The Experience of John Spindler, the London Detective, with a Gang of Coiners

The Detective on the Track of a Gang of Coiners

He Enters The House, Though The Landlady Protests A Heart-Thrilling Deathbed Scene—A Clever Physician—The Agent Of A Frenzied Woman At Hearing Of The Death Of Her Husband A Heart-Piercing Scream The Sad Duty Of A Detective—The Coiner Too Deep For Him—A Tragic Funeral Procession—The Detective Fairly Done!—Visiting The Humane Doctor—A Gentlemanly Swindler— Caught At Last

by George McWatters

A gang of counterfeiters of coin circulated for a long time a great quantity of spurious coin in London, and although the detective corps had for a long while tracked them in vain, I had vowed in my professional pride to capture them. More than once I pounced down upon them in their haunts, but all in vain; everything vanished like magic, no moulds or anything else to be found which might fairly convict them of guilt. Of course, I was not able to produce any proofs of their existence, or rather of their identity to my chief, and he fairly laughed at me and my efforts; this circumstance the more excited the desire within me, to show him that I had not been mistaken. I considered my failure in discovering them detrimental to my reputation, and was bound to leave nothing untried.

Jim Bradley was the chief of the gang I was looking for, and after several vain efforts I was one evening convinced that I should capture them this time, but all proved in vain. No sooner had I appeared, than every tool had vanished, and no trace of the crime could be found.

This naturally gave me considerable annoyance, and with some heat I ejaculated: “You have escaped me this time, Jim Bradley; but I’m not John Spindler if you do the next.”

“When you catch me, hold me!” he grinned. “How dare you malign… Read More