These men all have
certain distinct methods of performing their work, so that after they
have been operating a short while, a detective can, by examining the
traces, tell, with absolute certainty, the name of the burglar. Besides
this, the life which these persons lead stamps their countenances and
general bearing with marks which an experienced officer will recognize
at a glance. The sneak-thief, the pickpocket, and the burglar, have
certain habits, attitudes, haunts; they act in certain ways when placed
in certain positions, which reveal them and their occupations to a
practiced eye, with almost as much certainty as the form and aspect of
a blade of grass reveals its genus and species to the eye of a
practiced botanist. A skilled detective will stand at the corner of a
street, in a strange city, that he has never entered before, and will
pick out, almost unerringly, the passers-by who belong to this criminal
class. He will say, "This is a sneak-thief;" "This is a pickpocket;"
"This man has just been released from the State prison;" "This one is a
gambler, stool-pigeon," etc., etc.; being guided in his judgments by
certain indications which the criminal involuntarily displays by the
sheer force of habit.
A sneak-thief will pass along with that rapid, rolling glance of the
eyes which distinguishes the tribe; now he checks himself in his
career; it is but for an instant; no unprofessional eye directed
towards him would notice it; but the sudden pause would speak volumes
to an experienced police officer.
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