The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-04-16
IN THE BANKS VAULTS,
AN HONEST ENGLISH cRAcKsMAN.
Finding His Way Into the Bank Of Eng
land and Then Informing the Aston
ished Directors OF His strange
DiscoVery-His Reward.
TBoston Globe,1

them, at their usual sitting, the following
ill-spelt and somewhat curious letter: I
Z Two GentlmIn of Bank England: Yoo think
VOW is all safe hand your Bank is seafe, butt
knows butter ibin hinsile the Bank thee last
3 mite hand you nose muffin abowt It. Butt um
mott theaf, 80 hif yeo will NETT me in the gret
squar rom, werh arl the monlyes, at twelf
mite lie inpain orl to yeow, let only l, hors
cum alown, hand say muffin nobody
Jon Sniff.
The letter being duly read, was, as might
be expected, the topic Of conversation and
suggestion for some little time. Others
thought that under the apparently igno.
rantly written letter deeper my stery was
hidden; but all agreed that the safest way
was to put the letter, with proper instruc.
tions, into the hands of the detectives.
The detectives looked grave. There was
plot at work, they saw; and, with their
usual penetration, they at once penetrated
the deepest depths of the iniquity.
There is very large room underground,
where the huge wealth Of the bank is de.
posited-millions and millions of English
sovereigns, bars Of gold, and hundred.
weights of silver, with myraids of notes.
The detectives, Of course, knew that this
room must be the place which the writer OF
the letter designated as the "gret squar
rom." 1t is full of treasure. The floor is
Of solid stone pavement, and its walls,
roof and doors are of wrought iron and
steel. All the night long detectives are
secreted in the room, but they saw nothing
and heard nothing, with the exception that
some said they heard, about one or two
o'clock strange noise they could not ac'
count for. The next night was the same,
and the next, and the next; and when the
board day of the bank came around the
whole of the Bank Directors would have
treated the affair as an idle attempt to
frighten them had not their attention been
more strongly called to the subject by the
following incident:
A heavy chest had been forwarded ad.
dressed to the "Directors of the Bank Of
England" The chest was, OF course,
opened before them at once-such thing
being very unusual-and found to contain
a large packet of most valuable papers
and securities which had been safely de.
posted in the vault. With them the fol-
lowing letter: -......
To THE DIRECTORS OF THE BANK OF ENG
LAND. GESTLEMES:-My husband, who is an
honest man, wrote 10 you last week and told
you that he had found way-which he be-
lievesfs only known TO himself-of getting in.
| 10 your strong room. and offered II you would
meet him there at night to explain the whole
matter. He had never taken anything from
that room except the inclosed box. You set
detectives upon him and he took the box TO
| show that he could go there, whoever might
watch, II he chose. He gives you another
chance. Let few gentlemen be I'm the room
alone. guard the door and make everything
secure and my husband will meet you there at
midnight. Yours respectfully,
ELLEN SMITH.
This letter was more mysterious than the
last. The only thing that was evident was
that the writer, "Ellen Smith," was bet.
ter writer than her husband, who styled
himself "Jon Sniff" The detectives were
shown the letter and acted accordingly.
or course they were posted in the room. In
the morning they told strange story.
They said that they saw light about
| twelve O'Clock. II seemed to come from
dark lantern, but directly they ran to the
spot from whence the light proceeded It
went out and the strictest search had dis
covered nothing. The bank officials be-
came alarmed. They, however, agreed
to do what, perhaps, would have
been wiser II done at first, VIZ, TO
deputize few OF their number TO visit
the vault aloDo. So II was arranged that
three gentlemen should remain in the strong
room all night, and that no one else should
be with them. Every suitable precaution
was taken when night came. The sentinel
paced up and down outside; the detectives
were not far off; and, after the most rigor-
Gus search had been made, the gentlemen
were locked in. At last one OF them, who
paced the floor rather impatiently, begin
ming to think that perhaps, after all, twas
only clever trick, cried out: "You ghost,
you secret visitor, you midnight thief,
come outl There is no one here but two
gentlemen and myself. II you are afraid,
give you my word and honor as a gentle.
man that the police are not here. Come
out, sayW
II was more in Jest than in earnest that
Major c., for he was military man,
shouted out the absurd speech, for, ns w1
have said, he began TO suspect that after
all some practical joke was being adroitly
carried on, as had more than once before
been perpetrated, and he did not much
like being victimized himself. His aston.
ishment, however, was great when in reply
he heard strange voice saying: "If you
have kept you word, will keep mine. Put
out you light, for rve one, and I'll come"
The Major and his fellow directors did
not much like putting out the light, but they
were not towards, and, after some demur,
1t was done. Where the voice came from
was, however, a mystery, for there was no
hiding places in the room, every side being
of thick, many plated iron and steel; the
ceiling was also Of the same material.
When the light was out they walked In
silence, while the Major grasped firmly in
one hand revolver, and in the other held
the lantern and few matches. For lit.
tie while low, grating sound was heard,
and then a voice, evidently that of some
one in the room, said:
"Are you there alone, sureW
The Major, who cared nothing for bodily
form, struck match, and instantly crash
was heard, and low, smothered laugh
When the match was lighted nothing could
be detected-no one was there. Again the
Major called upon the mysterious some
body to come forth, and again voice wa.
heard saving: Show can l trust vor