第章

“Youseemtobeveryparticl’randdiffikilttosatisfy，“continuedMrs。Morris；“but，ifyeoudon’tbelieveit，jestcomeandseeforyou’sef。“

Sheledthewaytothebureau，openedthedrawer，and，raisingaplaidcottonhandkerchief，displayedthecontrabandlettersbythescore。Allweredirectedtothelotteryfirm，andwereturnedovertotheknavefromtimetotimeasitsuitedhisconveniencetocallforthem。AsnosuchfirmdidbusinessatWingtonJunction，itwasthedutyofthepostmastertoforwardtothedepartment，asfictitiousandundeliverable，alllettersbearingtheaddressoftheswindlers。Insimilarcasesneglecttoobeytheregulationwastreatedassufficientgroundforinstantremoval。

Morefullypleasedwiththeresultoftheexaminationthanthewomansurmised，theofficerresumed：“Iseeyouareveryparticularaboutyourmethodsofdoingbusiness，anddonotmeantobecaughtnapping。Thearrangementweareabouttoenterintoisaveryimportantone，and，asyouarenotpostmaster，yourhusbandwillhavetobepresenttowitnessandratifythebargain。“

“Blessyeoursoul，“repliedshe，“it’sallright。I’tendtoallthebiznis。Myhusbanddoesn’tbotherhissefabeoutitintheleast。“

“Madam，“answeredtheofficer，“pardonme。Ihadmytraininginalargecity，andamaccustomedtopayminuteattentiontoeverydetail。Yourhusbandistheprincipalinthiscase，andmustratifytheagreementtomakeitbinding。Ofcourseyouwillderiveallthebenefit，buthispresenceisessentialasamatterofform。“

Apparentlysatisfied，shecalledfor“John，“whorepliedpromptlytothesummons。

“Mr。Morris，“saidtheofficer，“yourwifehasagreedtokeepmylettersforme——“

“Yaas，“brokeinthepostmaster。“Iknow’dshewould。Yeou’llfindshe’lldewitright，tew。Nobodycan’tcomeennytricksonher——canthey，Sue？Iwishoneo’’emdurn’ddeetecterswouldcomearound，jesttewseeheowshe’dpullthewoolover’im。Iwudn’taxennybetterfun；“andheindulgedinafitofloudcachinnationattheabsurdityofsupposingthatanyonecouldmatchinsharpnesshisownbelovedSue。

“Theletterswillcometothataddress，“saidtheagent，pullingouthiscommissionfromthepostmaster-general，andexhibitingittothepair。

Takinginthepurportofitataglance，Morrisjumpedseveralinchesintotheair，slappedhissides，andexclaimed，“A

deetecter，arterall；sold，byjingo!“

“We’rebust’dthen，“chimedinSue，withamelancholygrin。

Itwasevenso。ThelettersforHighfalutin&Co。wenttoWashington，andMorriswentoutofthepost-office；butthefactthatSuewasovermatchedhurthimmorethanthelossoftheplace。

June8，1872，alawwasapprovedmakingitapenaloffensetousethemailsforthepurposeofdefraudingothers，whetherresidingwithinoroutsideoftheUnitedStates。Thepostmaster-generalwasalsoauthorizedtoforbidthepaymentofpostalmoneyorderstopersonsengagedinfraudulentlotteries，giftenterprises，andotherschemesforswindlingthepublic，andtoinstructpostmasterstoreturntothewriters，withtheword“fraudulent“writtenorstampedontheoutside，allregisteredlettersdirectedtosuchpersonsorfirms。Priortotheenactmentofthislaw，themostwholesaleandbarefacedoperationswereconductedbyprofessionalcheats，mainlythroughthefacilitiesaffordedbythemails，withalmostabsoluteimpunity。Lettersaddressedtobogusfirmswereindeedforwardedfromtheofficesofdeliverytothedepartmentas“fictitious“and“undeliverable，“andmanycolludingpostmastersweredecapitated。Suchpettymeasuresofwarfareservedmerelytoannoythevampiresandtowhettheirdiabolicalingenuityforthecontrivanceofnewdevices。Sincethelawof1872wentintoeffect，however，thescoundrelshavebeencompelledtotravelathornyroad。Scoresofarrestshavebeenmade，andinmanycasesthecriminalshavebeensentencedtothepenitentiary。

Itwouldexceedourlimitseventoenumeratethedeviceswhichhavebeentriedbydifferentswindlerswithgreaterorlesssuccess。

Giftenterprisesofvariouskindsarethemostcommonandnotorious，constitutingadistinctbranchofthebusiness；butthepretensesonwhichhumancredulityisinvitedtopartwithactualcashforimaginarybenefitsareinnumerable。Afewspecimensaregivenasillustrations。

ANOLDGAMEREVIVED

Onthe18thofSeptember，1875，afellowwasarrestedinWestVirginiawhosentthevictimswhomheproposedtobleedletterswhereofthefollowingisacopy：——

“AladywhoboardedwithmediedonlastSaturdayofapoplexy。Sheleftatrunkcontainingthefollowingproperty：Oneveryfineladies’goldwatchandchain，oneladies’goldnecklace，sixladies’fingerrings，earrings，andagreatdealofladies’

clothing。Amongotherthingswasaletteraddressedtoyou。I

supposeyoutobearelativeofthedeceased，andwanttosendyouthetrunk。WhenMissThompsondiedsheleftaboardbillunpaidamountingto$20。50。Youwillpleasesendthisamountbyreturnmail，andthetrunkwillbeforwardedtoyouimmediately。“

Insteadofremittingthemoneyasmodestlyrequested，therecipientofoneofthesechoicedouceurs，aladyresidingintheinteriorofPennsylvania，sentthelettertothemayorofthetownwhereitwasdatedandpostmarked，whointurnhandeditovertospecialagentT。P。Shallcross；andheinthecourseofadayortwosucceededincapturingthemiscreant。

Thisparticularformoftheconfidencegameisveryold；yetintheyearofourLordeighteenhundredandseventy-fiveaswindlerbymeansofitsucceedsnotonlyinmaintaininghimselfindashingstyle，butalsoinsportingaflashytravelingcompanionofthefemalepersuasion!

Wherethelettersareaddressedtomen，thearticlesreportedtobefoundintheimaginarytrunkarechangedtocorrespondtomasculinehabitsandwants。Theoperatorsreceivemanysingularandsomeentertainingreplies。Thefollowing，datedlongagofromasmalltownattheSouth，mayserveasasample，theorthographyoftheoriginalbeingpreserved：——

“COL。SNOWDEN，“DearSir，——Yoursreceived，andyousayJohnisdead。Poorfellow!

Ialwaysexpectedit。Deathrunsinthefamily。Dyedsuddenlyofappleplexy——eattoomanyapples。Well，IalwaysthoughtJohnwouldhurthimselfeatingapples。Is’poseyouhadhimburied。Yousaidnothingaboutfuneralexpenses。Hehadatrunk——goldwatchinit，&c。Well，well，whatanunexpectedlegacy!butstrangethingshappensometimes。NeverthoughtIshouldgetagoldwatchso。Andhehadthewatchinhistrunk，didhe？Poorfellow!wasalwayssoparticular’bouthiswatchandfixings。Hadtworevolvers。Whatisthem？IneverheardJohnsayanythingaboutthem。Well，youhavebeensokindastowritetome；justkeepallthebalanceofthethings，youcanhavethem；butthegoldwatch，sendthattomebyexpress。Sendimmediatelyifnotsooner。“

“Verytruly，“GEO。STREAM。

“P。S。Mymotherinlawsays，ifyoucomethisway，call。Shelikestoknowallsuchgood，kindfolks。“

Itissafetoconcludethat“Col。Snowden“neveracceptedtheinvitationtocallfromthehospitablemother-in-law。

AFORMIDABLEWEAPON

Inthesummerandfallof1875circularswerescatteredbroadcastoverthecountry，andadvertisementsappearedintheweeklyeditionsofseveralleadingpapersofNewYorkCityandotherlargetowns，settingforththeraremeritsofaweaponofdestructioncalled“Allan’sNewLow-PricedSeven-Shooter。“Asaspecimenofingeniousdescription，themoresalientpartsofthecircularareherewithreproduced：——

“InintroducingthistriumphofmechanicalgeniustotheAmericanpublic，itispropertosaythatitisnotanentirelynewarticle，butthatithaslatelybeenimprovedinappearance，simplicityofconstruction，andaccuracy，havingnewpointsofexcellence，makingitsuperiorinmanyrespectstothosefirstmade。Themanufacturershavingimprovedfacilitiesformakingthemcheaplyandrapidly，havereducedthepricetoonedollarandfiftycents；

andwhiletheprofitsonasingleonearenecessarilysmall，thispriceplacesthemwithinthereachofall。

“Wewishitdistinctlyunderstoodthatthisisnocheap，good-for-

nothing’pop-gun’；andwhilenonecanexpectittobe’silver-

mounted’for$1。50，theyhavearighttoexpecttheworthoftheirmoney，andinthisnewimprovedseven-shooterawantissupplied。

“GreatcareistakenintheadjustmentofEACH，sothatALLareequallygoodandreliable。Intheirproductionnotroubleorexpensehasbeenspared。Anelaborateandcompletesetofmachineryandgaugeshasbeenmade，bymeansofwhichallthepartsareproducedexactlyalike，thusinsuringgreatuniformityinthecharacteroftheworkproduced。“

Thisremarkableimplement，equallyusefulforpeaceorwar，isofferedtoaneagerpublicatthelowpriceof$1。50each，or$13

perdozen。Onthescoreofcheapness，theinventorgreatlyprefersthemailstotheexpressasavehicleforthetransportofhiswares。Infact，hedeclinestopatronizetheexpresscompaniesatall，unlessaprepaymentoftwenty-fivepercent，accompanieseachorderasaguarantyofthe“purchaser’sgoodfaith。“

Atfirsttheenterprisesucceededevenbeyondthemostsanguineexpectationsofitsprojector，letterswiththecashinclosedpouringinbythehundred。Forseveralmonths，however，afterthefirstpublicationoftheadvertisement，“thistriumphofmechanicalgenius，“though“notanentirelynewarticle，“existedonlyinthecomprehensivebrainofthegentlemanwhohadthegreatnesstodiscernintheimperfectworkofpredecessorsthegermsofidealperfection。Havingnoseven-shooterstosend，hewascompelledtodishonortherequisitionsoftheexpectant“traveler，sailor，hunter，fisherman，etc。“Whilecarefultolayasidetheinclosures，heentirelyforgoteventosofarrememberhispatronsastomakearecordoftheirnames。

Induetime，however，the“factory“wentintooperation，andtheseven-shooterswereactuallyproduced。Themechanical“triumph，“

rudelymadeofacheapmetalcomposition，isaduplicateofatoylongusedbyboystothedelightofeachother，andtotheannoyanceoftheirelders。Thepropulsivepowerresidesinasteelspring，whichhasforceenoughtosendabird-shotacrossagood-

sizedroom。Theoutfitwouldcostperhapssixoreightcentstothemanufacturer。Aportionoftheorderswerenowfilled，thegreaterpartbeingstillthrownunhonoredintothewaste-basketasbefore。

Cursesbothloudanddeepbegantobeshoweredontheheadoftheswindler。Complaintshavingreachedthedepartment，specialagentC。E。Henrystartedtohuntfor“Wilcox&Co。，“ofWindsor，Ohio，forsuchwasthedirectionintheadvertisementsandonthecircular。Proceedingseveralmilesfromthenearestrailroad，hefoundtheruralsettlementwherethefactorywassupposedtobelocated。

Guidedbyvariousinquiries，hefinallydroveuptothesmallfarm-

housewheretheparentsofWilcox&Co。resided。Onentering，theofficersaid，“IaminsearchofMr。Wilcox，ofthefirmofWilcox&Co。“

“Iamyourman，“remarkedayouth，perhapstwenty-twoyearsofage，whosecountenanceatoncesuggestedacutenessandcunning。“Whatwillyouhave？“

“Iwouldliketotakealookaboutthearsenalandgun-factorylocatedhere，“repliedthedetective，leisurelysurveyingthelandscape。

“TheworksareinCleveland，“answeredthegreatinventor。“Youcanseethembycallingthere。“

“Butwhereisthearsenal？Iunderstanditwassituatedhere。“

“Yourinformationiscorrect，“repliedtheyoungman。“Thatisit，acrosstheroad。“

Castinghiseyeinthedirectionindicated，theofficersawaricketywoodshedaboutsevenfeetbynineinsize。

Observingthesmileofamusedincredulitythatplayeduponthefeaturesofhisquestioner，Wilcoxreiterated，withanairofhalfoffendeddignity，——

“That’sit。Wekeepourseven-shootersthere。Butlookhere；

beforethisthinggoesanyfurther，Iwanttoknowwhoyouare。“

“Oh，certainly，sir，“answeredthestranger。“YouwillfindnothingaboutmethatIcaretokeepconcealed。Iamaspecialagentofthepost-officedepartment，andmybusinesshereistoarrestyou。“

“Why，whathaveIdonetowarrantsuchavisit？“queriedyouthfulinnocence。

“Ishallbehappytomakethatpointcleartoyou，“repliedthedetective，“thoughIamafraidtheenlightenmentwillcometoolatetoproveofmuchservicetoyou。Inusingthemailsforthepurposeofswindling，youhaveviolatedthelawsofthecountry，andmustsufferthepenalty。“

“Butwheredoestheswindlingcomein？“expostulatedWilcox。“I