THE VILLAINS FOILED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17455, 5 February 1925, Page 8

THE VILLAINS FOILED.

STRANGE BUT TRUE STORY. HOW BURGLED GOODS WERE RESTORED. (Special to the “ Star.’’) LONDON, December 20. The writers of detective yarns may now take a back seat. Imagination boggles at the stories being unfolded in the Courts, and the adventures of “cat” burglars whose star turns over the roofs of London must make professional acrobats on the balls turn green with envy. Just listen to the story about which we are all agog just now. Its protagonists are a millionaire cracksman, the sort of person we rather thought was a creation of the artist who wrote of super-detective feats, such as the school which . followed laboriously in the footsteps of Conan Doyle. But either the super-cracksman millionaire is a creature who has been evolved because he was believed possible, or he lias just come because villainy, like industry, must needs in this twentieth century he on a large scale or it gets nowhere. The latest real life story full of super villains, to accept the terminology of the movie trade, had at its head a wealthy New 5 ork antique dealer who had made many fortunes out of treasures. He hpd working for him a gair» of three American criminals who on June 2. arrived in London from New York with express instructions to steal a certain amount of jewellery and treasures from the famous Wernher eolleeiion. These men emploved by the an tiqu» dealer were bv him part-paid in advance to encourage them in the enterprise. The full payment, however, for carrying out the robbery was only to be handed over when the valuables were delivered in New York.