Show I I P PA THE CRIMINAL Tells How He Ike Planned the S T TOR E S Deed and Sought to Close Every Avenue le of Knowledge Knowledge Knowl Know FA FAMOUS I U edge Leading to His Guilt C to D r The Detective Shows How M S 4 B Futile These Efforts Were and How the Old Adage Murder By HENRY C. C TERRY Copyright by bi P F. F L. L Nelson THE MYSTERY OF DOBBS FERRY ANY persons are still sUll living who recall the shock that went through the country at the news that Andrew I a wealthy New NewYork NewYork NewYork York banker had been foully foully- murdered and robbed by his c own wn son In his palatial Dobbs Ferry house This Is the Intimate story of the men who actually planned tho the crime their hopes their fears ears their ambitions Secure In their I gotten Ill gains they believe bellevo that no eye can reach them that Justice for t them is truly blind Then comes the si story of the detective like an Inexorable inexorable able fate that tears down the elaborate elaborate elaborate orate edifice of lies lles and In pointing out tho the true criminals saves the he life of an innocent man CHAN WOOLEYS WOOLEY'S STORY I I Iwas was the principal figure said Chan Wooley In what was known as the Dobbs Ferry mystery and if I 1 had hadnot hadnot hadnot not a a. good strain of blood in me somewhere an innocent man would have suffered a severe penalty and there were certain circumstances connected with the case which might have resulted in his being put to death j The man who makes his living out of thievery if he wants to be successful successful successful suc suc- must always have his eyes and ears open for tips The tips that he gets may sometimes be like the tip from the race track tout but to get et the most out of the business everything must be followed to the end My old side partner was Andy Spangler who was the son of a preacher and well educated and we went into trade together as card sharps At one time there w was s no better game than this provided always always always al al- al- al ways that you did not go against professionals professionals pro pro- who were ready to scrap at the slightest sign of crookedness We went about the country as gentlemen gentlemen gentlemen gentle gentle- men of wealth and were in any kind of business that would be likely to gain the confidence of our neighbors neighbor and lead them into a game with an Idea that they would get a a. a fair Lair chance It was Andys Andy's proud boast that we never skinned a man who could not nol afford to lose the money and it ha has been my effort in all the crooked transactions that I was ever in to divide only the wealth of men who would not miss a few dollars This shows you the effect of example and sound teaching It is the potty petty crook tho the mean thief who wh-o would take thelast the thelast last Jast dollar from a poor man who is despised and brings discredit upon all classes 01 or thieves Andy and I 1 had many a trip on the tho Mississippi in the days when the high rollers used to put up a cotton crop on a single deal and with all al allour allour our cleverness we s sometimes got the tho wrong end of the stick The longest longes trip that we ever made was around the world and a pack of cards paid pah our expenses everywhere We played about all the games known In tho the different different dif dlf dif dif- ferent places we visited and often lost money but when we got a chance with our little pack there was nothing noth noth- Ing ins that any anyone on one could do fo to touch us When we became too well known all over the country to do business with hotel guests we dropped the cards and went in with big Jim Shandley and his gang of bank ban wreckers on the famous tour which they made mado in this country und and Can Can- ada We Wo went everywhere am and cleaned out safes with a rapidity tha that set everybody's tongue a wagging It got tired of being a sport with an income and when I got a gooc good show I drifted back to New York and went in with Andy and Billy Peters Peter in the gambling business There wasn't any protection from the police police police po po- po- po lice then All AIl you had to do was to throw open the shutters and begin business We started two places one at the corner of Sixth avenue and street to catch the hotel people and the other at the Bowery and Houston street to cater to the dead game sports who were ready to shoot nt at a a. moments moment's notice We made money money fast and Andy and I left the running of the houses to Peters who had the of cf going on the level while we tried the Wall street game This was a game and the first one ono we had ever struck where we were the suckers They got our coin as fast as we put it in and when our luck was the worst Peters us a a. ripping dig by skipping away away with the roll bank-roll which was was' a big bigone bigone bigone one because the tho g games mes then were run without limit While I 1 was trying to pick up something out of the wreck and kept the gamo game going on borrowed capital I met a young fellow named Robert Temple the son of a banker He camo came to me with a complaint t that bat the house owed him Ho claimed that he be had won that amount while Peters was in charge and I did not dare dispute it for we had not made it known that Peters had given glyen us a cold shake as if lC we had done that we would have lost our customers customers customers custo custo- mers in a night Gamblers Gamblers' are a superstitious su su- lot and none none of them thom will play In is a house where the bankroll roll has las been stolen Temple seemed to tomo tomo n mo a pretty good goodfellow fellow and I 1 paid him ilm his money Ho He played steadily for or a a. couple of days and I got the money back and more with it I had many a talk with Temple and found Jound that hat he lived in Dobbs Ferry In a splendid mansion I Judged that ho he was the black sheep in the family for or his brothers were all in business SS he le told me and he did nothing but blow low in an allowance which he received received re re- from his father During one of o our r chats he told mo me that his father kept a a big bankroll bankroll bank bank- roll in his safe at home and the only reason he gave for it was that the tho theold old man was getting cranky I became became be be- became came deeply interested in the story owing to the hard times that had struck tho the firm of Wooley and tried to get Temple to fix a limit on the old mans man's pile He couldn't or wouldn't do it and I sent Andy up to Dobbs Ferry to take a look at the Temple le mansion to find out what sort of a prospect there was for ap an exchange of the Temple bank The house was far in the country and about on the dividing line with Hast Hast- lags Ings Andy came back with a report that hat the game was as easy as the kick of a goose and the coin coin box box was like finding it in the street I did not nol exactly relish going back hack to old tricks but something had to be pe done and that was all there was about it The plan o of the house showed that It was adapted ice er ar- story second-story work and ana there were only two men who lived in it One was my young friend Temple and the other was the old man The other inmates were were women two or three daughters and domestic domes domes- tic servants Andy was not able to get the location of the strong box so as to know what tools could best be used i to o open it iL We picked out for our visit a very stormy night when we knew that young Temple was in the city blowing blowing blow blow- blowing ing in his allowance This left us only the old oid man to deal with and the tho j women We went up the river on an early train as far as Yonkers and there I got a carriage from a solid soUd friend of mine who knew enough to keep his mouth shut and ask no questions We reached the Temple house before midnight All the lights were out and Andy went up a pillar on the back piazza to the roof root and fastened a rope ladder for future use We got into the house in about five minutes We Ve went to the different rooms on the second floor and found old Temple alone in bed asleep There was no one in the adjoining rooms and I woke him up I 1 made things plain to him It was simply to give up the safe combination or lose his life He was badly scared and said that he would open the strong box He got up shaking like a leaf and took us to an office off oft the dining dining- room I 1 made lights in several rooms so that the tho light In the office would not attract attention while Andy had the old man working on the lock When I returned to the office the old man groaned suddenly placed his 3 hand over his heart and fell heavily against the tho safe door He was Unconscious unconscious unconscious un un- conscious and we carried him into another room opened the safe and cleaned It out We reached NewYork NewYork New NewYork York before daylight with a big roll rollof rollof rollof of securities and in money I DETE DETECTIVE TIVE ARMSTRONGS ARMSTRONG'S TALE I I There Is an easy solution said Detective Armstrong to ev every ry mystery mystery mys mys- tery and when mysterious circumstances circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances are cleared away It always makes you wonder how the proper ke key escaped you The robbery of Andrew Temple Templo in his home homo in Dobbs Ferry was one of those hose peculiar pecullar cases that you will not meet more than once in a lifetime I reached the Temple mansion tho morning after the robber robbery and the first salute I got was that Andrew Temple had been murdered by thieves during the night The family physician was present to attend to the tho women In the household who were suffering from severe shock and he Informed me mo that Mr Temple had been killed by a a pistol wound in the forehead I looked at the dead man and saw Just above the temple a small hole holo which looked like the wounds I had seen made in Id the head by y bullets and I 1 took it Jt for granted that tho physician was correct I had a murder murder murder mur mur- der then upon upon my hands as well as the robbery which only became an Incident i in l the investigation I 1 followed follo followed fol fol- fol- fol lo lowed ed the usual form which is a sec sea second second ond and nature naturA to the detective of looking looking look look- ing over the det details Us of the tho robbery I to see if the work had been done doue by experts or chanco chance visitors I hunted high and low about the premises and andI I could not find the slightest indica indication tion as to how the thieves had gained an au entrance I had it upon the wor words s of the servants and several members of the family that every window and door had been found locked in tho the morning when they had examined the house with the exception of tho the window on the second floor over tho the piazza and this was never locked It would not have given any good second story men trouble to have reached tho window by climbing from the stoop but there were no no scratches Bc anywhere to show t that at this plan of entrance had been adopted The work on the safe showed clearly that first-class first men had been boen the trick and the lock ock had been boon operated by knocking out the spindle in the combination combination combination com com- and working the tumblers Tho The proof burglar-proof compartment had been battered In by some somo system that I 1 was not familiar with and it was a wonder to mo me that the noise had not been heard by everybody In the house hause Mr Temples Temple's body had been found in the dining room adjoining the office of of- a office fice and his appearance Indicated i that he had been d dead ad several hours He was was' dressed only In his nightshirt and there were several slight black and blue marks on his shoulder and back which might have haye come from a fall His clothes bed-clothes were not disturbed disturbed dis dis- dis any more than a person would ordinarily disturb them in getting out of bed and I could not see any rea rea rea-i reason son for his going down stairs without without without with with- out his clothes or or at least barefoot ed A peculiar pecullar circumstance was that he had two large revolvers in his room and they were found where they were usually kept kepL It naturally struck me that if he had heard thieves working in the lower part o othe of oC the house he would have armed himself himself him him- self before starting out to make an Investigation Any sane man would have taken that precaution Moreover More over I could not understand how a pistol shot could have been fired in inthe inthe inthe the house without arousing the family fam fam- ily The safe had been cleaned out entirely and even papers had been taken which were of no value or use to any anyone one except Mr Temple I 1 thought a few days later that I had found a solution to of the many peculiar peculiar peculiar liar circumstances but in fact I 1 was 3 miles away from the truth After Mr Temple was burled buried a a. search was made for his will and one was found in his desk in his office in this city It was dated ten years before his death and it gave Robert Temple Temp e the oldest boy third one-third of the estate after providing for Mrs Temple and the remainder of ot the estate was divided equally equal amon among the four children Bob Temple seemed to be the only one who was pleased over the will The day after the will was read I received word to call upon Lawyer Mr Temples Temple's law law- yer He informed me in the presence presence pres pres- ence of two of Mr Temples Temple's children children- that s several veral months before his death Mr Temple made a new will in which Bob Temple had been left a a small allowance Instead of the bulk of the estate Mr Temples Temple's reason for doing doIng doing do do- ing this was to prevent Bob from squandering the money in riotous living liv ing lag and gambling g and the lawyer was positive that the will had been kept in Mr l Temples Temple's safe at home He had had seen It there two days before the robbery With this information in my mind it seemed to me that th the person most Interested in the death of or Mr Ir Temple was his son SOIl Bob and the more I thought of it the stronger became my conviction that Bob had a hand 11 inthe lu in luthe the robbery The way I figured it out was that Bob who spent most of his time away from home with a fast set had found out about the making of the will which cut him off He put up a job to g get t the will and brought the thieves to the house and let let them In with his k keys ys They went to work on the safe and the old man heard them He called from his room to know who was there and Bob an an- Then the old ola man camo came down to see what was going g on Bob knew that stealing the will would amount to nothing without the oldmans old oldmans oldmans mans man's death I 1 believe belleve that It was the intention of Bob to kill the old man before he left the house When Mr Temple entered the room Bob or perhaps one of the crooks shot him Then the wily way was easy for the thieves and easier for Bob to win his fortune The evidence pointed in I this direction and some enterprising reporter got hold of some of the facts and published a story about the loss of the will and some facts which Bob Temple would have to explain Bobs family turned against him bitterly and I was on the the point o of putting him under arrest when Lawyer Lawyer Lawyer Law Law- yer received a letter containing containing con con- the missing will from a a. person person person per per- son who said that he was one of the crooks The letter gave another piece of startling information to the effect that Mr Temple had not been shot and the wound in his forehead had been made by falling against the safe To verify this the body was exhumed and the wound in lu the head was found not to have havo fractured the skull I 1 found on one of the hinges of ot the safe a |