Osage Valley banner. (Tuscumbia, Miller County, Mo.) 1879-1881, 1881-09-08


down stairs, and Miss Smith deposited
tho five hundred dollars in the secretary
drawer. closed TIE drawer, locking Il
and placing the key In the bureau
drawer beneath. She then locked the
room containing the bureau and placed
the key under some quilts that lRy in a
wardrobe In her bedroom. Before re-
tiring she locked her bedroom door and
she and Mollie retired for the night in
separate beds in the same room. The
next morning, April LIST, the neighbor
who had borrowed the money, having
n long journey TO perform, during
which he expected to make a payment
on some land purchased, called as early
rs 1--WE o'clock. before Miss Smith and
Mollie had arisen.
Awakening Miss Smith, she took
her kew from the wardrobe, unlocked
the bedroom, then. taking the bureau
drawer key from the under drawer of
the secretary, opened this to lind the
money gone. She went down stairs;
everything was locked and bolted as
she had left it the night before.
"Who took that money!"
That was the question that con-
fronted mo. There were no signs OF
burglary; no lock forced; windows aud
doors all right. No one else in the
house but Miss Smith and Mollie. OF
course, | at once examined the girl
She talked freely, said she always had
presentiment that the. money would
be stolen--in fact, had a presentimeut
that night. but feared to tell the old
lady for fear Of alarming her. / soon
learned that Mollie had key which
fitted the bedroom containing the bu-
Teau, hence my suspicious were
strengthened that Mollie had arisen in
the night. either unlocked the door
with her own key or taken the one in
the wardrobe, and, securing the money,
hid 1t either In or out OF the house
without awakening the old lady. l
finally told Mollie that l should have
TO search her and make thorough ca
animation Of the house.
Well she naively remarked. If
you DO find any money about the house
1t won't prove that stole it, will itp'
80 1t will be prima faoie evidence. l
said.
II locked her up in her bedroom
and began n thorough search; band.
boxes pried into, bureau-drawers pulled
out, cupboards ransacked, and finally
went through her own room. Under the
carpet under her bed found in n com
pact wad twelve SlO0-dollar bills. Now
the total amount kown to be missing
was only Sl.0I5. Where had the $l55
come? Where had the gold coins gone
! TOP Was the bureau-drawer paying in
! terest on its depositP
"'Now I've got you, Moilie, " said,
as confronted her.
"Mollie tainted.
"a bottle OF camphor and a little
cold water brought her speedily to,
yet she sturdily proclaimed her inno-
cence.
al didn't take Miss Smiths money;
no, did not, she convulsively ex-
| claimed between her sobs.
miss Smith would not allow me to
take her to jail where reasoned con-
finement would soon compel her to con-
fcss.
| "My work, however was but partial
/ ly done, for the gold coins had not
turned up.
| 81 determined that those coins must
/ be in the house, and resolved upon a
! thorough search from cellar to garret.
| The cellar disclosed nothing, and at
| last stumbled upon small stairway
I leading TO the garret, the door to which
was common trap-dOOr, securely fas-
/ tened by a paddock, to which was at
I tached three links of chain.
! "'Give me the key,' i said to Miss
| Smith, to that trap door up in the attic.
"'Oh, no use Of looking there, the
| keys have been lost for over five years,
| and no one has ever been up there
since There were cohwobs on the door,
4 but noticed that over the crack of the
doors edge they appeared TO have
broken away, caused by the door hav-
ing been recently opened. With an ak
/ ! speedily got the door open and saw
| large footprints in the dust. by the
aid Of lamp followed the course of
the tracks over the boards which lay
across the shaky rafters to the iurthest
part of the garnet, where over an old
cross-beam, hung a pair OF old-fash-
ioned saddle-bags. The dust on the
bags had been recently disturbed. In
one Of the pockets found the five 300
bills which disappeared on the night OF
the 30th OF May. the 1855 that was
missed in the summer of 1879, the $3.50
that was lost in 1880, aud, better than
all, the rare old gold coins upon which
Miss Smith set such store as an heir
loom. had found the money, but l
found 81 200 too much. The mystery
deepened. Iresolved upon one thing,
and that was that Mollie must know
something about the money that was
hid under the carpet beneath her bed.
/ talked kindly TO her. told her that
Miss Smiths money had been found,
and urged her TO tell me how the 81, 200
came under the carpet Of her bed.
lyon will not believe me II l tell
you. but II Miss Smith will 60 out | will
explain. put that money there i