小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » Fifty Years a Detective » THE GLENCOE TRAIN ROBBERY.
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
THE GLENCOE TRAIN ROBBERY.
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 ARREST AND CONVICTION OF BILLY LOWE AND GEORGE EBBER-
LING.—A PIECE OF QUICK WORK.
 
Glencoe is a small station on the Missouri Pacific Railway, twenty-nine miles west of the city of St. Louis. An east bound train which carried both mail and passengers was boarded on the night of February 21, 1910, by two men, who climbed on the front end of what is known by railroad men as the blind baggage, next to the tender of the engine. These men were unobserved until the train had passed Glencoe station, when they climbed over the top of the tank to the engine and covered the engineer and fireman with drawn1 revolvers. They were both masked with handkerchiefs tied over the lower portion of their faces, which entirely2 concealed3 their features below the eyes. They wore slouch hats and were described by the engineer and fireman and other members of the train crew who saw them—one as a short, stout4 built man with very black hair; the other as a tall, square-shouldered fellow with[Pg 131] light-brown hair, and apparently5 younger than his stout partner. The stout man was described as having handled and carried his revolver in his left hand, while his right hand was bandaged and appeared to have been injured. He also was reported as having acted as chief and to have given all orders, and to have handled the locomotive as though he was as perfectly6 familiar with the work as an experienced locomotive engineer. These men compelled the engineer to bring the train to a full stop. They then made the engineer and fireman accompany them back to the rear end of the last mail car, when the engineer was forced to disconnect the two mail cars from the rest of the train. Then the engineer and fireman were marched back to the engine, and after all four men had again entered the cab, the short man took charge of the engine, and pulled the express and two mail cars to a point about three miles east of where the rest of the train had been left with the crew. They stopped at this point on the main track and began rifling the sealed mail pouches7 in one of the mail cars, continuing this for several minutes, cutting open the sealed pouches and taking therefrom all the registered mail. They finally concluded that they were consuming too much time, as trains were liable to approach from the east. They, therefore, seized a number of large mail pouches filled with registered mail, and, after instructing the engineer and fireman to back the engine to Glencoe and take up the rest of the train again, the men left the railroad on foot, each of them being loaded down with the registered mail pouches, which they had taken from the car. They hid these mail bags in a stack of corn-shucks in a cornfield near the bank of the Meramec River. They had previously8 stolen a skiff, or rowboat, which they had hidden in a clump9 of bushes on the bank of the river near the cornfield. They took this rowboat and made their way down the Meramec River a few[Pg 132] miles, where they left the boat and made their way overland back to St. Louis.
 
On the morning of February 22, I happened to be in New York City and upon picking up a morning paper I read the account of the train robbery and the description that had been given by the train crew of the robbers. I immediately telegraphed to the manager of my office in St. Louis to go and tell Mr. Dixon, of St. Louis, Postoffice Inspector10 in charge of the district of Missouri, that I knew who the train robbers were, and where they could be found, and that I would be in St. Louis the following Saturday and that I would get the guilty men and turn them over to him or to his assistants in case he, Mr. Dixon, and his force had not succeeded in locating and arresting the guilty men before I returned to St. Louis.
 
On my return the following Saturday I found Mr. Dixon awaiting me. I told him that I was satisfied, from the description of the robbers, that Billy Lowe was the leader in the Glencoe Train Robbery. I told about having arrested Lowe eleven years before for having taken part, with others, in the Leads Junction11 Train Robbery, which had occurred on the Missouri Pacific Railroad just east and south of Kansas City. He with the others had held up the train and had blown the express car to pieces with dynamite12. I also told him that I had finally succeeded in obtaining from Lowe a complete confession13 as to the part he had taken in the Leads Robbery, and also the names of his associates in the crime.
 
Some of his other companions were also arrested at the time. Lowe took the witness stand and by his testimony14 fully15 substantiated16 the confession that he had made to me in the presence of John Hayes, who was then Chief of Police of Kansas City, Missouri, and D. F. Harbaugh, one of my men at that time. Lowe afterwards reiterated17 this confession to[Pg 133] the prosecuting18 attorney of Kansas City. The prosecutor's name I do not now remember.
 
Lowe having taken the witness stand and having promised the Chief of Police and Prosecuting Attorney and myself that he would thereafter lead an honest life, the prosecuting attorney annulled19 the proceedings20 against him and after the trial of his associates Lowe was dismissed. He was a thorough railroad man. He came to St. Louis and obtained employment as a switchman in the yards of the Iron Mountain Railroad, where he met and formed the acquaintance of one George Ebberling, also a switchman. He and Ebberling became fast friends and continued to work for the Iron Mountain for several years, when they left the company's service and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where they obtained employment in the train service of the Great Northern Railway Company, and finally worked their way to Spokane, Washington.
 
In the meantime I kept track of them, believing that it would be only a question of time until Lowe would become a train robber again. During the years of 1908 and 1909 a number of trains were held up and robbed in the vicinity of Spokane, and I, knowing that Lowe was there, wrote the officers of the Great Northern Company that I believed that I knew who the guilty parties were and where they could be found. But these officers apparently did not deem the information I had sent them worth answering, as I did not hear from them.
 
I knew that both Billy Lowe and Ebberling were in St. Louis prior to the Glencoe Train Robbery. They had returned early in January and I immediately had placed a shadow on their movements, and when I read the description of the men who had robbed the train at Glencoe I at once became satisfied that Lowe was the man who had handled the engine. He had visited my office the day preceding the Glencoe affair, and his right hand was bandaged by reason of boils that he had on[Pg 134] his wrist just above the hand; and then the description in the New York papers was almost a perfect description of Lowe, and also the description of the tall man given in the paper was that of Ebberling.
 
As soon as they arrived in St. Louis, Lowe had rented an office room on the upper floor of the Granite21 Building, on the southwest corner of 4th and Market streets. Lowe furnished his office and had a number of maps and charts of mining lands in Alaska, and offered mining stocks for sale in that country. Ebberling left St. Louis immediately after the Glencoe robbery.
 
A day or so after the robbery, a country merchant, who resides in a small town near Kansas City, furnished the postoffice inspector with a clue which afterwards proved that I was right in suspecting Lowe and Ebberling of the crime. This merchant owed a St. Louis wholesale22 house a bill in the neighborhood of $100.00. He had, on the day before the robbery, remitted23 the amount by registered letter, keeping a memorandum24 of the size, series and numbers of the bills. When he first heard of the robbery, and knowing that his package was probably a part of the loot, the merchant sent a copy of the memorandum to the postoffice inspector. The inspector had several hundred copies of the memorandum printed and forwarded to the officials of the banks within a radius25 of five hundred miles of St. Louis. Within twenty-four hours after the distribution of these circulars, one of the bills, a ten-dollar gold certificate, was presented at the receiving teller26's window of a Hot Springs National Bank, by one of its lady depositors—the keeper of a rooming house in that city. On being questioned as to where she had obtained the bill, the lady told the teller one of her roomers, Mr. George Ebberling, had given it to her in exchange for a week's room rent.
 
[Pg 135]
 
In the meantime, I having learned that Ebberling had gone to Hot Springs and his address there, notified Inspector Dixon, who immediately sent one of his assistants to Ebberling's lodging27 place, where he secured an adjoining room to enable him to keep a closer watch on the suspected mail robber. The teller of the bank reported the finding of the bill to Inspector Dixon promptly28, and we immediately planned the arrest of Lowe.
 
William W. Lowe George Ebberling
William W. Lowe. George Ebberling.
 
Train robber and thief now doing
a long sentence for robbing
a mail train near St. Louis.  Train robber and thief who assisted
Lowe in many of his robberies,
also doing time.
The following morning accompanied by two of Mr. Dixon's postoffice inspectors29, James Smith, Chief of Detectives of St. Louis, and two of his men, and my Assistant Superintendent30, J. S. Manning, I went to Lowe's office in the Granite Building,[Pg 136] having previously been advised by Mr. Manning that the man under suspicion was in his office. I pointed31 Lowe out to the city officers, who arrested him promptly. He was locked up and after his arrest, Mr. Dixon telegraphed his inspector at Hot Springs to arrest Ebberling immediately and bring him to St. Louis. After Ebberling had been arrested at Hot Springs, when he was asked how he got possession of the ten-dollar note, before mentioned, he confessed that he had gotten it from Billy Lowe and made a further and full confession as to how he and Lowe had robbed the train at Glencoe.
 
Lowe did not make a confession, nor did he make any admission as to his connection with the robbery; on the contrary, he strenuously32 denied everything.
 
In his confession, Ebberling stated that Jimmy Lowe, a younger brother of Billy's, knew all about the robbery, and would have taken part in it but for the fact that he became intoxicated33 on the evening the robbery was scheduled to take place and could not make the trip. Ebberling also stated that James Lowe had visited the cache in South St. Louis where the guns and masks had been hidden, and brought them to St. Louis and delivered them to Billy Lowe at his mother's house.
 
The amount of money secured from the rifled mail pouches, according to Ebberling, was between six and seven hundred dollars, but the pouches which had been "stashed34" in the cornfield by the robbers, and afterwards recovered by the officers, contained a great deal more than this amount.
 
Ebberling and Lowe were tried in the April term of the Federal Court at St. Louis and were convicted—Lowe being sentenced to forty-three years at Leavenworth, United States Penitentiary35, and a fine of $3,000.00, or the equivalent of two years in prison. Ebberling was sentenced to eighteen years in Leavenworth Prison, and fined $3,000.00. Jimmy Lowe, who[Pg 137] had laid in jail for months and had taken the witness stand for the Government, was released and is now leading an honest life, so far as I know.
 
After arriving at the penitentiary Ebberling made a further confession in which he stated that he and W. W. Lowe had held up and robbed eleven trains at different points on the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific Railway lines in the vicinity of Spokane, during 1908 and 1909, and in this statement he described so accurately36 the places at which he and Lowe had hidden certain property they had secured in these robberies that the United States authorities went to the places designated and recovered the property. Lowe and Ebberling have since been indicted37 for these robberies, proving conclusively38 that I was right when I wrote the officers of the roads named that I believed I knew who the parties were who had been holding up and robbing their trains.
 
The Great Northern and the Northern Pacific had offered rewards for the arrest and conviction of the parties who had committed these depredations39, which aggregate40, I understand, $20,000.00; but, as I have always strictly41 adhered to a rule that I formed early in my career, never to work for or receive rewards that might be offered for the arrest and conviction of any person, I did not claim the rewards offered by the two railroads. My reason for not accepting rewards is fully explained in another portion of this book.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
2 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
3 concealed 0v3zxG     
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
参考例句:
  • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
  • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
5 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
6 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
7 pouches 952990a5cdea03f7970c486d570c7d8e     
n.(放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的)小袋( pouch的名词复数 );(袋鼠等的)育儿袋;邮袋;(某些动物贮存食物的)颊袋
参考例句:
  • Pouches are a peculiarity of marsupials. 腹袋是有袋动物的特色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Under my eyes the pouches were heavy. 我眼睛下的眼袋很深。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
9 clump xXfzH     
n.树丛,草丛;vi.用沉重的脚步行走
参考例句:
  • A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
  • It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。
10 inspector q6kxH     
n.检查员,监察员,视察员
参考例句:
  • The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
  • The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。
11 junction N34xH     
n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站
参考例句:
  • There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
  • You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。
12 dynamite rrPxB     
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破)
参考例句:
  • The workmen detonated the dynamite.工人们把炸药引爆了。
  • The philosopher was still political dynamite.那位哲学家仍旧是政治上的爆炸性人物。
13 confession 8Ygye     
n.自白,供认,承认
参考例句:
  • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
  • The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。
14 testimony zpbwO     
n.证词;见证,证明
参考例句:
  • The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
  • He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
15 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
16 substantiated 00e07431f22c5b088202bcaa5dd5ecda     
v.用事实支持(某主张、说法等),证明,证实( substantiate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The results of the tests substantiated his claims. 这些检验的结果证实了他的说法。
  • The statement has never been substantiated. 这一陈述从未得到证实。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
17 reiterated d9580be532fe69f8451c32061126606b     
反复地说,重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯,我一定要知道你的休假日期,"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
  • Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后,波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。
18 prosecuting 3d2c14252239cad225a3c016e56a6675     
检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 ); 对某人提起公诉; 继续从事(某事物); 担任控方律师
参考例句:
  • The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
  • Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。
19 annulled 6487853b1acaba95e5982ede7b1d3227     
v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 );取消;使消失;抹去
参考例句:
  • Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
  • Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
21 granite Kyqyu     
adj.花岗岩,花岗石
参考例句:
  • They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
  • The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。
22 wholesale Ig9wL     
n.批发;adv.以批发方式;vt.批发,成批出售
参考例句:
  • The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物,以零售价卖出。
  • Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。
23 remitted 3b25982348d6e76e4dd90de3cf8d6ad3     
v.免除(债务),宽恕( remit的过去式和过去分词 );使某事缓和;寄回,传送
参考例句:
  • She has had part of her sentence remitted. 她被免去部分刑期。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fever has remitted. 退烧了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
24 memorandum aCvx4     
n.备忘录,便笺
参考例句:
  • The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
  • The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。
25 radius LTKxp     
n.半径,半径范围;有效航程,范围,界限
参考例句:
  • He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
  • We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。
26 teller yggzeP     
n.银行出纳员;(选举)计票员
参考例句:
  • The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
  • The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。
27 lodging wRgz9     
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍
参考例句:
  • The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
  • Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?
28 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
29 inspectors e7f2779d4a90787cc7432cd5c8b51897     
n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 );(英国公共汽车或火车上的)查票员;(警察)巡官;检阅官
参考例句:
  • They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过,通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
31 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
32 strenuously Jhwz0k     
adv.奋发地,费力地
参考例句:
  • The company has strenuously defended its decision to reduce the workforce. 公司竭力为其裁员的决定辩护。
  • She denied the accusation with some warmth, ie strenuously, forcefully. 她有些激动,竭力否认这一指责。
33 intoxicated 350bfb35af86e3867ed55bb2af85135f     
喝醉的,极其兴奋的
参考例句:
  • She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
  • They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉,东南西北全然不辨。
34 stashed 07562c5864f6b713d22604f8e1e43dae     
v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 );隐藏;藏匿;藏起
参考例句:
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
  • She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
35 penitentiary buQyt     
n.感化院;监狱
参考例句:
  • He worked as a warden at the state penitentiary.他在这所州监狱任看守长。
  • While he was in the penitentiary her father died and the family broke up.他坐牢的时候,她的父亲死了,家庭就拆散了。
36 accurately oJHyf     
adv.准确地,精确地
参考例句:
  • It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
  • Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。
37 indicted 4fe8f0223a4e14ee670547b1a8076e20     
控告,起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
  • He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。
38 conclusively NvVzwY     
adv.令人信服地,确凿地
参考例句:
  • All this proves conclusively that she couldn't have known the truth. 这一切无可置疑地证明她不可能知道真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • From the facts,he was able to determine conclusively that the death was not a suicide. 根据这些事实他断定这起死亡事件并非自杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
39 depredations 4f01882be2e81bff9ad88e891b8e5847     
n.劫掠,毁坏( depredation的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Protect the nation's resources against the depredations of other countries. 保护国家资源,不容他人染指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Hitler's early'successes\" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon. 希特勒的早期“胜利”,只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。 来自辞典例句
40 aggregate cKOyE     
adj.总计的,集合的;n.总数;v.合计;集合
参考例句:
  • The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
  • The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。
41 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533