MY FIRST CASE. [BY AN ENGLISH DETECTIVE.]

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2230, 23 October 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

MY FIRST CASE. [BY AN ENGLISH DETECTIVE.]

Yes sir, I call it my first case, because it was the first of any importance in which I was engaged, and because, thanks to the happy chance of which I am going to tell you, it gave me a start in my career which I have never lost. It was one morning several winters ago when I was ordered by my chief to call on Mr. , a diamond merchant, who had reported a loss of diamonds worth $20,000. Further than that the house was in. Soho, I need not give you any particulars of this geqtleman's name or address. I was then very young to be entrusted with so important a case, but we were busy at the time, and my chief was kind enough to express his faith in my ability. I had not been ton minutes in the house before I saw that I had before me a task iof no little difficulty. The room in which I stood was obloug in shape. One end was occupied by a large window looking on the street. Standing with your back i to the window, on the right hand side, ! was a fireplace, on the left the door ; between them stood a large square table, above which was the chandelier with four or five lights. Against the right hand wall some little distance from the fireplace stood a large safe facing into the room. Save one or two chairs there was no other furniture in the room. It was 1 from the safe that the diamonds in question had been stolen. But here was the puzzle— the safe had been drilled open, a work which must have taken at least an hour and a half, and the room remained all night with the blinds drawn up and the gas lighted, in fuU view of the passers by and of the policeman on the beat who passed every half hour. There were two keys of the safe— one in the possession of Mr. and the other belonged to his son. The custom was that the old gentleman left the office first and went home to his place at Dulwich, the two clerks left at 6 o'clock, and the son was usually the last to leave looking the sife and aeeina; that all was left in security. The other rooms in the house were let out as offices, but all the tenants loft before ,~> o'clock, and when Mr. 's office was locked up the only occupants of the house were the caretaker and his wife, who lived in the attic. The robbery had been discovered by Mr. on his arrival first at the office on the morning in question. He had been followed by his clerks ani his son in the order named, and I found all four present when I reached the house. On mikiufi inquiries I found that Mr. himself had locked the safe on the previous evening. The clerks had gone as usual at 6 and Mr. having had to remain later than usual saw everything clear before his departure. He and his son left together, the father going home and the son going to dine wiih a friend, with whom he went to the theatre and at whose house he slept The housekeeper had swept and cleaned the offices as usual and had finished work by S o'clock, at which hour she and her husband went upstairs to their own rooms at the top of the house. They did not come down again that night and had heard no noise. I felt little difficulty as to the eutrance or exit of the thief. He might have entered the house at any time on the previous afternoon and, as there was more than one unoccupied room in the house, j have laid perdu till it was time to commence operations ; and, as I found a window at the back of the house unfastened, I concluded he had made good his escape through the yard and by way of a lowwall into the adjoining court. But how had he been able to work so long without attracting attention from any one ? The street was not a busy thoroughfare but there must have been some wayfarers despite the fact that the night had been an inclement one ; and as I have said a policeman passed every half hour. I made a careful inspection of the room but found nothing save a broken pipe. On looking at the walla I noticed at opposite sides of the room high up near the cornice two marks, as though nails had been torn out of the plaster, but on pointing these out to Mr. he could give me no information. He had never noticed them before, but they might be old marks for all he knew. I then proceeded to make inquiries : first as to the whereabouts of the clerks on the night in question. Mr. had told me ho had no suspicions as to their integrity, but, of course, it was my business to make sure, and I found they were able to account for their time quite satisfactorily. The policeman who had been ou duty could not help me. He had passed each half hour but had seen nothing suspicious A number of persons had passed up and down the street but he had only recognised one man, a chemist who lived in an adjoining street. Application to this gentleman elicited nothing further. He had passed down the street between 11 and 12 on his way homo and had looked in at the lighted window as usual, but there was certainly no one in the room then. I returned to headquarters to make my preliminary report, and directed inquiries to be made, with a view of identifying, if possible, any persons who were in tho street throughout the night. Well, air, for two days I was at my wits' end, All onr endeavours proved fruitless, and the more I turned the matter over the more helpless 1 felt. On the third day I was passing through B street and looked in to see my brother, who was laid up throutrh an accident. He lodged in rooms over tho shop of a house 'md sign pnintur who had a small but fairly prosperous business. Ou leaving 1 him I came down to tho shop to ftive some instructions to his landlord and whilst I was talking to the latter he was called away for a few minutes. Amusing myself by looking about me, my eye was attracted by the rough nkotch of a safe which was lying on the counter. Although my head waa full of safes, as

you may suppose, I doubt if I should have looked twice at this one had it not boen that the sketch was an exact copy of the safe in which I was so much interested, and which, I should have explained, was of peculiar appearance in that it was much narrowor in proportion to its height than is customary. On the painter's return I held up tho sketch and asked him if ho had gono in for a new lino of business. ' Well, yes, sir,' he said, laughing 1 , ' that's a sketch I used in my first attempt at scene-painting. A young fellow for whom I've done a little business camo in tho other day and persuaded me to paint him a scene for some private theatricals he was getting up. It represented the wall of an office, and that safe stood in one corner. He was good enough to say that I succeeded very well, and he told me afterwards that it had given great satisfaction.' Well, sir, tho whole thing flashed on me ill a moment. My gentleman had hung up this drop scene in front of the safo, and the room then presented its ordinary appearanco to the street, while behind this ingenious screen ho had been able to 'work his wicked will' upon the safe at his leisure. To cut a long etory short, the painter gave me such information as enabled me to put my hand on this amateur actor, and he was in due course tried, convicted and punished, while we were able to recover a large portiou of the stolen diamonds", greatly to Mr A 's satisfaction. I think lam right in saying, sir, that it is to chance I owe my start in life, even if I may chim some credit for my subsequent success