The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1878-01-18
OVER THE WIRES.

| First, 1 must tell you who am, and
how 1 came to be in the Baysville bank
I in the eve sma' hours" one dreamy De
cembir night some three years ago.
Ny name, then, is Olive Hudson, and
l was II years old that same December
night, and so very small that Mrs
| Knights Dolly, who was not 70, was half
head taller than myself
We were rich folks once, but father
died and left us very poor. Mother strug
gled along in the weary hand-to-hand
conflict with poverty till l was 16, and
died. She had rented two rooms of Mrs
Knight, widow, also, with two stalwart
sons, an aged father and two daughters.
After mother died was adopted by the
Knights, and, although was earning a
support as music teacher in the Bays
vile Academy, was like one of the
family when l was in my good landlady' s
home.
They were all in good positions, al
though by no means an aristocratic fam
lily. John, the eldest son, was in New
York in a wholesale sugar house; Tom
was the night watchman of the Baysville
Bank building, and grandpa-we all
called him grandpa-was telegraph op
orator of the town, while Mary was a
milliner and Dolly still at school.
Baysville Bank building was a large
granite structure, containing the post
office and bank on the first floor, the
telegraph Office and number of private
law Offices on the second floor, and other
private Offices on the third floor In the
basement we're postoffice rooms for
sorting the mail, and also the large bank
vaults.
/ knew the building well; for | was
fond of telegraphing, and spent half my
leisure time perched up by grandpa in
his Office sending and receiving messages,
while he slept peacefully or read the
newspapers.
And that was the beginning of my
amusement at Dryden, the next station.
The operator at Dryden was wit, and
flashed nonsense to our Office when bus
iness was dull. It fell flat if grandpa
was in the Office, but if l we're there l
sent back jest for jest, and sometimes an
kour slipped by like minute, as We
talked over the wires of every topic un-
der the sun. He called himself Lion"
and /, for nonsense, signed myself ..El
ephant," laughing as / did so at the re-
Election of my tiny figure in the office
mirror
Beyond Dryden, and only five miles
from Baysville, was c. large COM
mercial town, the nearest railway sta
ton, and where an Office was always
open for the accommodation of travel
ers.
AS have said, Tom Knight was the
night watchman of Baysville bank build
ing, and lonely time he had Of it. The
last mail came by stage at o'clock in
the afternoon, and the postoffice was
vacated at 6. The bank closed by Sand
by 6 every Office was deserted for the
night.
Att Tom was on duty, and grandpa,
who was restless at night, was in the
habit of taking down some coffee and
luncheon, as the building was only a
stones throw from our house.
On the December night have already
mentioned, it had stormed heavily all
day, and had taken a new class in the
academy, coming home later in the day
than usual, and excited over my increase
of salary.
Everybody else had gone 10 bed, and
1 was lingering over the kitchen fire
with Mrs knight, dreading the plunge
into my cold room. where had allowed
the fire to go out.
The clock struck II, and Mrs Knight,
lifting her face from over the fire, said;
"Do call grandpa, Olive. He's asleep
on the sofa in the sitting-room. I'll have
Toms basket ready by the time grandpa
has his hat and coat on. 1 hate TO call
him, for he was complaining Of rheuma-
tism to day, and the ground is very wet
although the storm is over"
Let him Sleep" said; "I'll run over
wi h the basket It is not step
"But it is so dark Are you not
afraid?"
"Not bit. III slip on my water proof
and rubbers, and draw the hood Of the
cloak over my head
@Well, if you will. Though I am
afraid Tom will scold at my letting you
60"
"Ill put the basket on the table and
run, and he will never know who left
it."
go into the rear basement door. He
leaves that open for grandpa
Il know"
l grasped the handle of the basket,
hurried across the space between the
building and the house, and stole softly
in at the basement door, in pursuance of
my plan to drop the basket and run.
In my rubber shoes my steps were
noiseless, and / had scarcely passed the
threshold when l stood rooted to the
floor in terrified amazement.
Somebody was talking,
crept forward and listened. There
were men in the bank vault, and light
shone under the door.
While ] listened some one said:
There's confounded draft here.
| Did you shut the door. SMITH"
Yes, but the wind may have blown it
open
had Just time to dart under the stair
case and crouch down, when the door of
the vault opened and man came out
He crossed the entry, drew the two
heavy. noisy, bolts, fastening the door by
which had entered, and returned with
out closing the vault door,
Icould look in By the dim light to see
two men working at the safe locks by
the stream Of light thrown from q dark
lantern.
There was the outline ofa man bound
and gagged upon the floor, but / could
only cnrniactt1ra IL u-ar Ton, a. L LII