"Who are these men?" asked the woman, springing up.
"Why, don"t you know me, Eliza?" asked the detective, coolly. "This isn"t the first time I"ve put a stop to your villainy. I guess you"ll go in for a few years this time."
"Give me my money, and let me go," said the woman, fiercely, turning her back on the detective and facing the minister.
"Eliza," said the detective, "you"ll not get one cent. This gentleman wants the matter dropped here, and if you are not a fool you"ll go about your business. You have signed a paper clearing Mr.-----from all suspicion, and you can"t do him any further harm. The case is in my hands. If you will leave New York for Boston or Philadelphia to-night, I"ll be quiet--I shall watch you, and if you"re in town to-morrow, you"ll be in Sing Sing before two months are out. Now go home and pack your trunk."
"I"ve been a fool," said the woman, bitterly.
"So you have, my dear," said the detective. "Now go home, and take this interesting young man with you."
The guilty pair departed in silence, and the minister was not troubled with them again. The courage and prudence of an innocent man enabled him to defeat this deep laid scheme for his ruin. Had he yielded and paid the money, the demand would have been renewed, and he would in the end have been ruined and disgraced without ever having committed a crime.
We recently heard of a case of an opposite character. A minister, settled over a large and wealthy congregation, was approached by one of these women, and charged with a crime of which he was entirely innocent. The woman professed to have an abundance of proof against him. He was a weak, vain man, proud of his reputation, and afraid of the slightest whisper of scandal, and he was terrified by the woman"s bold a.s.sertions. In order to get rid of her, he paid her the sum she demanded, and received her promise not to trouble him again. In a few weeks she returned, and demanded a larger sum, which was paid. These demands then became so frequent and heavy that the minister could hardly support his family on what was left of his salary. He resigned his charge, and accepted a call to a distant city, hoping to escape his persecutors, for he could not doubt that the woman was urged on by others; but they followed him to his new home, and so hara.s.sed and plundered him that he was forced to ask the aid of the police, who discovered and arrested his tormentors. This ended the demands upon his purse, but he had been plundered of over eight thousand dollars, which was entirely lost to him. Had he acted as a sensible man at first, he would have been saved his losses and his sufferings.
A BRIDE IN THE TOILS.
Not long since a young lady of fashion, about to be married to a wealthy gentleman of this city, was called on by a woman who was unknown to her. The stranger stated her business without delay. She had heard that the young lady, whom we will call Miss R----, was about to marry Mr. F----.
"I have come to say," she added, "that I am in need of money. I want five hundred dollars, which is a small sum to a woman as rich as you. I intend to make this marriage the means of raising it. If you do not pay me the money, I shall go to Mr. F----, and tell him that you are not a virtuous woman. He will not believe me, at first, but I shall set a rumor afloat which will soon be known amongst all your fashionable friends."
"But, by your own story, there will be no truth in it," said Miss R----, amazed at the woman"s effrontery.
"That is true," said the woman, "but you know that a false rumor will accomplish as much as a true one. I will take care that the rumor is well spread, and if you refuse me the money, it will be said all over New York that your virtue is a matter of doubt. Your character will be stained, and your marriage will be broken off."
Miss R----was astounded at such cool villainy, but fortunately her courage and self-possession did not desert her. Bidding the woman await her return, she left the room, and went straight to her lover, who was fortunately in the house at the time. She told him all that had occurred, and they at once sought her father, and laid the matter before him. The old gentleman advised them to go to the parlor and confront the woman, and at the same time sent for the policeman on that "beat." The woman seemed surprised, when she saw the lovers enter the room, and she rose to her feet in alarm. "This is Mr. F----," said Miss R----, calmly, "and I have just told him of your infamous proposition."
"You have beaten me," said the woman, "but I"ll take care that you suffer for it."
She was about to leave the room, when Mr. F----placed himself before the door.
"You cannot leave this house," he said, sternly. "We have sent for a policeman, and you must wait till he comes."
The woman sat down without a word, and in a few minutes the policeman arrived. He recognized her as an old offender, and after congratulating Miss R----upon her coolness and good sense, led the woman away. The black-mailer was sent to prison, and the wedding proceeded without interruption.
DESPERATE CHARACTERS.
The incidents already given, will show how this system is conducted. As a general rule, the wretches are easily disposed of with the aid of the police, but sometimes it requires all the ingenuity of the most experienced detective to ferret out and foil the plot. These wretches know that respectable people dread scandal, and they profit by this knowledge. They are sometimes bold and unscrupulous in their way of conducting their business, and at other times endeavor to palm themselves off as injured innocents. They rarely meddle with women, for the difficulties in their way are greater; but, as they know that almost any story about a man will be believed, they fasten themselves like leeches upon the male s.e.x. Young men about to make rich marriages are bled freely, for few will care to risk a scandal which might break off the whole affair. If a young man refuses one of them on such occasions, she goes boldly to the lady he is to marry, and declares herself the innocent and wronged victim of the aforesaid young man.
This is her revenge, and the majority of young men, knowing them to be capable of such a course, comply with their demands on the spot. There is nothing these wretches will not do, no place they will not invade, in order to extort money from their victims.
Persons from the country, stopping at the hotels of the city, are frequently the objects of the attacks of the black-mailers. A man"s name is learned from the hotel register, and he is boldly approached and charged with conduct he never dreamed of being guilty of. The scoundrel professes to know him and his whole family, and names the price of his silence. Too often the demand is complied with, and the money paid. The proper course to pursue when accosted in such a manner, is to call upon the nearest policeman for a.s.sistance in shaking off the wretch.
CHAPTER x.x.xIX.
CHATHAM STREET.
Chatham street begins at City Hall Place and ends at Chatham square. It is not over a fourth of a mile in length, and is narrow and dirty. It is taken up, princ.i.p.ally, with Jews and low cla.s.s foreigners. There are also some cheap hotels and lodging houses, several p.a.w.nbroker"s shops, and half a dozen concert saloons in the street. The lowest cla.s.s Jews abound in this quarter, and vile, filthy wretches they are. They deal in imitation jewelry, old clothes, and cheap clothing. There is little, if any, honesty in the street, and any one buying an article within its limits must expect to be cheated. The streets running off to the right and left, lead to the Five Points and kindred districts, and it is this wretched part of the city which furnishes the greatest number of customers to Chatham street. The buildings are generally constructed in the old style, a new house being a rarity in this locality, and are foul and dingy. The shops are low and dark, and smell horribly. The men and women who frequent them look like convicts, and as they sit in their doorways watching for custom, they seem more like wild beasts waiting for their prey, than like human beings. They have no respectable customers, except the poor, who come into the neighborhood hoping to save money in their purchases. They fall victims to the sharpers who line the street, and the articles they buy are dear at whatever price they may pay for them. It is said that stolen goods frequently find their way to Chatham street, and that a very large part of the traffic of that locality is carried on in violation of the law.
However this may be, we have but one simple warning for all persons visiting the great city. _Buy nothing in Chatham street, and keep out of it after dark_.
FORCED SALES.
When business is dull in this locality, the "merchants" resort to many artifices to fill their coffers. One of their manoeuvres is called a "forced sale." A man walking along the street, will be seized and dragged into a clothing shop. He may protest that he does not wish to buy anything, but the "merchant" and his clerks will insist that he does, and before he can well help himself, they will haul off his coat, clap one of the store coats on his back, and declare it a "perfect fit." The new coat will then be removed and replaced by the old one, and the victim will be allowed to leave the shop. As he pa.s.ses out of the door, the new coat is thrust under his arm, and he is seized by the proprietor and his a.s.sistants, who shout "stop thief!" and charge him with stealing the coat. Their noise, and the dread of being arrested upon a charge of theft, will frequently so confuse and frighten the victim that he will comply with their demand, which is that he shall buy the coat. This done, he is suffered to depart. A refusal to yield would not injure him, for the scoundrels would seldom dare to call in the police, for fear of getting themselves into trouble, as their tricks are well known to the officers of the law.
CHAPTER XL.
THIEVES.
Thieves are numerous in New York. As a general rule, they herd together in the worst quarters of the city--in the Five Points and along East River--where they can rapidly and easily communicate with each other, and where they can hide from the police without fear of discovery.
There are many blunderers in the fraternity, but there are also many experienced hands, who do a great deal of damage, and give a world of trouble to the authorities. These are generally well known to the police.
THE THIEF LANGUAGE.
The thieves of the city have a language, or _argot_, peculiar to themselves. Those who have been raised to the business use this _argot_ to such an extent, that a stranger finds it as impossible to understand them as he would if they were speaking in a foreign tongue. _The Detectives" Manual_ gives a glossary of this language, from which we take the following specimens, to be found in that work, under the head of the letter B.:
_Badger_.--A panel-thief.
_Bagged_.--Imprisoned.
_Bag of nails_.--All in confusion.
_Balram_.--Money.
_Bandog_.--A civil officer.
_Barking irons_.--Pistols.
_Bene_.--Good, first-rate.
_Benjamin_.--A coat.
_Bilk_.--To cheat.
_Bill of sale_.--A widow"s weeds.
_Bingo_.--Liquor.
_Bingo boy_.--A drunken man.