A strong suspicion was entertained that Sayer, a Bow Street runner already mentioned, had feathered his nest finely with a portion of the proceeds of the Paisley Bank robbery at Glasgow. He was an acquaintance of the Mackoulls,[12] and it was he who proposed to the bank that £20,000 should be restored on condition that all proceedings ceased. When Sayer reached the bank with Mrs. Mackoull the notes produced amounted to no more than £11,941. Whether Sayer had impounded any or not was never positively known; but when he died, at an advanced age, he was worth £30,000. And it has been said that shortly before his death he pointed to the fireplace and a closet above it, using some incoherent words. This was probably the receptacle of a number of notes, which were afterwards found in the possession of one of his relatives, notes that were recognised as part of the Paisley Bank plunder. He must either have got them as hush-money or have wrongfully detained them, and then found it too dangerous to pass them into circulation. Probably he desired to have them destroyed, so that the story might not come out after his death. The runners must have found it difficult to resist temptation. The guilt of one of them--Vaughan--was clearly established in open court, and he was convicted as an accessory in a burglary into which he had led others; he was also proved to have given an unsuspicious sailor several counterfeit coins to buy articles with at a chandler's shop. When the sailor came out, Vaughan arrested him and charged him with passing bad money. Vaughan absconded, but was afterwards discovered and brought to trial. Townsend tells of a case in his own glorification--and there is no reason to deny him the credit--in which he arrested a notorious old pickpocket, one Mrs. Usher, who had done a very profitable business for many years. She was said to be worth at least £3,000 at the time of her arrest, and when Townsend appeared against her he was asked in so many words whether he would not withdraw from the prosecution. The Surrey jailer, Ives by name, asked him, "Cannot this be 'stashed'?" Townsend virtuously refused, and still would not yield, although Mrs. Usher's relations offered him a bribe of £200. He also tells how he might have got a considerable sum from Broughton, who had robbed the York mail, but he steadfastly refused to abandon the prosecution. As much as a thousand pounds had been offered to keep back a single witness. These runners were often charged with being on much too intimate terms with criminals. It was said that they frequented [Illustration: SKETCH OF TOWNSEND of Bow Street. (_Drawn by Richard Doyle._)]