“In our gang the brokers were abundant.
“Among them was one Barbe, nicknamed the Cowkeeper, whose occupation was to contrive business or work for us.
“He hired himself as a labourer at farms, where he would only remain long enough to make himself acquainted with the number and character of the inmates, their habits and resources.
“He would then suddenly abscond, and carry to our head-quarters the intelligence he had picked up.
“The warehousemen or storekeepers were the receivers or fences.
“They existed in all the towns and villages within the territories of the gang.
“Some were thieves when opportunity served.
“Others contented themselves with buying stolen property, and robbing the robbers.
“The fences were almost all of them innkeepers or ‘knackers.’
“Sometimes the ‘knackers’ were also innkeepers, a fearful combination for the stomachs of their guests.