of property must
drop. With this end in view the unscrupulous defendants in the case had
employed Mandit to procure the papers; and that astute criminal manager
had not only arranged all the details of the affair, but had gone
himself to the scene of action in order to see that there should be no
mistake in carrying out the details of this most important piece of
business.

The premises had been thoroughly reconnoitred by Sparky, who, a few days
before the time fixed for the burglary, had visited my house in the
capacity of an agent of a telescopic bookcase, which could be extended
as new volumes were required, therefore need never exhibit empty
shelves. The young man had been included in the party on account of his
familiarity with legal documents, it being, of course, of paramount
importance that the right papers should be secured. His ingenuity was
also to be used to cover up, if possible, all evidence that the house
had been entered at all, it being desirable to make it appear to the
court that I had never had these documents in my possession, and that
they never existed.

Had it not been for a very natural desire for refreshment that
interfered with their admirably laid plans, it is probable that the
mechanical skill of Mandit would have been equal to the noiseless
straightening of the bent bolt, and the obliteration of the scratches
and dents made by the attempts upon other shutters, and that Sparky,
after relocking all open desks or cabinets, and after the exit of the
others, would have closed and fastened the kitchen shutters, and would
then have left the house by means of an open window in the upper hall
and the roof of a piazza.

Thus it was that these three men, so eminent in their different spheres
of earnest endeavour, came to visit my comparatively humble abode; and
thus it was that they not only came to that abode, but to the deepest
grief. They were "wanted" in so many quarters, and on so many charges,
that before they had finished serving out their various sentences their
ability to wickedly avail themselves of the property of others would
have suffered greatly from disuse, and the period of life left them for
the further exercise of those abilities would be inconveniently limited.

I was assured by a prominent detective that it had been a long time
since two such dangerous criminals as Mandit and Sparky had fallen into
the hands of the law. These men, by means of very competent outside
assistance,