To show to what extent Captain Irving would carry out his part of the contract with the Under World men I will mention a personal recollection of the apprehension of Roberts and Gleason for the colossal Wall Street bond forgeries in the summer of 1873. Nearly a million dollars was involved in this job. The story not only came to me from Irving, but I also had it from the lips of Henry C. Allen, the assistant district attorney who had charge of the case. Captain Irving had been asked to arrest the forgers, who were said to be in New York. And what was the result? For three weeks he fed taffy to the district attorney’s office,--one day saying the fugitives had been seen in New Orleans, a few days later that they had been traced to Portland on the Pacific coast; and ere two weeks had passed, clews had been picked up in about every large city on the map of the United States. While this sop was being given the district attorney, Roberts and Gleason were in the city, comfortably living at their homes, or visiting their usual haunts under the very noses of Captain Irving and his sleuths, who, of course, didn’t want to find them. One of the men, to my knowledge, was in a house not more than a stone’s throw from Twenty-first Street and Seventh Avenue. But that is going more into detail than is necessary. Of course, Assistant District Attorney Allen became, not only weary, but disgusted, over this delay, and, half suspecting the reason for Irving’s inactivity, employed a few Pinkerton detectives. In the meantime Irving was unconscious of Mr. Allen’s activity. For once the doings of the agency detectives failed to reach him, and he continued to make an occasional report to the district attorney’s office. One day he came in and said: “I’ve located Roberts and Gleason. I think they’re on the way to Europe. Guess I’ll be able to stop ’em on the arrival of the ship on the other side.” “Don’t distress yourself, captain,” said the assistant district attorney, quietly. There was something in Mr. Allen’s manner that caused the chief of detectives to cast a searching look at him. “And why?” asked Irving. “Because it will be useless,” continued Mr. Allen, with an attempt to suppress a smile; “Roberts and Gleason have been under arrest in this city for twelve hours.” “Oh,” blurted Irving, while his face flushed a deep red and then paled. I had it from Mr. Allen that the detective chief fairly ran from the office, and didn’t put in an appearance there for many days. Hitherto he had been a frequent visitor.