Having by such inducements secured (as he supposed) the aid of his companion, B. recovered his equanimity, and wrote as follows to one of the attorneys for the railroad company:--

"To return to the obstruction east of Adrian in regard to my boots such as I can prove by J S that I mentioned in my last, by him I can prove where I was that night, as also where my boots were, and as for the other man's evidence I am sure that I cannot be mistaken as to my success on trial or examination. I hope you will soon see Mr G again and be sure to have him at the time. As to the danger of my going to Adrian for fear I would fall into the hands of the engineers and firemen in that place, I will say for once and all, let me go to Adrian--& as to the danger of falling into the hands of rowdies I am not afraid of no! no! not if all the fiends of Pandemonium was to raise against me I will not shrink from anything as long as I am innocent or as long as I can have the protection of the law on my side Justice! Justice!! is all I claim and that I expect to have before a Court of justice and an independent & impartial Jury, if I can't swim there let me sink.

Res. yours & Others, A. S. B.

P. S. I will convince your Engineers & firemen that I was their friend, and that I have oftentimes run myself into danger for their safety, as well as that of the Company & the travelling public Yes & if they or the Co. have any feeling of grat.i.tude in them I am sure that they will not show it by prosecuting me but first I must prove "_my t.i.tle_ clear" & that I can do so Hurra boys, &c., three times three.

Yours truly, A. S. B."

The railroad company could have no further doubt of his guilt. It was plain that he had entered their service to betray them; and though he had given the names of his accomplices, he had been careful not to catch them.

At his request he was removed to Adrian for trial. He told his counsel what he should prove by Grover; and was a.s.sured of an honorable acquittal.

At the trial, the counsel for the prosecution examined several witnesses in relation to the boot-tracks, which, for the time being, were as interesting to the legal fraternity, as are the ancient bird-tracks found in sandstone, to geologists.

The defence supposed that the counsel for the prosecution would there rest, and were confident that they had the game in their own hands, knowing, as they did, that the evidence thus far adduced was not sufficient to convict their client.

But the prosecution called "Wm. B.," (the deputy sheriff,) when, to the utter astonishment and dismay of the prisoner, his man Grover took the stand!

This unexpected trans.m.u.tation at once dissipated the dreams of triumph and future villany in which he had been revelling; and as "Wm. B."

testified to the facts in his possession, and the disclosures of the prisoner, this baffled scoundrel found the prop on which he had relied falling beneath him, and plunging him into that gulf from which he had made such desperate though vain efforts to escape.

He was found guilty on two indictments. On the first, he was sentenced to imprisonment for life, the judge remarking that he would suspend sentence on the other till the first had expired.

The interval between the pilfering of small sums and the deliberate plotting of wholesale murder for the sake of plunder, seems a wide one; yet no one who enters even the verge of the maelstrom of a dishonest course, can tell how far within the vortex he may be drawn by its ever strengthening current.

The case just related forms a culminating point in the series of villanies which we have recorded in this book for the benefit of those who, in defiance of the eternal laws of Providence, attempt to make the way of the transgressor easy.

CHAPTER X.

STOPPING A POST-OFFICE.

The Unpaid Draft--The Forged Order--A Reliable Witness--Giving up the Mail Key--A Lady a.s.sistant--Post-Office Records--The official Envelope--Return of the Post Master--The Interview--Embarra.s.sment of Guilt--Duplicate Circular--Justice secured.

One of the coolest and at the same time silliest pieces of post-office rascality that I have ever known, occurred a few years since in Rhode Island.

A small draft from the Post-Office Department having been presented by a mail contractor to the post master of P., payment was refused, on the ground that the office had been abolished some time before, and that there was little or nothing due the Department. No time was lost by the contractor in apprising the proper officer at Washington, of the non-payment of the draft, and the reason a.s.signed therefore; when reference was at once made to the official records. They, however, failed to show the discontinuance of the office.

Here was a mysterious and singular affair, and a letter was accordingly despatched to the seemingly delinquent post master, requiring an explanation of his course. A reply to this was very promptly sent to the Department, to the effect that some months previous he had received from the Appointment Office formal notice that his office had been discontinued, accompanied by an order to hand over all the mail matter remaining on hand, together with the mail key, and other property of the Department, to a neighboring post master, and that he had of course answered the demand.

A re-examination of the books still showing the office to be a "live one," he was written to, and directed to forward the original doc.u.ment upon the authority of which he had shut up his office. The papers were duly forwarded, and sure enough, there was the "Order," signed with the name of the Second a.s.sistant Post Master General, who was then at the head of the Appointment Office. It read as follows:--

Post-Office Department, March 28, 1846.

SIR,

The Post Master General having decided to discontinue the Post-Office at P----, from and after the expiration of the present fiscal quarter, you will, at that time, please hand over all mail matter, the mail key, and all other property belonging to the Department, to the Post Master at M----, on his presenting this order.

Very Respectfully,

Your Obt. Servant,

WM. J. BROWN,

2d a.s.st. P. M. General.

Although a tolerably fair imitation of that officer's hand-writing, it was at once p.r.o.nounced a forgery. My services, as Special Agent, were called into requisition, and all the facts, as they then stood, communicated to me. As speedily as possible I visited the scene of this perplexing and extraordinary official mystery. Arriving at the site of the late post-office, I found its former inc.u.mbent to be a highly respectable merchant, well advanced in years, and blessed with one of those countenances which, to a person at all accustomed to study character in that way, at once dispels all doubt and distrust.

He was of Dutch descent, and, while intelligent on general subjects, was poorly "posted" in the arts and devices of cunning knaves. From him I received a full statement of the shutting up process, and obtained some additional facts, which afterwards furnished me with a clue to the whole mystery.

On one of the last days of March, Mr. G----, post master at another village in the same town, called on him in company with one of his friends, and presented what purported to be a copy of an order from the Department, directing him to close the office, and to give up the property in the manner already described. Of course the post master felt and manifested no little surprise, for the office had been established but about a year, and he had heard of no application or desire in any quarter for such a proceeding.

"It is all right, I suppose," said he, after carefully examining the "copy" which had been handed him without a word of explanation; "but I think, before I hand over the property, I ought to have the original order."

"Oh yes, it's all correct," responded the witness (who had seen the copy made from the spurious order, supposing that to be genuine); "I saw it compared with the original myself, and it's a true copy."

"But the quarter will not be ended till to-morrow," remarked the astonished official; "and, on the whole, I think I must refuse compliance, unless the original instructions are placed in my hands."

"Then I understand you as refusing to obey the order of the Department, do I?" said the applicant.

"Not at all," was the mild response; "I am perfectly ready to comply when I see the written command over the signature of the proper officer of the Department. It can be but little trouble to produce that, and I think, under the same circ.u.mstances, you would demand as much yourself."

"But do I not bring a reliable witness to prove that this is an exact copy of the original?" asked the visitor, impatiently.

"True, but my request is reasonable, and I think I will adhere to it,"

he replied; and the gentleman, with his companion, left the premises, simply remarking, "You will hear from me again, to-morrow." And sure enough, he did.

Towards sun-down on the following day, the abolisher of post-offices made his appearance, and, with an air of authority, without uttering a word, threw the extinguishing doc.u.ment upon the counter. The post master took it up, and after adjusting his spectacles, examined first the outside. It had the usual printed endors.e.m.e.nt on the right hand upper corner, "Post-Office Department, Official Business," was properly franked by the Second a.s.sistant, post-marked "Washington,"

and plainly addressed to the "Post Master, M----, R. I."

On withdrawing the letter from its covering, it had, sure enough, every appearance of genuineness, and no doubt remained that it was the official action of the Department. The post-office effects were accordingly put in shape as hastily as possible, and handed over. But

"The course of _knavery_ never did run smooth."

Strong suspicions began to arise that the neighboring post master, before mentioned, was the author of the whole transaction, and when the knowledge of a motive on his part was supplied, his guilt became to my mind clear and positive.

It appeared that at the time of the establishment of the now defunct post-office, there was a tremendous opposition, in which he took an active and leading part, but the member of Congress for that District favored the application for the new office, and it was finally granted. Being but two miles from the old establishment, there was, as had been antic.i.p.ated, a considerable falling off in the receipts of the latter. The snake was "scotched, not killed," or in other words, post master number one had bottled up his wrath, and was biding his time. The affair had now become with him a matter of pride as well as interest, and when joked, as he frequently was, about his defeat in the post-office contest, he was often heard to say that the new post-office was "short-lived any way."

He was quite an active, prominent politician, and when a new nomination for Congress was to be made, he thought he saw his way clear. He struggled hard for the selection of a personal friend, and succeeded, not only in the nomination, but in the election. But when the pinch came, the Honorable member failed him, and could not be persuaded to take the responsibility, for the new post-office had proved really a great convenience to many of his const.i.tuents and to some of his friends, personal and political.

With the advantage of this information obtained from the ex-post master and one or two other citizens of that vicinity, I proceeded to visit the office which at one gulp had swallowed up the other, without apparent injury to its digestive organs. The post master was absent, and the office in charge of his wife. This was a piece of good luck, for it would enable me to examine the books and papers to greater advantage, and what was better, to interrogate the lady and her lesser half separately. Two or three points were very important.

Might not some wicked wag in the Department, knowing all the circ.u.mstances of the case, have prepared the letter in question, and sent it as a hoax? This could be easily settled by referring to the account of mails received, for the record in that event should show the receipt of a free letter, either direct from Washington, or from the Distribution office at New York. Then another test, was a comparison of the "order," with the hand-writing of the post master.