, 1882-11-24

then locked the room containing the Du-
reau, and placed the key under some
quilts that lay in a wardrobe in her
room. Before retiring she locked her
bedroom door, and she and MollIe re.
tired for the night in separate beds in
the same room. The next morning,
April |, the neighbor who had borrowed
the money, having long journey to
perform, during which he expected to
make II payment on some land pur-
chased, called as early as o'clock, be.
fore Miss Smith and MolIie hal arisen.
awakening, Mrs. Smith took her
key from the wardrobe, unlocked the
bedroom, then taking the bureau draw.
er of the secretary, opened tins to find
the money gone. She went down stairs;
everything was locked and boltod as she
had left it the night before.
"Who took the money!"
I" That WAS the question that con.
fronted me. There was no sign of a
burglary; no lock forced, windows and
doors all right No one else in the
house but Miss Smith ond Mollie. OF
course L at once examined the girl. She
talked freely, said she always had pre-
sentiment that the money would be
stolen--in fact, had presentiment that
night, but feared to tell the old lady, for
fear of alarming her / soon learned
that Mollie had key that fitted the
bedroom containing the bureau; 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, Sc
curing the money, hid it, either in or
out of the house, without awakening
the old lady finally told Mollie that
should have to search her and mako
a thorough examination of the house.
"Well, she naively remarked, III
you do find any money about the house,
it won't prove that stole it, will it?
1t will be prima tacie evidence ]
said.
81 locked her up in her bedroom and
began a thorough search bandboxea
pried into, bureau drawers pulled out,
cupboards ransacked, and finally went
through her own room. Under thu
carpet, under her red, found, in q
compact wad, twelve 500 bills. Now
the total amount known to be missing
was only Sl.04j Where had the $155
come from? Where had the gold coin
gone to? Was the the bureau.drawer
paying interest Oh its deposits?
"'Now I've got you, Mollie, I said,
as confronted her.
"MOllie tainted.
"A bottle of camphor and little
cold water brought her speedily to, yet
she sturdiy proclaimed her Innocence
80 did not take Mss Smiths money;
nor did not, she convulsively ex-
claimed between her sobs.
Miss Smith would not allow me to
take her to jail, where reasoned con.
fnement would soon compel her to con-
Tess.
my work, however. was but par
TALLY done, for the gold coins had not
turned up.
~ determined thai those coins must
be in tho house, and resolved upon .
thorough search from cellar TO garrett
The cellar disclosed nothing, aud at last
l stumbled upon small stairway lead
| ing to the garret, the door to which was
a common { ap door, aud was securely
iast"ned by paddock, to which w0s at
tached three links OF chain.
'"Give me the key said to Miss
Smith, to that trap door up IN the attic
"'Oh. no ~" OF looking there; the
keys have been lost over Ave years, and
no one has ever been UP there since
There were cobwebs on the door, but I
noticed that over the crack at the doors
edge they appeared to have been broken
away, caused by the door having been
recently opened. With an ak Ispeedily
got the door open, and saw large foot.
prints In the dust. By the aid Of lamp
followed the course Of the tracks over
the boards which lay across the shaky
sAfters 10 the fnrthest part Of the garrett,
whore, over an Old eross-beam, hung .
pair of old.fashioued saddle.bagA The
dust on the bags had been recently dis
turbed. In one OF the pockets I found
the five 800 bills which had disappeared
on the night Of the Both Of May, the 1858
that WAS missed in the summer Of 1872.