Page:Houdini - The Right Way to Do Wrong An Expose of Successful Criminals.djvu/42

36 Miller, who is now suspected to be one of the most expert confidence men in the Kingdom, nor the diamonds have ever been seen since."

The Swindler Who Lowered a Check. The crime of raising a check is often attempted, and sometimes successfully, but it is seldom that a criminal attempts to lower the figures on a check and cash it for a less sum than it was made out for. The following incident occurred in Wall Street not long ago, showing that the man who conceived it must have had a ready wit and a clever brain, as well as considerable daring to put it into execution. It is said that this ingenious swindler had already realized between two and three thousand dollars by his startling new method of lowering checks.

For instance, a stock exchange broker sells one thousand shares of a stock to ten customers in blocks of one hundred shares at 91. Each purchaser prepares a check for $9,100 for the seller when the messenger boys make their rounds. If the checks are not ready when the messenger calls out to the cashier, who usually cannot see the boy, he is told to come back later.

This swindler follows a messenger boy, and when the boy is told to return later the fellow returns himself in a short time and gets the check, which is readily handed over to him.

Having secured the check for $9,100 the swindler hurries away, and, knowing that safety does not lie in presenting the check for so large an amount, reduces it to $910, makes it payable to bearer by the use of chemicals, and secures the money.

A Daring Train Robbery. Among the clever coups that have come to my attention here is one related by an ex-convict, and published recently in an English periodical which presents some rather interesting features. The writer says: "A certain lady of high social position was known to possess an exceptionally valuable collection of jewelry, and some of us had long been casting covetous eyes upon it. One day she started from St. Pancras in the Scotch express for he