Our rival, the rascal : a faithful portrayal of the conflict between the criminals of this age and the defenders of society, the police . terval at the top of the door. In this break in the cover ofputty a fine pointed tube was inserted, and the air in the safedrawn out through the tube by an air pump. After exhaust-ing the air, the removal of a bit of putty from the crack be-tween the door and the frame causeda pressure of air which forced inthrough the crack sufficient gunpow-der to blow open the safe, when firedby a fuse. This very effective anddangerous device was unfortunatelymade known t
Our rival, the rascal : a faithful portrayal of the conflict between the criminals of this age and the defenders of society, the police . terval at the top of the door. In this break in the cover ofputty a fine pointed tube was inserted, and the air in the safedrawn out through the tube by an air pump. After exhaust-ing the air, the removal of a bit of putty from the crack be-tween the door and the frame causeda pressure of air which forced inthrough the crack sufficient gunpow-der to blow open the safe, when firedby a fuse. This very effective anddangerous device was unfortunatelymade known to the burglars by atravelling salesman for one of the safecompanies, who was tempted to be-come the accomplice of the men whowere fighting the safe makers. Since his notable success in 1873,Cummings has taken part in a longseries of burglaries in this countryand Great Britain, in spite of repeatedarrests and imprisonments. When he came before Judge Cow-ing of New York in 1891, for his latest offence, the judge re-marked in addressing him: Your record shows that you havespent about all of the last eighteen years in prison. By actual. THE AIR PUMP. 58 OUR RIVAL, TEE RASCAL. count, I believe, you have not had more than eight months ofliberty in that time. Do you think that crime pays? I know it doesnt, judge, repHed the burglar with appar-ent earnestness, I think only a crazy man would Hve as Ihave lived for the last eighteen years. Well, do you claim to be insane, Cummings? asked JudgeCowing. Oh, no. Judge, answered Cummings, I dont. I havebrains enough. But I think now that I must have been crazyall these years to go wrong instead of right. This conviction on his part was doubtless emphasized byhis sentence to the states prison for five years. Edward, or Ned, Lyons fills a cjuarter section of the samepage of portraits as one of the oldest and most adventurousbank burglars now living, a veteran comrade of Hope, Shin-burn, Bliss and other stars of the first magnitude in the har-ve
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectcr, booksubjectpolice
