Fifty Years a Detective: 35 Real Detective Stories. Thomas Furlong
Another was addressed to another brother of No. 1, who resided in Atlanta, Georgia. The third letter was addressed to J. D. Dillard, Jr., Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I knew of the relatives in Tennessee and of the brother in Atlanta, Georgia, and also that J. D. Dillard, Jr., was the man I wanted to locate, and for the first time learned that he was at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Ocean Springs was then a small winter resort located on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, between Montgomery and New Orleans. It was also an harbor on Mobile Bay and near Biloxi, Mississippi.
Upon the receipt of this information I went to Ocean Springs, Miss., arriving there about midnight on the night that I had seen the letter addressed by No. 1's brother to this place. There I found that the postoffice of the town was kept in a grocery store, which was part of the principal hotel of the town. I learned that the landlord, who was a very genial, clever man, and proprietor of the grocery store, was postmaster. I quietly showed him the photograph of No. 1 and his wife, and he immediately identified them as Mr. and Mrs. Dillard, Jr. He told me that Dillard had represented himself to him as a rich iron manufacturer from Chattanooga, Tenn., that his wife was in ill health and that they had been there for the past month or more and had rented a beautiful cottage known as the Montgomery Cottage, where they were living. This cottage was situated on a small peninsula, which extended from the main land, dividing Biloxi Bay from Mobile Bay. It was about two miles from the postoffice at Ocean Springs. The positive and ready manner in which the postmaster identified the photographs satisfied me beyond any doubt that I had succeeded in locating No. 1. I gave the postmaster to understand that No. 1 had fallen heir to a sum of money and property, and that neither he nor his wife had become aware of the fact, and that I was very desirous of apprising him of his good fortune as a surprise, and before doing so, I desired to have all necessary papers prepared, which would require a week or ten days, and, therefore, I was anxious to have the matter kept a profound secret until everything was ready. The postmaster readily promised me that he would not mention the matter to any person until I gave him permission to do so, and after making these arrangements I felt perfectly safe in not arresting No. 1 until I had secured the proper papers authorizing the same.
It was necessary for me to obtain requisition papers from the Governors of Mississippi and Texas. It would take about eight or ten days to accomplish this, as proper complaint had to be lodged at Sherman, Texas, request for the requisition had to be sent from Sherman to Austin, Texas, and the request of the Governor of Texas to the Governor of Mississippi for the extradition papers, at Jackson, Miss., where the agent for the state of Texas had to appear in person to receive the papers. I had myself appointed as the agent for the state of Texas.
At the conclusion of my understanding with the postmaster of Ocean Springs, I took a night train to New Orleans, where I met George Herbert, and instructed him to go on the first train to Ocean Springs, and on arriving there to represent himself as an invalid and to act the part. He was naturally thin and had a sallow complexion, usually without any color.
He represented himself as having just passed through a severe attack of rheumatism, and claimed that he had been advised by his physician to come to Ocean Springs, where he should spend at least a month during his convalescence. He equipped himself with two heavy walking canes, which he carried continuously during his stay at Ocean Springs, and while he made good progress walking, he seemed to bystanders to do so with some difficulty, but the balmy climate of the resort seemed to benefit him greatly, and he appeared to improve daily while there. He was instructed by me to meander around and to get to the Montgomery Cottage, providing, of course, if he could succeed in so doing without arousing any suspicion, and if he did succeed in getting inside of the cottage, that he was to make a diagram of the place and surroundings, which Herbert could do nicely, as he was a good draftsman. He succeeded admirably. He formed the acquaintance of No. 1, whom he met at the postoffice on the second day after his arrival. He also met him again the following day at the same place, when No. 1 gave him an invitation to come over to the cottage and take a sail on the bay, as he (No. 1) had a very nice sailing yacht, which he kept anchored in front of the cottage. Herbert accepted the invitation and visited the cottage the following day, when No. 1 introduced him to his wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, who happened to be at the cottage making a visit. He belonged in Tennessee. Herbert was also introduced to a young woman, about thirty years of age, who was rather good-looking, a brunette and of medium size. This woman was introduced to him under an assumed name, as we learned within a few days thereafter that she was really the wife of the missing agent.
Herbert was invited to luncheon at the cottage, and took a short sail with No. 1, No. 1's wife and the brunette lady before mentioned. The yacht was a schooner-rigged, of about twenty tons burden, and was skillfully manned by a man about thirty-five years of age, black curly hair, a little bald, about five feet, five or six inches in height, weighing probably one hundred and thirty or thirty-five pounds, dark complexioned, and inclined to be slender, hollow cheeked, and had somewhat of a consumptive appearance. Herbert was not introduced to this man by his host, but thought nothing of the matter, believing the sailing master, who was always in uniform, to be simply an employe of No. 1.
Herbert made a good diagram of the interior of the cottage, as well as the entrances and the grounds and outbuildings. After that he made daily visits to the cottage, when the weather permitted, the occupants seeming to enjoy and encourage his visits. He had made arrangements with the livery stable for the services of an old, but gentle horse, and an old-fashioned buggy, in which he drove around every day.
Herbert forwarded the diagram to me along with his daily reports during my absence from Ocean Springs. All this time I was busily engaged in procuring the necessary papers and making arrangements to effect the arrest of both No. 1 and No. 4, as upon receipt of Herbert's accurate description of the sailing master of the yacht, I had become satisfied that the sailing-master was none other than No. 4, the much wanted agent.
In due time I procured the papers and proceeded to Canton, Miss., which was the county seat for Ocean Springs. I there found Sheriff Clark of that county. As sheriff he was commanded in the requisition papers to render me, as agent for the state of Texas, all assistance I needed in making the arrests. I found Sheriff Clark to be a fine, affable gentleman of the "old school." He was an ex-Confederate captain, having served through the Civil War, had been elected sheriff of his county at the close of that conflict, and had succeeded himself in office up to the time of which I write. I requested the sheriff to go with me himself and furnish one of his deputies.
We left Canton, which was about twenty miles north of Ocean Springs, about ten o'clock at night, and arrived at a station five miles north of the Springs an hour later, where we left the train, as we did not deem it safe to get off the train at Ocean Springs. I had been informed by Herbert, with whom I was in daily communication, that No. 1's brother-in-law visited the depot at Ocean Springs at night so as to see everybody who got off the night trains at that station. He also stated that all passenger trains passing that station were seen by some person connected with the cottage.
I omitted stating heretofore that both No. 1 and No. 4 were good telegraph operators, and Herbert, while inspecting the premises, had noticed two tiny copper wires running into the cottage, and had followed them from the cottage to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and later discovered that these wires were connected with the commercial wire of the Western Union Telegraph Co., that ran between New Orleans and the north. He also found that they had a telegraph office fixed up in one of the rooms of the cottage where they could find out all that was passing over the wires of the Western Union Co., and take their ease.
The peninsular upon which the cottage was situated was thickly covered with pine and cedar trees, and the wires were entirely hidden and could not have been discovered by any person unless one who was engaged as Herbert was, so that these gentlemen could while away their time listening to what was going over the wires.
After leaving the train, Sheriff Clark, his deputy and myself leisurely walked down the tracks to within a quarter of a mile of Ocean Springs, and then making a detour around the station, we reached the peninsula south from Ocean Springs, at which point I had arranged to meet Herbert.
It began raining the evening before we had left Canton, and continued to rain all night. It was in the month of February, and was a cold and chilly rain. The night was inky dark.