Detectives -- United States -- Biography; Pinkerton, Allan, 1819-1884; Robbery -- United States -- Case studies
How terribly must he have felt when the heavy door of his cell was
bolted upon him, and he was left in solitude to brood over his position.
How he must have cursed the moment when he married Mrs. Irvin. He did so
merely to save himself, and now he was in prison! What would he not have
given to undo what only six hours before he had been so anxious to
consummate! What a blow it would have been to him if he could have known
the efforts I was then making to disseminate through the South the news
of his marriage; but this I did not intend he should know. Mrs. Maroney
thought that Maroney would soon be out of jail, but wondered why he had
been arrested in New York. She concluded that the Company had
determined on the plan of suddenly confronting him and charging him with
the crime, hoping that if guilty he would break down and make a
confession. He had passed through the trying ordeal unscathed and most
likely would be liberated in the morning. She little thought they had
been separated never more to be united.
_CHAPTER XVI._
Mr. Seward had done his work well. I had little fear that Maroney would
get out, as his bail was fixed at one hundred thousand dollars--double
the amount of the robbery.
The question now arose: What shall we do with Maroney? I held a
consultation with the Vice-President, Seward, and Bangs, and suggested
the propriety of placing one of my detectives, named White, in jail with
him. White was in Chicago, but I could send for him and have him in
readiness for the work in a few days. White was a shrewd, smart man to
act under orders, and nothing more was required. I proposed that he be
introduced to to the jail in the following way: He was to assume the
character of a St. Louis pork-packer. It was to be charged against him
that he had been dealing largely in hogs in the West, had come to New
York with a quantity of packed pork of his own to sell; and also had had
a lot consigned to him to sell on commission; he had disposed of all the
pork, pocketed all the proceeds, and then disappeared, intending to
leave for Europe, but had been discovered and arrested. The amount
involved in the case should be about thirty-seven thousand dollars. It
was part of my plan to introduce a young man, who should pretend to be a
nephew of White's, and who should call on him and do his outside
business. I had a good man for this work, in the person of Mr. Shanks.
His duties would be to call at the jail daily, see his uncle White,
carry his letters, go to his lawyers, run all his errands, etc.
White was not to force his acquaintance on Maroney, or any of the
prisoners, but to hold himself aloof from them all. He was to pass a
good deal of time in writing letters, hold hurried consultations with
his nephew and send him off with them. Shanks was to be obliging, and if
any of the prisoners requested him to do them favors, he was to
willingly consent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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