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TEsn'ia?Jrcr"" ' AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY NEWSPAPER. f'J&&l?'
"Vol. VII. New Ulooiiiilolcl, Tn., Tucsdny, October 7, 1873. TVo. 40.
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STORIES BY A DETECTIVE.
The Latimer Robbery.
"0
NE day, some years ago, Mr. Lat
imer called upon me. He was a
wealthy man, a land owner, engaged in
several kinds of business and among others
in the salo of real-estate. lie said that on
the previous night the sum of $7,255 had
been stolen from a room adjoining bis bed
room. Ho bad left it there iu the evening,
because it had been too late to deposit it
at the bank. I asked him where, from
whom, and in what sums the money had
been received, and I ascertained from him
that be bad been collecting bouse rents, a
part be had taken for a load of pressed hay
sold in Jersey City, and another sum had
come to bim from the country. At my
request be gave me a specification of each
of the separate payments, also the names
of the parties who bad paid them, and the
considerations. , I also asked bim whether
any other persons were present when be
received the money. In reply to this ques
tion be told me when he took the money
for the bay several persons were standing
by, some were customers, others working
people, a few well, but rather flashily
dressed young men. Latimer bad taken
out his pocket-book in which there was
already a considerable sum of money, and
opened it to put in the amount just' re
ceived. He bad put this back into au in
jier pocket of bis waistcoat, and as soon as
be reached homo, be put it away in the
safe. After this interviow Mr. Latimer
left me and I promised to visit bim another
day at bis bouse, nnd tako a look at the
surroundings.
On the same evening my duty took me
into several gambling bouses, and in one
of them I fell in with a young man who
had plenty of money, from whose appear
ance I could not divert my mind of the idea
that this money was part of that which
had been stolen from Latimer. But, un
fortunately, I did not yet know the denom
inations of the notes belonging to the stolen
money, otherwise I would have looked into
the matter a little closer, and have arrested
the man forthwith if my suspicion had
been confirmed.
On the next morning I called on Mr.
Latimer. 1 asked him about the membors
of bis family and bis servants. His children
were not in New York, the boys being
away at college and the girls at boarding
school. Ho, his wife, and their servants
were the only persons residing in the bouse;
and even his wife as he remarked had,
as it happened, not been aware that he
bad the money, or that it was deposited in
the safe. I , examined the servants, in
whsse honesty, by the' way,' Mr. Latimer
said he had the utmost confidence, None
of these could give any information. Only
one had beard on that night a slight noise ;
the others had slept well and heard noth
ing. Since the safe stood In a room adjoin
ing their bed-room, Latimer and his wife
must also have slept very sound that night,
otherwise they must baye heard something.
I saw at once that very skilful thief must
have been at work here, and again I could
not help thinking of the young man
whom I bad seen the evening before spend
ing so much money, and who, it certainly
seemed tome, must be the man who bad
committed the robbery. But there was
one question I could not answer to myself
satisfactorily, ( How was, the thief able to
open the safe ? , ne must have beeu ac
quainted with the interior of the bouse
and the safo. V.
Perhaps he bad a key for it, or that he
bad in his possession several safe-keys, of
which one might have opened the lock.
If otherwise he must have used Mr. Lat
imer's key (a very small one) Mr. Latimer
had it In his vest pocket, and his clothes,
during the night, lay upon a chair at
the head of the bod. Ho had laid thorn
there at night and ho found thorn there in
the morning. He was also quite certain
that he had locked the safe after 'placing
the pockot-book inside. I asked him to
lot mo see insido the safe, and show mo the
placo where ho had lnid the money. He
opened tho safe. Tho lock was a simple
one and by no moans a sufficient protection
against thieves. For, although tho kcy
holo was very small, so that tho look could
not well have been burst by powder, yet
the construction of the lock was such that
it could not liavo presented any difficulty
to a dexterous thiof. But to open it by
force, without making any noise, would
not have boen possible Latimer had
placed the money in one of the little draw
ers insido the safe and had turned tho key
of the drawer, but left it in its place. But
the drawer fastened vory closely and
although we opened it at least a dozen
times, we found it impossible to do it with
out making considerable noiso. In fact
upon that night Latimer and his wifo must
have slopt unusually sound.
After I had examined everything thor
oughly, and questioned and cross-quostion-ed
Mr. Latimor, we were about closing the
safo again, when be took out some papers
that lay disarranged on the bottom of tho
safo, for the purpose of setting thom
straight. While doing this a lottery
ticket, which had been lying on the papers,
fell to tho floor. Ho picked it up, looked
at it in astonishment, and handed it to mo
with the words :
" This is strange, you will think at last
that I gamble in lotteries, 'but I don't know
how the ticket got in hero."
" Has anybody besides you got a key to
tho safe ?" I asked him in reply.
Upon which he told me that "of course
his wife bad a key." " Oh 1 then," said I,
"she may have placed the ticket there."
But he emphatically donied this, saying
that his wife was a bitter enemy to lotter
ies, and that if she had found, the ticket
there, she might well have thought that he
gambled.
"No, "he continued," tho ticket does not
belong to bcr, but perhaps one of the ser
vants may have given it to her to take
care of, for it is possible that they may
speculate in lotteries."
So Mrs. Latimer was called iu and ques
tioned. She knew nothing of the ticket,
and answered very angrily that if any of
her servants came to ask her to tako care
of such things, she would tear it up first,
for no servant of hers should gamble in lot
teries. Now thon, how did tbe tickot get into
the sate? It was for a lottery which was
to be drawn iu Baltimore at the firm of
Henry Colton & Co., who were at that
time agents for lotteries iu Maryland, and
it bore the number 1710. It appealed
from the tickot, whish was new, that the
drawing was soon to take place. But
still there was a mystery, and again I asked
myself bow did it come1 into the safe? Mr.
and Mrs. Latimer clearly knew nothing
about it, and I was quite certaiu that it had
not boen in the safe long. At last I came
to the conclusion that, as the drawer
moved stiffly, the thief, in opening it, had
been obliged to use some force, and that,
in leaning over, tbe ticket had fallen out of
his waistcoat into the safe, where we had
found it. But still the question remained un
answered. How had the safe been opened?
And this I could not satisfactorily answer.
Perhaps it had been done with a false
key. But as the keys of all these safes are
different, how could the thief have pro
cured one that just opened this lock.
After we bad finished this investigation,
Mr. Latimer shut the door of the safe,
turned the knob aud took out the key. I
do not know what exnotly caused me to do
so, but I asked bim. " Have you locked
it?" "Yes," he answered, "with this safe
you have only to close the door firmly to
fasten it," and with these words be took
bold of tbe knob and pulled it to show me
the airangoment, when the door opened I
Latimer stood stupefied ; and I must con
fess that I was scarcely less astonished.
It was now evident that on the night
when the robbery took place, the thief bod
found the safe open, just as it was now.
We now examined the lock more closely
and found that the catch did not com out
far enough to close the safe securely.
There was in fact something out of order
with the lock which Mr. Latimer had not
before remarked. 1,1
, .. .. I ;
But I now had the lottery ticket, aud I
told Mr.. Latimer that this must now
be made tbe means possibly of detecting
the thief. I requested him to go to all
those people who bad made him any pay
ments on the day in question, and to ask
thom if they could remember tha amounts
of tho various notes and the banks to which
they belonged. The answer ho brought
me to these inquiries gave me some infor
mation, and I then explained to Mr. Lat
imer my plan of operations.
Ho authorized mo, in case I should con
sider it expedient, to offer a reward of five
hundred or a thusand dollars for the dis
covery of tho thief, or double the amount
for the detection of tho thief and tho recov
ery of tho stolen property.
My first idea now was to go to Baltimore.
But I felt convinced that even if the ticket
were genuine it would not give me any in
formation as to who had bought it. Possi
bly I could got that information from New
York agouts, but I dare not go there,
because thoy may bo an acquaintance of the
man who had bought ticket No. 1710, and
in that case the thiof hearing of my in
quiries, would come to tho conjecture that
he had lost the ticket at Latimer's house.
I gave up tho thoughts of going to tho
office, and at first did not know very clearly
what I should do. Presently, however, a
plan suggested itself to me. If tho ticket
wins, I thought to myself and the win
ning numbers must be published imme
diately after the drawing thon I will oiler
to the Baltimore agent the promised re
ward of $ 500 or $1,000 to find out the thief;
but if it does not win, I must take into my
confidence tho New York agents who sold
the ticket, that he may' write to the pur
chaser of it, to say that it had won and that
he could have the money. So being de
cided as to what under cither circumstances
I would do, I determined to remain in
Baltimore during the two days preceding
the drawing.
Luckily No. 1710 won ; the prize, too,
was not less than three thousand dollars.
I now went to the agent, told him how the
matter stood, offered him the promised
$500 and half the amount of tho prize, and
ho exprossed his willingness to help me dis
cover tho thief. Naturally, too, the New
York agent, who had sold the ticket, inter
ested himself about the payment of the
prize ; for that so large an amount bad been
won by a ticket procured from him, was a
matter that had to be put before the public.
But where was the ticket ? The agont had
thought the purchaser of it would present
it himself without delay, but bo did not
come. He wrote to him and told him of
his good fortune; upon this the man called,
but with the complaint that he had lost
the tioket j whereupon the agent, who did
not want to lose his commission, wrote to the
office in Baltimore, requesting that the
money be paid only through bim. It was
now arranged that the purchaser of the
tickot should make an affidavit in due legal
form that he bad bought ticket No. 1710,
that he had not surrendered it to anybody,
but had really lost it. And as a pretend
ed precaution, lest possibly any one who
may have found the ticket should present it
for payment I further determined that it
would be better for the actual purchaser of
the ticket to say in the affidavit, whether,
as is often tho custom, he bad put any pri
vate mark on the ticket. I wanted this in
order to bring the recollection of the thief
to the point, and it facilitated me in get
ting from bim the declaration that he had
not marked the ticket, but that he well re
membered to have so doublod the paper up
together so that there were two breaks in
the paper across the figures 7 and 1. That
was just what I wanted, because it identi
fied him as the true purchaser. He swore
that he had not parted from the ticket to
anybody, that be had upon such and such
a day (and he named the day upon which
the robbery at Mr. Latimor's had taken
place) lost it, as be thought, while on his
way from Broadway and ' Fulton Street,
(where at the time was a gaminghouse,) to
Union Square. ,
' He bad signed the affidavit, but bow
was I to know if that was his real name.
At the same time the N. Y. agent also made
an affidavit that he had sold the ticket
to this man, whom he again recogulzed.
We now agreed to arrange matters thus :
that if the ticket were not presented for
payment by anybody else within a month,
then the amount should be paid over to the
siguer of tbe affidavit ; but that if any b ody
else should put in an; appearance in the
meantime, ha should be duly informed and
given an opportunity to defend his claim.
These arrangements being safoly made In
Baltimore, aud the New York agent: road
acquainted with thom, I returned to New
York to find out, if possible, who this
Charles F. Warden was, who bad signed
the affidavit., Tbe Baltimore agent also
came to New York and worked ably in the
business, since the agont had written him
a description of Worden. He succeeded in
having a long interview with Worden iu
the presence of his Now York colleague,
and when ho wrote to me a description of
tho latter, I recognized at once, and with
out any doubt, tho young man whom I had
seen in tho gaming house on tho evening I
first mentioned and whom I then suspected
of being the thiof. The general descrip
tion of his person was amply sufficient, but
he had besides a remarkable mark, a bare
spot on the loft sido of bis head, which ho
was in tho habit of trying to conceal with
his hair.
Now I was cortain of success, but still I
felt assured, that tho real name of the man
was not "Worden." It is sufficient, how
ever, to remark that in two days I found
out all I wanted to know. Even his ante
cedents were fully known to me. He be
longed to a good family and was not with
out abilites, but bis love of pleasure and
dissipation had mado him a grief to his re
lations and frionds. His father, who,
although not a rich man, was a well-to-do
morchant, had cast him off more than n
year before. As he could find no other oc
cupation, he went as clerk to a grocer,
who, besides his legitimate business, bad a
drinking-saloon' in a back room. Here
Worden made the acquaintance of a
"Banker" from down town, who lived near
the grocery, and soon was very intimate
with him. - It occurred to bim, however,
to find out the kind of banker tho man
was, and he discovered that he was the
banker of a gambling bell at the corner
of Broadway and Fulton Streets, but was
regarded in the neighborhood where ho
lived for who in New York knows his
neighbors? as an active and wealthy mer
chant. : This acquaintance was the occasion of
the young man beginning to neglect his
duty, and to waste time in wandering about
when bo bad to go out, till at length the
grocer dismissed bim. How after that he
managed to live, and dross himsolf so well,
was a puzzle to his earlier acquaintances.
One day, after be had gambled away his
lost dollar, ho stolo some money from
another man with whom bo was living iu
a boarding-house. Suspicion did not rest
upon him, and the consequence was that
he was lod further on along the road to
crime.
Although confident now of securing my
man, I bad not got bim ; moreover, I must
ooufor with the Baltimore agent. Upon
him much depended. I bad the ticket,
and the young man had sworn that it be
longed to him ; but he would certainly de
clair that ho had lost it, and that the thief
must have found it, if I laid my hands
upon him yet. So I took Mr. Latimer
with me, disguised, to the gaming houBO
which the young man frequented, and
there he recognized him, without any
doubt, as one of the people standing near
when he received the "money for the hay in
Jersey City. But evon this did not suffice
to seenro the conviction of tho thief, since
we were not in a position to say that the
stolen property, or any part of it, was in
his possession. Yet I hoped that this
would be possible, for I saw that now he
did not play recklessly, as formerly, but
with caution, like a man who puts by what
he wins. I thought that now that the
robbery had given him a flno capital in
hand, he folt that he had only to play and
win more, and that then with tbe proceeds
of his lottery tickot he could begin business.
And, that I calculated rightly, the later
acquaintance I made with the young man
assured me.
As stated before, Mr. Latimer had, by
the quostions he had put to the people who
had paid him money, provided an important
fact towards tbe conviction of the thiof. I
went to Baltimore and told tbe chief agent,
that I thought the time had come to bring
the affair to a crisis. We then decided on
our plans. '
The New York agent was informed that
the ticket had been presented at the chief
office, and a request made for the payment
of the prize, that in oonsequence he must
now come to Baltimore with " Worden" to
see the holder of the ticket, and that the
latter would call again in three days. The
chief agent was rnuoh delighted ; for I had
promised him, that if the affair turned out
well, aud we succeeded in recovering a
good share of the money, he should bave
the wbolo of the lottery winnings, provid
ed he would renounce bis claim to the
f 300 reward. . , , ' ' ,,.
He was for charging the youug man with
the theft at Mr. Latimer's as soon as we
got bim into the private office, telling bira
that we knew all about bis presence when
the money was paid in Jorsoy City, aud
tho circumstances of his identification of
tho tickot in tho affidavit, thinking thereby
to frighten him, and to drive him into an
immediate confession. 1
I, however, felt that it might not bo so
easy to bring him to a confession, and that
wo had hotter let things take their course
and seo whot the result would bo.
I had not yet told tho agent what infor
mation Mr. Latimer bad given mo as to
the denominations of the notes, but I ar
ranged with him that, when tho time camo
for tho payment of tbe money, he should
give the young man a draft upon New
York to the amount of $3,500 in pay
ment ; so that Worden should give him
$500 in exchange.
The Now York agont and Wordou camo
on and wo bad a private conference, in
which I assumed the position of legal as
sistant to the Baltimore agent. The New
York agont was also proseut. I put several'
questions to the young man with reference
to the ticket, hoard the statement of the
Now York agent, and in tho presence of'
both gave it as my opinion that the Balti
more agont should pay the young man, but
that bo had better first send for tho holder
of tho ticket with instructions to bring it
along with him. The Now York agent
was now requested, " as thero was no ono
at hand who could be depended upon," to
take a note over to a man who lived some
distance from tho lottery office, who would
then send on to the person who held the
ticket. The Baltimore agcpt had, as bo
previously told this man that ho should,
written to him that morning, instructing
him what to do. Tho man kept a littlo
shop ; he received the New York agent
very politely and requested bim to take a
seat in the office, remarking, that he would
send his assistant to the gentleman and
give him the letter. I had requested tbe
New York agent to bring the gontloman
with him and . to wait a couple of hours If
necessary. , , . ,
"All right. All right. You bo sure
I shall make it all right," said the New ,
Yorker, and with that he started on his
journey.
We offered the young man the newspa
pers to read, and spoke of things generally
by way of conversation. Tho Baltimore
agent went back to his dosk in tho next
office. At the end of abf ut half an honr
I said : " It is a nuisance that that man
delays so long." " I must go to my
office.' I will be back presently," I ob
served to the agent us I opened the door of
his room. " When shall I come?" "Out
pray stop," answerod the agent, "or at any
rate come back directly," and at the same
time he gave me a wink, which of course
was not seen by the young man. I went
aud came back in a quarter of an hour .
with the remark : Look, tho matter as
sumes a new shape." ' I found the gentle
man who bad the ticket in my office wait- '
iug to speak to me about something. He
said he knew that I was your legal adviser
and would also counsel him as to what was
best to be done. ; And when I told him I
was cortain that the tickot was the prop
erty of this young man, be answered that
he would not interfere in the affair any
further, and then gave me the ticket.
" See, here it is. Do you remember it ?'
said I to Wordon. He jumped up, looked
at It, and cried out delighted " Yes, that's
it, do you not remember that I described
in my affidavit how I had broken the ticket
by doubling it together?" Now Mr. Wor
rlnn T nnnwnreil. I hnve no doubt that the
ticket belongs to you, and Of course the
agont will pay you the money. " Cer
tainly," answered the agent, "as yon are
here, it can be done at once. I will make
up the account and be back directly, with
the money." He closed the door after ,
bim, and as it was already getting late, ha
told his people in the office that they might
go home. And they left. , , ' ;
After a short time he returned and re
marked to Worden that he had not $3,000
in cash, bnt that he could give him a draft,
payable at sight, on a New York bank for
$3,500, if he could give him the $500,
change. ' Worden willingly agreed, and
tha spent went now to his desk, wmta rait.'
the draft and gave it to Worden, who laid
it on the table, and opeuing his travelling: '
bag (in which, as I saw, there was plenty
of money), took out five one-hundred dol
lar notes, ' which he handed to the agent.
The latter went back again into bis private
ntnA anil T tthimA him 1 Ta .Lam a
the notes, and now the thiof was in our
bands. , Four of . tho notes had upon the
backs the name of one of the people a
Mr. Bordcll, from whom Latimer had re
ceived a part of the money. They were
notes of the Bank of America, which the