The Barrel Mystery
Page 12
CHAPTER XII
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR AT 2 A. M.
"About two o'clock on the night of February 12, 1909, there was aknock at the door of the stone house. Uncle Vincent jumped out of bedand grabbed his rifle. Uncle was quite pale. Bernardo and Giglio armedthemselves with revolvers. I noticed they were trembling. I went downto the door without a light and asked:
"'Who is it?'
"'We,' replied a feminine voice.
"'Who are you?'
"'Open the door, professor.'
"Hereupon Uncle Vincent hurried downstairs and said:
"'Ignazio has come.'
"Bernardo and Giglio lighted a lamp and opened the door. A welldressed man wearing a fur overcoat and a fur cap, a man about thirtyyears old, ran toward Uncle Vincent and embraced him, kissing him onthe cheeks.
"Following Ignazio (Lupo), came Cecala, Sylvester, Cina and an elderlyman who had gray hair and moustache, a man of more than fifty yearsold, elegantly dressed, and wearing a gold watch and chain and a largediamond ring. After Cecala had introduced me to Ignazio Lupo and theelderly man, named Uncle Salvatore, they requested Caterina to get upand prepare a meal, as the early morning visitors were hungry and hadbrought meat and wine. The new arrivals were very courteous toCaterina, especially Lupo, who appeared to be a man of greatpoliteness.
"Lupo talked some with Caterina and asked her if she liked the place,to which Caterina answered that it was cold in the house and that shesuffered from hunger. Lupo assured her that he would see that we wereprovided for amply hereafter, and wrote down on a piece of paper whatCaterina suggested in the way of food-stuffs. Lupo then instructedSylvester to take the note down to New York to Mrs. Lupo, who wouldhave the goods shipped up to Highland. We never saw the goods, though!
"While Caterina was frying about six pounds of meat, Cecala and Cinaunloaded two large grips and several bundles. Lupo opened the valiseand removed two repeating rifles, two revolvers and four boxes ofcartridges. There were about one thousand rounds of ammunition. Lupothen instructed all the gang in the use of the rifles and therevolvers, which, he said, would shoot about fifteen shots a minute.All present complimented Lupo on his foresight, declaring that theweapons were just the thing. After a little more talk about the armsevery one sat down to eat, except I and Caterina. There were no chairsleft for us. We acted as waiters, serving the 'lords' of the gang!
"They were eating and drinking joyfully when Uncle Vincent turned toLupo and said:
"'What news are you bringing, Ignazio?'
"'You all know the news. Besides, Petrosino[3] has gone to Italy.'
"'If he went to Italy, he is as good as dead,' said Uncle Vincent.
"'I hope they get him,' was the pious wish of Cina.
"'He has ruined many of us,' went on Lupo. 'It is enough to say thathe had himself locked up in the Tombs Prison to interrogate thesuspects and uncover crimes.'
"'Many a mother's child he has ruined,' said Uncle Salvatore(Palermo), 'and how many are still crying!'
"'What is more,' continued Lupo, 'I have given Michele, the Calabrian,his fare to ---- to go and see his family, which was stricken by theearthquake.'
"'You have done well,' broke in Cecala, winking an evil eye and makinga peculiar motion. Doubtless this was a secret sign. He lifted hisglass and shouted: 'Let's drink our own health and to hell with thatCarogna!'[4]
"The 'table talk' now turned on other things, such as the exploding ofbombs by Sylvester, aided by his son and the step-brother of Morello.It appeared that they had run away after the bomb had been hurled whenthey were caught and brought before the judge, where they pleadedinnocence and so escaped the clutches of the law. There was some talkof Lupo's business failure for a matter of about $100,000; and mentionwas also made of the failure of a bank in Elizabeth Street, which wascontrolled by Uncle Vincent.
"In spite of his business reverses Lupo was in good humor and sangseveral songs for the company with the bravado of the born bandit. Byand by the lusty gang went to bed, occupying every bed in the house.Caterina and I remained awake. At daylight, Cina, Sylvester and Giglioleft. The others remained to direct and help in the work.
"After three days of directing the work at the stone house, and tryingout the guns in the woods together with Uncle Salvatore, Lupo and thelatter departed. Salvatore remarking that he was going to make hishome at Cina's house. Their departure left Uncle Vincent, Giglio,Bernardo and myself to do the work.
"About the twenty-third or the twenty-fourth of February, I am notcertain which, I gave to Cina and Cecala the completed work on thetwo-dollar notes, that is: twenty thousand and four hundred dollars incounterfeit money. The bills were put up in packages of one hundredand bundled into a dress suit case. Then they started to plan theroute for distributing the bad money. Cecala said that he preferred togo to Philadelphia first; then Baltimore, where he had many friends;from Baltimore they would cover Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Chicago. Thecounterfeit money, after being placed at each of the centers, was tobe placed in circulation on a given day, so that the notes wouldappear simultaneously in all the cities.
"They made me take the plates off the press and hide them under aplank in the floor together with some ink. Every piece of paper withany printing on was burned. Before departing they assured Caterina andI that they would return in a week and give us some good money; also,they would then tell me whether to continue or suspend the work.
"A very lonesome week in the dreary old stone house followed. On thefirst Sunday in March, 1909, Cina's brother, Peppino, bobbed up. Hehad come to take me to Cina's house where certain people from New Yorkwanted to talk with me. He took a boxful of the Canadian five-dollarcounterfeit bills. The visitors were to determine whether the Canadianmoney was good enough to sell or whether it was to be burned up, sohe explained.
"Upon hearing this I had a presentiment that the day of my beingmurdered had arrived. Without saying a word to Peppino and Cina, Icalled Caterina aside and told her my fears. I showed her how to usethe rifle.
"'Caterina,' I said, 'in case I do not return and people come to youwith any excuse, no matter what, to get you, it is a sure sign thatthey have assassinated me. Then shoot whoever comes after you, or theywill murder you!'
"The poor woman began to cry, and I had difficulty in composing her.Unnoticed by Peppino I managed to steal Uncle Vincent's revolver, andput it into my pocket."
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the Italian Detective Bureau,attached to the New York Police Department, was murdered in Palermo,Sicily, while on a mission for the Police Department then under theguidance of Commissioner Theodore Bingham. Petrosino had been animplacable foe of the Lupo-Morello gang. His murder has never beenexplained to the public.
[4] Carogna in the Sicilian dialect means a putrid, dead animal. Amongthe Sicilian criminals the word is used to designate anybody thatbrings harm to any gang of criminals.