, however, bears a different record; and after Pat had adjusted the turf about the little grave, and given the finis.h.i.+ng touches to his work, he stood and gazed for a moment upon the resting place of his child, thinking--of what? Perhaps of the contrast between the guilty living and the innocent dead. Perhaps a flash from conscience glanced across his mind. At least he exhibited some external signs of emotion, for as he turned away to join his unconcerned companions, he brushed away a tear, and with it, perhaps, the softening influences that were at work upon his heart.

The trio once more seated in the vehicle, Pat no longer refused the fluid consolation that his companions proffered him. They by turns levelled the jug at the heavens, taking observations with the mouth rather than with the eyes, and as the last member of this astronomical corps elevated the instrument, its near approach to the perpendicular showed that a vacuum was well nigh formed within its recesses. What discoveries they made, except "seeing stars" in general, I cannot say, for they immediately turned their course towards home.

This was the last that I saw of Pat that day, but the next time he started on his accustomed tramp, two days after, he had at least one attentive spectator of his rifle exercise; and although I failed on this occasion to discover the precise place of his deposits, owing to my fear of alarming him, the opinion was strengthened by what I saw, that they were still resting quietly within a thick piece of woods, embracing some three or four acres, where he spent several hours that day. During this time, I was not more than a quarter of a mile from him, yet not a single report of his gun did I hear. Presuming that he had seen me at a distance, I now and then let off a charge innocent of lead, and occasionally betrayed the dog into a tolerably ferocious bark, by making him "speak" for a small cigar case which, held at a respectful distance from the animal, might easily have been mistaken by him for a well-cooked morsel of meat. This stratagem I thought necessary to carry out the idea of a busy and enthusiastic huntsman.

But this little essay at hunting yielded me no game of bipeds, feathered or otherwise.

Soon after this, a rumor that several of his neighbors were preparing for a removal to the West, led me to fear that Pat also might have similar intentions, and that on the occasion of his last visit to the woods, he might, after all, have withdrawn the deposits. It was therefore deemed unsafe to delay longer in bringing matters to a crisis. But the manner of doing this, and of conducting the arrest, so as to acc.u.mulate evidence of his guilt, and at the same time recover a part or the whole of the funds, was worthy of much caution and study.

If I went with an officer directly to his house to make the arrest, he might be absent at the time, and, getting notice of our visit, effect his escape. His family or accomplices, if he had any, would of course be aware of our movements, and perhaps secure the spoils, unless they were secreted immediately upon the premises. Then I should be left with only the proof already mentioned: that he had had an opportunity of purloining the $2000 package, and had pa.s.sed three bills supposed to have been contained therein; together with some other less important circ.u.mstances.

The only safe and discreet course seemed to be to secure him when alone, and by that means keep his family ignorant respecting his arrest, until every effort had been made to get possession of the money. Accordingly I procured the aid of an officer, and at an early hour in the morning, we took up our quarters in a private dwelling in the neighborhood, where we could overlook Pat's house, and patiently waited for him to make his appearance.

It happened to be one of his lazy mornings, and he did not venture out until near ten o'clock, and then, very much to our disappointment, in company with another individual, unknown to either of us. A moment's consultation resulted in the decision to follow them at some distance, in the hope that they might separate, but with the determination not to lose sight of Pat again, and to take him into custody that day at all hazards. We had not gone far, however, before he looked over his shoulder, and although at least two squares from us, and a number of other persons were pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing at the time, he no doubt recognised the officer, for after proceeding but a few steps further, he and his friend turned and came toward us.

Believing that we were discovered, and that Pat was making for the house to look after the safety of the treasures, a stratagem was hastily arranged to throw him off his guard, and at the same time to separate him from the stranger, who was so much in our way. It matters little what this scheme was, provided there were no actual misrepresentations involved. Suffice it to say, it was quite successful, and his companion resuming his walk towards Brooklyn City Hall, the rest of the party were soon on their way to New York.

At the ferry, and while waiting for the boat, Pat suddenly became quite restless, as if he had for the first time connected me with the scene in the post master's room. He walked back and forth upon the dock, and several times halted and leaned on the railing directly over the water, with one hand in his breeches' pocket, as if he contemplated throwing something overboard. But I remained closely at his side, wherever he went, and kept him engaged as much as possible, in remarks about the weather, the growth of Brooklyn, and other common-place matters.

We had soon crossed the ferry, and were seated in an omnibus, moving slowly (who ever went in any other way by that conveyance?) up Broadway. Pat had by this time grown very taciturn, and no doubt began to suspect that his escort was not entirely prepared to fight for his personal liberty. In fact, he must have fully decided in his own mind that we were no very consistent friends of the "largest liberty," in his case at least, when one of us pulled the leather strap, to give the usual signal for a halt. This was just as we had reached the head of Cedar street, on which the post office is situated, and before we had arrived, by several blocks, at the place where he at first supposed he was going to call, for a much more agreeable purpose than that of being confronted with the charge of extensive mail robbery.

As he alighted from the "slow coach," he halted for a moment, as if inclined to have some better understanding before proceeding further, especially as we turned our faces in the direction of the post office.

He possessed physical strength enough to have put an end to our troubling him any further, but Broadway at midday is no very favorable place for such an attempt; and besides, he no doubt hoped that all might yet come out right. After being told that he was wanted at the post office on some private business, he went there peaceably.

Once alone with him in a private room, the time had fully arrived for deciding--not as to his guilt, for of that I was fully satisfied--but what were the chances of proving it, and of inducing him to disgorge his plunder.

"Patrick," said I, "you are detected in your robberies of the night mails in this office, and the first question I wish you to answer is, can you restore the money, that it may be returned to those you have robbed."

He received the accusation with a look of surprise, but without any manifest trepidation.

"I am an honest man, thank G.o.d," he a.s.severated, "and I'll defy all ye can do to me; and it's nither ye nor the divil that can scare me, so it ain't," at the same time drawing himself up into an att.i.tude of defiance.

"I don't wish to scare you, Pat," I remarked. "I am sorry on account of your family that you should have so abused your trust while employed in this office. But that is neither here nor there. I want you to hand over the seven or eight thousand dollars you have got so wrongfully. You pa.s.sed some of the $2000, from the Middletown package, to Mr. G., for the grave-stones, you know, and I have the bills in my pocket."

"And it's trouble enough that I've had," he replied, "with the sickness of meself, and the death of little Pat, and now ye'd have me father all the thievish tricks of the whole office, would ye? Ye'll find, if ye look sharp, that it's another that's got the letters ye speak of; for sure haven't I seen him, while 'facing up,' throw something under the counter, among the waste paper, and then go looking there agin, after his task was done? And wasn't they large, thick parcels that he dumped under the table?"

I have never had a doubt that he was then describing the exact process by which he committed his own depredations.

"Very well," I answered, "you will soon see who is answerable;" and calling the officer, who had remained outside the door during the conversation, Pat was notified that his person must undergo a thorough search--and it _was_ thorough.

Among the contents of his wallet were some forty dollars that agreed very well with the description of the kind of money mailed at Joliet, and also the receipt for the aforesaid grave-stones. On examining his hat, which he had taken off on first entering the office, and placed at some distance, on the top of a secretary, there appeared, snugly stowed away under the leather lining, $165, all in fives of the Middletown Bank, with the well-known marks on each bill! But even this discovery produced but little impression on him; declaring, as he did very promptly, that he could show where he obtained that money; and no doubt he could!

Pat was left in charge of two suitable persons, and the remainder of the day was spent by the officer and myself in searching his house and premises for the balance of the missing funds, which was done without giving any information to his wife of the real object of our examination, or the unpleasant situation of her husband. The woods were also thoroughly ransacked, though the chances appeared to be, that the booty had been removed to the house or vicinity, as he went directly from home that morning, having a part of the funds about his person, with the design, as it was afterwards ascertained, of purchasing tickets for himself and family, and several others, to Illinois.

But our researches were unavailing, and I returned to the post-office somewhat disappointed; for the proof was not yet sufficient to convict him, on account of the impossibility of identifying the bills with certainty, as I have already mentioned.

Before leaving, I had made known to him our intention to search his house, and when we returned, he for the first time showed signs of great uneasiness, and walked the room constantly, evidently anxious to know if his treasures had been discovered. His anxiety was natural enough, for it turned out that the whole of the money was secreted in the house, and that at one time during the search, I was separated from its hiding place, only by a half-inch board!

But Pat remained immovable, so far as any confessions were concerned; and it was thought advisable, at this juncture, to call into requisition the influence of the person at whose urgent solicitation Pat had obtained his situation in the post-office. An interview between them was speedily arranged, but the accused, for a while, still continued stoutly to deny his guilt. Subsequently, however, he inquired of the post master whether, in case he produced the money, he would have his liberty. The post master a.s.sented, so far as to promise no prosecution on _his_ part, and Pat finally agreed to go with us on the following morning, and point out the place of deposit, but insisted that H., his friend and patron, (just referred to,) should be of the party.

Fully impressed with the importance of securing Pat as well as the property of his victims, I now obtained a warrant, which was at once placed in the hands of one of the U. S. Deputy Marshals, who agreed to be in the immediate vicinity of the mail robber's residence, but to delay the arrest till he received a signal from me that all was ready, and after the funds were fairly in our possession.

Accordingly, a hack was ordered to be at the post office at an early hour the next morning, and we (the post master, myself, Pat, and H.) were soon crossing the ferry to South Brooklyn. Ten minutes' ride brought us in front of Pat's house, where we all alighted. Here matters took a turn wholly unexpected to me, for Pat insisted that no one but his friend, H., and himself, should go for the money, which he said was buried in the yard behind the house. To this I objected, but Pat stood firm, remarking, that it would attract too much attention if all hands went, and that if his request could not be granted, he should make no further disclosures, and we might as well go back to New York.

The post master and myself having at that time confidence in H., I took him aside and told him Pat must not be allowed to escape, on any account, and that if he went alone with him, he must promise to be responsible for his safe and speedy return with the money, to all of which, H. readily a.s.sented, claiming to have complete control over his man, and promising to have him back in a few moments. With this understanding they both pa.s.sed round the house, and I started to give the Marshal the signal that the time for his services had arrived.

Not more than three minutes had elapsed before I returned in company with that officer, and H. was seen coming towards us, with a small box under his arm, but _alone_.

"Where is R.?" I inquired.

"He went into the house, through the back yard," was the response.

Taking the box from H., and handing it over to the post master, to be taken to the carriage, we at once pa.s.sed into the house, but no Pat could be found. On applying to H., to know what this meant, he explained by saying, that as soon as the box was handed to him, Pat hopped over the fence into his back yard, and entered the house.

After some further search, he could not be found there, and H.

proposed that we should not then appear too anxious to secure him; repeatedly promising to have him forthcoming at any moment, after the excitement had pa.s.sed by a little. Returning to the carriage, we started for New York, counting the funds as we rode, which amounted to $4473. Much of it was in the original parcels of bank-notes, of one hundred and two hundred dollars each, enclosed in the usual straps of paper, with the amount of each package marked thereon, in the figures of the cas.h.i.+ers and others, which greatly a.s.sisted afterwards in the identification.

The author of all this mischief managed to elude the most secretly and cautiously executed plans for his arrest. It was, however, pretty well ascertained that he occasionally visited his home during the night season, and one night he was discovered at a late hour, by a local policeman (who had been employed to watch for him,) emerging from the front door of his house. They saw each other at about the same instant, and the policeman made an effort to seize him; but Pat was well armed, and was in the act of pointing a gun at the officer, when the latter, knocking it aside, presented a revolver and snapped it, the cap, luckily for the miserable fugitive from justice, only exploding.