LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 19 "Put on your clothes, and go with me! Quick! Not a minute to lose!" 496 Quick as a gazelle she sprang away, and, rushing down the length of the room, threw herself upon the neck of her brother. The Judge. An African with a tallow dip led the way to the sleeping apartment. ... 504 509 With no small degree of ill-suppressed wrath, she continued, "The old reprobate lies from beginning to end." .... 524 527 As the stranger entered, he found the proprietor engaged at his trade. The officer jumped out, and sprang to the side of Mr. Rafferty. Aminadab in Danger. Garmo receiving the congratulations of his friends. 541 543 ARRESTS MADE BY SPECIAL AGENTS OF THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, From May 1, 1875, to April 30, 1876, TRIED IN STATE AND UNITED STATES COURTS. Convictions from May 1, 1875, to April 30, 1876, from arrests made previous to May, 1875.. Convictions from May 1, 1875, to April 30, 1876, from arrests 58 91 149 THE EXILE. Starting in Life. THO HINTON carried into Columbus, Ohio, the first mail ever reIceived there. A solitary log hut, surrounded by miles of unbroken forest, has since expanded into the proud and prosperous capital of the state. Little did the friendless boy, clad in coarse home-spun, and starting in life as a "mail-rider," foresee either the marvellous growth of the country, or the strange vicissitudes in store for him. On that bright June morning he rode through the woods with a light heart, and with songs as cheery as the carols of the birds that peopled the leafy trees, for his willing labor brought honest though scanty recompense. Faithful to employers, diligent in the discharge of every duty, the lad soon attracted the attention of influential patrons, when advancement rapidly followed. Promotion succeeded promotion, till Otho Hinton became general agent of the "Ohio Stage Company," an organization wielding a large capital, and composed of some of the foremost men of the state, at the head of whom stood William Neil of Columbus. In the years 1849 and 1850 the company had a monopoly of the important mail routes in Ohio, its ramifications extending in all directions. At the time referred to, the State Bank of Ohio, then approaching the zenith of prosperity, had established branches at all the important towns in the commonwealth, and large sums were constantly transmitted by mail between the parent institution and its various offshoots. Business of this character has since been transferred almost wholly to the express companies, so that it is difficult to realize with what confidence, in those days of primitive simplicity, men intrusted to the mails, packages containing hundreds or thousands of dollars in currency. For the most part the valuable parcels went through safely, though often, no doubt, from the well-known nature of the contents, exciting the cupidity of officials who lacked the hardihood to steal, for great precautions were then taken to preserve a trace of letters, so that any act of depredation pointed much more directly to the thief than under the less cumbersome but more economical and expeditious system which now prevails. Isolated instances of robbery were generally followed by speedy detection and punishment. Occasionally, however, a crafty rogue contrived to do a great deal of mischief before the method of his operations could be discovered. In the year 1849 a series of alarming depredations began in Ohio. One after another, money packages containing large remittances, mailed at various offices, and addressed to different points, both in and out of the state, unaccountably disappeared. The losses were reported to the department, and referred for investigation to two or three special agents, whose districts, under the old system of division, seemed to be involved. Mr. Thomas P. Shallcross, then a young man and comparatively new in the service, though he had already WHAT ON EARTH IS TO PAY?" 23 given evidence of the skill in detection which was soon to render his name a terror to evil-doers, was at the time assigned to duty in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. One day Mr. Shallcross happened to be in the office of William H. Dundas, Esq., chief clerk of the contract bureau, who, in connection with other duties, had the direct supervision of the work of special agents, and who at the moment was engaged on the reported losses from Ohio. Greatly annoyed at the prolonged continuance of Otho Hinton. A third of a century, replete with honor and prosperity, had passed over the head of Otho Hinton since our first introduction to him on what was then the wild western frontier. The solidity of his form corresponded well with the supposed permanence of his fortunes. Tall, erect, and carrying a weight of two hundred and twenty-five pounds without detriment to the symmetry of a handsome figure, at the age of fifty-three he was in the prime of vigorous manhood. Yet |