Johnston McCulley

“ Tham hated an amateur crook. The underworld hated them. Genuine crooks, who knew the ethics of their calling, were all right. They played the game, and if they were caught they paid the penalty.
Either a crook or an honest man, but not an attempt to be both, said the underworld. ”

“ Craddock had told him more than a year and a half before that his presence in that section of the city would mean instant arrest on a vagrancy charge. Men of Thubway Tham’s ilk knew better than to invade certain parts of the metropolis. ”

“ Thubway Tham grew interested in the conversation he heard, and in what he saw. One of the men opened a traveling bag he had, took several packages of bills from his pocket and put them into the bag. The other watched for anybody to approach.
“Now we’ll go to the Grand Central and check this bag,” one of the men was saying. “That’s the safest thing in the world.. We’ll leave it there until the investigation is over at the office. When we are sure that they do not suspect us, we’ll merely take down the check, pay the storage bill, and catch a train.” ”

“ On the following day, Tham went forth as usual, alert for officers of the law, ready to dodge any old friend he might see, eager to make a last haul before announcing his presence in the city.
He boarded a train at Union Square and started uptown. At the next station, he saw his rival get aboard.
Thubway Tham had noticed a prosperouslooking gentleman standing near one end of the car, and had speculated on removing valuables from the gentleman’s pocket. But now he watched his rival.
The tall man glanced at the others in the car, and he, too, saw the prosperous-looking individual. ”

“ The men in the smoking room with him, even had they been aware of his identity and reputation, could have continued their journeys without fear, and without keeping their hands on their wallets and watches continually. ”

“ At one end of the car, one man stepped upon the foot of another. The apology was not accepted, and hot words followed. There was a sudden commotion as fisticuffs started, and the man who had the check in his pocket stretched his neck and bent his head to see the row. Thubway Tham’s hand did its work, and the check was in his possession.
He left the train at the next station, and immediately caught another uptown. He reached Times Square, took the shuttle to Grand Central, and hurried toward the parcel check stand. And then he saw his old enemy, Detective Craddock. ”

“ The article said that a certain broker of prominence, traveling in the subway because of a broken motor car, had been relieved of a wallet containing a large sum of money. The police, the article said, were of the opinion that there was a new subway pickpocket at work. They hinted that formerly there had been a famous pickpocket who worked in the subway, but that he had been out of the city for several months, hence could not be guilty of this latest crime. And there had been minor robberies recently, too, the newspaper said.
“Thome thilly thimp!” Thubway Tham told himself. ”

“ He went back to Times Square, boarded the shuttle train, journeyed to Grand Central in the midst of the throng, returned, and lifted another wallet. Next he made the trip downtown again, went to his room, and found that the day’s work had netted him a profit of about three hundred dollars. It was a far larger profit than usual. Thubway Tham considered it a good omen.
The morning newspapers were filled with articles about the carnival of crime in the subway, and certain detectives received orders that something had to be done or there would be divers and sundry transfers and things like that. ”

“ And, if he was recognized, the people at headquarters might blame all the recent subway work on him!
“I thuppothe I’ll have to let ‘em know that I am in the thity thoon,” Tham told himself one evening.
“Then that ath of a Craddock will be on my trail.
He’ll pethter the life out of me! There ith no uthe talkin’—thometimeth that man maketh me thick!”
The following day, he saw Craddock at a distance, but managed to prevent himself being observed by the detective. And, half an hour later, on an express train approaching Fourteenth Street, Thubway Tham found his rival. ”

“ Tham said. “You couldn’t catch a cold, Craddock. Thankth, however, for not pethterin’ me to-day.”
“Don’t mention it, Tham.”
“And thankth, altho, for carryin’ my bag,” Thubway Tham added. “You are very kind. Thith ith a good bag.”
“And you’ve probably got one shirt, a couple of collars and a pair of socks in it, even if you do happen to have a good front,” Craddock said, laughing.
“Perhapth,” said Tham. “A man muth run a bluff onthe in a while, muthn’t he? He muth!” ”

“ The rival pickpocket had bungled. His victim had caught him in the act. Now they were scuffling at the other end of the car. Thubway Tham saw that the tall man could not get rid of the wallet he had taken. ”