 Chapter 18 of Survivors Tales of Famous Crimes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Jules Harlick, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Survivors Tales of Famous Crimes, edited by Walter Wood. Chapter 18, The Vauxhall Train Tragedy. What was described as one of the most cold-blooded murders in the history of railway travelling was committed on Thursday, January 17, 1901, on the London and South-Western Railway in the London District. A gentleman farmer named Mr William Pearson of Winchester was shot dead in a third-class compartment by a man named George H. Parker, 23 years of age, who had been in the Royal Marine Artillery. At the same time Parker tried to murder another passenger in the compartment, Mrs Rhoda King of Southampton. The crime was remarkable because of the coolness and deliberation of the murderer and the practical impossibility of his escape from detection and capture. Parker, after trial and conviction, was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on March 19, 1901. This is the narrative of the crime by head-ticket collector S. Rose. I was on duty at Vauxhall Station when the Southampton train came in at 1.20 and was collecting tickets from the train when I was startled by hearing a lot of shouting and seeing a man rushing at a great speed towards the exit gate, where he dashed past the ticket collector who was stationed there and rushed down the staircase leading to the street. Vauxhall being an elevated station. Alterations have been made at the station since then and it would not be so easy now to get away as this man did for the time being. I saw the man dash to the barrier and jump down the stairs, a porter tearing after him and I heard the shouting and commotion but for some moments I did not know the cause of all the trouble. Then I noticed a terribly excited lady who was on the platform with blood running down her face. She had left a third class compartment, the door of which was open and was pointing towards the barrier. At first she could not speak but soon she managed to cry out that man has shot a man in the train. I joined the lady and went to the open door of the compartment. It was a third class laboratory of compartment and looked in and there in the corner I saw a gentleman sitting who seemed to be asleep. I entered the compartment and looked closely at him and saw that blood was running down his cheek. That was all and it did not seem very terrible but when I caught hold of him I found that he was dead. Other railway officials came up and I assisted in removing the dead man out of the carriage and into a waiting room where a doctor who had been hurriedly summoned examined him and found that he had been killed by being shot through the head. The bullet having entered the eye. The lady who had joined us was still laboring under intense excitement and she told us in broken sentences that the man who had run away had shot the gentleman in the corner just before nine elms was reached. He threatened to shoot me also she added but I begged him for the sake of my husband and children to spare my life. The man said give me a shilling then and don't say a word till I got away. This the poor woman said she promised to do. But of course as soon as she saw the murderer bolting she made a great effort to pull herself together and raise the alarm. I thought then and I think still that this lady who proved to be Mrs. King of Southampton showed great presence of mine and courage for we soon learned that the murderer had fired at her also and tried to kill her. The bullet had entered her face and she had narrowly escaped a fatal injury. She was removed as quickly as possible to St. Thomas's Hospital. This was all that happened on the platform from which after considerable delay the train proceeded to Waterloo. Information was at once sent to headquarters and the principal official came to Vauxhall and the railway police took charge of the affair. There was now an opportunity to learn what had happened to the runaway. We soon found that after dashing down the staircase taking three steps at a time and reaching the bottom he rushed into the road and made towards Old Vauxhall Bridge. He was closely followed by a porter named Brewer who was a champion runner. He is now in Canada. But the murderer went so swiftly that even Brewer could not get up with him. Other railway officials and police outside the station amongst them a policeman who was on point duty at Vauxhall Cross joined in the chase and there was a tremendous hue and cry. The murderer tore along towards the Old Bridge and I believe that he would have escaped altogether for the time had it not happened that the road was up and the bridge was under repair. The collector at the barrier had not had a chance of doing anything. The murderer had just thrust the ticket into his hand and bolted. He was too flabbergasted to try and stop him and as for myself I could do nothing because I was about 80 yards away. I did the best I could with the things that came under my own particular notice just then especially so far as the look of the compartment went and of course I paid special attention to the tickets which had been used for the journey. It was in connection with these that my evidence was chiefly of value at the preliminary inquiries and subsequent trial at the Central Criminal Court. When the murderer found that there was no chance of escape by way of the Old Vauxhall Bridge and that if he held on in that direction he was sure to be overtaken and caught. He doubled and made a dash for the Vauxhall gas works. He rushed into them at such a break-naked rate that he almost knocked the doorkeeper down. He ran into the yard and crossed the small bridge which ran over a little creek a large and excited crowd being now at his heels. When he got into the yard he must have seen that he was fairly trapped and he made for anything that was likely to give him shelter and a chance of escape. After dodging about the yard the man suddenly dived into a tunnel which led to one of the retort houses and as soon as he got into it policemen and other pursuers were at the mouth of the tunnel and were calling upon him to come out and give himself up. He refused to do anything of a sort and steps were taken to make his capture certain. It was seen that the murderer had hidden himself in a coke truck and was in the tunnel and while a watch was kept on all points so as to be ready to seize him if he showed himself the engineer who was in charge of the gas works ordered the gates which led into the Wandsworth Road to be closed. This was done and as both entrances to the gas works were now shut there was no chance of the murderer getting away. This part of the chase proved uncommonly exciting because it was known that the runaway was a fine powerful fellow and there was every reason to suppose that he would offer a desperate resistance. Though Mrs. King had explained that the revolver with which the murderer had been committed had been thrown out of the train and she believed it had fallen on the line. The tunnel was a dark place and while a watch was kept on it lanterns were obtained and preparations made to enter the tunnel and either seize the man or drive him out. Several policemen by this time were engaged in the operations having posted themselves at the tunnel mouth. They called on the murderer to come out it was not necessary to call for long because the tunnel was very hot and the man could not remain in it so he left his hiding place in the coke truck and came to the tunnel entrance where he was instantly seized but he made no attempt to struggle he practically gave himself up to a constable saying all right I'll come quietly. He was handcuffed and taken to Lark Hall police station and kept there he was never taken back to Vauxhall station. It was very soon proved that the captured man's name was Parker and that he had been in the Royal Marine artillery but had been discharged for theft. At the very time of his arrest for murder he was wanted by the police and was left at the Lyceum Theatre in London. He was quite a young man and one of the finest looking fellows you could meet in a day's walk. He was certainly so far as looks went the last man in the world you would expect to turn murderer though you could see it once that he did not know the meaning of fear. Throughout the long proceedings at the inquest and the police court he had never turned a hair. He was quite cheerful and cool although he must have known that he had not the slightest chance of escaping the capital penalty. At a very early stage Parker confessed that he had committed the murder though he did not quite know why he had done it as the victim was a complete stranger to him and he had never before said eyes on him but as a matter of fact Parker was desperately hard up and wanted money very badly and there is no doubt that he suddenly resolved to buy a revolver and try his luck with some passenger perhaps expecting to frighten someone into giving him what he wanted. The case was as clear as possible right through but so that it should be easily understood a fine large model was made of the carriage in which the murder had been committed and this proved very helpful in showing just what had occurred. The model which is now a fancy in the company's museum was for some time at the Lambeth Mortuary where there was also a model of the carriage in which Miss Camp was found murdered. It was about a fortnight before Mrs. King was able to leave the hospital and give evidence then an experience was related such as few women have had to undergo. Mrs. King got into the train at Southampton on her way to Battersea to see a relative. She was the only occupant of the compartment until Eastleigh was reached then Parker got in and the two were alone as far as Winchester. At that station Mr. Pearson entered the compartment and seated himself opposite to Mrs. King facing the engine on the right hand side of the carriage. As soon as he had settled down Mr. Pearson began to read a newspaper and having read for some time he put the paper down on the seat and went to sleep a sleep from which he never woke. The train traveled on and matters went as usual until Serbaton was reached. Then Parker entered the laboratory and there is no doubt that while there he made his preparations for the terrible crime which he soon afterwards committed. He re-entered the compartment where the other two passengers were entirely unsuspicious for there does not seem to have been anything in the conduct of Parker to create alarm. Serbaton station was left behind and the train was speeding towards Vauxhall a short run. Mrs. King was looking out of the window with her back to Parker having previously moved her seat to face the engine. While looking out the window she heard a bang which she likened to a pop gun. Then there was another report and she felt blood running down her face. Startled and terrified she turned to Parker and cried God what have you done? What did you do it for? At that time she had not looked at Mr. Pearson and did not know that he had also been shot. I did it for the money answered Parker I want some money have you got any? Mrs. King replied that she had a little and she produced her purse and took out a shilling which she gave to Parker. Then for the first time she looked at Mr. Pearson and saw that he was still in his seat as if sleeping. But that blood was running down his face from the eye and that he never moved. Parker now lost no time in completing his task. He straight away began to rifle the dead man's pockets and having done that he seated himself and counted out some gold offering a sovereign to Mrs. King. He said is that of any use to you? Stretching out her hands which were covered with blood Mrs. King told the man that she did not want the money. Then it was that she implored him to spare her life for the sake of her family. Don't touch me Parker exclaimed when he saw the reddened hands then he told her that he was sorry for what he had done but he saw how terribly desperate his situation was and how speedily he must act if he meant to have the slightest chance of saving himself by escape. What should I do with the thing he exclaimed meaning the revolver which he had shot his fellow passengers. I have a good mind to put it in his hand then they'll think he shot himself. Some rapid talk then followed between the murderer and the passenger who was in such dreadful peril still and no one can wonder that she suggested that he should throw the revolver out the window. Parker quickly acted on this suggestion. He hurled the revolver out of the window but even at the time like that Mrs. King was calm and brave enough to notice approximately the spot where it fell and it was found at nine elms near a shed which has now been removed. This having been done Mrs. King suggested that the dead man's face should be covered and Parker put a handkerchief or newspaper over it. Every second was now precious as the train was slowing down for the stop at Vauxhall. Parker made careful preparations for the bolt. He got to the door of the compartment partly opened and stood on the footboard and as soon as number two platform was reached he sprang off the footboard and ran down towards the barrier with a double up ticket in his hand. He reckoned on getting clear of the station before an alarm could be raised and no doubt he calculated reasonably enough that Mrs. King would be too much terrified and exhausted to be able to give warning but she managed by the most tremendous effort to pull herself together and to act as I have described with the result that Parker was chased at once and run down. No wonder he declared that he was sorry he had not killed her as well as Mr. Pearson as then he would have had a far better chance of escaping. When the case came on trial at the Central Criminal Court there was not a shadow of doubt as to what the result would be. The only question being whether the prisoner was responsible or not for his actions. A plea of temporary insanity was put in on his behalf but this did not influence the jury who after a short consultation found Parker guilty and Mr. Justice Fillymore who was the judge sentenced him to death remarking that he seemed to have wasted his life and warning him not to entertain the slightest hope that the sentence would not be carried out. Even then Parker was just as cool and careless as he had been from the very start and left the dock quite cheerfully and buoyantly. I do not think that this was mere bravado I believe that he was a young man of great natural courage and took his inevitable faith bravely it was certainly to his credit that soon after the murder he wrote to the widow and did his bet to comfort her by expressing his sorrow for his act. It was shown at the trial that Parker was one of a family of eight that at an early age he'd been sent to a reformatory that he had been dismissed by the Royal Military Artillery as a bad character and that he had stolen considerable sums of money and squandered them in fast living. Parker himself declared that he'd bought the revolver with the intention of shooting himself and a young woman, the wife of a soldier with whom he was associated. She was living at Portsmouth and on the day before the murder the two went to Southampton where they spent the night. At Southampton, while she was in the public house bar Parker bought the revolver. Then they traveled to Eastleigh. At that place they separated. Parker saying that he was going to Birmingham. He entered the train from Southampton and when Winchester had been left one of the things that may have prompted him to commit the crime was that he had no money enough to pay the excess fare which would have been demanded on his ticket. As a matter of fact he had helped himself pay Mr. Pearson's ticket and it was this, doubled up which he had thrust in the hand of the collector at the barrier as he dashed down the staircase at Vauxhall station. The revolver which was found and proved to be the one that Parker used was very small. It was six chambered and four of the chambers were still loaded. Two of the cartridges had been fired one of the killing Mr. Pearson by entering his brain through the eye and the other entering Mrs. King's face. In addition to being charged with the murder Parker was charged with the attempted murder of Mrs. King but of course it was not necessary to proceed with that part of the case. I was greatly interested all through the trial in the demeanor of the prisoner. When he was sentenced to death he simply shrugged his left shoulder and looked round defiantly and he actually smiled at the warders who escorted him away. I watched him at the time of the inquest and also at the trial and never saw a sign of fear in him. I think that from the moment he was caught at the gas works and handcuffed he took everything as a matter of course. He was quite alone throughout the whole trial. No one seemed to trouble about him and he certainly did not appear to bother his head about anybody. The young woman whose name was associated with his and the awful tragedy had of course to give evidence and very miserable she seemed to be hiding in corners and crying lonely and neglected and I never saw Parker look her way or take the slightest notice of her. An interesting feature of the affair was that the trial took place at the same time as the trial of the young man Bennett for the Yarmouth Beach murder. The Lord Chief Justice presiding over that case in another court. I am a Hampshire man and afterwards discovered that my father who lived only about eight miles from Mr. Pearson had known him quite well but I myself had never met the murdered man. Railway murders are so very rare that when one is committed it arouses intense interest and this was so with the death of Mr. Pearson. There was unusual commotion too in some quarters about the dangers of railway traveling. Nervous people forgetting that almost unnumbered millions of passengers are carried without mishap. The crime took place 15 years ago and even during that period a great deal has been done to add to the safety of the public. For example, corridor coaches are now used for anything like a long journey. As for the murder itself it could easily have happened anywhere. The only strange thing being that Parker stopped where he did and did not kill Mrs. King as well as Mr. Pearson. End of chapter 18 The Vauxhall Train Tragedy Chapter 19 of Survivors' Tales of Famous Crimes This is a LibraVox recording. All LibraVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibraVox.org Recorded by Jules Harlick Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Survivors' Tales of Famous Crimes edited by Walter Wood Chapter 19 The Tottenham Outrage We have to go back to the most lurid episodes of life in the wild west to find a parallel to the anarchist outrage at Tottenham on Saturday, January 23, 1909. Two Russian Desperados armed with revolvers attacked and robbed a clerk and a chauffeur who had received a bag of money at a bank for wages. They fled, pursued by police and public, seeking safety in epping forest. For two hours over a distance of six miles a running fight was maintained between the robbers and the crowd. In the end the two scoundrels died from bullet wounds but not before they had killed a boy and a policeman and wounded more than a score of persons. Very great resources and courage were shown by the police in the pursuit and subsequently in recognition of their conduct Detective Sergeant Charles Dixon and Police Sergeant W. Cater and Charles Eagles were decorated by the King with the King's Police Medal which is the reward of conspicuous bravery. This story of the amazing outrage is told by Sergeant Dixon who on retiring from the Metropolitan Police Force after 29 years' service had a high tribute to his skill and courage paid by the magistrate at the Tottenham Police Court. Just on the other side of Chestnut Road at Tottenham opposite the police station is Schnirman's Rubber Factory where in 1909 a number of aliens were employed at a very low age. Amongst them was a Russian named Paul Heffield who was about 26 years old and who soon learned that it was the habit of the firm to send one of their clerks to the bank in a motor car running at about 11 o'clock to fetch money to pay the weekly wages. There was another Russian called Jacob Meyer who worked in Tottenham. Both had lived in the town for some time and knew their way about quite well. At the time of the outrage both men were out of employment. On this particular Saturday morning I had seen both Jacob and Heffield. They were standing just outside the police station. In fact, I passed them little suspecting what they were about to do. Jacob actually nodded to me as I passed. There was nothing unusual in the presence of these men and often a number of aliens were to be seen loitering about the rubber works where some of them had been employed. I was well known to a great number of these foreigners by being brought into contact with them through wounding each other. These fights mostly happened on Saturday night after the men had received their wages and they had had a lot of drink. What happened just at the beginning I did not see but it was this. The car had been to the bank where a clerk named Keyworth had got 80 pounds of wages. He had stepped out of the car and was about to enter the works when the two robbers snatched the money bag and tried to make off with it. Instantly the chauffeur Wilson sprang at one of them on which the other peppered him with shots from his revolver. One bullet pierced the cap and others made holes in his coat. But luckily the chauffeur escaped injury. Keyworth too had gallantly thrown himself on his assailant who did his best to kill him with his revolver and failed though he fired several shots. After a short furious struggle in which all the advantage was with the robbers who had taken the other two completely by surprise Jacob and Heffield bolted and then the chase began. A big burly chap named George Smith who was passing seized Heffield and they both fell to the ground. Instantly Jacob fired at Smith and a bullet went through his cap cutting his head and causing blood to flow. Heffield managed to wriggle clear and get on his feet and off he went with Jacob. The thieves still had the bag of money and they bolted with it down Chestnut Road pursued by the chauffeur and the clerk as well as the others. Wilson was still driving and in the car was also Mr. Powell the works manager at the rubber factory. The police heard the alarm at once and instantly PC Tyler and PC Newman rushed out and jumped into the car. Tyler was not fully dressed and was without his helmet and Newman who was on reserve duty was also without a helmet. They did not lose a second driving after the runaways who had already settled down to a defense which must have been well thought out and carefully planned for Heffield deliberately stopped to fire on his pursuers using his left arm as a rest and firing with his right hand after taking aim. Jacob doing the loading for him. This deliberation enabled the robbers to do immense mischief even at the start and very soon the car was made useless through bullets striking it. The firing and commotion made people turn out of their houses in swarms and caused the growing crowd to join in the chase. As soon as the car was out of action Tyler and Newman jumped out and dashed on foot after the runaways who were making for Tottenham Marshes. After leaving Chestnut Road Jacob and Heffield had turned into the stony road and dashed on to the corner of Mitchley Road where the little chap named Ralph Jocelyn about ten years old was playing. This child out of sheer curiosity stopped his play and looked at the two villains who were tearing madly towards him only a few yards away. The next thing that happened was that the poor innocent little chap was fired on and shot dead in the street where he had been playing. By this time the runaways had gone fairly amok and were firing at anything and anybody and doing a lot of harm. They tore on till they reached Downs Lane which is near the Marshes the pursuers including Tyler, Newman and the chauffeur. Tyler was a splendid officer plucky and resourceful and just now he had found his previous experience in the army very useful. But unfortunately he was at a hopeless disadvantage. Dashing around the buildings he succeeded so far that he was only about sixty yards away from the two men and he shouted, give it up, the game's over. Heffield did not hesitate a second. He stopped for a moment, his revolver on his arm and fired and poor Tyler, mortally wounded in the head fell to the ground. Newman, who was standing at Tyler's side got a second shot for himself and had a most narrow escape for the bullet grazed his cheek and took a small piece off his ear. The effect of these two shots will show how close the constables were to their men and the coolness and deliberation of the murderer's aim for the pair of villains had now become murderers. By this time a large number of private individuals had taken up the chase as well as the police amongst them the latter being Inspector Gold and Sergeant Ale. The telephone and telegraph had been at work from all the surrounding station officers had been sent on cycle on foot to cut off the retreat of the runaways and capture them if possible. Having killed Tyler and shot down other pursuers the murderers managed to cross Tottenham Marshes and reached a footpath that goes to Highham Hill where they came across a number of men who were pulling down some disused rifle butts. Without a moment's hesitation the fugitives fired on these men who promptly dropped their tools and ran away to seek cover. The two men then crossed the footbridge over the River Lee. This was the stage at which I came on the scene. After I had seen the two men standing near the police station I rode away on my bicycle and I was in the high road talking to my colleague Sergeant Backhurst when I received a communication from Subdivisional Inspector Large who had sent out PC Squires, he is now dead, on a bicycle to inform every policeman within reach to hurry to the marshes to cut off the retreat of the two men who were firing at everyone they could get. We both obtained some refreshments to buck us up and then rode as hard as we could towards the marshes and the first sign I saw of the fare was the men running away from the rifle butts. Some revolvers and ammunition had been served out from the police armory and several of us were lucky enough to be armed. When I joined in the chase however I had no firearm and so I was at great disadvantage and I felt this particularly when in trying to cut off their escape I saw the two men approaching me. I am not a very nervous person but when the murderers actually began firing at me I beat a hasty retreat and was lucky enough to be able to hide myself to some extent behind a ace deck. Then as they were making for me I had to rush for the Chingford Road. I had to get across a field and as the murderers were following me and their firing was in full swing it was as exciting a dash across the open as any man could wish to have. At this time the murderers had fairly settled into their work and were getting over the ground partly at a trot and partly at a sharp walk with a big mixed crowd after them. They were utterly desperate and they had a great deal of staying power too. Nothing could have been more deliberate than their plan of campaign for Heffield did most of the firing and Jacob did the loading for him. Heffield kept halting and using his left arm as a rest for the revolver which he deliberately fired after taking aim. It was this coolness which enabled them to do so much execution for they killed two persons and in all wounded more than twenty some seriously. The excitement was now intense and it grew as the chase went on. In crossing the field the two men came to some caravans a little gypsy encampment. One of the gypsies, a man named Bird hearing the commotion looked out to see what was happening. By that time the pair were just upon him. You have some too shouted Heffield and as he spoke he fired several shots at Bird who had a marvelous escape and promptly hid himself in his van. The Ruffians hurried on and eventually got into the Chinkford Road. They must have seen that they were being headed off and that in time they would be run to earth but they were making a desperate bid for liberty and they stuck at nothing. It happened that an electric tram car was passing carrying only a few passengers. Instantly the pair fired at the driver and ordered him to stop which he did. Then he made a dash for the top which he reached and laid down. The Runaways who had sent several bullets through the windows of the car boarded it. Heffield seized the conductor, dragged him through the car to the front, held the revolver at his head and ordered him to drive away as hard as he could go. Jacob meanwhile standing on the rear platform and firing at the pursuers. By this time the crowd had grown very much and it had been very unexpectedly strengthened for some sportsmen who were shooting at the New River Reservoirs. Near Lockbridge saw the Runaways and they joined in the chase as also did other gentlemen in motorcars while PC Hawkins who had got a gun at the Crooked Billet Public House and had commandeered a horse and cart was in hot chase too. But Hawkins had ill luck for his horse was shot and so he had to take up the chase on foot. Inspector Gold and Sergeant Hale and others were following. Holding the muzzle of the revolver to the conductor's head Heffield forced him to get the car along and this the conductor managed to do. Though he was not used to driving the car went at a great pace until it came to a passing loop where it was forced to stop to let another car pass. While the car was tearing along a woman and a child who were inside were screaming and an old man who was also a passenger made a gallant attempt to grapple with Jacob. He sprang at the Ruffian who however was too quick for him and shot him in the neck and so put him out of action. At this moment when it really seemed as if the murderers had no chance of escaping further especially as a police station would soon be passed Heffield saw a greengrocer's cart at the side of the road and he shouted to Jacob to jump down and rush for the cart. This the two men did. Springing into the cart one of the men took the reins and lashed the horse into a gallop and the other man standing at the back of the cart and firing at the crowd of pursuers who were on foot on bicycles in motors and other conveyances. They got into Forrest Road making for epping forest. Several shots were fired at them as they bolted but no harm was done. At this point the two men were only about 200 yards from the forest and they would probably have evaded their pursuers but as luck would have it a constable was standing in Forrest Road on point duty and this caused them to turn up full-born road which runs parallel with the Great Eastern Railway. It should be borne in mind that the party of sportsmen were totally ignorant of the fact that a boy and a policeman had been killed and did not deliberately fire at the heads and faces of the runaways. If they had done this the pellets from their fouling pieces would doubtless have damaged the murderers just enough to enable them to be captured for it was found afterwards that though their clothing had been peppered by pellets their flesh had not been injured. So far the murderers had done amazingly well but the luck was turning against them and the first ugly fact they discovered was that the chain break was on the cart so that one of the wheels was running dead and this meant that the horse in spite of the savage lashing was soon spent and unable to get along quickly especially as the road just there was steep. When they saw that the cart was of no further use the men stopped the horse and sprang out and made a dash for the fields near Williams Park and Hale End Station on the Great Eastern Railway. By this time I had become possessed of a revolver one of a pair which P.C. Cater had been dispatched with from Tottenham Police Station with a number of rounds and ammunition and I was so close to the men that I could easily have shot at least one of them but unfortunately my revolver was not loaded. The men who were now exhausted were making towards the railway bridge which crosses Chingbrook. The bank at that place was enclosed with barbed wire and there was a big fence so there was serious obstacles to overcome. Besides the pursuers were very close on the heels of the fugitives who must have seen that the game was pretty nearly up. Heffield made a desperate attempt to climb the fence but the sportsman with the fouling pieces had him under fire from their motor car and he failed and fell to the ground which was the bank of the brook. Jacob had been luckier for he had scaled the fence and was still on the run. Heffield saw it once that his murderous game was up. He had only one cartridge left and this he turned on himself holding the muzzle of the pistol to his head and firing. His obvious intention to kill himself on the spot did not succeed for the bullet went round the skull though it inflicted a dangerous wound. Sergeant McKay who had kept up the pursuit on his bicycle rushed up to Heffield and made him a prisoner. Steps being taken instantly to have him conveyed to a doctor. This was done and it seems as if the man would live but he did not survive a second operation which became necessary at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Tottenham. While Heffield was lying mortally wounded Jacob was trying desperately to reach the shelter of the forest where he might well have hoped to hide for a long time if not escape altogether. The care and cunning with which the two men had mapped out the whole of their performance was shown by the fact that in all their running away from the moment of the robbery they had kept to the valleys and had not taken to the hilly roads and tracks and they had gone over rough and enclosed ground which made it hard for motors and cycles to follow. For this reason I on my cycle in keeping up to the pursuit of Jacob lost some hundreds of yards of ground before I was well up with him again, for I was forced to keep to the roads while he was able to take a shortcut across the country. Jacob was making towards an unfinished building where some men were at work and one of these a plasterer, pretty well understanding what was happening, shouted stop him, stop him. In his excitement and hoping to bring the runaway down, he aimed two bricks at him, but they did not hurt him. On the other hand, Jacob was luckier, for he turned round and fired two shots at the plasterer, both of which took effect. I do not know how he got on. Jacob was now fairly at the end of his tether. He must have known that his companion was probably dead or captured and that his own hope of escape was of the slightest. But no doubt he had absolutely made up his mind not to be taken alive and to sell his life as dearly as possible. There was in the line of his retreat a little old fashioned detached cottage, a quaint looking building on the roadside with a bit of garden in front fenced in by wooden palisadings. Before he could get to the road cottage, Jacob had to crawl through a fence along a ditch but he managed to do this pretty well ahead of his nearest pursuers, including myself. And he ran round to the back door of the cottage and burst into the place. The occupant of the house appeared to have been out at the time talking to a neighbor, having left her two little boys in the cottage. Jacob was undoubtedly very much exhausted from his long run and the excitement of the chase. And having locked the kitchen door behind him, he seized the mug or tin and took a long draft of water from the tap. The little boys, terrified at the sight of this wild, dusty, bloodstained ruffian started screaming whereupon he turned on them savagely and threatened to kill them if they made a noise. They were soon able to get by the front door, for the cottage was quickly surrounded by people who had come up, including armed policemen and the sportsmen with the fouling pieces. At last, the second murderer was trapped, but the thing to do now was to get at him. But this time Sergeant Bun and Sergeant Hart had arrived from Edmonton. Acting very warily, Cater and myself managed to enter the cottage through the lower window. And the first thing we learned was that Jacob had bolted upstairs for he had shown his face at the front bedroom window and instantly several volleys were fired. One result being that all the glass was knocked out of the frames. Previously to this a very courageous attempt had been made to enter the cottage by PC Eagles who was in plain clothes but I did not at the time know that he was a member of the force. He had heard the alarm and rushed up and got a ladder by means of which he had tried to enter the house through the back bedroom window. Failing in this he got in through the back door which Cater and myself had managed to open. As soon as we had got inside the cottage we saw a number of sooty hand marks on the furniture and walls. This led us to think that the murderer had tried to get up the chimney so I directed Cater to fire up the chimney with his revolver. This he did but nothing seemed to be struck except soot and bricks. Finding that Jacob was not in the lower part of the house I opened the door which led to the little old fashion staircase. From this staircase a small landing such as you often see in old cottages led to the front bedroom. I got to this landing and opened the bedroom door not too quickly and not too widely and the first thing I knew was that Jacob was standing on the stairs with this pistol pointed at me. He instantly fired but I had sprung back before he could get at me. I swiftly closed the door again and called on him to surrender. If you surrender I shouted through the doorway throw down the revolver we won't hurt you. Jacob muttered something which I did not understand. He did not speak good English but I saw that he did not mean to surrender so I suggested to Sergeant Bun and others that as there was a mongrel dog tied up near the back door it should be released and taken inside and told to go upstairs to see that if it could drive Jacob out of the bedroom or at least take his attention off us and give us a better chance of getting him. I pointed out that its life was not of such value as our own and that it would be better for the dog to draw the murderer's fire than for us to take the further risk at present. So it was agreed that the dog should have a chance and accordingly it was untied I believe by Sergeant Bun and it went into the cottage it was not an easy matter to deal with the animal which appeared to be very ferocious. The dog sprang up the staircase and promptly did what we had not been quite able to do it frightened Jacob so much that he bolted away from the door after shutting it. At this stage someone entered the cottage with a double barreled fouling piece and taking this weapon I fired one of the barrels at the closed door with it but the pellets had little or no effect and only slightly damaged the wood I pulled the other trigger but that barrel would not go off so the fouling piece was a failure. In the meantime Cater and I got our revolvers loaded and we set to work the door was very thin so that our bullets went through with ease making holes which enabled us to see into the room it was a dangerous thing to peep through the holes but we did so and saw that Jacob was tearing about the room in a terribly excited state and was literally at bay. Eagles who did not seem to value his life as much as I valued mine pushed up and said let me have a pop at him I said no I want the revolver to defend myself with but he begged again and after a lot of persuasion I allowed him to take it then Eagles without the slightest hesitation hurled himself against the door burst it open, thrust his arms around until it was well inside the room and fired two shots what the results of them was I cannot say for it was never ascertained whether one or both struck Jacob or whether he killed himself at last with his own revolver when Eagles could see into the room he saw that Jacob was leaping about and laughing wildly he shouted to us come on now where upon the man sprang onto a child's bed which was in the room and instantly tried to pull the clothes over his head he still had the revolver in one hand as soon as the cry come on now went up Eagles rushed into the room and up to the bed and I went after him like a flash Eagles snatched the pistol from Jacob's hand and I seized him by the throat and dragged him onto the floor and down the staircase pulling him backward on his forehead and it was clear that he was dangerously wounded by one or more bullets I dragged him down the stairs into the yard where he was left lying on his back a crowd came round him instantly Jacob was between life and death and there was a horrible grin on his face he never stopped grinning and that awful look was on his face when he died which was soon with the crowd round him his eyes staring the crowd was terribly wrought up and so intense was the feeling against the man that if it had not been for the police I believe they would have poured paraffin on him and burned him where he lay he was a dreadful sight covered with blood and smothered with soot showing that as we had suspected he had tried to escape by climbing up the chimney especially the bedroom where we had got Jacob presented a sight that was horrible to see the pictures were all broken the wallpaper torn and spattered with blood and every particle of furniture damaged the bed was the worst sight of all I had done my share and I stood by and looked on at what was happening Sergeant Bunn searched the body and found five pounds worth of silver upon him in one of the bags which had contained the 80 pounds the clerk had got at the bank and which these robbers had snatched from him the rest of the money was never found but it was thought that they had thrown it into the river Lee and other places a most thorough search was made for days and days the cottage was almost pulled to pieces because it was thought that Jacob might have hidden the money up the chimney but as I say the balance was never found it is my impression that the two men had an accomplice who during the chase received the bulk of the cash leaving five pounds with Jacob to carry them on for the time being 80 pounds in silver and copper was too heavy and bulky to run off with for a long distance these two men must have had at least 200 rounds of ammunition with them before starting their desperate game most of the firing was done by Heffield undoubtedly the capture of the pair was greatly due to the smartness and resourcefulness of subdivisional inspector large who was in charge of the Tottenham division he had been in the army and took prompt measures to round up the police from all the surrounding districts to spoil the runaways plans and prevent them from reaching Epping Forest so it happened that as the murderers ran away they were intercepted in every direction by police who had received the emergency call and it was in this way that Eagles came on inspector large was a mounted officer and he was present at the cottage within seconds of Jacobs being pulled out of the bedroom poor Tyler's loss was a great grief to us for he was a fine smart young fellow and we were very sorry because of the death of the little boy and the wounding of Newman and so many other people it was of course a matter of very great pride to me when I received from his majesty at Malboro house the King's police medal I had been previously presented with the Carnegie medal I well remember that when I and my comrades were honored by the King the medal was also bestowed on a fine young detective named Alfred Young for his courage in arresting two armed burglars who tried to shoot him not long ago he was shot dead while doing his duty in arresting an ex army officer who was tried for murder but was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years penal servitude end of chapter 19 the Tottenham outrage