CHAPTER VI.
"CHIP" BINGHAM.
George Bingham, or as he was familiarly called, "Chip" Bingham, was theyoungest operative in Mr. Pinkerton's service. His talents, in thedetective line, ranged considerably higher than did the general run ofhis associates. Possessing an analytical mind, he could take theeffect, and, by logical conclusions, retrace its path to thefundamental cause, and following this principle, he had made manyvaluable discoveries in mystery-shrouded cases, and had, many times,picked the end of a clew from a seemingly hopeless snarl, and raveledthe entire mesh of circumstantial evidence, and made from it a strongcord of substantiated facts. Mr. Pinkerton had early recognized thistalent, and having, besides, a peculiar attachment to the handsomeyoung fellow, he frequently placed delicate and intricate cases intohis hands, always with good results. It was for Chip, then, he sent,when he had finished his examination of the valuable package.
Mr. Damsel, his mind somewhat freed from the trouble and worry it hadcarried since the robbery, had left Mr. Pinkerton alone and returned tohis office.
Chip, on receipt of his superior's message, immediately repaired toRoom 84. His downcast countenance and disappointed air told offruitless endeavors to catch even the slightest real clew. He saidnothing as he entered the room, but with a gesture of hopeless failurehe sank into a chair and awaited his chief's pleasure.
"Chip, I've got a starter."
With an indulgent smile Chip nodded his head, but failed to exhibit anyextraordinary interest.
Mr. Pinkerton's eyes twinkled. He understood the situation, but timewas valuable and he could not waste any in humorous by-play. So withoutfurther parleying he handed Chip the tell-tale letter.
The young detective, almost from the first word, put the letter down asa practical joke, perpetrated on the newspaper, but as the missiveprogressed he became interested, and when he had reached that portionwhich told of the package every fiber of his detective instinct wasalive, and Mr. Pinkerton had no need of pointing to the precious parcelas corroborative evidence that the letter was genuine.
In an instant Chip was examining the contents. Every portion of therevolver, billy and letterheads was searched with deepest scrutiny. Theprinted sheet of ballad music was picked up, the verses read and thesheet turned.
An exclamation burst from his lips, as his eye caught the words,written in lead pencil, "----Chestnut Street," and placing it besidethe letter, he saw it was written by the same hand. "The devil! Here isa starter!"
His face glowed with animation, his eyes had the alert look of a houndon a hot scent, and carefully noting the number in his memorandum book,without waiting instructions from Mr. Pinkerton, he picked up his hatand hurriedly left the room.
Mr. Pinkerton, in full sympathy with his subordinate, lit a cigar, andsettled back for a comfortable smoke until Chip made his report.
Chip, regaining the street, engaged a hack standing near the hotel, andstopping it a short distance from the number he wanted on Chestnutstreet, walked the remaining distance to the house.
A sign "Board by the week or day," and another one, "Furnished rooms tolet," showed it to be an ordinary boarding-house. Chip had fullydecided within himself, during the ride, that the men who had left theparcel had also left St. Louis. While it was not so much animprobability that the men would still be in the city, it was far moreprobable that they would put some distance between themselves and thescene of their exploit. For this reason, Chip decided that a plaincourse would result in no unfortunate mishap or premature flushing ofthe game.
Ascending the steps, he rang the bell.
The landlady of the house herself opened the door.
Before Chip could speak, she said:
"You're a detective, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Chip, somewhat surprised, and regretting immediately thathe had not made his entrance in a more detective-like manner.
"I've been expecting some of you. You want to know about those two menthat stopped with me a short time before the 'Frisco express robbery?"
Seeing at once that he was conversing with a more than ordinary shrewdindividual, Chip replied, "That's just what I'm here for. But why doyou ask that question?"
"Well, I suspicioned something was wrong with them two men. They camehere on the fifteenth of October, and paid me a week's board inadvance. They kept their room almost all the time, and when I went into clean it, I saw a lot of railroad time-tables and maps scatteredaround. One of them was always in the room. It was never left alone. Aweek before the robbery, the smaller man left, he said for Kansas City,and the larger man told me if a letter came to the house, directed toWilliams, that is for him. Well, on the Friday before the robbery, sucha letter did come, and the big man, after reading it, said he had to goto Kansas City at once, but he didn't leave the house until Monday, andthe next day the robbery occurred."
"Can you give me a description of the men?"
The landlady thereupon gave a full description of the larger man, whichChip carefully inserted in his note book, and recognized as the samegiven by Fotheringham of his assailant on that memorable night. But herdescription of the smaller of the two was somewhat vague, as she saidhe was only in the house a short time, and she saw very little of him.
"May I go up to the room?"
"Yes; come this way."
Entering the room, the first thing which met the detective's eye was abottle containing some sort of liniment, having on it a label of aneighboring druggist, In a closet a pair of drawers were found, andwith the dark brown stain below the knee was almost identical to thatwhich Chip had found on the railroad track, and which the robber hadthrown from the express car. Not satisfied with this, Chip ripped upthe carpet, and as a reward for his labor found an express tag, orrather a portion of one, for the tag was torn in two pieces. On the tagChip read the portion of an address, "----ority," and below,"----worth, Kansas." Further questioning of the garrulous landladygained a description of the valise which the larger man carried awaywith him. It tallied with the description given by Fotheringham of thevalise into which Jim Cummings had put the stolen money.
Gathering his trophies together, Chip bid his talkative lady friendgood-day, and immediately bent his steps toward the drug store, fromwhich had come the bottle of liniment.
No, the druggist could not recollect what particular person had boughtthat bottle, but if the young man would call on Doctor B----, he couldprobably ascertain the fact from him, as the liniment was put up fromthe Doctor's prescription. Chip, in a short time, was ushered into theDoctor's presence.
Yes, the Doctor not only recollected the man, but gave a very closedescription of him. The man had come to him, suffering from a badbruise or cut on the leg below the knee. Nothing serious, but sopainful that it caused him to limp. He had made out the prescription ofthe unguent which the bottle had contained, and the man had paid forit. But he gave no name, nor in what manner he had received the injury.
Chip, satisfied with his work, left the physician, and whistling forhis jehu, drove back to the hotel.
That the large man who had boarded with the landlady at ---- Chestnutstreet, and had bought and used the ointment, was identical with JimCummings, the express robber, Chip had not the shadow of a doubt. Thesmaller man was, of course, his accomplice. He had seen where the menhad secreted themselves a week before the robbery, he vas even prettycertain of their movements during that time, but the question was wherehad they gone AFTER the deed was committed. Who and where was theaccomplice? What other men had aided and abetted them in the scheme?With his mind full of these perplexing queries, he sought Mr.Pinkerton's room, and laid before him the result of his search.
Mr. Pinkerton listened attentively and picking up the torn express tag,examined it carefully.
It was a portion of an ordinary tag, such as is used by the AdamsExpress Company.
It had been torn about the middle. The strings were still on it. Fromits appearance it had been addressed, and the person, not satisfiedwith his work, had torn
it in two and thrown it on the floor, fromwhich it had probably been swept in a corner, and eventually got underthe edge of the carpet, where Chip had found it. It read.
ority
worth Kansas
a drawing of a torn ticket.]
On the reverse side in faint penciled characters were the words: "it toCook," From the blurred appearance of the words it was evident that arubber had been used to erase them. These words had escaped Chip'snotice, but as soon as Mr. Pinkerton saw them, he said:
"I see it all, Chip. I see it all. A message was written on the tag,probably giving some instructions, such as 'Send it to Cook,' or 'Giveit to Cook,' and the person sending it changing his mind about writinghis instructions so openly tried to erase the words with a rubber, butfailing to do it tore the tag up and addressed another one.
"The package to which this was to have been tied was sent to some manwhose name ends in 'ority and who was in Leavenworth, Kansas. We canfind that out to-morrow, Chip, so turn in and get some sleep."
The next morning the books of the company were overhauled, and after along, patient and careful search it was found that on October 23d, twodays before the robbery, a valise had been expressed to a DanielMoriarity, Leavenworth, Kansas, charges prepaid, by a man named JohnWilliams.
That evening Chip left St. Louis for Leavenworth and Mr. Pinkertonreturned to Chicago.