"THE DRESS-CLOTHES DETECTIVE"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23275, 18 February 1939, Page 12 (Supplement)

"THE DRESS-CLOTHES DETECTIVE"

RAFFLES, gentleman crook of fiction, does not exist in real life. He lives, in one case at least, in the every-night life of Mayfair, an almost exact counterpart of his famous namesake of the book. Raffles, mv Raffles, is an exquisite West End man-about-town, one of the smartest crooks I have ever met. From the tips of his manicured nails to his well-shod feet, Raffles is an aristocrat, and for years he has mixed with some of the richest and best-bred people or the land. . Gossips in the restaurants, and grills, and clubs of Mayfair know Raffes well h,v sight, but very few know more about him than that 'he is a good-looking young ne'er-do-well. Knows Them All He dines night after night in London's most expensive hotels and rendezvous, perfectly at home amid ambassadors, famous lights of the theatre and films, millionaires, dukes and duchesses. ; ■ Almost invariably, there, is at least one smashing "lovely" at his table, and several bottles of champagne or rare hock on it. Raffles is an epicure. His conversation is flawless. Raffles can recall, with hardly an instant's reflection, who won the Eton wall game in '22—dammit, wasn't he there, himself? He knows the winners of the National and the Derby almost since these races were born, and there is precious little that he does not know about Lord's, the Oval, Henley, Ascot and Cowes. Raffles knows a lot more than that. He knows Mayfair inside out, its homes, its scandals,' its secrets. Yet for years Mayfair has .really found out very little alJout Raffles. Great Scholar "What a perfectly charming man," is the usual remark made afterwards by those who meet him. I shall give him his due. He is charming. Socially he is the best of companions, and it would be hard .to find a more interesting fellow with whom to spend an evening at the club. He has all the finesse of a man who lias been to Cambridge or Oxford, and is- a great scholar, but I have an idea that Ins 'varsity days may very well have been spent in Brixton. The most interesting thing about this young man, from a detective's point* of view, is the comfort with which he surrounds himself. Raffles lias a flat in the most exclusive section of Mayfair, a valet who worships him, a costly motor-car, and a "place in the country." , On an average, he makes about twelve trips a year to the United States, and often talks of his yacht

RAFFLES IN REAL LIFE

(World Copyright Reserved) IT has fallen to the lot of few police officers to have had crammed into their lives the many remarkable experiences that came to Divisional Detective § Inspector John Henry, of the C.1.D., a famous London detective who has just retired. Ex-Inspector Henry, in writing about these experiences, recalls in detail his amazing West End adventures which won him the name of "the dressclothes detective " .

"over there" and the ;trophies it has won for him. He is also a pretty hot polo player, and there isn t a finer dancer in London. Yet, to my knowledge, Raffles has never done . an honest day's work in his life. There have been rumours that he is the son of a titled millionaire, but his youth is so -very heavily clouded in doubt that his father might just as easily have been a butcher, a baker, or, for that matter, a foreign missionary. ,1 know how Raffles gets his money, and he knows that I know, but he works so cleverly within the law that ho is very rarely "in troublei" Within the Law

big money, is the only kind of bait that could interest him. " If a selected victim does not play cards, Raffles "takes him to the races." This is a very lucrative pastime. It requires, first, a young man with lots of money,- and not too much sense. This young man is persuaded to join Raffles, in a little flutter. Months will be spent cultivating a suitable "mug.": He is first put on to "good things," and, if Raffles, has "any luck to assist his first-class information, the dupe wins once or twice. Raffles, needless to say, at the same time is.' having very large, and usually imaginary bets, with his bookmaker over the telephone. Finally, Raffles persuades his friend to have a really heavy bet 011 a cert, and usually contrives things so that he, Raffles, places the bet. A Little Flutter ' -

His income is chiefly derived from games of poker, .played with millionaires! and neaivtoillionaires, 011 the Atlantic liners. On one trip alone, I kriow that • 110 made £15,000 in two nights' play. Anyone who plays cards with Raffles has my sympathy. •JRaffles is 011 calling terms_ with some of, the wealthiest people," both in America and Britain, and I have long believed tliat his * -\yeek-ends, spent as a guest in country mansions, have not been entirely wasted. Personally, Raffles would not. steal a thing. He differs in that one respect from his namesake of fiction. What he does do is to discover tlie lie of the land. This information he passes on to lesser lights of the West End, .who carry out the burglary on their own account, paying Raffles_ a generous "consideration" for telling them just where to strike. If you left this gentleman crook alone in 'a room with £2OO or £3OO worth of jewellery, he would not touch it.' To lWffles, pinching a few hundred pounds is >an act almost • too far beneath his dignity to discuss. Big money, really

Where the 'bet has to be placed, 011 the course, the money is handed to a bookmaker who is ''in'oll it," apd who splits the spoils with Raffles. Other times, the bet is "put on." by-Raffles by telephone, and, when the horse has unaccountably failed to win, lie collects the cheque from the dupe, and "takes it" to the non-existent bookmaker. " Raffles knows enough, about racing to pick a horse which has very little chance of winning and - persuades his friend to back it by telling him that he has had some really hot inside information. ,

In some cases in the past, where, very large sums of money' have been involved, it has not been unheard of for a jockey of a certain class to be given a handsome present, "to make sure that lie didn't win." On those very rare occasions where fate steps in, and - the unlikely .outsider selected does win, Raffles either

Inspector Henry s Adventures Among the

takes a hurried trip to America, or gets out of the predicament by his very nimble wits. This brilliant young gentleman crook has made literally thousands of pounds in these ways. He is one of the bestdressed men'in London, a tall, debonair young man with the appearance of a typical Guards officer. Raffles only wears pure silk shirts, has his shoes specially made, and has suits turned out for him by first-rate tailors.

Sometimes, when he has not had a "touch" for a while, he runs into considerable debt with his tradesmen, owing some of them hundreds of pounds. They always wait patiently, although they may stick the price on a bit. because Raffles' credit,is good. He always pays his bills when his ship comes home. ; On Duty at Ball One night,.! was on special duty at a big cliarity ball at an hotel injar Park Lane. There were about two thousand guests, including many titled and extremely wealthy people. The Duke of Windsor was a supporter of the ball, and had a private party of about thirty in 0110 of the end balconies. Everything went smoothly, and the early part of the evening passed off without my having anything more to .do .than enjoy the magnificent scene as the, thousand or so beautifully gowned women took their turns on the dance floor with their' partners., I .' Just before the midnight cabaret began I decided to liavq a quiet stroll around the hotel, to see that everything was as it should bo. • ' !

•There in the lounge sat Raffles, enjoying a whisky and soda and a very expensive-smelling cigar, with a small and ; ve'ry select party of young men and women. > j I knew that a detective officer ' at one of the Metropolitan police stations was very anxious at this time to interview Raffles with regard to a loss of .several hundred pounds, which a young man of very good family had had at a card game. . ' / . j Raffles saw mo immediately, and announced in his care-free manner, "Why, if it isn't Colonel ——. How do you do, Colonel? Won't you join .'us in a little drink. Allow me to present Lord Ho was superb. I stayed there for a few moments, and then announced my intention of taking a stroll before turning in. I Took the Hint Raffles took the hint,'without batting an eyelid. "Think I'll join you, Colonel, if these chappies will excuse me. The Colonel and I want to have a little chat about old 'times, eh, Colonel?" : Jn the hall and out of earshot, I told him that his presence was required at the police station, and explained the reason why. i "Good heavens," exclaimed -Rattles "the man must be crazy. Absolute .rot,, you„ know;. I. mean to say, old chappie, a man in my position, why the whole darn thing is ridiculous, you know." i took him along to the station 111 a taxi, all the same, and left him to have a chat with my fellow C.I.D. man. Returning to the ball, I found everything m order. I enjoyed a quiet smile a little Inter, however, when a \wli-lcnowu Dobioniavj remarked to me. "1 expect you find this a hit lame?" little realising that a little wliilo before 1 had detained one of the smartest crooks in Kurope almost under his nose. Such is life. When Mavfair goes to Goodwood or Ascot, or any one of the other big sporting and fashion shows, special men of the C.1.1), go there, too, clad in quiet, but always appropriate dress, to mingle with the peers and princes, and to protect them and their fair ones from the attentions of high-class members of the underworld. t Although apparently enjoying life, and very excited about the result of

the two-thirtv, these officers are, in reality, ever on the qui vive for crime. On more than one occasion when I have been at these exclusive sporting nobbing with his wealthy "friends." Another tune I ran into him in one of the big hotels, and lie invited me to share a bottle with him. Come on. old:chappie,7 he said, for old tunes sake. I'm just off 011 another trip across the Pond." I think Raffles must have made many thousands of pounds in his time crossing the Pond. 'AH the detectives in the world, all the warnings in every ship 011 the Atlantic, will not stop the foolish from losing part of their wealth to card-players of his skill. Men of this class sometimes wait as long as three years before pulling off

a coup. The ground must D ® fully prepared before the firlal : if a really haul is to be in perfect safety and Raffles alw J fnejrf ; ff , one j ay after a season of , „ ens j ve ' cn ; o vinent. "I'm two thousand ; j. ])t g ome thing will just have to fee i i!? no >i j n ' aC q„ a i n tance of mine met Raffles in the company of a very charming and 1 r j c .]) young girl. When the girl had left them, Raffles confided, "This g 11 "! 3S ma d about me. but she's engaged to an awful young fop. We are going to Paris, an d I'm afraid 1. shall have to teach him a lesson—he's going with me to the races." I have nn doubt that it was a very expensive lesson.