CHAPTER VIII.

A Plan to Intercept Correspondence--Edwards Fully Identified--A pretty
Servant Girl and a Visit to Church.


While these events were transpiring at Woodford, William had not been
idle in the city. A constant watch had been maintained upon the several
premises occupied by the relatives of Newton Edwards, in the hope of
detecting some attempt upon their part to communicate with the suspected
thief. This at all times is rather a difficult object to achieve, but we
have frequently been obliged to resort to this mode of acquiring
information from lack of definite knowledge on which to base intelligent
action. In order that one of the many of these expedients may be fully
understood, a few words in detail may not be out of place. As is well
known, the mail of an individual is so sacredly guarded by the laws of
the country which govern the postal service, that an attempt to
interfere with the letters of another is regarded as a felony and
punished with severity. Of course, therefore, no efforts of ours would
be directed to the obtaining or opening of any letters which might be
mailed to the suspected individual. Our object was simply to obtain the
addresses upon the envelopes, if possible, and then to search out the
parties to whom they had been consigned. In this instance our manner of
proceeding was quite simple, but it required that it should be managed
with great care and without exciting the suspicion of any one. For this
purpose each of the operatives, detailed for this duty, was provided
with a number of envelopes of a peculiar size and color, and all