THE ASCOT GOLD CUP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 1514, 9 November 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE ASCOT GOLD CUP.

BOW IT WAS STOLEN.

A DEATH-BED CONFESSION.

Ever sine© the famous newspaper placard " Mark Twain arrives, Ascot Cup stolen," I announced to the world on June 18, 1907, [ that the famous trophy had been spirited away bv a gang of thieves, the affair lias been completely shrouded in mystery, and it is only now that in consequence of the death- confession of the principal character in the story, the troth concerning it is revealed. The mar» in question figured rather prominently in connection with another sensational affair, but the part- he played in lifting the cup was. one into which h« unwittingly entered. Mainly for this reason he kept the secret- to himself, and not until he was dying iu a West End nursing home did ho reveal to a life-long associate and his dearest friend that he it was who was actually responsible for the theft- The story is an interesting one because it illustrates very forcibly the fact that if chance often aids the police in bringing about the detection of offenders, it also plays a very important part in leading up to a successful criminal coup. Tho lilting of tho Gold Cup was of a very daring character; its disappearance was instantaneous. So quickly was the robbery accomplished that it seemed to be almost of the impossible order. With the course crowded by tho world of fashion, with policemen and keen-eyed detectives here, there, and everywhere, it vanished. It will be recalled that at the meeting three, trophiee— King's Gold Vase, the Hunt Cup, and the Gold Cup— as was customary, were displayed on a table on the lawn at the back of tho grandstand, the Gold Cup, as the most valuable, having the place of honour in the centre. The stand was m charge of a policeman in uniform, and a representative -of the manufacturers, Messrs. Garrard's, the well-known firm of the Kaymarket. People came and went, admiring the trophies, and presently the representative had to move a few yards away to speak to » customer. As he turned back the officer, looking anxiously about him, oj&culated, " Have you got it?" _ "Got what!" asked the asto&ishcd assistant. "Why, the Cup," said the policeman. " No, of course not," returned the assistant, A3 the constable, with a wave of the hand, indicating the vacant space, claimed. "It'sit's vanished." The cup weighed 68or, and was worth £500. It was 15iin in height and 6in in diameter. Many theories were put forward as to the method adopted bv tho thieves, but all these were without foundation, as the story of the dying thief proves beyond question. The men concerned, it seems, had no more idea of lifting the cup than of flying. They were really after the welllined pocket-book of a sportsman. Something happened as they were following in his wake, and that robbery could not be complished. As they sauntered back, however, one of them, noticing tho absence of the attendant in charge of the trophies, remarked to his confederate, " Here's something that's dead easy." quick as thought ho instructed the other to engage the policeman's attention, and, in the twinkling of an eye. the cup vanished beneath a raincoat carried over his arm. Th« next moment he had hurried to the rails of the enclosure, where waited another member of tho confederacy, ready to receive, a« ho thought, a pocket-book. Near by, also, were several detectives, and the man with the cup found himself in a quandary. Behind him the noise and excitement told him all too clearly that the theft had been discovered, and as he waa signalling to his associate on the other side of the rails,

another man, the one who died recently, volunteered, in nil innocence at the time that be "was doing anything but a kindly act, to pass the coat- to the other's friend. And so, under the nose of the police, the,] Gold Cup passed from the enclosure. By* this time the news had gone from end to end of the course, and the men, fearing detection, deemed it wise to hide their valuable booty beneath a rain-sodden hedge. Hero it. reposed throughout the nigfit, and the next day the thieves, recovering it, carried it off to London. Scotland Yard was then searching high and low for the missing trophy, ana, as a result, an East End receiver could be induced to give bat a very small amount for it. Those concerned, therefore, received only a few pounds each, of which the man who actually handed the Gold Cup over, at a moment whew detection seemed inevitable, received £2—and only got that cm demanding his share on realising the important part he had played in the perpetration of a daring crime.