CHAPTER XI SOME TYPES OF CROOKS

The “con man,” the bank sneak¹, the counterfeiter² (of notes) and his allies, the forger³, the big dip, and the badger⁴ man are what might be called the aristocrats⁵ of the underworld because their work requires on their part always a polished exterior⁶. A good “front” (appearance) in their line is essential to success.

The morning sun may see the criminal the acme⁷ of contentment, money in his pocket, a smile on his face; the evening shadows may fall on him pacing a cell in some detention⁸ house. Yet the crook⁹ takes the chance.

It’s a peculiar¹⁰ characteristic of all crooks¹¹, that sooner or later they know they’ll see the inside of a “stir” (prison). They realize that at the end of their road a prison waits for them with open arms. I believe it is[Pg 62] this fact which makes the crook so philosophical¹² in defeat.

The “con man” is invariably a man of fine appearance, possessed¹³ of a better than ordinary education. He must have a personality to attract, a conversational¹⁴ ability to hold attention. They are invariably “good livers,” used to the best, and are attracted only by large money. The big dip, the forger, and the bank thief are all men above the ordinary of the underworld.

At the head of all of them I would place the counterfeiter, the man whose mechanical ability and resourcefulness makes him a menace to the government. His work requires a technical training of many years. Cleaner than the average in mechanical skill, his is a profession envied by his lesser¹⁵ fellows.

Another type of the gentleman crook is the badger man—a sort of blackmailer¹⁶, whose work is helped to its consummation by a woman companion. In this species of crime the woman is always the principal, the man but an accessory. It is a type requiring[Pg 63] a good appearance, the ability to assume certain emotions, such, for instance, as a wronged husband is supposed to have on viewing his wife in the company of another man. This type differs from the majority of crooks in that it is cold and heartless.

In the rougher class the yegg stands prominently at the top. Taking the place of the old bank burglar, he has proved one of the most feared and the most desperate of all crooks. His is a roving life entirely¹⁷. Using the railroads of the country as a method of transportation, distance to him but lends enchantment¹⁸. In the yegg class are found graduates of all the other criminal professions. I have known stick-up men and former dips, burglars and a former counterfeiter as members of different gangs. The class is exclusive, the members seldom fraternizing with the others of the underworld. There is a loyalty¹⁹ to each other found among the yeggs which is characteristic of them. In all of my experience I know of but one yegg turning a “squealer” (State witness) against his pals²⁰. Woe²¹ to[Pg 64] him if caught without the protection of the police. The yegg, unlike the gentlemanly types of the underworld, cares little for women. The ill-gotten gains are spent “slopping up” (getting drunk) in the jungles (outside the city) in the summer, or in some particular rendezvous²² of the city in the winter time. He never saves; his is the life of the present.

The stick-up man (hold-up), the burglar, and like, make up the other types, along with the bum²³, the tramp, and the hobo. I have often seen the bum, the tramp, and the hobo classed as one type of those fellows who love life better than they love work. As a matter of fact, each type is a class distinct in itself. The bum makes his residence, if it can be rightly called residence, exclusively in towns and cities; he never leaves them. He never works, and stands the lowest in the life of the other half. The tramp is a mixture of thief, mendicant²⁴, and loafer. He will never work; the genuine tramp excludes from his society those who ever do work. If he is ever required to work in return for a meal,[Pg 65] he forfeits²⁵ the meal rather than to soil his reputation by labor²⁶. He steals when opportunity offers, and begs when he gets the chance. He differs from the yegg, in that his life is not entirely devoted²⁷ to crime. From the ranks of the tramp the society of yeggs is sometimes recruited; from the bum, never. The hobo differs from both in the respect that he works occasionally, and seldom steals. Roaming about the country, working here and there in railroad and lumber²⁸ camps, and canneries, his traveling is always to a destination. A stake is made and he and his pals go to the city for a spree. The money spent, he is back again on the railroad looking toward a job.

In the spring, when the warm sun begins to kiss the green into the grasses, the tramp stretches his frame and listens. He hears the call of the road, and his nature hearkens thereto. Soon the railroads know him, and the farmers feel the weight of his appetite. It’s a care-free life these tramps live. Living in the present, without responsibility, they go their way until death claims them.

1 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

2 counterfeiter   

n.伪造者

参考例句：

• If the illegal gains are very large the counterfeiter shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years and be fined. 对于违法所得数额巨大的，处3年以上7年以下有期徒刑，并处罚金。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Judge: (asking a counterfeiter) Why do you make false money? 法官：（威严地问假币制造者）你为什么制造假币？ 来自互联网

3 forger   

v.伪造；n.（钱、文件等的）伪造者

参考例句：

• He admitted seven charges including forging passports.他承认了7项罪名，其中包括伪造护照。
• She alleged that Taylor had forged her signature on the form.她声称泰勒在表格上伪造了她的签名。

4 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

5 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

7 acme   

n.顶点，极点

参考例句：

• His work is considered the acme of cinematic art. 他的作品被认为是电影艺术的巅峰之作。
• Schubert reached the acme of his skill while quite young. 舒伯特的技巧在他十分年轻时即已达到了顶峰。

8 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

9 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

10 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

13 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

14 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

15 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

16 blackmailer   

敲诈者，勒索者

参考例句：

• The blackmailer had a hold over him. 勒索他的人控制着他。
• The blackmailer will have to be bought off,or he'll ruin your good name. 得花些钱疏通那个敲诈者，否则他会毁坏你的声誉。

17 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。

18 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

19 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

20 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

21 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

22 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

23 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

24 mendicant   

n.乞丐；adj.行乞的

参考例句：

• He seemed not an ordinary mendicant.他好象不是寻常的乞丐。
• The one-legged mendicant begins to beg from door to door.独腿乞丐开始挨门乞讨。

25 forfeits   

罚物游戏

参考例句：

• She regretted the forfeits she had to pay for selfassistance. 她为自己为了自助而必须付出的代价感到遗憾。
• They were soon to pay their own forfeits. 他们很快就得交纳他们的罚款了。

26 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

27 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

28 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。