Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1894 — The Clever Cracksman. [ARTICLE]

The Clever Cracksman.

I was leaving the prison inclosure one day, writes Arthur Griffiths in “Secrets of the Prison House,” when in charge of the new works at Wormwood Scrubs, and on handing over my keys to the gatekeeper for consignment to the prison safe, he, through some mischance, hampered the safe lock, and could not open the safe. I waited some time impatiently, as I was expected elsewhere, but to no purpose. The safe could not be opened, and until it was not only must I remain on the spot, but so must every other official. It is a strict rule that no one can leave the prison until the keys are collected and safely put away. At last, in despair, I turned to the Chief Warder and asked: “ Have you any especially good cracksman in custody?” “There is K., sir,” he replied, promptly, “one of the most noted housebreakers in London; doing fifteen years. He is employed at this moment in the carpenter’s shop.” “Send for him,” I said, and presently K. appeared, under escort, carrying his bag of tools like any workman arrived to execute repairs. He was a tall, very dark-haired, rather good-looking man, clean, industrious, and an excellant prisoner. “Can you open that safe.K. ?” I asked, quietly, when he was marching into the lodge. Do you mean it, sir ?” he replied, looking at me with an intelligent and irrepressible smile. , “Certainly I do. Examine the door. If you can manage it, go ahead.” K. made only a short inspection, and then picked up a couple of tools. “I think I can doit, sir; shall I try?” I nodded assent and in less than three minutes the safe door swung open; the lock was completely conquered. I will not risk mentioning the names of the makers of the safe, which,, indeed, I do not remember. But it was a patent and presumably first-class safe which thus succumbed so easily to the skilful housebreaker. Fortunately there was an inner smaller safe, which answered all our purposes of security until the outer safe could be properly repaired. As for K., I thanked him, and the next time he came with a request for one of the small privileges so coveted by prisoners, I think it was not denied him.