Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
were to co-operate by watching everything, and, if any arrest
threatened, to be on hand to make it themselves; and then let the
prisoner escape. Most important of all, when the bankers drove up in hot
haste to Police Headquarters to give information, James, Honest James,
would be on hand to receive them, would call in his two trustys to get
with him full particulars of the robbery and a description of the men.
Then the bankers would be sent away with assurances that "we know the
men and will have them," but at the same time warning them to keep the
matter a secret in order better to enable them to catch the villains.
If successful, the detectives were to receive 25 per cent. between them.
Our plan required James to play an important part, and, although no
confederacy could be fixed on him, yet he would hardly escape
questioning and a very considerable degree of suspicion, so much so that
it probably would put an end to any lingering remnants of character he
had on hand or in stock. But he was tired of America, and determined to
go to Paris with his share of the plunder. Our visits to James had
always been in his private office, and his clerks had never seen either
of us or Brea.
Our plan was to make use of James' office in a way that will appear
later. As related, he was suspected by his profession, but the general
public thought him a very great man. He had appeared as (volunteer)
counsel in two or three murder cases and had delivered powerful
addresses which had attracted considerable notice in the papers.
One day, soon after our plan was matured, Brea went to Philadelphia,
and, by a mixture of audacity and finesse, procured from Jay Cooke
himself (the parent house of the New York firm of Jay Cooke & Co. was in
Philadelphia) a letter of introduction to the manager of the New York
firm. He wanted the letter ostensibly in order to consult the manager
about certain investments which he, as executor of an estate, desired to
make for his wards.
The transaction was made to appear as one of considerable magnitude, in
which there would be large commissions paid. With the grand send-off of
a letter from Jay Cooke to his subordinate in New York, the speculation
opened well--so well that we at once decided what we would do with the
money when we got it--a case in point for the old proverb. We had
ascertained the name of a Newark manufacturer who had recently failed in
business. I will call him Newman. On the morning after his return from
Philadelphia, Brea presented himself at James' office--it being arranged
that James himself be out, so Brea told the clerk that his name was
Newman, that he had lately failed in business, and intended to employ
Mr. James to put him through the bankruptcy court. The clerk told him to
come again at 12, and he would find Mr. James in. At 12 he came; the
clerk introduced him. James kept the clerk conveniently near, that he
could hear the conversation. Brea, as Newman, told James he had used in
his business $240,000 belonging to his wife and her mother, and that in
scheduling his assets he proposed to use enough to make those amounts
good, intending to conceal the fact from his creditors. He determined to
invest the amount in bonds--so ran his story--and was going to deposit
the money in the bank that very afternoon, at the same time producing
his letter of introduction from Jay Cooke. All of this, of course, being
for the eye and ear of the clerk, who might be required as a witness of
his employer's good faith.
Brea-Newman also paid James, in presence of the clerk, a retaining fee
of $250, which was privately returned. James banked in Jersey City, and
when Newman said, "Introduce me at your bank, as I want a small credit
handy," James said, "My bank is in Jersey City." The clerk's brother was
paying teller at the Chemical Bank, and, as was expected, he at once
spoke up, saying: "Let me introduce Mr. Newman in the Chemical Bank," so
down went Newman and the clerk, and in ten minutes our man had the
Chemical Bank checkbook in his pocket and $5,000 to his credit in the
bank. The same afternoon he presented his letter of introduction at Jay
Cooke & Co.'s, and was cordially received. He, of course, told a totally
different story there. In this case a relative, lately deceased, had
left him an estate of great value. He was, he said, realizing on his
real estate, and buying bonds as fast as his money came in, and he
wanted to invest a million in various railway bonds. At present he had
$240,000 on hand, which he wanted to invest in Government bonds. He then
left for the time being, leaving a good impression, which his refined
manner and appearance confirmed.
So far all was well; that is, all was well from our point of view. The
next two or three days Brea paid several visits to the Chemical Bank,
getting small checks for $500 and $1,000 certified, and now had his
account drawn down to $1,000. The day before he had called on Jay Cooke
& Co. and told them he would take $240,000 in seven thirties, "Bearer"
bonds, and that he would call the next day and pay for them. At the
same time he got them to give him a proforma bill for them.
The eventful day had come, and James, to get his head clerk out of the
way, sent him to the Admiralty Court to take notes of the evidence in a
case going on there.
At 10 o'clock Brea sent a messenger with a note to the bankers,
requesting them to send the bonds to Edwin James' office, and he would
pay for them on delivery. He could not come himself, as he was in
consultation with the executors of the estate.
In the mean time a check for the full value of the bonds, $240,000, had
been made out. It was drawn on the Chemical Bank, and was, in fact,
similar to those always given between bankers on bond transactions.
Brea had drawn his own check for $240, and had it in his hatband with
the $240,000 dummy check. The plan is palpable enough. When the
messenger brought the bonds Brea, or Newman, was going to say: "All
right, I have the check here; bring the bonds and we will go to the
Chemical Bank and get them to certify my check." Then when at the bank
he would take out both checks, letting the messenger only get a glimpse
of one, and that would be the small $240 one, which Brea would pass in
through the window with a request to have it certified. This would be
done, and when handed out, of course, Brea was to change it and hand the
messenger the big one of home manufacture.
It seemed impossible for the scheme to fail, and success in it meant on
the surface comparative wealth for us all, with, perhaps, in the not
distant future an entrance through the McAllister-guarded portals of the
Four Hundred.
But here we have a vivid instance of how easily an elaborate scheme can
by the merest accident fall to pieces.
The night before the expected coup we met James for a final full-dress
rehearsal for the morrow, and after everything was settled adjourned to
the uptown Delmonico's for supper. It so happened that Detective George
Elder was there. This Elder was a bright fellow, was in a ring--but not
in our ring--and, of course, had his bank account, diamond pin and
turnout for the road. He had had some acquaintance with me, but the rest
of the party were strangers. I did not see him at the time, but it would
seem he was curious, even suspicious, from some scraps of conversation
he overheard. However, neither his curiosity nor suspicion would have
been of any consequence or concern to us had it not been that, in going
out, Brea left on the table with some papers the memorandum or pro forma
bill of the bonds given him the day before by the bankers. Strangely
enough, the body of the bill alone was intact. The heading bearing the
name of the firm and purchaser had been torn off and destroyed.
Elder picked it up and, having some vague suspicions of a plot
somewhere, he determined to go around among the hundred or more bankers
and brokers in and around Wall street and investigate quietly, without
making any report to his superiors, his immediate superior being, of
course, our honest friend, the worthy chief of the detective force, who
was anxiously looking for his percentage of the deal. The whole force
was split up into cliques, each intensely jealous of every other, each
with its own stamping grounds, and each strictly protected his own
preserves.
At 9:30 the next morning Elder started around carrying the fragment of
the memorandum he had picked up from bank to bank and from one broker to
the other. He had spent over an hour making inquiries, and walked into
Jay Cooke & Co.'s office just as the messenger was leaving with the
bonds for James' office. Fifteen minutes more and the game was ours!
Elder produced the memorandum, and they at once recognized it as their
own. Elder asked them if they knew their man and were sure it was all
right. They said it was perfectly right, that Mr. "Newman" had been
introduced by the head of the firm in Philadelphia, and was also a
client of Edwin James; but then it was strange the bill should be
mutilated. Elder averred his belief that a fraud was intended, and
suggested that he and the manager should accompany the messenger with
the bonds. This alarmed the manager, and he directed Elder and the
messenger to await his return. Seizing his hat, he started for James'
office to investigate. James was there, and Brea (the pseudo Newman) was
in the private office with the two checks ready, anxiously awaiting the
arrival of the messenger with the bonds.
Myself and all the other members of our party were nearby, watching and
awaiting developments. The manager, considerably perturbed, entered the
office, and James saw at once the business was a failure, for he knew,
of course, that any suspicion as to good faith would be fatal to the
success of the plot. Brea, hearing the voices and supposing it was the
messenger with the bonds, opened the door of the private office and was
vexed to see the manager, who, shaking him by the hand, told him the
bonds would arrive soon, at the same time saying: "I suppose you will
pay currency for the bonds?" To which Brea replied: "I will go to my
bank with you now and get my check certified for the amount and give it
to you, or leave it until the messenger comes with the bonds."
This offer, along with Brea's coolness, apparently disarmed all
suspicions, and he said: "Oh, all right, the messenger will go to the
bank with you." He left the office, but stopped in the hall for a
moment, then turned and hastily re-entering, said: "By the way, Mr.
Newman, please draw the currency from the bank, and pay the notes to the
messenger upon delivery of the bonds."
So the grand coup had failed, ignominiously failed, and through what
appeared a trivial accident. More such "accidents" at critical periods
will appear before this history is ended.
The dummy check was still in our hands, and was at once destroyed, so,
with nothing to fear, we coolly walked up Broadway to dinner, and talked
of the future over a bottle of wine. At last we fixed upon a definite
plan. Clinking our glasses, we drank to "Eastward, Ho!"
CHAPTER XI.
"CRACK THE LAWYER'S VOICE THAT HE MAY NEVER MORE FALSE TITLES PLEAD, NOR
SOUND HIS QUILLETS SHRILLY."
The Eastward Ho was a hint of a project we had frequently talked over as
a possible speculation. Here we see how men are led on step by step from