Several persons
have entered and left the vehicle, and the lady, naturally supposing
one of them to be the thief, gets out to consult a policeman as to her
best course. The officer could tell her, after a glance at the
faultless gentleman who was her neighbor, that the arms so
conspicuously crossed in his lap, are false, his real arms all the time
being free to operate under the folds of his talma. The officer would
rightly point him out as the thief.
On all the street cars, you will see the sign, "_Beware of
pickpockets!_" posted conspicuously, for the purpose of warning
passengers. These wretches work in gangs of two, or three, or four.
They make their way into crowded cars, and rarely leave them without
bringing away something of value. An officer will recognize them at
once. He sees a well-known pickpocket obstructing the car entrance;
another pickpocket is abusing him in the sharpest terms for doing so,
while, at the same time, he is eagerly assisting a respectable
gentleman, or a well-dressed lady, to pass the obstruction. One or two
other pickpockets stand near. All this is as intelligible to a police
officer as the letters on a street sign. He knows that the man, who is
assisting the gentleman or lady, is picking his or her pocket; he knows
that the man who obstructs the entrance is his confederate; he knows
that the others, who are hanging about, will receive the contents of
the pocketbook as soon as their principal has abstracted the same.
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