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SEPTEMBER 8, 1906.
THE SUNNY SOUTH
THIRD RAGE
•-•■•■r-e• ■<>•• ■.■0—9:-0-~0:-9:.0...0..-0~-0.*0**9—9'+-0 J
With Prestige as Prize, Financial Giants
Battle Over Melody j&
Well Planned, But! ^ jj
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BATTLE of millions for the
right to occupy the seats
of the social eiect at the
opera is s oo-n to be began
in New York. It promises
to be the greatest social
war ever waged in Amer
ica.
In fact, it lias begun, for
the first stages of the
skirmish haive been fought,
and Senator W, A. Clark,
of Montana, and (Charles
M. Schwab, the great steel
magnate, have as a preliminary step
built their own opera 'house in order to
run In opposition to the regime that has
monopolized the most sought for places
at the Metropolitan opera house.
This con est is going to array against
the olj foir hundred the power of the
newly rich who have invaded New York j
inspired by the desire for complete social 1
recognition, but who are still too near '
the source of their money to be admit
ted into the select circle of the old Knick
erbocker families.
It is a war of millions, a war of sing- j
•is, a war of imlrressarios anil a war of j
women’s wits. J
Tts outcome may change the entire com- j
plexion of social life .in the metropolis. !
and If Oscar Hamtnerstein can draw to
•his new opera ho se a sufficiently smart
clientele, as now seems certain, to make
a showing, the social promoters of the
new enterprise will be in a position the
next year to stampede the Metropolitan j
Opera. Company’s parterre box holders. ,
Tlie beginning of the contest dates |
from the time that Senator Clark and | since
Mr. Schwab and their wives came to i ods there. (live us an artistic success
New York. They had money enough to
hold their own with anybody, not except-
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HAT settles it,” said Dick
Northootc, watching the
red billiard ball hesitate
and finally plunge into a
side pocket. ’.How’s the
time, marker?”
"Near 10. sir,” the
marker answered, profes
sionally impassive.
”By Jove. I must move!”
He looked toward Ills de
feated opponent,
struggling into his
“Are you going. Catmur?”
he asked in some astonishment.
The man addressed as t’atmur smiled.
Not a particular pleasant smile if one
head cold and a certain querulousness of
tone.
"You are expecting me, I think,” Cai-
mtir said, shifting the bag from one hand
to another.
■“Oh, you’m yoting Mr. Noirtheote, be
you? You’m late. Come In. Your room
be ready.”
Catmur stepped in, and waited whjle
the door was fastened u|-> again. “That
bag be ’eavy?” Mrs. Rodgers comment*
ed, preceding him lumberingly up the
| staircase. “I never seed a young fellow
coat. | with one s ° heavy.
“This ’ere be your room, vou’ni in Mr.
and Mrs. Bird’s.” She jumped as he put j
down his handbag, it sounded so heavy
“Gtide lord, sir,” she cried. “what a
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if
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?
Honor Among Thieves” j
i ^ A Delusion of the Public >8 •
♦ ♦
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were observant, but apparently sincere’) weight ’“
enough for Dick Northcote. “Yes.” he said. ’I’ve brought some
“No one else is likely to come in. Be- dumb-bells with me." | among thieves”
> "That's a mercy,” she answered. There s i-neves.
s a mortal lot as ain't dumb up there.
OMB time ago I saw a story
in The Sun which sought
to puncture the erroneous
notion that there is any
such thing as “squareness
among gamblers,” snid a
detective of extensive ex.
perience. “I thought then
that it was about time a
fall should be taken our
of another one of those
bogus maxims—the max
im that there exists any
such ihing as ‘honor
sides, T am ti-ed of billiards. A walk will j
freshen me.’’
• I’m going straight home,” the young She pointed to a few electric bells above
the bed. “The.v’m connected with the
Catmur said, a little testily.
clerk replied. . ,, , ,,
• But that's a walk. The sea with this strong room, so 1 m told
wind will be worth watching. You live! “Yes. yes
on the front, don’t you?” j " I ’ m tired. Mrs. Rodgers.”
“Ves- the terrace facing the green." | With that, she made her laborious w.ay , aracksmet
The two men passed out of the billiard ! downstairs again. ' _j prominent
room
“l never yet knew a crook who wouldn't
do a fellow crook with us little compunc
tion as he’d eat a plate of ham and eggs,
and I'll .just run over o story or two to
prove this.
"Five or six years ago three class A
of Niw York framed up a
bank job in Trenton. X. J
the .VUcrton Arms hotel, and; The sound of closed doors reassured j yj ie jy> b wen i through on gireasrd ski Is
Into a passage. From a room near them j him. and he smiled. The job promised to | up to , y ,. erta j n point. The cracksmen
came the sound of a strident piano and j be an absurdly easy one. He had the, put t be watchman under the gun
the painful effort of a man persuaded to j bank to himself, and with no chance of i v i )en llP stepped to the bank’s front
sing. The door opened and an elderly man j interference. At 5 o’clock a London mail , grating , 0 gat a breath of frPsIl a j r _i t
carat out. ' t,nin stopped at Preston-Supcr-Mare sta- was jn the summer tinle H e had to let
“Be that young Mr. Northcote?” lie! tion. Nothing would he discovered until j lhem jn and they had him
9, at .the earliesK. Possibly the cashier
would not come in until later than that.!
Catmur opened his bag. Tt contained j
wire cutter.'
eordagpfi up
'lid gagged before lie knew where he
asked.
“What do you want. Rodgers?” the
bank clerk demanded, rather nettled. j Catmur opened his nag. "The vault safe was an ordinary combi-
“You’m sleep!’.!’ up to bank ouse to-i strei toeds. He selected a wire cu tei.| nat j on affair without any time ioek con-
night seemingly. We’m caretakers w liile j,) five minutes the electric bells w ere, (rjvances, and it wa:
• " he
; host
■professed
Charles M. Schwab, The Steel Trtist Magnate.
business rneth- t wisdom that is going to make him a very! pari
Mr. Bird be way; ur's tookt the maids as dumb
with him on 'olldav. Well, it’s the an- | carrying.
nual of the Hoddfellows tonight. I'm a j There was a pair of felt slipper
ing the wealthiest of the millionaire’s
ring that controls affairs at the big tem
ple of music. Forty-second and Broad
way. They had everything but the en
tree, but this was the hardest of ail to
get. the list of the 400 (had been compiled
before they arrived.
CHECKMATED.
The first ambition of the Clarks and
Schwabs was to get a parterre box at
the Metropolitan opera house, but there
they found snugly entrenched ,T. Pierpont
Morgan in the center, flanked by J. J. As-
t«r. Perry Belmont, Mrs. Cornelius Van-
Conreid introdu
there. Give us
that will attract to you the best class ot
music lovers and society, and we'll bear
the costs and back you to tip limit.”
llammerstein lias taken his backers ai
their words, and the new Manhattan
opera house, nor.v nearing completion, rep
resents an outlay of two million dollars.
The 'center parterre boxes of this mag
nificent temple of music will be occupied i
by the Clark and Schwab families, and
ns their combined wealth exceeds one
hundred and fifty million dollars, there
ne.'d be no fear of lack of brilliancy when
they take their places on droning night.
Numerous other men of wealth, who!
have fretted under exclusion from so-
Hoddfellow, so I’m ’ere. And the missus
don’t know ’ee. But jus* tell er you m
come, and it'll be all rigid.
“Very well.” tlie bank clerk answered 1
vexedly. lie looked quickly at lib com-]
Catmur stood wait ing. It was not
evident whether lie had heard. Northcote
was afraid lie had not, but in any case it
did not matter. If a stranger-lie bad ,
only met Catmur In the hotel a week
previously—the man was evidently a gen- j
tleman of means. TIis conversation, sym- ■
cal and well Informed, established that. !
The two men walked together down ;
the main Ft ret
of green that
houses and tlie promenade
sand lay hidden by the night
■blowing coldly, tumbled the waves
ged lines of creamy white.
Conversation had drifted unconsciously
to Northcote’s hobby-the collecting of
moths.
••My dear fellow,
grant you butterfl
charm of color. A
in them. They are gorgeoui
sultans of flower harems, full o
was no idle fancy tha
rendered them the Greek symbols of the !
soul. But moths—I associate them " ' 1 ’
i the impertinent orders las c > p ‘ 11 s '
j make out in the early autumn "
i the
wa ~
Th
wi nd,
a r.ig-
Catmur said, “I
s—they have the
artist might find
formidable rival for the old organization.
From the ranks of those who have been
big favorites in Dlls country, but who
have been lacking in the metropolitan
line-up since Conreid has applied his new
ay stem, lie has picked out the greatest
stars, and to these added a number of
famed singers who have never been heard
in the United Sta.tes.
Rightfully recognizing that the great
est opponent he lias to fear is Caruso,
he has picked out two tenors of lofty
reputation. The first of these is Jean do
Reszke. who for ten years enjoyed quite
as great a vogue as Caruso now, and
Bonci. Caruso's greatest rival In Italy-.
The latter is credited with having a phe
nomenal voice, and the presence of do
Roszke is sure ,:o attract many of his for
mer worshipers to tlie new- flag.
Edouard do Reszkc. New York’s favor
ite basso, will be back, and in Nellie Mel
ba, Hammerstein will have ‘tlie greatest
prlma donna of her day, a lyric queen,
who outclasses the now rapidly- fading
Zem-brieh. * .
Conreid has been getting along with] "You are something of an uitic .
only- one competent baritone. Hammer-; mur. I could show you beauty
stein will have two of the best in Europe | moth comparable to that in a
in Renamt and San Marco. Either is - Do you kr.ow a spotted Burnet
said by competent critics to be much bet-! course <■; don't. (hires
ter than Scotti. A great favorite will ! and bcnuTy of marking,
return in Sehumann-Heink. and if the] show—”
great Ternina is in good healtli she will 1 He pulled on suddenly. 1 be bom w.is
be over, which will give Hammerstein | later than tt ought to hu\e been, ani
the finest dramatic soprano living oday.lthe bank house was still without a t< n
Gadski will also be allied with the new I ant. Bird, the manager, was away, t i
house of opera. cashier lived with his people in a '] - l
From this (brief glance at the strength in tlie town, and had begged off tin u '
Cl the new company, it will be seen, tnai j comfort of inhabiting o-meiioily ^.st s
it is bound to make a strong artistic as: house, and Northcote had volunteered,
well a.s social appeal, and Messrs. Scwab j J le ought to put his night-clothes to-
and Clark are likely to win to their cause gether and be off. But here he v.as
the many critics, newspaper and musical,! outs ,a e b j s rooms, and it wo Id look in
end of last year | not tn ask Camtur in fora
y for experts
j with the nitro and the blowpipe. They got
j her open after an hour's w* ik. Then it
j looked -pretty soft ‘for them, for there
mg. Catmur put these on. I here wa- . was about $40,000 in new currency in
also a dark lantern; lie trimmed and lit; p j a j n gjgpp They let the metal money
it Then, taking up his bag. lie smi ei | a ] onP ,, nd made a leisurely job of divid-
] ing tlie swag into three equal parts.
HELD UP BY OFFICERS.
“Tlie lookout or outside man abandoned
his post in fiont 'Of the grating of the
Tliovi small bank to be in at the division of ; he
Tlie thne cracksmen were sitting
"The diamonds wi re lodged here a fort
night ago.” he thought triumphantly.
■ when the Washes went away. I know
they are good, beyond ■; lie average value]
of those of a successful brewer
were Lady Washe s passport to society." I I&ot - The three cracksme n were
Very cautiously lie went down stairs, inside the vault stuffing the currency into
bank looked curiously ghostly with their kicks and planning for their .lift'er-
He felt his way care-1 ent biding places, when two cops sud-
is tin- entrance to the! denly appeared at the entrance of the
to the Ions, narrow strip! strong room.” He pu,; down his bag, vault and covered tin three of them,
lay between terraces ot < 0 f tools. Presently- there was a curioti
Beyond, tlie ' sound of grating like the gnawing of :
The
its empty stools,
fully. “Ah! This
delight
eastern
suggestion.
big rat.
Abou! 2 o'clock Mr. Rodgers stood out
side the bank house ringing ‘the bell. A
constable coming around the corner, ad
vanced at the same time as Mrs. Rodgers
set to work to leisurely unbar the door.
"Hallo, Mr. Rodgers, you're late to
night!” said tiie constable.
“ ’Sense me.” Rodgers replied
elaborate politeness, " 'reuse me—yc
- 'vantage—"
It was all so sudden that the hands of
the tluee cracksmen went straight up.
“While one of the oops kept the three
covered by the gun fanning process tlie
other went behind them and deftly re
moved their shooting tools. Then he quite
as deftly abstracted their bundles of
siw a;g.
to-! "This done, '.March.’ said the two cops
j to the three disarmed cracksmen. The
with three were marched to tlie basement
ave j where tlie watchman was still cordaged
up. Then the two cops executed a
butterfly.
olur in moths ,
Now I could
The door opened and Mrs. Rodgers, i walking backward stunt, still covering
swathed in shawls and red flannel, and j the three cracksmen, got out of the
holding aloft a candlestick, peered out. steel door at the back leading into the
“All. my dear! said Rodgers. "Frien I alley, slammed the door which closed
oi mine. He waved towards ' he can- f with a spring lock and the three
sta'de. As young Mr. Northcote come| cracksmen were neatly imprisoned.
* n ’’ ] “The imprisoned cracksmen had no
"He came in a long time ago. Mrs. tools and so they couldn’t pry their
Rodgers said. It wus about 'leven— ■ way out. They untied the watchman
nearly that. 1 reckon. and ordered him to turn them loose,
"Mr. Northcote!" exclaimed the consta- 1 hut they had collared the watchman's
ble. “I saw you let in a tall, dark man, ; keys upstairs before dragging him to
carrying a bag. '1 ha; was not Mr. North- j the basement and the keys were still
cote. r know him. I don’t know the upstairs. So the three cracksmen and
cashier—1 tnought it might be him. I the watchman were found together in
ij-on't see ihe man clearly, but he was; the basement at opening up time the
'aller and thinner than Mr. Northcote
and Mr. Northcote is very fair.”
"You’m net long h»re?” asked Mrs
Kongers.
"The cracksmen's story that they
lemselves had been struck up by a
. following morning.
CRACKSMEN’S STORY DISBELIEV
ED.
| “Only mov
' Northcote n
who contended at th
that Conreid was sacrificing -the artistic
end of business. 1 P e §
Messrs. Schwab and Clark, it
■rrored. Intent! to exercise a veto
over parterre box-holders at the Man
haittan. and If this he true, a new four
hundred is an entirely probable outcome
of the warfare.
MERIT WINS—NOT PULL.
The time when "puli'’ was the prin
cipal need in securing promotion in rail
road work has passed, and it is the man
who is willing to step into the gap ami
j take the initiative that arises, says J.
K. I-ak.ln, a 'former official of tlie D.
K. and V. railway, in Hapgood’s Gi por-
! tunities.
eiety till they felt like ragged newsboys! A story is told of James H. Rutter,
•peering through tlie windows of a fash- ] of t'he New York Central system, who
tollable restaurant in which were dining j began his career as clerk for the Erie
those whose companions they most de-: railroad, and gave such exceptional ser-
sired to be. have flocked to the standard I vice that he was promoted rapidly. Mr.
of the new regime. I Vanderbilt offered him SI 5.000 a year
In this number are many men and worn- j fo **i e position of freight traffic man-
wealth ■ ager. He accepted tlie offer. Great re-
l siponsibllity was placed on him. and often
• Mr. Rutter was verjilexed as to just
! what action to take. On one occasion
he called upon Mr. Vanderbilt and laid
a matter 'before him. Mr. Vanderbilt de-
! manded, "What does the New York Cen-
GOOD AMMUNITION. tral pay you SI5.000 a year for?" “To
His wealthy patrons and opera house , manage its freight business." replied Mr.
secured. Hammerstein lias been hustling Rutter. "Then manage it," was Mr. Van-
fa- j .icbt ii.ii.; k»re be ha* shown a' ilerbllt's reply.
. as you can."
outheaster is nipping-but not j matched her guide Rodgers into
Senator William A. Clark, of Montana.
dwbllMrg. Astor, Adrian rselin and
others the old line society.
VheSfmi-atively looked through their
lorgne at the niltllcants, and then
« miffed
”Wh admit to the parterre boxes
tthese iy arrived (.Marks, Schwabs, and
a dozpthsr millionaires from other I en w |, 0 have ability as well
cities (their families? Certainly not. j f or j] ie four hundred has never been con
For tin,,fid mean that they could take 1 s ,i6terit In itsi preferences and has shut,
part “lit calling from box to -box be- ] oat many wh * had every qualification for j
tween acts Which is the surest sign ' entrance, and welcomed some unfit for;
of socI finding ” j association with decent po ,v p!e.
Instet- this. Senator Clark and his ;
young were relegated to the tier j
above v. occupants are prevented by |
tlhe urLn law of the house from i
mingllnt, tlie notables below. Schwab |
decllneQ: a ke an y box. It was the I
best or -with him He was con- j
tent to the same quiet battle that ■
has *° won his success. His tac-
tics wet same as he used in the cel- 1
•brated ,. t w tlll Henry C. Frick.
He needle hasty.
It was,-j. parterre boxholJers
of the lolitan to shut out these
aspiranti venture only exists
through ; nant .j a i support of these
h«8vy gVj t In -v can demand what
they war.
Clark q and Schwab shut out I
writhed, 30 j VP d ;l vengeance. j
The ex the insurance scandals
helped th e materially. They could
•?e no men besmirched in j
that stor. lr , t should continue to ]
hold hip! - ' p-.aco while they lan
guished o ; . - Ide ,
Along Irrepressible Oscar
JJammerst man v,-ho handles root j
gardens, t.j 138 composed an np ra i
In twenty urs and performed s
number -p-ta ’alar feats tha’ J
have made, )drd rr hustling New '
York. i
He had a fj r _ nd opera was hi« .
thought. 1 g-j vc jt at a popular ]
price, and ' e patronage of many ;
persons t00 - ay t he Eiffel Tower |
prices of 'Musical temple.
BLBM.
But right u;set j-e struck an
obstacle. - g j n3;3 r3 xould not
come to an VJS0 y.-hero po.tular
prices P reva vhero their prcsilgc
might 8 u ^ €r orn pai liioi: with the
song birds b,. p)d estnbllshmen'. i
Then on < (~, gcnr found out ;
that the tet p 0pl; ;i lr prlcrd
opera rnlgitt , at en ou»h to get j
the kind of ^ mU st have -or ;
New York. ^ ook{d destined to |
failure, but lsIs _ Clark and I
Schwab rcee i,, or Thpy q .,fi,-] : . J
1 v ss-W the c fc _ w; K , h they i
bad waited « ig sweet .
‘•Go ahead.’ cKect l0 Hum- !
merstein. Jiera house, hav, !
It on a lavlsr e &s h andso:nc ]
as the Metrop^ best slng-
ers In ths ^V Uy those who
Have tossn 8ni e M{troi?oll t in |
hospitable
i n ,_| Northcote looked up at the house. The:
right) lights were out in all the romis but ids. j
"Come In for a peg. I shall turn ,- ou ]
out almost at once, because 1 have to j
sleep a t the bank tonight. You heard j
Rodgers speak about it—idiotic fool! j
"A little indiscreet,” Camtur said, with j
a smile. “I confess a peg sounds invit- j
ing— thi;
if I'm inconveniencin
“Not at nil.” Northcote answered, lie
lot himself in with a latchkey, and
turned up the lamp in the sitting room.
' I won't show ,'ou my cabinet tonight,”
he continued, “but here's a settingiboard
with a few. enough to convince you,"
He lugged out the beard from a cup
board. "If you'll excuse me, I’ll rush a
few things into my bag. There's a
syphon. a bottle, and glasses on tlie
sideboard: mix a couple of pegs. He
dived out of the room as lie spoke, after
a scared look at the clock on the mantel
piece.
■1’C last week. Rut Mr. '
p to Bovey fishing in
the summer. i had better look into'
this." ]
I he constable moved into tlie passage
..rd waited while Mrs. Rodgers closed tile i
door. Rodgers sa: down on the mat. j
Lock him into a room anil slip out to [
tlie police station!'
stable.
"lake this?” Mrs. Rod
nantly. ‘I couldn’t.’-
"Wei!, dre.
pair of cop? was scouted and when the
whispered the
'■on-
watilim
a n
cl
limed in
and stated
that
story w
as
true he was
immediately
sus-
ported i
->f
bei
ng himself
in cahoots
with
tlie IjI oi
fc’P
ipe
men. Tin
« watchman
had
a hard
time
to square it
livnseif and ■
:*ame
mighty
close
to going
to prison.
He
saiil indig-;
quickly
II.
Hammerstein’b New Manhattan Opera House, Thirty-Fourth Street and Eighth
Avenue, New York.
Catmur, left to himself, took no notice
of tlie setting-board, but crossed tlie
room and closed the door softly. Then
he poured out two pegs of whisky in
two tumblers. With a quick dive into a
waistcoat pocket he produced a small
vial. uncorked it, and counted a few
drops into one of the tumblers. The
other he filled up with soda water. Then
he turned to the setting-board.
“You are right, Northcote.” lie said,
when the bank clerk burst into the room
carrying a small handbag. "1 am con
vinced. There is a softness of color ef
fects I had not noticed. Oh. there's your
peg. Shall 1 help you to soda? 1 did
not know how you liked it mixed.” ’Ihe
syphon hissed, and Northcote accepted
the tumbler and drank.
“Rather a queer taste, eh? Corked
perhaps. I hope yours is all right!"
"Mine Is quite all right, thanks,” Cat
mur assure,] him.
"Then the lingering flavor of a Merton
Arms cigar has upset my palate. I
don’t want to be rude, but 1 shall have
to turn you out. I—by Jove, this room
, -s hot! I suppose—coming in—the cold,
i Do you mind—” Northcote sat down
i hastily upon the broken springed sofa
, and gas.iped. His eyes stared at the
| lamp. h'S face grew white, he put out
an iricsolute hand, anj pressed hi? fore-
, head. "The window. Catmur, open it, ’
■ ‘lie managed to s-iy.
. "All right, old man," Catmur answered.
I He stood looking at the bank clerk with-
* out moving. To Northcote he appeared
; growling further and further away like a
j man in a dissolving picture. He tried
to struggle to his feet, but only suc
ceeded in knocking over the handbag.
Then his head sank into his breast.
Catmur lifted him uip on t’he sofa.
"Look here, Catmur," Northcote said
drowsily, “I must be going. I must—the
bank—” He trailed off into unconscious
ness.
Catmur turned out the lamp and let
himself out of the front dOQr, closing it
very quietly. He walked brinkly to the
I hotel, and presently emerged from the
’•ide door carrying a big bag that weighed
lam down ‘perceptibly on one side. The
cihorus of “Wlddecombe Fair,” from the
; lusty throats of the HoddfellowB, follow
ed him into the dark Right.
! He rang the bell at the bank house prl-
j vate door, and presently there was a
) sound of ohains and bolts. At that mo
ment a policeman gassed and looked at
, him and he gave him a civil “good night.”
• "Who’m you?” demanded Mrs. Rodg-
1 era. an ample woman, nrfth a perceptible
and then turned toward the door
communicating .with .-.he bank.
“I didn’t get a good look at the chap ”
'he whispered to himself, "hut he was
very like Oh. it can t be! It’s
many years ago. and he—-I’m a fool
to be thinking; ot* him!”
At tiie door he paused. A curious
grating noise like the gnawing of a big i They’d sailed
rat, which came from tlie bank prem
ises. paused also. II,. opened the door
cautiously and edged in. There was a
mat on the other side of the door, and
he stood on that, motionless. He thought
lie hear a. movement,, a secretive fur
tive movement, somewhere in the room.
There was no sound for two minutes.
The constable’s big fingers groped silent
ly over the wall. Suddenly his fingers
felt the cold touch of metal. With a
hold sweep he switched on all the
lights.
“Move,” came a low voice in a vin
dictive hiss, "and you are a dead man!
switch off those lights!”
Tlie constable turned round quickly.
Catmur stood beside the entrance to the
strong room with a revolver in his
hand. Tlie door was open. As each
caught sight of the other, both started.
“Bob!” said Catmur.
"Jack.” gasped the constable.
“Thank God. ’tis you!” Catmur said.
“You can say I was gone. Two minutes
to get the sparkles—I’m through with
the door—and I can slip out. You can
report you 'found the strong room open.
Switch off the lights!"
“I can't," said the eonstable.
“Don't. Boh!” cried Ca'tmg. “I'm
armed. I—you're my brother, but I'm
going to get out of this—by heaven. I
am!”
He leveled ids revolver.
“I have my duty to do.” said the con
stable.
"D’you hear? Switch off those
lights." Catmur leaned forward, the re
volver hand raised.
"I won't!" The constable spoke firmly
and strode forward. There was a loud
crack. 'When the smoke cleared away,
the constable was kneeling over the dead
body of Cptmur.
Ten minutes later he was still kneel
ing there, when the sergeant touched
him on the shoulder.
"What's this?" asked the sergeant.
“Dead?"
"He sihot himself. It was a question
between shooting me or—or that. He
shot himself.” ne spoke in a dazed
way, still staring at the prone body.
“Mv poor mother!” he added.
stuck to tlie cun story s> persistently,
however, that the policeman on the
bank beat and the one on the adjoin-
j ing beat had to get to the front with
I all sorts of explanations as to where
| they had been while the robbery was
] in progress. To square themselves both
! of the cops had eventually to own up
| that they had been taking naps at the
! time, and they lost their badges. The
s o ! three cracksmen got their bits in Tren
ton prison.
“Now. those two chaps in the rigout
of cops were Chicago bank burglars.
“ast io wait for their
igraft to pick up a bit in their head
quarters town of Chicago and In some
mysterious way they'd learned of tha
details of tills proposed Trenton job.
It looked like (ready money and no
work worth mentioning, and so they
went to one of the fence costumers of
New York and got themselves diked out
in cops’ rigs.
“Then they went to Trenton on the
appointed night and just waited around
till their moment arrived. Then they
made their play and it was a neat and
profitable one at that. They got away
with the goods and the story didn’t
get out for four years afterward. Then
one of the Chicago cracksmen got drunk
one night and blew the yarn.
COMMENCING BY ASSOCIATES.
“Now if there was over anything .n
this 'honoi* among thieves’ fake you'd
naturally have supposed that these two
Chiciago cracksmen would have been
ostracized by their pais wiio heard of
their profitable masquerade as cops i:i
Trenton. Nothing of the sort happened.
Their pals patted them on the back and
called them smart fellows and lia-hn.’d
over the picture of the three trapped
cracksmen locked in the bank basement
with the watchman.
“Spark grafters are rarely on the level
with each other, even when they’re work
ing as a. team. I recall one case of this
sort particularly well, because one of 'be
crooks involved told me of tlie incident
most picturesquely.
"A pair of top-notch Philadelphia ^park
grafters got on to tiie fact that ihe pro
prietor ot a certain Walnut street res
taurant s. arte 1 for his home on a Wal
nut street car every night aciout II
o'clock, and that lie generally had a
souse on him at titis tiaic. They had
siztvl this restaurant mail up because lie
always wore in his four-in-hand tie a
huge, flashy four-stone diamond pin. The
stones were the white boys, as the crooks
call them, and each of them looked to
weigh about four carats.
“The old restaurant mail, as they no
tice!, wa* usually pretty well lit up when
he took tlie car no go home, and lie look
ed good lu tlie pair of spark grafters.
So they arranged a night to get that pin.
They boarded the car in which tlie res
taurant mail sat half dozing, in the en
joyment of ills regular going home bun,
and waited for 'the car to till up with
folks from the theater.
"The old restaurant man, very gallant,
got up to give a lady his seat. Then
one of the spark grafters gave him tha
elbow in the small of the back, and when
he turned to put up a growl the other
one neaitly copped the diamond pin.
"It looked like a good two thousands’
worth anyhow, to the crook who had
done the elbowing. They got off the car
and made directly for the plant oi the
fence with whom 'they- did business. The
crook who hail the pin handed it over
to the fence ami named Ids smallest fig
ure with- a confident grin. The fence
took the pin, looked at it just once and
remarked:
" 'Nothin’ doin’ in the ice line just now.
Stop your kiddin’.’
"The crook who hadn't collared the pin.
looked tremendously surpised and tha
crook who had coIlare'T it simulated a
look of equal surprise.
" ‘D’yo-ti fellers mean to hand It to me
thait you don't know that this is a phony?’
said the fence to them, holding up the
pin.
SUBSTITUTED BY A BOGUS PIN.
"Well, sure enough, the pin was a
bogus, just fairly- well sawed Brazil bril
liants. The crook who hadn't swiped the
pin looked disappointed and gloomy and
said that his eyesight must be failing—
that he'd never been twisted before ill
piping off the real thing in rocks. The
other crook chimed in and added .that
he’d never felt so cheap in his life. Then
the two spark grafters separated.
"The one who laid collared the pin and
who had it in his kick all the time took
it to another fence and got £1,500 for it
without a hitch. Y'ou see, he’d had a.
bogus of the genuine pin made before the
job was pulled of?, and the bogus was the
one he ran in on the first fence when
he went there with his pal. The pal
tumbled after a somewhat prolonged pe
riod of thoughtfulness. When he found
out that his suspicions were correct he
chased after his Ingenious p^l and de
manded his bit."
VALUE OF TESTIMONIALS. smoothly-shaven face, clean nails, neat
Testimonials and references are valu-■ neckwear, fresh linen, well-pollshod
able only to back up the. personality and B * loes these are essential and are better
statements of the applicant for a posi-' ^ an expen3ive clothing, lack'ng them,
tion. says H. J. llapgood, the well-known. If yoa cannot s ° to an e mployer "1th-
"brain broker." They should be typewrit-j out tl ? e fumes ot or liquor on
ten. but not printed, as when printed' ■' ou ‘ >eath.
had better not go at
all. for ninety-nine limes out of a hundred
they will prove fatal to your chances.
With neatness In your dress, a cheerful
face, and nothing about you to suggest
the down-and-out man, you have the way
well paved for a fair consideration of
your merits.
they indicate that you are perpetually in
the market for a position. The originals,
of course, are too valuable to allow out
of your possession.
Too many testimnials are often ruin
ous. I know a man who was being fa
vorably considered for a position as chief
engineer and was on the. point of being
engaged. The negotiations were promptly I DRIVING OUT HORSES
called off when lie produced twenty-three! America, slightly behind European emm-
letters of which fifteen were from men trlM 1n the art of automobile manufac-
for whom he had worked In the past ture was a year or s0 late , n tho , ntr0 .
three years, it is often better only to
mention the names of firms from which
you have letters and of other responsible
persons to whom you can refer if de
sired.
Letters of recommendation should be
brief and definite, one positive state
ment of what you hav e done being worth
a dozen glittering generalities. One of the
duction of the motor wagon Into city
freight hauling, but what Columbia lost
] In time she is now striving to make up
, in continuous energy; and if American
I push and brains can win. then tho time
• Is not far distant when the streets of
|our great cities will soon be In the hands
of the commercial motor-wagon.
I ever saw read like :
best testimonial
this:
"Mr. has been in our employ for
five years. H e I s leaving because we
cannot afford to pay hint more than
£1,800 and he is easily worth a higher
salary. We are sorry to see him go. as lie
! Already the conquest is assured.
In
the streets of New York the five-ton elec-
| trie and gasoline truck transports the
] tons of coal sold by many of the btg‘
(dealers: grain merchants use the lordly
j electric for hauling from the depot to
r the warehouse; wholesalers have In
stalled both gasoline and electrics fer coa
ls a competent civil engineer, and we i . „
shall have difficulty in filling his place." ! tT 7 ? , ^
Former employers are the strongest ! . ® f_ t0 /, S US *. b ° th
references you can give; teachers are
tlie next best: friends, relatives and ac
quaintances carry tlie least weight.
CAT FINANCE.
(From The 1-ondon Evening Standard.)
The price asked for the pedigree kittens
which a member of the royal family has
for sale is not excessive. They would
probably command a higher figure if sent
abroad. There must be ».n export trade
in cats, for statisticians who look into
these matters find that there is a great
scarcity of these creatures in seaport
towns and point to oversea marts as the
destination of the missing ones. Southey
has placed it on record that the first
settlers in Brasil paid £300 for a cat.
and for kittens their weight in gold
dust. This is more easily to be credited
when it is learned that a sum of £900
was refused for a Persian cat at the
Sydenham cat show some years ago.
for hauling building materials: electric
, light companies use them, the Edison
'company alone leqniring fifty in !ts era-
: ploy; for breweries they are specially eo-
j cinble because of ihe advertising value
$3,000 JOB FOR 50 CENTS. j connected with them; and the myriad
The expenditure of 50 cents in a barber °'bei Gotham concerns are getting inter-
shop was once the means of securing a * ste< L Coming west, Philadelphia r.as
S3.poo position. The applicant was a lheni by the score; Pittsburg, with Us
mechanical engineer, long on ability, but ; rapidly introducing them; Wash-
mighty short or. personal appearance,! ,n SU° n has a tew. and Chicago, with Its
says H. J. Hapgood, the employment ex-: poor ^- v paved streets, has a score or
pert, in a recent magazine article. Hiai more them :n operation. In the west,
case had been under consideration sev-! Denver and Kansas City are following the
eral weeks, and a definite answer was example set by the east; Omaha has It*
to be given the following day. The ap- flr3t one : Salt Lake City has a couple,
plicant, being not at ail sanguine of sue-1 Minneapolis 'has three, and a dozen or
ctss, went to a friend for advice as to 1 more are ^ in use in the various coast
how" he could land the job, which was] 0 '** 0 * of California.
in every way just what he wanted. The —
friend said: “Go to a barber shop. Get BUILDING HIS OWN TOMB,
a hair-cut and either have that scraggly Frederick Mistral, the poet, who has
beard of yours shaved off entirely ■ revived Provencal as a literary language,
trimmed into some sort of civilized j s preparing his tomb. It is to be n copy
shape!" The engineer did this, and when • of a well-known “Pavilion de la Reine
he went for the final Interview his per- j Jeanne” at Baux. The care taken by the
sonal appearance was about 100 per cent ] Provencal poet to make it beautiful wid
better The employer engaged him with- j be remembered for generation? among
out a moment’s hesitation, and later con- ! the neighborhood peasantry “It is. after
. . .. .nnwruncr had 8,1 ‘ the tonlb ,bat ,s the house we live
fessed that the man s appearance had. j oni g est ln; we must have it beautiful.”
been the chief oeuae of the n sion. . ^|« s ^ ra i ga j^ the other day when some-
The applicant for a poaltlon cannot at- j ttody twitted him about hi? hobby. And
tend too carefully to his personal aj>- ^oes the work himself, with no mean
pea ranee If he would be eucoeesful A skill, refusing: ail aid.