A DRAMATIC RAID

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2550, 10 July 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

A DRAMATIC RAID

Detective-Inspector Arrow, who was concerned with the arrest of the alleged instigator of the notorious D. S. Windell” frauds has effected many a dramatic capture in his time, but perhaps none more so than the famous raid or a gambling den, kept by an Italian, in a street off"the Tottenham Court Road, a few weeks ago. Plans for the raid were carefully made. Mr. Arrow was to approach the club with a couple of assistants, manoeuvre for an entrance, and thus pav.e. the way for a force of constables who were to be in hiding. The detective expected a long wait, \M ■s. the unexpected happened. Just as"®t three officers were approaching the clw the doors were suddenly thrown open, and an undesirable member was bundled out by the burly proprietor. Seizing this excellent- opportunity, Mr Arrow dashed inside. Suspecting that the three were detectives, the proprietor slammed the door, and the inspector and his companions found themselves trapped in a room with, -a hundred or so evil-looking foreigners. Nothing daunted, Mr Arrow proceeded to the gambling-room for all the world as though he.had all the forces of Scotland Yard at his back. He seized the cards, the bank, and other evidences of gambling, and coolly informed the men that they were his prisoners. It was not until the inmates saw' the constables pouring into the club by means of a. ladder that they realised how thoroughly they had been outwitted by the intrepidity of one man. He began h ; s life as a schoolmaster, and while in the act of performing his duties one day > thieves broke into the sehoolkouse and decamped with some clothing. The alarm was raised, and both master and pupils went in pursuit. The chase was continued for several hours, until the culprit fell in a ploughed field from sheer exhaustion. Armed with nothing more formidable than a pair of brawny fists, Mr Arrow kept guard over the offender until help arrived. The thief proved to be an old offender, and the young- schoolmaster was complimented and rewarded by the chief of the policefor the district. It was this incident that determined his career.