The clerk now disappears into an adjoining room, presently returning with an object about the size of a football, wrapped in coarse paper, tied with a multitude of strings and bearing a tag.
"Here you are, sir," says he, opening the door in the wire grating and passing the football to Appleboy, whose heart beats wildly.
The clerk then stamps the words "Delivered on identification of officer" upon his record book, closes the same with a slam and turns aside to other more important business. How simple it all is when you once know how to do it!
"Easy, ain't it?" remarks Pat.
"Easy as rolling off a log," answers Appleboy with a grim smile.
THE TRIAL OF FELONIES
It is a fact, which may at first appear paradoxical, that the jury in the ordinary run of criminal cases passes upon the guilt or innocence of very few professional criminals. A moment's consideration will reveal the reason. The professional criminal usually has a "record" and he knows full well that in view of his past history, if there be any sort of a case against him, his own defence, however eloquent or ingenious, will go for nothing. An affirmative answer to the simple question, "Have you ever been convicted?" is, in three cases out of five, equivalent to a plea of guilty. Now it is an understood thing that any prisoner, who is willing to admit his guilt and save the county the expense and trouble of a trial, shall receive some consideration in return therefor when it comes time to impose his sentence, and usually he expects to receive in addition a guarantee of good faith from the assistant district attorney in the shape of the latter's acceptance of his plea to a lower degree of the same crime. The real "gun" is apt to have his life pretty well mapped out. He anticipates serving about so much time "in stir" and figures on beating about every other case before it reaches an actual trial. If worst comes to worst, and he finds he must face a jury of his peers, he dickers for the lowest plea he can get. Whole court terms often go by without a single professional crook being actually tried. If one of them is "caught with the goods" he generally throws up his hands and stolidly takes his medicine.