But he made the detective service great. He chased the
thieves to Europe, or gave them license to live in New York on
condition that they did not rob there. He was a Czar, with all an
autocrat's irresponsible powers, and he exercised them as he saw
fit. If they were not his, he took them anyhow; police service
looks to results first. There was that in Byrnes which made me
stand up for him in spite of it all. Twice I held Dr. Parkhurst
from his throat, but in the end I had to admit that the Doctor
was right. I believed that, untrammelled, Byrnes might have been
a mighty engine for good, and it was with sorrow I saw him go. He
left no one behind him fit to wear his shoes.
[Illustration: Chief of Police Thomas Byrnes]
Byrnes was a born policeman. Those who hated him said he was also
a born tyrant. He did ride a high horse when the fit was on him and
he thought it served his purpose. So we came into collision in the
early days when he was captain in Mercer Street. They had a prisoner
over there with a story which I had cause to believe my rivals had
obtained.
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