finally persuaded, and at the other's request undertook the
delivery of the blackmailing letters to my client! Inside of
three weeks he had in his possession enough evidence in the
criminal's own handwriting to send him to a prison for the
rest of his life. When at last the detective disclosed his
identity the blackmailer at first refused to believe him, and
then literally rolled on the floor in his agony and fear at
discovering how he had been hoodwinked. The next day he
disappeared and has not been heard of since, but his letters
are in my vault, ready to be used if he again puts in an
appearance.

The records of the police and of the private agencies contain
many instances where murderers have confessed their guilt long
after the crime to supposed friends, who were in reality
decoys placed there for that very purpose. It is a
peculiarity of criminals that they cannot keep their secrets
locked in their own breasts. The impulse to confession is
universal, particularly in women. Egotism has some part in
this, but the chief element is the desire for companionship.
Criminals have a horror of dying under an alias. The dignity
of identity appeals even to the tramp. This impulse leads
oftentimes to the most unnecessary and suicidal disclosures.
The murderer who has planned and executed a diabolical
homicide and who has retired to obscurity and safety will very
likely in course of time make a clean breast of it to some one
whom he believes to be his friend. He wants to "get it off
his chest," to talk it over, to discuss its fine points, to
boast of how clever he was, to ask for unnecessary advice
about his conduct in the future, to have at least one other