CHAPTER XI

A COLOSSAL BANK BURGLING ENTERPRISE

The Ocean National Bank occupied the first floor of the building on the southeast corner of Fulton and Greenwich streets. Fulton Street at this point has quite a downward slope running westerly, and, therefore, the first floor of the building in question was much higher from the ground at the corner than at its easterly end. The entrance to the bank, which was at the corner, was reached by a flight of stone steps, while the entrance to the offices above, being at the other Fulton Street end of the building, was nearly on the street level. It will be well to bear these facts in mind, the better to understand the meetings of the policeman and the janitor as hereinafter related.

Underneath the bank was a basement much below the surface at the back end, but nearly upon the street level at the Greenwich Street front. This basement was divided into offices reached by flights of steps leading down from both streets.

It might be said, in passing, that this is the same building which in later years was occupied by Charles J. Hartmann and his industrial insurance company. This company, in the late ’80’s, was closed up by the Superintendent of Insurance, who found twelve dollars cash on hand and over forty-three thousand dollars of liabilities. Mr. Hartmann, from his connection with this company, received considerable undesirable notoriety, resulting, among other things, in a suit for libel against a newspaper. The jury in that case awarded Hartmann a verdict of five thousand dollars, which was finally paid; though not until the case had been carried to the Court of Appeals and the newspaper beaten at every turn and being administered scathing denunciations from the bench.

As before stated, the bank occupied the first floor of this building. The counters of the tellers and the desks of the bookkeepers were in the front, or Greenwich Street, end; the private office of the president was at the rear end, with windows fronting on Fulton Street. The corner of the building at the intersection of the two streets was rounded, as was also the flight of steps leading up to the bank. This made an entrance conspicuous, as it could be seen from a long distance away both on Fulton and Greenwich streets. Therefore it would seem that it would be a most desperate, if not a hopeless, undertaking to attempt to gain entrance to the bank vault, or, if successful, to get away with its contents, without being discovered.

But to the bank burglar the greater the risk, the greater the desire to “beat” it. For he who continues in the ranks of professional burglars does so as much for the excitement of the game as for the desire for pelf. Though, of course, the larger the loot, the larger the satisfaction. It is the same feeling as that which animates the hunter of the lion, tiger, and elephant. The only difference is in the direction of the energy.

The Ocean Bank at this time was one of the large institutions, financially, in New York City, and that, of course, means in the United States. It was situated close to the Washington markets, then the centre for all produce that came to or was dealt in in the city. And the district for the wholesale dealers and jobbers of all kinds of merchandise was then in the near neighborhood. Furthermore the bank was a depository for United States Government funds. Thus it is but natural that one should suppose that the strong vault of this bank always contained a large sum in cash and convertible securities--a sum much greater than the proverbial king’s ransom.

The lock on the vault was a three-tumbler combination made by Briggs and Huntington of Rochester, New York, and was at that time one of the most secure of its kind, and was practically, if not absolutely, non-pickable except by one in possession of the combination.

There was, however, the same fatal weakness as in Lillie’s. If, between its locking and unlocking, one could obtain access to it long enough to insert the “Little Joker,” heretofore explained, a register of the numbers of the combination could be obtained. I learned from Taylor that there was an inside door to the vault, the keys to which, when not in use, were kept in a secret place in the bank; and that, also, within the vault the paying and receiving tellers had each a separate safe, the key to which each teller carried on his person.

In proportion as the obstacles increased, so did my zeal to overcome them; and I told Taylor that I was determined to make the attempt unless I became convinced of its utter futility. Many questions that I would ask about the vault and the bank management Taylor could not answer offhand, but would require time to observe and report upon them later. Thus it was that I obtained the name of the maker of the lock and its style, the manner of the disposition of the keys, and the conduct of the officials. For, from lack of experience, Taylor had not, until prompted by me, observed many things which it is essential for one in my line of business to know--things which it is necessary to be informed about before undertaking a job, and which assistance from the inside saves from long, weary weeks of spying and prying to learn. Taylor also ascertained the secret receptacle of the keys to the vault, and tried, by watching, to catch the combination of the inner vault door’s lock as it was being manipulated. In this, however, he made no progress.

Finally I decided that the only way to accomplish our purpose was to go about it systematically, and spend money, time, and other means sufficient to insure complete success. And then began months of planning and scheming which I hoped would bring ultimately a rich reward.

Having determined that strenuous measures were necessary to gain our end, I at once set about their employment. I had seen from the first that it would be next to impossible to force the outer vault doors by means of explosives without bringing detection upon us before we could accomplish more; and that, therefore, our only hope for success lay in obtaining the combination to the lock.

I learned of Taylor that, from his desk in the bank, he could see the combination when it was being operated; but that he could not get near enough to see the marks on the dial without creating suspicion. I was pretty nearly at my wits’ end, when, as a last resort, I finally determined to try the power of initiation. The scheme that came to my mind was mighty visionary, but the thought of millions nerved me to try every expedient. And, as Taylor was particularly bright, I thought that my plan had more than a fighting chance.

Thus it was that one day I boarded a train at the New York Central depot and on the following morning found myself in the city of Rochester. I registered at the Brackett House, and, after cleaning off the dust of travel and supplying the wants of the inner man, I made my way to the office of Messrs. Briggs and Huntington. I introduced myself to Mr. Briggs as W. D. Harrington, of the banking house of J. C. Harrington and Co., Scranton, Pennsylvania. I happened to know that there was no such concern in Scranton, and I trusted to luck that Mr. Briggs did not possess a like knowledge. He did not, and I was, therefore, free to enlarge upon a mythical vault to my heart’s content.

I told Mr. Briggs that the combination lock to our vault doors worked badly, was constantly giving trouble, and that we had decided to replace it with a new one, and to get the best in the market; that we had heard their locks highly spoken of, and, as I was on my way to Buffalo on business, I had stopped off to see what his firm could do for us.

Mr. Briggs, doubtless with an eye to business, began to ask questions about our vault. My general knowledge of such affairs enabled me to answer him satisfactorily. I told him that it was built of brick, lined with stone, and that it had Lillie doors. He said that while vaults of that kind were possibly fireproof, they were far from being safe from burglars. He claimed that Lillie’s work was a back number, and showed me a Lillie safe that had been robbed by drilling. “Let us put you in a steel-lined vault, and some of our latest make of chilled steel doors,” suggested Mr. Briggs; “then you will have a vault that you can feel is really burglar-proof.”

I thought of our unsuccessful attempt on the Brockport Bank and felt that Mr. Briggs had some justification for his confidence. And I could not but speculate as to whether his confidence would remain unshaken after the ultimate ending of the scheme in behalf of which I was now visiting him. I venture to say that it did not.

Parrying as best I could Mr. Briggs’s proposition,--for I did not know just the dimensions of that Scranton vault, and really did not wish it lined just then,--and it not being a vault, but a lock, that I was after, I asked to be shown their different styles of locks. There was none just exactly like that on the Ocean Bank vault; but there was one which varied only slightly. I asked Mr. Briggs if he could not make certain changes in it. He said he could, but that the lock would not then be so good, as the things I wished altered were improvements on their old style of lock. I insisted, however, upon the changes; and he said that it would take about two days to make them. I told him to go ahead and make the changes, and I would take the lock. He offered to send it by express to Scranton, but I replied that my business in Buffalo would be finished by the time the lock was ready, and that I would stop for it on my way home.

I have often wondered since that Briggs did not become suspicious at my display of knowledge of locks, and my desire for a special pattern, especially as that pattern was palpably not as good as the one he was asked to alter. Doubtless he did wonder, but he probably put it down to the contrariness of a man who, having set his mind on one thing, cannot be turned therefrom by the most convincing arguments. For how could he surmise the purpose to which that lock was intended to be put?

The beating of combinations had not then become the success that it afterward attained, when safe-makers had continually to exercise their ingenuity to keep ahead of the safe-breakers. Then the safe-makers took extreme precautions to prevent the obtaining of knowledge of the mechanism of their locks. And many good stories could be told about how crooks circumvented these precautions, and how, by reason thereof, Troy, New York, and Akron, Ohio, became centres for bank burglars.

However, Mr. Briggs exhibited no suspicion, and promised to have the lock ready on the afternoon of the following day. To minimize all risks, I went to Buffalo and stayed over night at the Mansion House, returning to Rochester the next afternoon. Going at once to the office of Mr. Briggs, I found the lock ready for me. A careful examination showed it to be what I had come for. Therefore it was boxed, I paid the bill of two hundred dollars, and that night I was on my way back to New York City with my purchase, which was safe in my apartments the next morning.

The following night, in response to my request, Taylor came to my room, and I took the lock apart and explained its mechanism to him. I went over the details until he fully understood their workings. Then, putting the lock together, I went to one side of the room while Taylor went to the other, and I began working the dial knob; Taylor was watching my hands to discover through their movements, if he could, the points at which I stopped and the number of revolutions the dial made. It was tedious work, but we kept at it night after night, while, in the daytime, Taylor, having made it a point to be always on hand before the vault was opened, would watch the process of unlocking its doors. He had a quick eye and was very apt, and, after some weeks of practice and watching, he felt sure that he had the combination that would open the doors of the vault.

We tried upon our lock until I was convinced that he was right, and then I began to feel that our project was in a fair way to succeed. And a few days later, to make sure of his convictions, Taylor stayed after hours at the bank on an excuse that he was behind on his books. There being no one around but the janitor, Taylor put his belief to the test and found--failure.

When I met Taylor that night, he told me the result of his attempt, and that he felt sure he had the first two numbers right and that the last number, which he had decided to be one hundred and twenty-three, must be the one he had wrong. Of course we felt a little blue, but we agreed that if he had the first two numbers right, the last would not be long in coming. It was finally arranged that Taylor should stay after hours the next day, and that he should send the janitor on an errand that would keep him away fifteen or twenty minutes; that I should be where I could watch the bank, and when the janitor left I should enter and see what I could do.

This plan was carried out. As soon as the janitor had gone, I entered the bank; the door was locked against intrusion, and I went to work at the combination, when, lo! the handle turned, the bolts shot back, and the doors opened. Taylor had the combination pat except the last stop, which was on no number, but just a little to one side of one hundred and twenty-three. No wonder he did not get it exactly, but it was great work to get it as near as he did.

When our success was apparent we did not fall into one another’s arms and weep tears of joy. No. I closed the doors and made my exit; and Taylor, a few moments later, closed his books and did likewise. We met at the Astor House, and I think we may be pardoned if we indulged in a cold bottle, or even two.

Up to this time there had been no discussion of terms between Taylor and myself. He had ever been somewhat sceptical as to our success, and I had borne all the expense of the venture. Now, however, he became imbued with some of my faith in the scheme, and an agreement was made between us as to the percentage he should receive of whatever should be obtained in the loot, though this was a good deal like counting chickens before they were hatched.

Until we had secured the combination to the vault of the Ocean Bank, Taylor and I had worked in secret, no one else having the least idea of what we were doing, or that we had aught in contemplation. Now, however, it became necessary for me to find assistants in the work of getting into the bank. In this, Taylor, of course, could not help me. Burglary was not in his line, and except that he would keep me posted on the doings inside of the bank, all the work in future must be done by other hands than his.

The difficulties to be overcome and the immensity of the haul we should make, if successful, rendered it imperative that the very best men in the profession should be engaged. At this time alleged burglars were numerous, but most of them were more fit for breaking into a jail than a safe, and very few could be depended on for a job requiring nice work. No loud-mouthed, Jack Hartley crowd of grafters, with their wagon loads of English pattern-made tools, would fill the bill.

Since my separation from Shinburn after our adventure at Bath, I had not been able to find a single person whom I considered capable of helping me in any deal. Now, however, I must have some one, as I could not do this alone. I could think of no one else whom I would be willing to call in, so I determined to try to patch up matters with him. Through a mutual friend I sent word to him that I had a big undertaking under way that promised large returns, and that it would please me greatly if he would join me in the venture.

Shinburn met my advances in the spirit of friendliness and we soon came together. I shall never forget his remark when we met. “George,” said he, “I guess we were both a little too much set in our ways. I am only too glad to get into a job with you, and if we pull together we ought to be able to beat the safe-makers.”

This renewal of our former partnership, in the last days of 1868, continued until the winter of 1870, during which time many profitable tricks were brought off, some of which are related in this work. Taking Shinburn to my rooms, I explained my scheme, told him what had been accomplished, and he became fully as enthusiastic over the prospect as I was; and we at once set to work to complete the job.