i
ii.niii
VOL. XIV.
INTEW BLOOMFIELD, 3rA., TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 18BO.
NO. 21.
t' W f i - ' r-t'-' VZ' ft
THE TIMES.
in Independent Family Newspaper,
IS PUBLISHED BVIHT TUHBDAT BT
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0
TEBMB t
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Beating the Detectives. .
That Deaf Old Woman.
A BITTER December midnight and
the up express panting through it's
ten minutes rest at Rugby. What with
passengers just arriving and passengers
just departing ; what with the friends
who came to see the last of the depart
ing passengers or to meet the arriviug
ones, the platform wa9 full enough, I
assure you ; and I had some difficulty in
making my way from carriage to car
riage, even though I find people (almost
unconscious perhaps) move aside for the
guard when they see him walking up or
down close to the carriage doors. The
difficulty was increased too, by the
manoeuvres of my companion, a London
detective, who had joined me to give
himself a better opportunity to examine
the passengers.
Keenly he did it, too ; in that seem
ingly careless way of his, and while he
appeared to be only an idle, lounging
acquaintance of my own. I knew that
under his unsuspected scrutiny it was
next to impossible for the thieves he
was seeking to escape even in hampers.
I didn't trouble myself to help him, for
I knew it wasn't necessary; yet I was
as anxious as hundreds of others that
those practiced thieves whom the police
had been bunting for the last two days
should be caught as they deserved.
Sometime we came upon a group
which my companion could not take in
at a glance, and then he always found
himself unusually cold and stopped to
stamp a little life into his petrified feet.
Of course for me this enforced persistent
questioning with which railway guards
are familiar; and in attending to polite
questioners who deserved answering
and impolite ones who insisted on it, I
had not much time for looking about
me, but presently I did catch myself
watching a girl who stood alone at some
distance. A girl very pretty and pleas
ing to look upon, I thought, though her
face and her dress and her attitude were
all sad. She stood Just at the door of
the booking office a tall, slight girl in
deep mourning, with a quantity of bright
hair plaited high upon her head, as well
as hanging loosely upon her shoulders ;
with a childish .innocent face and pretty
bewildered eyes. I wished I could have
gone straight to her and put her into
one the most comfortable of the line
of carriages at which she gazed so tim
idly. Just as I hesitated a very remark
able figure elbowed its way to me a
stout, grandly-dressed old lady, panting
painfully and almost piercing me with a
pair of restless, half-opened eyes, that
looked out throngh the gold-rimmed
spectacles perched on her sharp nose.
Two porters followed her laden with
bags, cloaks, umbrellas and flowers, the
only flowers in' the station, I expect,
that winter ; and one of the men winked
at me over her head, while the other
guarded the treasures with a faoe of
concentrated anxiety and thought, en
grossed by possible fees.
- "Thli is the London train, is it,
ga'ad?" she asked, peeping sharply into
my face with her half closed eyes, as if
he found it difficult to distinguish me
even through her spectacles.
' From her whole attitude I guessed her
to be deaf, but I never guessed how deaf
until, after yelling my answer so loud
that the engine driver must have heard
eighteen carriages off, she still remained
stonllly waiting for it.
"Deaf as a dozen posts," said the
detective aloud, giving the old lady an
expressive little nod in the direction of
the train.
" Blow train 5"' she interrogated in
that plaintive tone which the very ilenf
often use.
" Mall 1" I shouted.puttirig my mouth
as close to her cheek as I fancied she
Would like.
"Ale I" she shrieked back at me, the
spectacles shaking a little on her thin
nose. " Why should you want ale for
listening to civil questions that you are
paid to answer ? Ale, indeed I I believe
railway men think of nothing else."
Then she shook her head angrily and
waddled off, looking as acid an old
party as ever I tried to avoid. In at
every door she peered through her glit
tering glasses, the two porters following
her until she made a stop before an
empty second class carriage near my
van, and with much labor and assist
ance got herself and packages into it.
When I passed a few minutes after
ward, she was standing in the doorway,
effectually barring the door to any other
passenger by her own unattractive ap
pearance there, and prolonging with an
evident relish the anxiety of the obse
quious porters. I fancy that though the
purse she fumbled in was large, the coin
she hunted was but small, for I passed
on and left her still searching, and still
asking questions of the men, but hear
ing nothing either of their replies or the
loud asides In which they occasionally
indulged to each other. I had reached
the other end of the train, and was just
about making my way back to my own
van, when the young lady I had before
noticed went slowly, in front of me
toward the empty first class compart
ment near where I stood.
. "Am I right for Euston ?" she asked
me, gently, as she hesitated at the
door.
"All right, miss," I sold, taking the
door from her, and standing while she
got in. "Any luggage?" For from
that very moment I took her in a sort
of way into my charge, because she was
so thoroughly alone, you see, not hav
ing any friends there even to see her
off.
"No luggage, thank you," she an
swered, putting her little leather satchel
down beside her on the seat, and settling
herself in the corner farthest from the
open door.
" Do we stop anywhere betwen this
and London?"
" Don't stop again, miss, except for a
few minutes to take tickets." Then I
looked at her as much as to say, "You
are all right, because I'm the guard,"
and shut the door.
I suppose that, without exactly being
aware of it, I kept a sort of watch over
this particular carriage, for I saw plainly
a lazy young gentleman who persistent
ly kept hovering about it and looking
in. Uis inquisitive eyes had, of course,
caught sight of the pretty face in there
alone, and I could see that he was mak
ing up his mind to join her, but he
seemed doing it in a most careless and
languid manner. He was no gentle
man for that reason, I said to myself,
yet his dress was handsome, and the
hand that played with his long, dark
beard was small and fashionably gloved.
Glancing still into the far corner of that
one first-class compartment, he lingered
until the last moment was come, then
quite leisurely he walked up to the door,
opened it, entered the carriage, and in
an instant the door was banged behind
him. Without the least hesitation I
went up to the window, and stood near
it while the lamp was fitted in the com
partment. The gentleman was standing
up within, drawing oria dark overcoat;
the young lady in the distant corner was
looking from the window as If even the
half darkness was better to look at than
this companion. Mortified a good deal
at the failure of my scheme for her
comfort, I went on to my van, beside
which the detective waited for me.
" No go," you see, he muttered, cross
ly, "and yet it seemed to me so likely
that they'd take this train."
" I don't see how it should seem like
ly," I answered, for I hadn't gone with
him in the idea. " It doesn't seem to
me very likely that three such skillful
thieves as you are dodging, who did
their work in the neighborhood so dev.
erly two nights ago, should leave the
station any night by the very train
which the police watch with double
suspicion."
" Doesn't it?" he echoed, with a most
satirical knowingness. " Perhaps you
haven't yet got it clear In your mind
how they will leave the town, for It's
sure enough, too, for this isn't the sort
of place they'll care to hide In louger
thau necessary. Well, what's the hard
est place for us to track them in?
London. And what's the eaRlest place
for them to get on sea from V London.
Then, naturally enough, to London
they'll want to go. Isn't this a fast
train, and shouldn't you choose a fast
train if you were running away from
the police?"
I didn't tell him what sort of a train I
should choose; becaitse I hadn't quite
made up my mind ; and he was looking
cross enough for anything in thut last
glimpse I caught of him.
Having nothing better to do,I wonder
ed a good deal how thete thieves could
arrange their getting away while the
walls were covered with a description of
them, and every official ou the line was
booked up in it. There was no doubt about
their being three very dexterous knaves;
but then our detective force was very
dexterous, too, though they weren't
knaves (and I do believe the greater dex
terity is generally on the knavish side ;)
and so it wus odd that the description
still was Ineffective, and the offered re
ward unclaimed. I read over and over
again the bill in my pocket which de
scribed the robbers : " Edward Capron,
alias Captain Walker, alias John Pear
son, alias Dr. Crow ; a thick-set active
man, of middle height, and about SO
years of age, with thick Iron-gray hair
and whiskers, dark gray eyes, and an
aquiline riose. Mary Capron, his wife,
a tall woman of 40, with a handsome,
fair face, a quantity of very red hair,
and a cut across her under lip. Edward
Capron their son, a Blightly-bullt youth
of not more than 15 or 18" (though, for
the matter of tht, I think he might
had cunning enough for twice his age)
" with closely-cut black hair, light gray
eyes and delicate features."
We all knew this description well
enough, and for two days had kept our
eyes open, hoping to Identify them
among the passengers. But our scru
tiny had all been in vain ; and as the
train rushed on I felt how disappointed
the police at Euston would be when we
arrived again without even tidings of
them.
I was soon tired of this subject, and
went back to worrying myself about the
sad-looking yellow-haired girl who had
so evidently wished to travel alone, and
had been so successfully foiled in the at
tempt by that intrusive fop with the
handsome beard. Foolishly I kept on
thinking of her, until, as we were dash
ing almost like lightning through the
wind and darkness, only fifteen or twen
ty minutes from Chalk Farm, the bell
in my van rang out with a sharp and
sudden summons. I never wondered
for a moment who bad pulled the cord.
Instinctively I knew, and it was the
carriage farthest from my van. I left
my place almost breathlessly as the en
glne slackened speed, and hastening
along the foot board, hesitated at no
window until I reached the one from
which I felt quite sure that a frightened
young face would be looking out. My
heart Utterally beat in dread as I stop,
ped and looked out into the carriage.
What did I see ? Only the two passen
gers buried in their separate corners.-
The young lady raised her head from
the book she held, and looked up at me
astonished childishly and wouderlngly
astonished.
"Has anything happened to the
train ?" she asked timidly.
The gentleman roused himself leisure
ly from a seemingly snug nap. " What
on earth has stopped us on in this hole?'
he said, rising, and pushing his hand
some face and his long beard past me at
the window.
It was only too evident that the alarm
had not been given from this carriage ;
yet the feeling had been such a certain
ty to me that it was long before I felt
convinced to the contrary ; and I went
on along the footboard to the other car
riages very much more slowly than I
had gone to the first one. Utter dark
ness surrounded us outside, but from the
lamp lit compartments eager heads were
thrust; searching for the reasons of
this unexpected stoppage. No one
owned to have summoned me until I
reached the second-class carriage - near
my own van (which I bad hastened past
before), where the fldgetty, deaf old lady
who had amused me at Rugby sat alone.
I had no need to look In and question
her. Her head was quite out of the
window and, though she had her back
to the light, and I couldn't see her face,
her voice was cool enough to show that
she was not overpowered by fear.
" What a time you've been coming I"
she said. " Where Is it r""
" Where's what?"
But though I yelled the question with
all my might and main, I .believe I
might just as hopefully have questioned
the telegraph post which I could dimly
see beside us, and have expected an an
swer along the wire.
" Where is the small luncheon basket?
she asked pulling out her long purse
with great fussion. " A small luncheon
basket, my good man, make haste."
Shall 1 ever forget the sharp expect
ancy of the old lady's eyes as they look
ed into mine, first over, then under,
then through her glittering gold-rimmed
spectacles. What surprised me most
particularly was the fact of her decided
ly being, as any one might suppose, a
raving lunatic.
" Be quick with the small luncheon
basket, please," she said resignedly sit
ting down, and pouring the contents of
her purse Into her lap, " I'm as hungry
as I can be."
I Bupposed that when she looked up
at me from the silver she was counting,
she saw my utter bewilderment I did
not try to make her hear, for I knew it
to be useless for she raised her voice
suddenly to a shrill pitch of peevishness
and pointed one hand to the wall of the
carriage.
" Look here I Don't It say Small
luncheon baskets. Pull dowu the cord ?'
I want a small luncheon basket, so I
pulled down the cord. Make haste get
it to me, or I will report you to the
managers.
Seeing now that she was almost as
blind as she was deaf, I began to under
stand what she meant. On the spot to
which she pointed, over the-seat oppo
site her, two papers were posted in a
line, one the advertisement of " Small
luncheon basket," supplied at Rugby,
the other the company's directions for
summoning the guard to stop the train
in cases of danger. As they happened
to be plaoed, the large letters did read as
she said. " Small Luncheon . baskets.
Pull down the cord."
While I was gazing from her to the
bills, getting over a bit of astonishment
and she was giving me every now and
then a sharp touch on the shoulder to
recall me to my duty, and hastened me
with her refreshment, we were joined by
one of the directors, who happened to bo
going up town by the express. But his
just and natural wrath, loud as it was,
never moved the hungry old lady ; no,
not In the slightest degree. She never
heard one word of it, and only mildly
insisted in the midst of it that she was
almost tired of waiting for her Email
luncheon basket.
With a fierce parting shot the direc
tor tried to make her understand that
she had incurred a penalty of 5, but he
couldn't though he bawled it at her un
til the poor old thing perhaps mortified
at having taken so much trouble for
nothing; perhaps frightened at the
commotion she saw though she didn't
hear It sank back in her seat in a
strong fit of hysterics, and let shillings
and sixpences roll out of her lap and set
tle under the seats.
It seemed to be a long time before we
started on again, but I suppose it was
only six or seven minutes' delay after
all. I expect I should have waited to
explain the stoppage to the pretty young
girl of whom I considered myself a sort
of a protector, but, as I said, she was at
the very opposite end of the train, and
I was in haste now. There must have
been a good laugh in several of the car
riages when the cause of our stoppage
got whispered about. As for me, when
I got back into my van, solitary as it
was, I chuckled over it until we stopped
at Calk Farm to take tickets.
It seemed to me that the train was
tikeu into custody as soon as it was
stopped there.
"Of course you have the carriage
doors all locked, and I'll go down with
you while you open them one by one.
My men are in possession of the plat
torm." This was said to me by Davis, a de
tective officer whom I knew pretty well
by now, having had a good bit to do
with bl m about this Warwickshire
robbery.
" It is no UBe," I said before we
started, " the train was searched, as you
may say, at Rugby. Every passenger
has undergone a close scrutiny, lean.
tell you. What causes such scientific
preparations for us here "
A telegram received ten minutes ago,"
he answered. " It seems that two of
the tbeives we are dogging are in this
train in clever disguise. We have had
pretty full particulars, though the dis
covery wasn't made until after you left
the junction. Have you noticed"
dropping his voice a little here "a
youug lady and gentleman together in
either carriage ?"
I felt ajbit of odd catohlng in my
breath as he spoke. "No," I said,
quite in a hurry, " No young lady and
gentleman belonging together; but
there may be plenty in the train.
What if there are, though ? There wag
no young lady or gentleman among the
robbers!"
" Among the robbers," rejoined
Davls,wlth suppressed enjoyment " was
a woman who'd make herself into any
thing'; and you must own that a gen
tleman with a dark, long beard isn't bad
for a lady known to us pretty well by
her thick red hair and a cut under her
lip."
" But the young ludy ?" I asked, cogi
tating this.
" Ah 1 the young lady. True enough;
well what would you say now, if I told
you she grew out of that boy with the
closely out, dark hair, that we're after."
I remembered the pretty plaits and
the loose falling hair. I remembered
the bewilderment In the eyes which en
tirely had their natural expression, and
I didn't answer this at all,
" I wish I had as good a chance of
catching the old fellow as I have of
catching the woman and boy," continu
ed Davis, as we moved slowly past the
locked luggage-van. " I know they're
here and that I shall recognize them
under any disguise; but we've no clue
yet to the other rascal. It's most ag
gravating that by some means we've
lost sight of the biggest rouge of all.
Come along."
I did come along, feellug very stupid
ly glad that there was all the train to
search before we could reach the car
riage at the other end, where sat the
girl whom I had In a way taken under
my protection.
" When are we to be allowed to leave
this train, pray 1 Call me a cab," cried
the deaf old lady, plaintively, as we
reached her carriage, and found her
gazing out in most evident and utter
ignorance of all that was going on
around her. "Iam locked in, Ga'ad.
Do you hear?"
I heard, ay, sharp enough. I only
wished she could hear me as readily.
Davis stood aside watching while I un
locked her door and helped her down.
Then, seeing her helplessness and her
countless packages, he beckoned a por
ter to her, winking expressively to call
his attention to a probable shilling.
Carriage after carriage we examined;
and though Davis detected no thief, he
turned away more and more hopefully
from each. He was so sure they were
there, and that escape was impossible.
We reached the last carriage in the line,
and now my heart beat in the oddest
way possible.
"Is this compartment empty, then?"
asked Davis while my fingers were actu
ally shaking as I put my key in the
door of the centre one. " Empty and
dark?"
"Even if it had been empty it
wouldn't have been dark," I muttered,
looking in. "Hello! what's come to
the lamp?"
I might well ask what was come to
the lamp, for the coupartnient waaas
dark as if had never bien lighted ; yet
had not I myself stood and watched the
lighted lamp put in at Rugby ? And
the carriage was empty too I
" Why was this ?" asked the de tec
tlve, turning sharply upon me. " Why
was not the lamp lighted ?"
But the lamp was lighted and burning
now as sensibly as the others if we
could have seen it. As we soon discov
ered, the glass was covered by a kind of
tarpaulin intensely black and strongly
adhesive, and the carriage was com
pletely dark as If no lamp had been
thereat all. The perplexity In Davis'