YOUTHFUL CRIMINALS

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 66, 18 March 1905, Page 13

YOUTHFUL CRIMINALS

to mm. ¥uu ltoji Sill FbDPTT W^"» oToLor ti a readiU! " Looter ffaaTS!i(i7c° aoiie With a boy of eleven who had robbed tol. and had wounded her therewith w-£ion she soug-uc to chastise him tor the theft. Hie parents of the latest Parisian "hero. me , ' echoed the CocEney matrons cry. This girl had indulged in a Jong course at "penny dreadfuls" and at length determined to become a «*al aim living celebrity on the lines of am of her favourite UctionSl heroines. St*. having denuded tn e parental coffers of ejveral liuirUred francs, she journeyed to Paiis, and one fine evening found herself in a dancing saloon in a low quarter- of the Gay City. An altercation between two youths was in pro. gress when she entered, and to nno ot the disputants she took a fancy on tne « sp/it. Wheu the pair left to settle their dispute the runaway followed, and had the pleasure of seeing the youth she Tavoured knife his enemy into very complete subjection. Having congratulated the victor on ma bravery and skill, the girl made the conqueror an offer of her heart and hand. Hβ accepted on the spot, and for several days the couple lived in riotous harmony on the proceeds of the girl's theft. Then money ran and the youth, who t>et«iypa no desire for honest work, bade the girl go forth and earn a living for both in a more than questionable manner. She— bad as she was—refused absolutely to de so, and a violent quarrel ensued. Finally her paramour divested her of all her garments, locked her in a cupboard, ana informed hex that there she would stay until she consented to do his bidding. Hβ then left the house, taking her clothing with him. s The girl managed to force the lock ol her prison, and finding a salt of <ua clottiJng belonging to her "protector," donned It, cut her hair short, and, arming her6elf with a pistol, knife and knuckle duster belonging to her lover, sallied form iv quest of adventure. l'ostlng nerseic at the corner of a dark street she determined to "bail up" the first person who came by. This happened to be a member of the Municipal Guard in mufti, but the youug lady didn't know that, and when he arrived abreast of her lair sue unhesitatingly darted forward, and wltlj pointed pistol demanded "Your money or your life." The young man, who had had sonic experience in dealing with armed (riuiinais, was not evea momentarily "sheered." Llkf lightning he spun round, dropped on his hands, and witU a kick iv the abdomen sent the hapless highwayman gasping t<r the ground. When sue recovered net breath and her senses she found hcrsell nicely trussed up and in charge of » couple of stalwart policemen, wiio quiemy ran her to the lock-up. There the sex or the prisoner was soon discovered, aud her tale wheedled from her. Her parents were spnt for, and they being quite willing to take the girl back, she was released. Her ''protector," meanwhile, had been arrested on the charge of murder, the defeated man iv the knife <luelle which the girl had witnessed having died from the effects of ills wounds.