case. That draft was never honored. With it was a letter authorizing the expenditure of any sum of money to get at the whole case of the prosecution. That letter was laid in a convenient place, and I got Trickey out of my office long enough to afford other people a chance to get a good look at it and to read it. I consider that movement a nice piece of detective work. During the evening, Captains Harrington and Desmond sat behind the curtain in my office and heard Mr. Trickey say to me that he had bribed them and that they had told him many of the State’s secrets. Why, Trickey went so far as to accuse the Mayor of the city of accepting a bribe and selling out to him, the representative of the defense.”
At this point the writer asked McHenry, “How on earth did Mr. Trickey escape, in the face of such accusations as this?” McHenry replied at once, “He never met his match before.” Continuing, McHenry said, “Trickey did agree in the hearing of the usual number of witnesses to give me twenty-four hours notice before he published the story.
“In his published statement of October 11th, he says I asked him two questions on the night of the 10th. This, mind you, was at the time of his first and last visit to my office after the alleged evidence had been published. The first question he quoted correctly, except he did not use the word “skeleton” as he should have done. The second is entirely wrong. I did ask him this question, ‘Trickey, did you not promise to come down to my office with the balance of that $5000?’ and he replied, ‘Yes.’
“I did inveigle Trickey into Massachusetts, for I wanted him to commit that crime in that State. By agreement I was in Attleboro and waiting to hear from Trickey. He telephoned to me from Boston that he would be in Attleboro on the 3 o’clock train, and he kept his engagement. I met him in front of the Park Hotel. The message was received by the proprietor of the Park Hotel, and he has a record of it. In Mr. Trickey’s published account of this matter, he says that he has eight affidavits of parties to the effect that the alleged evidence was true and that they were sworn to before me as a notary in Providence. If he has, why don’t they show them? I defy any man to produce such affidavits.
REPORTER HENRY G. TRICKEY.
“On Monday night after the Globe published its story, I was in Fall River and started for home. I expected that there would be trouble, and so Captains Desmond and Harrington went up on a late train to get behind the curtain and watch the fun which was sure to come. I left on an afternoon train by way of Mansfield. Mr.
Carberry, a Globe reporter, followed me on the train and harrassed me until forbearance ceased to be a virtue. Arriving in Providence, I was met by about four newspaper men, including Charley Kirby and Mr. Trickey. They surrounded me at the entrance to the station, and demanded an audience. I eluded them, and was on my way home when they again caught sight of me, and when near Engine Company No. 4, matters almost came to a crisis. Mr. Trickey had his hand thrust into his pocket as if to draw a pistol, and he wore on his face the most aggravated look of desperation that it has ever been my misfortune to behold. I felt that he was in a state of mind which would lead him to do something rash. I feared he might attempt to take my life. I was not armed at the time, but I determined to make a bold stand, and so I told him that if he made a move I would kill him on the spot. Before leaving Fall River, I had telephoned to my wife that I would arrive home at a certain hour, and she had already made preparations for receiving me. Hardly had I made this threat to Mr. Trickey, than one of my men from the office rushed up and handed me a pistol. With this I ordered Mr. Kirby to stand aside, and told Mr. Trickey that if he wanted to speak with me, to proceed to my house, where I would hear what he had to say. Before moving from his tracks, he said, ‘McHenry, I ought to kill you instantly.’ I learned afterward that he had made the statement in Boston that there would be a funeral in Providence if he ever laid his eyes on me. In his published statement before referred to, he says that he was instructed before leaving Boston to treat me with the ‘utmost consideration.’ You can judge for yourself whether he did or not. I believe that he had been instructed to shoot me on the spot, and he would have done so had he the courage. We moved toward the house, and he marched in front. We entered, and left Kirby on the outside. We had a more rational talk about the publication and authenticity of the story, and
he finally withdrew. As he backed down the steps, I told him I would shoot him dead in his tracks if he ever entered my house again. The next time I saw Trickey was on Broadway, New York, after he had left Boston. I was sent to this city to shadow and watch his movements, and I had kept track of him all the time up to the meeting of the Grand Jury. At the session of that body he was indicted on six counts. In the preparation and attempt at service of these warrants, there was some queer work, and I know that Trickey would have been arrested, had he not received a tip and skipped to Canada. He was in Boston when the warrants were issued, and had been for three days. I had him located, and was at the Attorney-General’s office to get instructions as to how to proceed. He gave me a sealed letter of instructions to the clerk of the District Court in Taunton, and this I delivered in person. Instead of making out the warrant according to his orders, the clerk made them out to the Sheriff Constable, etc., of Bristol County. I did not know this at the time. There was in the room at the time the warrants were made out, State Officer Seaver, and he demanded that the clerk deliver the warrants to him for service. To this I most strenuously objected, and then there was a clash as to who was entitled to possession of the papers. I told Mr. Seaver that I was sorry to quarrel with a man whom I had always looked upon as a friend, but that I had been into this transaction from the start, and I proposed to stay in it until the finish. Without more ado I laid hands on the warrants and took them to Deputy Sheriff Brown of Attleboro, who in turn, delivered them into the hands of the Boston police. At police headquarters in Boston it was soon learned that the warrants were defective, inasmuch as they were made out in such a manner as not to be serviceable in any County except Bristol County. They had to be returned to the District Court in Taunton and rectified. This necessitated a delay of about twenty-eight hours, and gave somebody an opportunity to get Trickey out of the State. That is why he was not arrested. Mr. Seaver was especially desirous that I allow him to make the arrest of Mr. Trickey, but to this, as I said before, I successfully objected. There were some very strange things done in connection with these warrants, and if you doubt what I have said, I refer you to the records of the Boston police on the 15th of last October. This, briefly, is my connection with the Trickey-McHenry affair.”
In closing the interview I asked Mr. McHenry how many times Mr. Trickey visited his office in Providence during the carrying out