The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1873-10-07

the head of the bed. He had laid them
there at night and he found them there in
the morning. He was also quite certain
that he had locked the safe after placing
the pocket-book inside. asked him to
let me see inside the safe, and show me the
place where he had laid the money. He
opened the safe. The lock was simple
one and by no means a sufficient protection
against thieves. For, although the key
hole was very small, so that the lock could
not well have been burst by powder, yet
the construction of the lock was such that
it could not have presented any difficulty
to dexterous thief. But to open it by
force, without making any noise, would
not have been possible. Latimer had
placed the money in one of the little draw
ers inside the safe and had turned the key
of the drawer, but left it in its place. But
the drawer fastened very closely and
although we opened it at least dozen
times, we found it impossible to do it with
out making considerable noise. In fact
upon that night Latimer and his wife must
have slept unusually sound.
After had examined everything thor
oughly, and questioned and cross-question-
ed Mr.. Latimer, we were about closing the
safe again, when he took out some papers
that lay disarranged on the bottom of the
safe, for the purpose of setting them
straight. While doing this lottery
ticket, which had been lying on the papers,
fell to the floor He picked it up, looked
at it in astonishment and handed it to me
with the words:
"This is strange, you will think at last
that gamble in lotteries, but don't know
how the ticket got in here"
Has anybody besides you got key to
the safe ?'' asked him in reply.
Upon which he told me that "of course
his wife had key" ooh then," said l,
"she may have placed the ticket there"
But he emphatically denied this, saying
that his wife was bitter enemy to lotter-
les, and that if she had found. the ticket
there, she might we'll have thought that he
gambled
"No, "he continued, /" the ticket does not
belong to her, but perhaps one of the SER
wants may have given it to her to take
care Of for it is possible that they may
speculate in lotteries"
So Mrs. Latimer was called in and ques-
toned She knew nothing of the ticket,
and answered very angrily that if any Of
her servants came to ask her to take care
: of such things, she would tear it up first,
for no servant of hers should gamble in lot
teries.
Now then, how did the ticket get into
the safe? 1t was for lottery which was
to be drawn in Baltimore at the firm of
Henry Cotton & Co., who were at that
time agents for lotteries iu Maryland, and
it bore the number 1710. 1t appeared
from the ticket, whish was new, that the
drawing was soon to take place. But
still there was mystery, and again asked
myself how did it come into the safe? Mr..
and Mrs Latimer clearly knew nothing
about it, and was quite certain that it had
not been in the safe long. At last came
to the conclusion that, as the drawer
moved stiffiy, the thief, in opening it, had
been obliged to use some force, and that,
in leaning over, the ticket had fallen out of
his waistcoat into the safe, where we had
found it. But still the question remained un-
answered. How had the safe been opened?
And this could not satisfactorily answer.
Perhaps it had been done with false
key. But as the keys of all these safes are
different, how could the thief have pro-
cured one that just opened this lock.
After we had finished this investigation,
Mr.. Latimer shut the door of the safe,
turned the knob and took out the key. /
do not know what exactly caused me TO do
80, but asked him. "Have you locked
itP' " Eyes" he answered, "with this safe
you have only to close the door firmly to
fasten it." and with these words he took
hold Of the knob and pulled it to show me
the arrangement, when--the door opened
Latimer stood stupe6ed; and must con-
fess that was scarcely less astonished.
1t was now evident that on the night
when the robbery took place, the thief had
found the safe open, just as it was now.
We now examined the lock more closely
and found that the catch did not come out
far enough to close the safe securely.
There was in fact something out of order
with the lock which Mr.. Latimer had not
before remarked t'''"
But now had the lottery ticket, and l
told Mr. Latimer that this must now