FIGHT WITH THE "KING OF THE FORGERS."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 253, 4 March 1911, Page 10

FIGHT WITH THE "KING OF THE FORGERS."

DIFFICULTIES THE POLICE HAVE TO CONTEND WITH, • More than one criminal lias been dubbed "King of the Forgers." But if ever a man thoroughly deserved the title, it was Ralph Sloane, the notorious American crook, whom Chief Inspector Froest ran to earth so cleverly in the days when he was just an ordinary detective-in-spector attached to the Criminal Investigation Department at Scotland Yard.

Sloane always flew at high game. One of his earliest coups was brought off at Washington, in 1871, when he forged the name of the Paymaster-General of the United States Navy to an order for payment of £40,000, and got clear away with the money. His next step was to ingratiate himself with a San Francisco millionaire named Treadwell. Him he robbed, by means of forged cheques, of over £BO,OOO.

After that America became too hot to hold him, and he sailed for Europe, eventually turning up in London, where he committed two forgeries on the famous banking firm of Glyn, Mills and Co netting about £4OOO. For this crime, however, he was arrested, and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. He was released from Dartmoor prison on a Monday, and on the following Friday he presented a forged cheque for nearly £SOOO at the Bloomsbury branch of the London and Westminster Bank. The cheque purported to be drawn by and in favor of, a well-known firm of playing-card makers and printers, and so skilfully was the forgery carried out that no suspicion was aroused. Sloane received the money in gold and notes, and promptly fled to the Continent.

It was at this point that the aid of Scotland Yard was invoked, and the case was placed in the hands of Detective-In-spector Froest. It took that officer exactly six months to locate his man, but he did it at last, running him to earth at a handsome chateau near Paris, where he was posing as a count and a man of means.

Xow Sloane had a world-wide reputation as a coolly desperate man, who always went armed, and when Froest requested the French police to arrest him they complied by sending a miniature army to surround the chateau Whereupon the King of the Forgers, realising that successful resistance was, under the circumstances, quite out of the question surrendered at discretion.

Extradition proceedings were then instituted, and in due course Sloane was taken from Paris to Havre to be handed over to Froest, who was waiting to receive him on the deck of the steamer that was presently to convey them both to England.

Again ihe French authorities showed pi'ctty plainly that they were taking no chances. Not only was Sloane securely handcuffed, but he was escorted down to the harbor by no fewer than twelve gendarmes, all of whom were armed, together with several detectives, who'also carried revolvers, and some soldiers with loaded rifles.

But all this display of force'was for their security only, for when Froest demanded to search Sloane before his handcuffs were removed, they at once began to raise objections. It was not regular, they said, nor according to French law, to search an unconvicted prisoner. "Then," replied Froest decidedly "I shall decline to take him over. T know the man's record, and he is capable of anything—even murder."

there vas more angry talk, and eventually Freest, thinking to settle .the matter, seized hold of Sloane, and commenced to search him without more ado. Then indeed, the fat was in the fire. Sloane resisted violently. The American Consul, who was present in his official capacity excitedly protested, while one of the gendarmes even went so far as to draw his sword, and threatened to use it upon Froest unless he at once released his hold of Sloane.

Freest s reply to this latter action was to draw his revolver with his left hand and threaten to fire upon tke gendarme unless he sheathed his weapon, while at the same time he held the struggling •Sloane firmly by both wrists with his disengaged right hand. Meanwhile, however, another gendarme ha<l quietly knelt down and, unobserved by Freest, had unlocked Sloane's handcuffs. The King of the Forgers thereupon grappled with the detective and tried to throttle him, but Froest threw him upon (he deck, and pinioned him there.

All this while the Frenchmen were crowding round, shouting and gesticulating, and it might have gone hard with *ro«st, who was called upon to grapple with and hold in custody a desperate and unmanacled prisoner, and at the same time to ward off the hostile demonstrations of the gendarmes and detectives, had not the captain of the boat intervened.

"Look here, sir," he exclaimed, addressing the French officer in charge of the soldiers, "this is the deck of a British steamer, and there"—pointing to the masthead where the Union Jack was fty-ing--"is the British flag. I call upon you to withdraw your men. Inspector Froest is quite right in insisting upon searching his prisoner, and if, after this warning anybody interferes with him in the execution of his duty, I'll order my crew to put them in irons."

Hearty British cheers from the pa*son-' ?ers greeted hi* spirited speech, awl the Frenchmen, after more an<rry words withdrew to the quayside. Froest, left alone, soon had Sloane overpowered and handcuffed, after which he proceeded with hi, interrupted search, and drew from a. secret pocket, made near the .seam of Sloane's trousers, a Ion" thin donbled-cdged knife, snarp as a razor ' "Nice little piece of cutlerv, this" remarked the captain, taking it i» his hand and feeling its temper with tha ed*e o« this thumb-nail. "No wonder he" objected to being searched." "Yes." retorted the prisoner, "and if I hnd my liberty even now T would pnt it through Freest'* heart, even though it eost me my life!" h

I daresay yon would," answered the detective drily, "but T an, not going to ?ive you the donee. Tho,e handcuffs dont come off now before Ave net to London." h

Nor did they Froest locked him in « onh.nand „tood pianl outside the door find afterwaTds in the train he hind cuffed himself to his prisoner hl " ld " Froest 1 * duty ended after he had •riven evidence against ],i m . and the King of the Forgers was handed over to two warders for oon TC rancc to Pentonville Sloanc waited until the enh reached the pr,.son S ate when one of the two wnTd" «« -ot nut to ring the hell for Admittance. Slonne lifted hi, manacled to, above hj„ head, and bronchi them .low. with terrific force on the other wade" fkiill, stunning him. Then he leapt, cat-like, through the ab window, and made off like a flan tl'ronph the darkness and the fog But unluckdy for him, in turnin/ntc .' tSe«™, b 0 7 Btreet ' hC nn <"»«* into „,"""' ffl y°" n ? constable in plain Rothes. Slonne wa., by then pretty w Mown and the officer was able to sec™ him .although not without a stru^lT The sentence passed upon him wa.'fifteen years' penal servitude.