Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-06-02
The Tell-TaIe Diamond.
A LEAF FROM A DETECTIVES LIFE


On the night of January 10, 49,, the Cliff
| ton Bank was entered by burglars, who made
good their escape with $50 900, in their posses
sion.
As soon as the robbery became known, re-
paired to the bank and sought the president
| to whom presented my credentials and made
known my intention of commencing work at
once. The old gentleman readily acquiesced
and together we passed into the main office,
where ,s's several sprace,looking young men were
| scratching away as unconcernedly as II they
had not been engaged in an animated discus
| slcn Of the robbery only minute before.
| glanced at them sharply, but saw nothing sus
| picious In their looks aud concluded 1t would
be mere waste Of time to question them.
l examined the lock Of the door opening
upon the street, and found IL had not been tam
pered with, although the first arrival had found
| the door ajar. I,. w.
next turned my attention to door opening
| upon the rear, and found 1t securely locked, in
which condition it had been, so the president
assured me, since the night before.
'Who has charge Of the key If tn Is DIOR p
| in quircd.
'Mr. N, the cashier, has one and our jan
| itOr the cther.'
'Can either Of those gentlemen be summon
| odr
Yes, both II it needs be. Here, Warden, run
cd to sec him ON business of Importance
the clerk addressed was about to obey when
sudden thought struck me, and called him
back.
you need not trouble Mr.. N, but II the
janitor can be found ask HIM to step down fol
| a minute.
| In less than two minutes the clerk returned
with the janitor- broad-shonldered Irish
| man, Whose answers 10 my questions were Civ
ell In such straightforward manner that
exonerated him from all blame.
| you lock up after the clerks have gone home
do you not@ inquired, looking the mau in
| the eyes.
Yes, sometimes does, an sometimes
doesn't
'When do you nota'
when Mr.. N worruks late of nights, as
| has been the case much OF late
'Did you lock up last night q
'Yis, sir, and fwats more, tried livery dure at
| terwards.'
'At what time did you lock that door % and
pointed toward the front entrance.
well, as near as can recollect, halt pas
siven.'
Are you sure you shot the bolt into Its sock
ct"
AYE! could sweer that locked that dur
and left it locked.'
"IIow about the windows-did you faster
them as Welt?
'Yis, livery one ov Them
| Very good sir; you may go now, ii You like
and turned to the President.
tNow then Mr.. j., with your permission
will investigate matters below stairs"
The old gentleman conducted me to tn
vault below. The heavy iron door Of the larg
vault In which the banks funds were stored
stood wide open, which presented a scene O
confusion not unfamiliar TO my eyes. Book
and papers lay upon the floor in every direc
: ton, where they had been thrown after crafty
ing the curiosity of the burglars.
stopped to pick up crumpled documen
: that lay at my feet and as did so, the spark
of gem, heretofore concealed by the pape
caught my eye.
the stone from the floor and held il conceale
in the palm of my hand, while l perused Yh
document, more for the purpose of conceahn
the exultation felt at having gained so imbol
tant clue than for any other reason.
Having glanced AZ several other papers sim
liar to the one had first picked mp, began
thorough search of the vault, which prove
! fruitless; but the diamond in my possessio
; was sufficient foundation on which to weave
, network of circumstantial evidence.
Having no further business at the bank,
took my departure and went direct to a eel,
brated jewelers. establishment In Sonmoi
street.
The proprietor Of the store knew me, and In
tuitively guessing my business, conducted m
to his private office.
'Well, Tracy, what's ups' he inquired, whe
. we were seated.
Nothing unusual replied. 'You ha,
probably heard ofthe Clifton bank robbery
= presume.'
9 The Clifton bank2 All! yes, did hear son
y one remarking about it. There was no accoul
y OF 1t In the morning papers.
No, believe not. The affa was not dl
Y covered in time for the reporters to get hold
n it. Well, sir, the bank has been robbed to Il
n tune of thirty thousand dollars, and am e
= gagged on the case.'
Hum, indeed! hope you'll catch the rascal
old boy. Dreadful state Of things to exist In
small city like this and the little man twistt
uneasily In his chair
Not so bad as you may imagine. Be calr
my friend; the parties that robbed the Cliff
bank will not be likely to pay you visit We
soon.'
.Ah! hope your surmiBes are correct;
pray tell me your reasons for thinking as y,
do
"Certainly. In the first place the bank rc
berry Is the work Of one man, and hs is not
,, professional burglar. In the second place II
8 man cares more for greenbacks than he dc
a, for gold ornaments and would not plunder 70
"A place for all there is in il. In fact, this We
~ same party owned diamond, bu. threw
away rather than carry IL around with him.
Is very pretty, Is 1t not?" and held the ste
up to him.
The jeweler took 1t, examined 1t closely a
returned 1t to me, with the remark: alt is,
- you remark, a very pretty stone, and / mis-
ia, add,very valuable for gem Of Its size. II
re Is your clue, l presume?"