The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1879-02-15
HOW OUR BANK WAS ROBBED.

. wi tue hdIt year. snare holders were
contented, and god Mammon seemed tc
cast favorable eye on the welfare OF
tne old and thriving corporation. How
ever, mutinous feeling of discomfort
, was plainly visible upon the faces of
the thirty odd employees. who
Swarmed like bees into the hive, pvrrv
weekday morning, fer thef purpose of
manufacturing tile golden produce that
dellghteth the souls of ofdistributinQ Di-
rectors and radient proprietOrs. The
shoe pinched somewhere. Where was
IL? ""'
, Ihe following notice, circulated for
the perusal of zach clerk, contained the
secret Of the unwOnted gloom:
Every gentleman will be required 10 remain
~ tne DanKlnR. house two sundays IN the year
" "SSiS' III EuaIuliB tue promises. by Order
J. SPoFFORTH, Secretary
Here was resolution-a conn a,
etat indeedl Six days we should labor
but the seventh certainly did not he
long to the City and Provincial Bank
The gliding of little extra pay might
have made the pill easier to swallow.
but on this point the notice was discreet.
ly reticent In the end, after a few
days Of conjecture and excitement.
everyone quietly resigned himself to
his fate, as black and white slaves are
bound TO do all the world over.
had been ten years in the bank and
received a salary which, though not
magnificent, was sufficient to support
IN comfort young wife; and yery
happy we were in our snug retreat at
Wood Green. Ofcourse we both Thought
II extremely hard to be separated even
for two Sundays in year, still. we
soon saw there was nothing for it but
submission.
Now, though ], In common with 9th.
ers, rtbelled against the fl rcible seizure
OF Sundays rest, yet it must be owned
there was some reason for the eXtraOr
dl AIRY invocation. The strong rooms |
OF two Heighboring establishment Is had |
been attempted within a fortnight, and |
boy carrying bonds in Bond street |
had been decoyed away and securities
stolen. But, worst of all, some pilfer-
ihg had been going on for months in
our own bank. Stamps had disappear
ed to an alarming extent. Clerks had
missed money from their coats, and
now and then the garments themselves
were spirited away. Traps had been
carefully laid and a detective spoken
with; but as yet the rogue was not dis
covered, and an uneasy feeling was rife
among us all
The bank boasted of four porters or
messengers, one of whom-the chief
lived rentfree In premises that near.
ly adjoined the building. He was n
long, lean man, named Bennct, with a
parchment face and a goatee beard.
Some people said he was civil, others
servile; at all events hr was quiet, well
up to his work, aud high 10 favor with
the authorities. or tie remaining
three, one had been grOcer's boy, and
The other was a country lOut, in green
coat and brass buttOns-hOth honest
creatures, but of no Importance IN this
Larrative The fourth was an pX DO
llceman named Lance, a blunt, pleasant
man, much given to relating queer stO'
ries of his former life, aud not averse
to pot of beer for his trouble,
After eight weeks had passed since
the otrcial notification, it came ronnd
to my turn to keep guard. During the
week preceding, the mystery had be-
come still more intensified by the unac
countable disappearance OF twenty
pNhhu ibbVI anu udNICtS OtBul 10 dS- |
snme very grave aspect.
On arriving at the bank, thes door
was opened by the night watchman, au
Old pensioned soldier, who, for one
pound week, remained in the build
lug all night, and vanished with the
early Looming on the arrival of the pOr
tiers tn open the doors. A few minutes
afterwards BeDnet walked in, accom-
panied, to my joy, by honest old Lance
whose wonderful stories iOndly hoped
would help to relieve the tedlum OF
long. dun day; then without more ado,
proceeded to make my frrt round.
Preceded by Bennet, with a lighted
taper, marched up stairs through every
room and office, across pcrilOus plauks
aud up dangerous ladders, till we gained
the trap-dOOr which opened on the root;
then down again to the lowest abysses
Of coal cellar and strong room, looking
IN vain for come cOncealed Guy Fawkes
who, however, was CONSPICUOUS for his
absence. I
Very mlnutely did / examine and 1
try the drawer, which had alrpahy been
tampered with, aud knew 1t contain
ed, beside stamps, large sum of gold /
and bank notes Mott seemed firm
and safe, and would take "a deal o.
work. as Bennet remarked, holding
his taper close to the lock. Lance, too, {
had good look at II and expressed the /
same sagacious opinion as his col [
! ague. !
cur first visit ended and was ex- y
pected to patrol at least three times in I
tile day-the two pOrlers went dawn to /
breakfast,aD | adjourned to Il Q mana. I
geI's room, leaving the door partly open /
so as to be able to see all round the bank. 4
lit cigar, and enscOnclnG myself
comfortably in tho managerial arm |
chair, prepared to stay the two hours
which lntervened between the cessation O
of the church bells aud luncheon time. h
SuddeHly old Lance appeared again at |
the hali'opened door, and spoke in 1
this wise: Il
'Scuse me sir, but I've been a pleace- a
man and l don't think that locks all v
right" h
(Which lock, Lance" said l. d
THAT there drawer with the stamps v
sir" A
well, let us look again." y
So saying, we botn went to the coun- D
ter which contained the drawer, and Ii
Lance pointed out some small scratches Q
on the lock, aud 4 slight indentatiOn on
the wood work surrounding it. n
That's a chisel il / die for H." ST
said the ex policeman. n
by Jovel You don't mean ito" Ii
Sure of it, sir" 81
well, let's have Bennet upstairs a.
and hear what he thinks of It," cI
Angry at being disturbed at his o
breakfast, the head porter came grum a.
Ollng To the place where l stood, and
bending down to the lock, impatiently
inquired II II was not deal more like el
y the cashier bad scratched II in the q
course OF business. After a few min M
utes' further inspection he looked up Il
with knowing smile, n
II believe Lance is right now; T. /,
looks 50 fresh, shouldn't wonder II a.
the watchhan knew something about a,
this" ="