Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1894 edition. Excerpt: ...me here state that few officers in the service could maintain their position and keep in touch effectively with a necessarily large, connection of acquaintances, any one of whom may suddenly become a most valuable ally, unless their pay was supplemented by "extras," in the shape of rewards or gratuities. Although an auxiliary is content with little, in the course of the year the burden upon a detective's pocket is not small. It is fortunate that a "nark" finds his chief reward in the exercise of a native detective instinct which he cannot overcome. Well, to my story. My auxiliary told me that "Little Jerry " was engaged in a series of burglaries, and was to be found in a certain locality. A colleague joined me in a hunt for " Little Jerry," and without much difficulty we found out where he was living and watched him, with the object of "getting him out"--i.e. following him at night, whilst he should be engaged in one or other of his burglaries. But it seemed to be out of the question to detect this man in the act of committing some crime. He always succeeded in evading us. His house was so situated, in the midst of an East End rookery, that he could leave it without our knowledge. It was surrounded by a network of courts and alleys, which provided any number of outlets and inlets, and made the task of watching exceedingly difficult. There are many such intricate neighbourhoods still in East London, offering great facilities for criminals in hiding. "Little Jerry," too, was a very artful man to follow. He would jump into railway trains on the move; get into a cab on one side and leave it on the other; slide into a public-house at one door and make his way out by the taproom at the...