The Burglar's Fate, and The Detectives

"The Burglar's Fate and The Detectives" by Allan Pinkerton is a detective novel written in the late 19th century. The book recounts a true story of a bank robbery in Geneva, where the courageous detective agency is tasked with capturing the perpetrators and uncovering the truth behind the crime. The narrative introduces various characters, notably the assistant cashier Eugene Pearson, who becomes embroiled in the investigation, leading to suspicions about his role during the robbery. At the start of the story, the peaceful town of Geneva is jolted by a brazen robbery at the local bank, where two masked intruders overpower the staff and escape with a significant sum of money. The opening events set the stage for an urgent search for the criminals, drawing in John Manning, a competent detective from Pinkerton's agency. As he begins his investigation, Manning interviews the witnesses, including Pearson and a young lady, Miss Patton, who were both victims of the assault. Despite Pearson's apparent bravery in ultimately escaping from the vault, a sense of doubt lingers around his account, hinting at deeper complications in the unfolding mystery that will require careful scrutiny as the case develops. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have foiled a plot in 1861 to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, he provided the Union Army – specifically General George B. McClellan of the Army of the Potomac – with military intelligence, including extremely inaccurate enemy troop strength numbers. After the war, his agents played a significant role as strikebreakers – in particular during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 – a role that Pinkerton men would continue to play after the death of their founder.