Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1878-11-05
UNRAvELLiNG A CIPHER.
"Ozi6-Nc1y az hzqf,czJ nlrtsy 20 l2I
CriU hgfUiy"

Herald. conspicuous only for its sim
gu!ar and aggravating continuation OF
letters and figures, the sole clue 10 the
Whereabouts Of the gem had been af-
te! for over q week, scarcely resting,
eating or sleel ing in my anxiety 10
secure the reward in heavy burglary
case-and something else.
That something else" ALI my
heart sank within me as flung aside
the enigmatical puzzle before nue., and
leaning back in my chair gave my
self up to the gloomy reveries of the
lIast Edna Dayton-hnw / loved herl
How fair and how beautiful as sum-
msr's idyl had been the week in which
/ had met her, had loved her and had
been told that my affection was re-
turned How we'll ! remember the
bitter parting-a hopeless one it seem
ed to me-wlen / learned my fate
from her fathers lips and passed down
The brown stone steps of the DAYTON
mansion, wondering if the inclination
of moneyed men towards stone resi-
dences was not caused by tile eXis-
tence of a similar hard material in that
part OF the human anatomy known as
the heart.
" ds u JDti man. lE EOiIt anu TIC
profession of detective was precari-
Gus one. His daughter loved lie: he
could not deny that, but she was his
only child. and her wealth and posi-
tion demanded a match with some So
cial equal. He would not break her
heart by absolutely refusing TO sane
lion our engagement, bat If within a
year | could secure fortune of S25. =
600 and lucrative business. and Ed
ma was still of the same nlind-well,
he would consider il.
Twenty-Five thousand dollarsl
grew sick at the thought of tie condi-
lion imposed, upon which l was to
purchase my future happiness. In
the reception ola meagre salary and
utterly unknown, where was to raise
This amount? And what business ca
pacity had /, the son Of parents who
had given me every luxury and neg
lected a practical education, until a
crash came that left me homeless and
in perjury?
Day and night for month l brood
ed over my sorrows. and when one
day j was aroused into renewed life
by the reception of formal but cour-
teous note from Mr.. Dayton. request.
ing my immediate attendance at the
mansion,
My feet winged as / hastened to the
house of my loved Edna. What did
it mean? Had he repeBted? Was
Edna sick, or did business await me
tat the pleasure of my hardhearted cell
sol? l was ushered ito the library,
where / found the old gentleman in
an intense state of excitement, pacing
the floor, the window broken in, pa
pers and boxes scattered about the
apartment, and a safe in the corner
broken open.
/ started at him in amazement.
"You seem agitated, Mr.. Dayton" l
ventured to suggest.
"Agitatedl agitated, sin! I am wild.
Late LIST night, or early this morning,
burglars entered this apartment by
means OF yonder window and broke
open the safe When ] came down
this morning found affairs as they
are now, and nearly Sl00,00 in mon
ey, bonds and jewelry gone"
started muIely. The immensely OF
the robbery petrified me.
No" he Numbered, coming TO a
full stop. 81 have no confidence in
police force which fails 10 protect
house from such an audacious burgla-
ry and expects one half of the booty
for its return. HIRE is the room and
Wonder is a list of the stolen property.
j believe you are honest and | leave
the entire affair in your hands. Call
upon me for whatever amount OF mo-
hey you require in an attempt to re-
cover the property or to detect the
thieves If YOU succeed in a month, /
will pay you $50 coo. If you fail, l
will pay your expenses for the month
and place the case in other hands,
Are you satisfied"
gasped spasmodically. Thirty thou
sand dollars! A fortune-Eore than
The price of my hapinessI And then
the pride of my profession came to my
aid, and told him / should succeed.
1 examined the apartment. The
burglary had been effected very simp-
Is, apparently. Edward, the footman
"a tall, lank specimen of humanity
had heard noise in the night in the
library, but had paid no attention to
il, as MIR. Dayton was in the habit of
writing very late, and he thought it
was his employer.
What puzzled me most was the
means of entrance and egress adopted
l,y the burglars. The library was full
fifteen feet from the ground, had bay
window, and, except the broken pane
uf glass there was not the slightest sign
to show how the window had been
gained. 4 ladder would have done it,
but no marks of ladder no signs of
footsteps exhibited themselves in the
damp ground, wet from recent rains.
/ was sorely puzzled. ] examined
the servants one by one, but could not
find no cite TO justify the slightest
suspicion Of completely in the affair
ou their part. The work had evident
~ been done by scientific burglars,
and they had worked at their leisure.
/ inquired into the aniecedents of
the fooIman. but Mr.. Day !
ton averred that he would not allow |
no suspicion to rest on so faithful a
servant TO the family. ] resolved to |
Inquire mole about him, however;
but found nothing against the man,
and temporarily dismissed him from |
my mind as having no connection |
" It'll the case.
"You heard no noise on the night |
IF the robbery" | inquired of Mr..
Dayton.
"None. slept unusually sound
last night"
went away thoughtfully. for had |
'ound in the library gu empty bottle,
which. from the scent, | knew to have /
chlorOfUrm, and l had no
iced the marks Of muddy boots lead
ng from the apartment, while around
he window none were to he SEEM
The glass. too, had been broken lay a
quick blow, not cut out Altogether,
{ was most mysterious piece of bu
iiness.
/ watched all dives frequ ented by
he cracksmen OF the city, and work
d like beaver. could not obtain a
;lue to the perpetrators of the daring
burglary. and. after three days of I'M