The confederates leave soon
after, and then the robbery is discovered. The Damper Sneak has to steal
at random, taking the first thing within his reach, but he often secures
a rich prize. He takes his peculiar name from the safe, which, in the
thief language, is called a "Damper." One of the boldest of these
robberies occurred a year or more ago, in Wall street. A broker
employing a number of clerks, and doing a heavy business, was standing
one day in front of his safe, during business hours, talking to a
gentleman. A man, without a hat, with a pen behind his ear, and a piece
of paper in his hand, entered the office, passed around the counter to
where the broker stood, and said to him quietly, "Will you please to
move, sir, so that I can get at the safe?" Being very much interested in
his conversation, the broker scarcely noticed the man, supposing from his
general appearance and manner that he was one of the clerks, and
accordingly stepped aside without giving him a second glance. The man
went up to the safe, took out a package of United States Bonds, and
coolly walked out of the office. The bonds amounted to one hundred
thousand dollars. The loss was discovered in the afternoon but no trace
of the thief or of his plunder was ever found. Strange as it may seem,
the city is constantly suffering from similar robberies, and the rogues
almost invariably escape.

The Sneak Thieves are the last and lowest on the list. As has been
stated, they constitute the bulk of the light-fingered fraternity. These
confine their attentions principally to private dwellings, are adroit and
successful, but incur constant danger of detection and punishment. A
sneak thief will pass along the street 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. He knows that the thief's eye has caught the
sight of silver lying exposed in the basement. In an hour after he hears
that the basement has been entered, and the silver in it carried off. He
knows who has taken it, as well as if he had seen the man take it with
his own eyes; but if the thief has had time to run to the nearest
receiver's den, the silver is already in the melting-pot, beyond the
reach of identification.

Sometimes the sneak thieves work in pairs. U