AMATEUR SHERLOCK.

Manawatu Herald, 23 July 1896, Page 4

AMATEUR SHERLOCK.

LEAVES FROM HIS NOTEBOOK ON SIGN PICTURES OF BURGLARS. t What Cha& iv]? rl£BOn the Front S»««>P o' fete May Mean-Jr tho Other Hand ' They May Be Only the S<**: wlB ot Mlsohievoug Boy* Which Mean Nothing. The amateur Sherlock Holmes has added another chapter to Ms little notebook which records the significance °* trifles that are important clews to tht> % doings of tho criminal olasses. Spots of ink, cigitr ashes, marks on the finger and the particles of dust in the folds of an umbrella are all eloquent to this observant seeker after truth as revealing times, places and occurrences in whioh people may have been engaged. There is a whole literature on the muds of New York and vioinity, their color aud consistency^aiid the various degrees of atmospheric moisture under which they will be reduced to a fluid state, while toothpicks and matches as characteristic of various restaurants and localities are full of meaning. Now it appears, by what the amateur Sherlock Holmes has been revealing in a moment of confidence, that the dead walls of New York, stoops of houses, basement entrances and area gateways are the signposts of the criminal classes, and that what look like the rude sorawlings of boys are in reality the secret symbols by which burglars communicate with each other. Chalk marks under the edge of one of your front steps may mean that your house has been spotted and will be broken into on a certain date. A rude drawing on the area railings may to the enlightened eye of the initiated mean: "This "man has a burglar alarm on his second story windows aud keeps a revolver under his pillow, but the silver is in the butler's pantry on the first floor, and the house may be entered through the second basement window, where the latch is broken." The fraternity which has developed this sign language to such a high degree of perfection shows considerable ingenuity in its design, but no attempt is made at accuracy of drawing, as that would attract attention. The sign pictures of the burglars are made to look as much like the rude scrawls of schoolboys as possible. Three figures were found scrawled on the gateway of one bouse. The information thus pictorially conveyed was to the effect that the house was tenanted by a lady, one woman servant and a boy page. That he was a boy page was indicated by buttons on his coat, and the servant was indicated by a short skirt, dotted to resemble a print dress. Another picture in the notebook of the amateur Sherlock Holmes was more easily deciphered, as it showed merely a fierce bulldog guarding the house, a warning to all members of the fraternity. The next sign, taken from a house in tho suburbs, was more mysterious and complicated, but upon a' study it finally resolved itself into the announcement that the man who lived there went out to business at 0 in the morning aud returned at 6 in the evening. Another picture gathered by the amateur Sherlock Holmes during his painstaking investigation of this subject showed accurate information, as was subsequently discovered, upon the. part of the sign writer as to the interior of the house. It indicated that there were three electric bells on the windows, and that one woman servant was employed. A crude drawing taken from under the edge of a stoop indicated that the servant there had been "squared," and this house presumably was just ready to be burglarized. Some of the booty expected to be secured, together with warnings as to possible difficulties to be met with, were indicated by sign pictures of silver spoons, coin and plate, together with the statement that the place was "Al," but there were significant sketches of a dog, a revolver and electric bells to put the thieves upon their guard as to what to expect Frequently the burglars, says the amateur Sherlock Holmes, put these sign pictures on houses remote from those to which they refer, and in this case the identity of the latter is revealed by mysterious symbols. This was the case with a rude drawing of a house discovered on a street corner. It represented a tall house with a line barbed with an arrowhead leading to the roof from the street and indicating that the best method of ingress was through the roof. The street and number of this house were also shown by a succession of numerals which only the initiated could understand. Don't get frightened when you see chalk marks on your front stoop or area gateway. The probabilities are that they are merely the idiotio scrawls of boys. At the same time examine them closely, and if they seem to point to bur- . glarious intent or design it might not be a bad idea to report the matter to the police. The latter will probably laugh at you among themselves, having not yet developed many Sherlock Holmes propensities, but the fact that the signs have been noticed will, in some mysterious way, soon be known to the criminals, and those enterprising gentry jnay be frightened off.w - " a