The Owosso times., 1881-10-21
It won't prove that stole it, will
itY
twill be prima facia evidence 1
said.


'It will be prima facia evidence
said.
Il locked her up in her bedroom and
began a thorough search; band-boxes
pried into, bureau-drawers pulled out,
cupbOards ransacked, and finally went
through her own room.
Under theIcarpet, under her bed 1
found in compact wad twelve 800
bills. Now the total amount known to
be missing was only $1,045. Where
had the $155 come from? Where had
the gold coin gone to? Was the bureau
drawer paying interest on its de-
positsp
'Now I've got you, Mollie,' said as
l confronted her.
.Mollie tainted.
"A bottle of camphor and a little
cold water brought her speedily to, yet
she sturdily proclaimed her innO-
cence.
81 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 1 reasoned con-
finement would soon compel her to con-
fess.
MY work, however, was but partial
ly done, for the gold coins had not
turned up.
Il determined that those coins must
be in the house and resolved upon
thorough search from cellar to garret.
The cellar disclosed nothing, and at last
/ stumbled upon small stairway lead
ing to the garret, the door to which
was common trap-dOor, and was Sc
curely fastened by a paddock, to which
was attached three links of a chain.
"'Give me the key said to Miss
Smith, to that trap door up in the at
TIC
''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 cobwebs on the
door, but noticed that over the crack
of the doors edge they appeared to
have been broken away, caused by the
door having been recently opened.
With an axe l speedily got the door
open and saw large footprints in the
dust. BY the aid of a lamp followed
the course of the tracks over the
boards which lay across the shaky raft
ers to the furthest part of the garret,
where, over an old cross-beam, hung a
pair of old-fashioned saddle-bags. The
dust on the bags had been recently dis
turbed. In one of the pockets 1 found
the five 500 bills which disappeared
on the night of the 30th of May, the
1865 that was missed in the summer of
1879, the 5000 that was lost in 1880,
and, better than all, the rare old gold
coins upon which Miss Smith set such
store as an heirloom. / had found the
money, but 1 found $1,000 too much.
The mystery deepened. / resolved up
on one thing, and that was that Mollie
must know something about the mon
ey that was hid under the carpet be-
meath her bed. l 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.
You will not believe me if 1 tell
you, but if Miss Smith will go out
will explain. put the money there;
it was my lovers. He had saved it out
of his wages and given it to me to keep.
1 destroyed his letters for fear my aunt
would find out. There's the story.
A Somnambulist.-Bu how did the
old lady's money get into the garrett
She carried it there herself. She
was somnambulist and she walked in
her Sleep
How did you prove it, Mr.. Norris2
Did the old lady let you occupy the
bedroom and catch herp
oh, mol 1 got the old lady to take
off her shoes and stockings and place
her No. foot down on sheet of white
paper. With lead pencil marked
out her foot on that sheet of paper.
With pair of scissors 1 carefully cut
the exact shape of the old lady's foot,
which fitted exactly in the tracks in the
dust on the garret boards. Besides
that, Mollie's foot was much smaller,
she only wearing No. 2a shoe, and
would not fill the track. l also ON
careful examination found traces of
cobwebs in the frill of the old lady's
night-cap. So you see proved it by
both ends-the old lady's head and by
her feet. explained all to the satis-
faction of the old lady, she paid me in
money. and now predict wedding
soon at the Smith mansion, with Mol
lie McCann as the BRIDE"