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Copyrlgnt, 19U, by the Star Company. Great Britain Rights Reserved.
Why Crime Does Not Pay-
No. 17 of a Series of Remarkable Reve-'
lations, by Sophie Lyons, QUEEN
OF THE BURGLARS.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder and knew instinctively it was a detective’s. Quickly thrust
ing the bulky wallet hack into the old man’s pocket, 1 threw my arms around his neck and
kissed him again. ‘Oh, Uncle Dan!’ I cried between the kisses with which I fairly smothered
the astonished old man, “Where in the world did you come from.”
N OT all the crimes the professional
criminal commits are carefully
planned in advance. Very often
they are committed on the spur of the
moment, when the opportunity to steal
some article of value without detection
tmddenly presents itself. The habit of
wrong doing becomes so strongly developed
that the thief Is unable to resist the temp
tation to steal even when he is not in
need of money and when there is every
incentive for him to avoid the risk of
arrest.
This was exactly what happened to me
In Springfield, Mass one day The
fact that 1 was unable to withstand the
glittering lure of a tray full of diamonds
proved the starting point of one of the
most eventful weeks of my life
What happened to me during the week
which began with my bold robbery of a
Springfield diamond merchant is as good
an example as ] can select from my pa.
career to give point to the lesson I have
learned and am trying to teach -that crime
In the long run can never be made to pay.
.lust think of it—in the seven days that
followed the unlucky moment when I
thrust my hand into that open showcase
in Springfield. I was arrested three times.
Jumped my bail once and successfully made
my escape from a Boston cell. During all
that time I was never free from fear of
arrest -asleep or awake I would start at
the slightest sound, fearful that it was a
detective coming to snap those. hateful
handcuffs on my wrists again.
•And what did I have to show for all the
nervous strain, all the suffering and hard
t>hip I underwent during that week? Worse
than nothing at all Although I stole cash
and valuables amounting to more than
seven thousand dollars. 1 was penniless
when 1 finally succeeded in getting back to
New York
A good share of the money had gone
to the lawyers A thousand dollars of it
1 had been obliged to leave behind when
1 made my escape from the Boston police,
and the trayful of diamond rings 1 had
stolen was hidden in Springfield, where 1
would not dare show my face for many
months. Even the rings on my own fingers
had gone to pay my lawyers' fees and
my bail
But let me go back to the very begin
ning and explain just how all these things
came about
It was when I was on my way back from
an unsuei essful bank robbing 'expedition
to a Canadian town. I was feelim tired,
out of sorts and generally disgusted with
myself. "If 1 ever get back to my home
in New York." 1 said to myself remorse
fully. "I will surely settle down to an
honest life"
But alas for all my good intentions'
Just before I reached Springfield 1 hap
pened to recall that this was where an
old school friend of mine lived. She was
a thoroughly respectable woman, the wife
of a hard working tradesman, and 1 deter
mined to stop off and surprise her with a
visit.
As luck would have it. I found her house
locked, and one of her neighbors told me
that she was aw'ay visiting her mother in
Worcester. Knowing no one else in Spring-
held, there was nothing for me to do but
kill time for two or three hours until an
ther train left for New York
I
Written By Sophie Lyons
9 was strolling leisurely along one of
the main streets as innocent as one of my
babies of any intention of wrong-doing,
when T happened to notice something
wrong with my watch. Thp hands had evi
dently stuck together, and it had stopped
more than an hour before. Just across
the street I saw a large jewelry store T
walked over there to see about my watch
It was the noon-hour and the store was
deserted except for an old man whom I
judged to be the proprietor, and, at his
bench for in the rear, a lone watch
maker.
The proprietor was arranging some trays
of diamonds in one of the showcases wheD
I approached him and stated my errand
He said my watch could be fixed in two
minutes, and started • off with it to the
watchmaker's bench. His back was no
sooner turned than I took in the fact
that he had neglected to close the sliding
door of the showcase. Inside there, within
easy reach of my long arms, were two,
> hree a dozen trays or costly diamond
rings, brooches and necklaces.
Forgetting all my recent resolutions and
regardless of the consequences. 1 reached
my hand across the showcase and down
inside. It took a powerful stretch of my
muscles to reach the nearest of the trays
But at last my fingers closed securely over
its edge, and with a skill born of long ex
perience I drew my arm back and the
tray of rings came with it.
This was an operation that required a
good deal of care, because In my position
the tray was not an easy thing to handle
without letting some of its precious con
tents fall clattering to the floor and give
the alarm In less time than it takes to
tell, however, and before the proprietor
had fairly reached the watchmaker's bench.
I had the tray safely concealed in my hand
bag
The proprietor returned w-ith my watch
It was only a trivial matter to adjust it,
he said, and there would be no charge
w hatever. I thanked him and hurried out.
shaking inwardly for fear he would dis
cover the absence of the tray of rings
before 1 could lose myself in the streets
After getting his plunder a thief’s first
thought is to get it out of his possession
What he wants is a temporary hiding place
a place where he can conceal it until
whatever outcry the theft may have
caused has had time to die down and he
can safely dispose of his booty to one of
the numerous fences” who are to be
found in every large city Whenever pos
stble, the pruuent thief selects a tempor
ary hiding place before he actually lays his
hands on his plunder, and loses no time in
getting it out of his possession, so that in
case the police arrest him soon after the
robbery they will find nothing incriminat
ing.
This crime of mine, however, was so
entirely unpremediated that 1 had not the
faintest idea what 1 was going to do with
my tray of rings when I walked out of the
store. Down the street a few blocks I
saw the railroad station, and this sug
gested a plan. I would check my bag there
and hide the check in some place where 1
could easily recover it whenever the coast
was clear.
This was a plan 1 had often followed
w ith success, and it is a favorite with
thieves even to this day. l saw by the
newspapers that the misguided young
man who robbed the New York jewelry
firm of $100,000 worth of gems the other
day went straight to the Pennsylvania Rail
road Station and checked the suitcase con
taining the plunder which had tempted him
to his ruin
By this time all intention to reform had
left my mind, and I thought only of the
ways I could use the money the diamonds
would bring. The hurried inspection 1 had
been able to give them placed their value
at fully $3,000.
I walked quickly, but with no outward
signs of excitement to the station, where I
locked my handbag and exchanged it for
a brass eheck Then I walked out of the
station and seated myself on a* bench in
the public square. It was the work of only
a minute to dig a little cavity in the gravel
under one of the legs of the bench with
the pointed heel of my French boot. A
big red-faced policeman was standing un
comfortably near all the while, but soon
he turned his back. 1 bent over quickly,
placed the check in the little hole I had
dug and quickly covered it with earth. I
continued sitting there for some minutes,
making a mental photograph of the spot
so that 1 would be able to locate it again,
even if 1 had to wait months.
As I rose and crossed the square to a
department store I realized that 1 had not
acted a bit too quickly, for 1 overheard
some men discussing the daring robbery
of the jewelry store. It had just been dis
covered, so they said, and the police were
already scouring the city for the thieves.
1 made haste to purchase a satchel very
similar in appearance to the one contain
ing the diamonds. In this I placed a few
trinkets and such things as a woman might
naturally carry, and returned to the rail
road station. I checked this satchel just
as 1 had the other, and walked away—
my mind somewhat at rest.
Walking along the main street 1 en
countered a detective who was convoying
a couple of men to the station. The face
of one of the men was familiar, and he
recognized me before 1 could turn away.
Using a store window as a mirror I was
able to see that all three had stopped
across the street and were looking at me.
I lost no time in getting away, and the
detective, of course, had his hands full.
But I knew my chances of getting out of
town were mighty slim and it was no sur
prise an hour later when two detectives
confronted me at the station.
"How do you do?” said one; “do you
live here?”
“I live in New Haven,” I said, rapidly
adding a fictitious name and address. I
explained my visit to town, but they were
not satisfied, and to the police station I
went.
In searching me the detectives held up
my satchel check and hurried off gleefully
to the depot, quite certain that they had
found the missing diamonds.
They returned crestfallen, but the cap
tain had an instinct that told him I had
those diamonds, and he ordered me locked
up over night.
From a neighboring cell the two men ar
rested earlier in the day called out:
"Hello, Sophie, how did you get in?"
I did not answer, and pretended not to
know them. The pelice unlocked my cell
door and invited me to come out and
meet my friends, hoping, of course, to
learn something.
Thrilling Events Which
Crowded One Short Week
of This Famous Criminal’s
Life—How She Profited
Nothing from All the
Risks She Faced
*
But I said in a loud voice that I never
saw the men before, and that they must
have mistaken me. The two men were
good enough to take the hint at this point
that 1 was in trouble, and soon after I
heard one of them saying that from a dis
tance I looked like Sophie Lyons.
In the morning the police captain re
luctantly released me. But he sent a de
tective to make sure 1 got out of town, and
he gave me his parting promise to run me
banks, hut saw no chance of snatching
anything. We were both very much in
need of raising some funds right away,
and something had to be done.
A sure-enough farmer cashed a large
check, counted the money five times, laid
it in a huge wallet, and tied the wallet
together with a piece of string. Then he
placed it in the breast pocket of his coat
and marched out. Of course, w-e followed.
Lizzie, who was known as “The Woman
in if I ever came W'ithin his reach.
There was nothing for me to do but to
take the train and hone to return some
day for the diamonds. I got off at New
Haven and sat in the railroad station pon
dering ways and means.
My thoughts were interrupted by the
appearance of Lizzie Saunders, a woman
criminal of no mean ability. From the
effusiveness of her welcome I suspected
that she was ''broke” and wanted a loan,
as indeed, proved to be the case.
1 hadn't much to spare, and was forced
to listen to her schemes. She told me
that the town of Holyoke was a splendid
in Black," because she never wore anv
thing else, kept a lookout while I oper
ated.
The old man was watching the street
parade,, hands in his trousers pockets
chin stuck out and whiskers projecting
a foot in front of him.
I reached my hand into his pocket, got
a grip on the wallet, and was about to
the quick snap of the wrist and jostle
which Is part of the pickpocket’s tech
nique, when I felt a heavy hand on my
shoulder I knew instinctively that it was
a detective. Quickly thrusting the bulky
wallet back into the old man’s pocket, I
threw my arms around his neck and
kissed him. .
“Oh, Uncle Dan! I
cried between the kisses,
with which I fairly
smothered the astonished
old man; “where in the
world did you come
from?”
The old man almost
got apoplexy, for I
kissed him and hugged
him with a vehemence
that made everybody
forget the parade. I can
remember the sea of
whiskers I dived into.
“Gosh a 11 hemlock,
who are you?” he gasped
when I let him go. “I
ain't Dan, I’m Abijah.”
The detective really
believed that I knew
Abijah, but he remem
bered Lizzie and took
her away. I was about
to escape when a red
faced woman arrived
and shouted:
“You hussy, what do
you mean by hugging
my husband?”
The detective hesi
tated and looked back,
but he would have let
me go it' Lizzy hadn’t
been fool enough to call
'By concealing the ticket in my handkerchief, I ° U *sophie, find me a
nanaged to get it into my mouth as I wiped away the lawyer and get me out
ears. Long before we reached the station house I had of this."
shewed up the piece of pasteboard and swallowed it.” f J ^ ^ck-headed^p "
dace to pick up money, as it was crowded
vith farmers attending a fair.
1 was tired and disgusted and wanted
o return to New' York Yet I did not
i-ant to go so far from the diamonds, and
nolishlv I listened and was persuaded
lice detective, and he took us both away.
The old man refused to testify against us.
He was afraid he would not be believed
and the scandal would get back to his
home town. He was right, it would have.
Arrived at the station, no talk or act
ing was of the slightest avail, and the
Li^lrr^ nnvf dnir holfl
SOPHIE LYONS.
of course, “jumped” it and arrived at Bos
ton together.
I was thoroughly disgusted w ith Lizzie,
but she stuck to me like a leech, in spite
of a dozen tricks that would have rid me
of a detective.
At last I succeeded In getting away
from her and happened to meet an all
round knight of the underworld known as
"Frisco Farley.” Together we worked the
soda fountain trick, which was new- then,
and which I will explain in a later article.
In the course of the day we took in con
siderable profits, which had not been di
vided or even counted when we foolishly
stepped into a jewelry store, merely to
look at a new-fangled thief-proof showcase.
The first thing I knew, Farley was gone
and I was arrested. It seems Farley had
operated in that store a year ago, had
been noticed and had escaped just in time.
I was arrested as his accomplice.
On the w'ay to the station w-hat worried
me most was the fact that I had in my
pocket a ticket to New York. In Boston,
for some reason, a ticket to New v ork is
looked upon by the police as conclusive
evidence of guilt.
I burst Into tears and wailed and sob
bed at the shame and humiliation of my
arrest. By concealing the ticket in my,
handkerchief, 1 managed to get it into my
mouth as I wiped away my tears. Long
before we reached the station hoa.,3 I ..aJ
chewed up the small piece of pasteboard
and swallowed it.
The story I told had only one weak spot.
here was $400 more in my pocket boob
ihan I thought, and this one discrepancy
made them iock me up.
I’hat night I was placed in <; ceil with
an intoxicated woman. I was able to ; end
out and get a bottle of whiskey, but not
for myself. About midnight the woman
woke up and was glad of a drink I not
only gave her one, but many, until she
was in a stupor and made no protest when
I changed clothes with her.
In those days, in Boston, it was usually
the custom to let intoxicated persons
sleep in a cell and then to put them out
on the street in the morning without
bringing them to court.
In the morning I pretended to be half
sober and protested violently against be
ing thrown out in the cold: But they
pushed me out onto the sidewalk, much to
my outward grief and inward joy.
I borrowed the price of a ticket to New
York, leaving my money in the police
station and my jewels at Springfield. Thus
a week of hard, nerve-wrecking work net
ted me absolutely not one cent, but in
reality the loss of my jewels, my time- and
considerable money.
SOPHIE LYONS.
What the Stars Predict for August
A CCORDING to the stars, August will be a month of ill
omen for the United States. In the lunation on the 2d
the two malefics. Mars and Saturn, are nearing conjunc
tion in the zenith, the functional quarter of the city, State, and
national governments. A sinister influence surrounds these cen
tres, and every device of statecraft will be needed to circumvent
malicious attacks upon the integrity of chief executives. Presi
dent Wilson, Governor Sulzer and the Mayor of New York will
each feel the force of this, and a fanatical attempt will be made
upon the life of one of them. Anxiety and ill-health will be
prevalent in high places and the death of an Eastern Governor
is foreshadowed.
Heretofore we have found Jupiter a helpful arbiter in gov
ernmental affairs, but the pendulum has suddenly veered the
other way, with a national crisis threatening. The nation itself
is in a crucible, and it is a question whether the test will pan
out refinement or dross. There will be opposition to any specific
measures advocated, and never before will we have realized so
fully the inadequacy of our navy.
A certain Power, cognizant of the astral law, has been await
ing the psychological moment to force certain demands. In any
event, Jupiter and Venus protect the Panama territory, although
we shall suffer loss to both our navy and merchant marine
through fire and explosion.
There will be marked activity in the way of national defense,
with movement of large bodies of troops. Serious rumors of
war are sure to be prevalent with Mars so near the midheaven
Grave troubles are threatened in the Eastern section of the
country through disgrace in social and political quarters. Mar
ket centers will be torn asunder through reports and actual in
vestigations. and the full force of Mars and Saturn combined in
our ruling sign will make itself unpleasantly manifest. The
writer has seldom met with so disastrous a lunation as concerns
the body politic during August.
The building trades will be benefited, however, and currency
interests in some way improved. The public health will suffer
through peculiar disorders, with many cases of nervous prostra
tion and of accident The weather promises cooler till after
the 17th; then hot and humid, with destructive storms in the last
week, accompanied by earthquake shocks.
Specific happenings may be looked for as follows:
AUGUST 1.—Excitement In a public gathering a casualty in
traffic centres: a bullish market trend in the Mat nine days of
the month.
AUGUST 2.—Slanderous rcp"“t? in ,'ocial circles end . n itc
portant divorce case attract attention
AUGUST 6.—Considerable excitement In the stock market:
advance in quotations between this and the 8th inclusive. A t
diplomatic transaction satisfactorily effected in the same period. <
AUGUST 10.—A seaside calamity; peculiar thefts involving
women; an odd escapade in high society may be looked for.
AUGUST 11.—Market depression, with quick recovery; dan
ger to a public building; probable death of a prominent financier.
AUGUST 13.—A scandal in financial marts; increase in public
expenditures popularly sanctioned; the navy benefits. (
AUGUST 18.—The President, if on vacation, is visited by
Cabinet members, a complex diplomatic problem having to be *
dealt with.
AUGUST 19-20.—Military activity around this period: war
supplies shipped to insular posts. Illness in the President’s
official family.
AUGUST 24.—Mars conjunction Saturn; this horoscope a
replica of the monthly lunation, accentuative of the evil therein
mentioned, but its effects extend into December, and are too
involved and far-reaching to be detailed here; of evil significance
as regards national prestige. Various calamities on this day,
with a pleasure resort disaster. Violent storms, destruction of
property, and a train of circumstances is now set in motion
that leads to many subsequent Governmental complexities.
AUGUST 28.—Accident on an electric railroad; subways and
the New Haven railroad are endangered.
Jupiter this month assures a pleasant trend to the affairs of
people born at the close of December and April, or near the
beginning of September or November of any year. Business
will be stimulated, health improved, new friendships formed,
and those in employ will come into lines of promotion; they
should seek favors and advancement. The December and Sep
tember natives of the fair sex will receive offers of marriage,
if eligible.
An opposite condition of affairs in the nativities of people
born between the 5th and 10th of March, June, September or
December. Difficulties of a saturnine character will arise,
progress will be impeded, and chronic disorders and genera]
physical debility will be felt by many of them, yith danger
from ptomaines and gastric troubles. They should avoid initial
moves, and keep matters as near the accustomed groove as
possible.
There are many good birthday anniversaries in this month,
particularly the first nine days, between the 18th and 23d, and
25th-27th inclusive. Unusual activity is shown for the year ahead, t
with new business enterprise if born between the 6th and 8th,
or between the 19th and 22d. Calamitous for those born near • *
lOth-llth. 24th or 28th, domestic and business difficulties, reac-
Hons and unwise changes The eligible of the fair sex will
marry if born on 7th-8th, 19th-20th or 26th; bereavement if near
th*> 11fh Oifh