TOLD BY THE POLICE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 293, 4 September 1908, Page 7

TOLD BY THE POLICE.

CRIME AND CRIMINALS. RECOLLECTIONS CRAVE AND CAY. PECULIAR, CASES IN NEW ZEALAND. I. *TMa all a chequer-board of Nights and Days , Where Destiny with men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays." 1 "Minar Khayyam." ■■ The sailor is popularly supposed to hold pride of place as a retailer of good 6torics, but ho has a competitor worthy of his' steel in the police officer, more especially those in the detective branch of the service, whose lives' frequently bristle with untiring incident. It is rarely, however, that tho policeman can be prevailed upon to talk of eases, of tho past, but the following stories heard from time,to time are reproduced as nearly, as possible as they were told. Shirts and Fiat Irons. The average'detective, after he has been on tlio road'a year or two, imagines that he knows tho ways of thieves, but the oldest hands sometimes get "left." A hatter's shop in one of the centres of the Dominion was broken into on a Saturday night, and the back door was left open by the thief, who also left two now portmanteaux packed with the best shirts and collars in the place. The shopkeeper happening to return to the shop on the Sunday noticed what had happened, and reported the matter to the polico. A detective went round to the shop, and after making a survey of ' tho building emptied the goods out of the portmanteaux which he then weighted with flat irons and packing. Having done this, tho detective went' away feeling certain, from his knowledge of the ways of thieves, that-his quarry would not return for the portmanteaux until , night. Just before dusk the detec-.t-ivo made his way to the shop prepared for an all-night watch. The watch was of no avail, no one approaching tho place, and at length the detective, on investigating, was surprised to,find that the portmanteaux had disappeared. Contrary to custom, the thief . had returned for the goods in broad daylight, and had left the shopkeeper and the detective lamenting. The robber- was -ar-rested-some time after when he had one of tho portmanteaux in his possession. The detective told the thief how ho had been ■ surprised "'at; missing him tho first . time. " Your surpriso wouldn't stand against the shock I got when I opened, up the swag on tho town belt and found them flat-irons," was tho reply. .

Hotel Robbers. Systematic thefts from hotels had been the fashion, and a "rise" of £120 had been made from the room of a certain publican oy a.' well-known; method. The detective in whose hands the inquiry was placed had not tho slightest clue to work upon, _ and was puzzled as to where ho should begin. Being '•unable to hit upon a plan of campaign ho -sauntered out- into the city feeling anything but cheered by the dismal prospect. He had-not proceeded far when he met a uniform 'policeman, who, knowing nothing of the reported theft, was greatly surprised at having been, i-given, a package containing £120. This,-he said, a boy-bad given him, saying lie had, fojind -it in the street. This information'put new life into the detective, who at once inquired which way the boy had gone, and how long before. "A couple of minutes, and be went down there," replied ■tho.uniformed one, and "down there" the detective rushed until he came up witbi a i fio^, M \vh l 6iu ho had-no difficulty in recognising, as . it'- was- Sunday morning, and tho streets were almost dosorted. For some timer tho lad held out that ho had- found the parcel in the street, but " bluff " eventually elicited.,the' information that a man named r-rr; had-.given it to liini to take to the police station. The individual named by tho boy' was known to the \detective, • who set, about, to. interview him. _ The explanation was .that .two men had given tho man tho money -to mind- for them, but knowing .neither, of tho men well he had beoorao uneasy, and • decided that the best place for_ tho money was at the police station.- ,Tho talo was thin, but th« ofßber wa : s'given: a sufficiently clear description of tho two men- to identify them as two well-known Australian criminals,, but why they, of all men, had acted in such a peculiar manner..witL.theit.spoil. h.O .could, not understand. A conference with numerous cabdrivers unearthed the fabman who had driven "tho criminals to the" house at which they .had ■deposited..the moi)ey, and from this-source tho .address -of the. hotel at which tho two men' had' been staying was obtained. Tho proprietress of the hotel iyas well-known as a "shady" character, who would never give information to : tho police concerning any of her boarders, and tnis was confirmed when -tho dctective went to tho hotel and made -inquiries! An uncomfortable ■ look passed over ! the":woman's face when tho names of tho two Australians were, mentioned, but no amount of persuasion'or "bluff" could shake tho lady, and tho dctective was baffled for tho time. Ho .wended his thoughtful way down the street, pondering over the latest check, when he met'a ohild carrying a parcel. "" .

An Inspiration. Hero was an inspiration. The boy was a willing helper", when a half-crown bait was held in front of him, and the detective instructed the lad to go up to the hotel he (tho detective) had just left, and say he had a parcel for Mr. ——, mentioning t-ht name of ono of the Australians, which parcel had to ib 6 delivered to Mr. personally, and paid for. The boy entered enthusiastically into so soft a Tnoney-making scheme, and proceeded as directed. "Is Mr. • in?" ho demanded of the landlady,,'"causo hero's ii pared he's, got to pay for, and I've got to get tho money." Tho landlady eyed tho parcel boy closely, and said Mr. was not staying with her, but with Mrs. : , of Stroet. Tho boy said lie would go there, and went hack to tho expectant detective and told him whoso establishment Mr/ - was honouring. Within a couple of hours Mossrs. and had been marched off to tho police sation by s happy •" detective, who worked up a caw which saw both men sentenced to two years in gaol.

Servant Girl Trouble. The sorvant girl trouble has assumed a different aspect since the 'trouble given by tho sorvant girl who is the heroine of this paragraph. A' servant, employed by a prominent business man in the South, corn-, plained to her mistress that every time she (tho servant) wont out -sho was followed by a man who, on tho previous evening,' had rushed at hor and got hold of her when sho went intot tho back-yard for some firewood. Tho man of tho houso and the local constable arranged a plan of campaign, which was to lead to t-hq downfall of tho obnoxious individual, and sat up night after night watch- - ing for tho man to come along. The climax was reached when tho girl rushed screaming into the houso one ovening with a bundle of her" hair in hor hands,- and, almost fainting, told a story of how tho man had caught hold of hor again and out off her troßses with a pair of hedgo shears. The man of tho houso had caught a. scvero cold during his night watches; and tho local constable could not oopo with so'serious a enso single-handed, so a dctective was sent for. On arrival, tho detectivo'interviewed the girl, and immediately recognisod her as a fcnialo who had had a somewhat similar oxpcrieiico tho year before. After a searching cross-oxamWtKm, the girl admitted that sho, had cut. <Jflf tf tho hiiir herself' and'had invented" tho otlior ' stories for .a. joke. The jnifltress of the houso wa'sioyiil 'to' the laist, ajid even when told of tho domostic's deceit would not harbour such n base suspicion against her employoo until sho Heard tho story from the girl herself.-' Tho servant was fortunate in gotting; lier- ;baggage.: out. of s tho houso hnsforo fcha man of the house could loaye.-his. bod.