A full and detailed recital of all that occurred was
given him by his subordinates, who then put the case
in his hands.
“Boys,” he said, “we must get one
of these men, either Cook or Moriarity, to squeal.”
“They are both afraid of Jim Cummings, I can
see that in every word they speak,” said Chip,
“they would rather go to Jefferson City than
to turn State’s evidence.”
“We must work on them in some other manner,
then. Sam,” turning to the detective, “are
you a good hand at forgery?”
“I can imitate most any one’s handwriting,”
said Sam. “Sit down and I will dictate
a letter to you.”
Sam, taking some paper from the table, wrote as Mr.
Pinkerton dictated.
Mr. William Pinkerton:
Dear sir—The letter I wrote to
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat is all correct, excepting
that I did not tell who plugged the bell-cord.
The man, Dan Moriarity, who is now under arrest in
Kansas City, was the man who did it. He also
forged the order which I gave to the messenger Fotheringham,
and was the one who planned the robbery. I make
this statement, relying on your word of honor to secure
me a light sentence if I turn State’s evidence
and give information leading to the recovery of the
money which I secured.
Yours truly, Jim Cummings.
Mr. Pinkerton, taking from his pocket-book the train
robber’s letter which he wrote to the St. Louis
newspaper, handed it to Sam.
“There is a letter in Jim’s handwriting.
Now sit down and write this letter in the same hand.”
In an hour the detective had completed his work and
laid the forged letter before his superior. It
was cleverly done, and Mr. Pinkerton felt satisfied.
“Now for the jail,” he said, and accompanied
by his two “bowers,” as he often called
them, he left the room and walked to the Kansas City
jail.
Moriarity in the Sweat-box—the
success of the forged letter—Moriarity
confesses.
Dan Moriarity, seated on a bare plank bench in his
cell, was passing away the weary hours in figuring
how he was to get out of the bad scrape into which
he had plunged. He was now fully satisfied that
the detectives were very certain that he had a hand
in the express-car robbery—but how did
they get hold of that dangerous fact? Not through
Cook, for since his incarceration in the jail Dan had
talked with Cook in the corridors, and Cook had sworn
by all that was good and holy that he had not divulged
a single word, and knowing that Cook stood in mortal
fear of Cummings, as did he himself, Dan believed him.
It was not at all probable that either Haight or Weaver
had given the thing away in Chicago, for Dan knew
from Cummings that they had not been disturbed, and
Cummings had not, or would not have given any information.
Then how did the cursed “man-hunters” find
out that he had helped in the affair?
