The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-06-14
A Bank Vault Mystery.

A Bank Vault Mystery.
One day the directors of the Bank of
England were much perplexed and not a
little amused when the secretary read to
them, at the usual sitting, the following i'll
spelt and somewhat curious letter:
Two gentlemin of Bank England: You
think VOW is all safe hand your bank his seafe,
butt knows .bettur. bin hinside the bank
thee last 2 mite hand VOW nose muffin abowt it.
But um mott theaf, so hif yeo will met NEE
in the great squar room, werh arl the moneys,
at twelf mite lie ixplain orl to yeow, let only
l or cum alown, and say muffin to nobody
Jon Sniff.
The letter having been duly read was, as
might be expected, the topic of converse
tion and suggestion for some little time.
Some of the directors thought it was
hoax. Others thought that under the ap-
parently ignorantly written letter deeper
mystery was hidden but all agreed that
the safest way was to put the letter with
proper instructions 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 in
quiry.
There is a very large room under ground,
where the huge wealth of the bank is de-
posted millions and millions of English
sovereigns, bars of gold and hundred
weights of silver, with myriads of notes.
The detectives, of course, knew that this
room must be the place which the wiiter
of the letter had designated as ''the great
squar room" 1t is full of treasure The
floor is of solid stone pavement, and its
walls, roof and door are of wrought iron
and steel.
All night long detectives were secreted
in the room, but they saw nothing and
heard nothing, with the exception that
some said they heard, between l and 2
clock, a 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 round the
whole of the directors would have treated
the affair as an idle attempt 70 frighten
them had not their attention been more
strongly called to the subject by the follow
ing incident :. Ad county, Md had been for
- ,e-rows: Being part of tas4rart calEa a
'Hook's Meadow Enlarged, beginning for
the same at the end of the South 75o West 60
course opeliGthecgbNL"tneet. ct. r-nning thence
thing being very unusual IOrth 250
contain large packet of most vafIthen1
papers and securities, which had been safely
deposited in the vault. With them was
the following letter:
To the Directors of the Bank Of England:
GENTLEMEN-My husband, who is an hon
est man, wrote to you last week and told you
that he had found way-which he believes
is only known to himself-of getting into your
strong room, and offered if you would meet
him there at night to explain the whole mat
ter. He had never taken anything from that
room except the inclosed box. You set de-
tectives upon him and he took the box to
show that he could go there, whoever might
watch, if he chose. He gives you another
chance. Let fey gentlemen be in the rsom
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 a
better scholar than her husband, who styled
himself ''Jon Sniff" The detectives were
shown the letter and acted accordingly.
OF course they were posted in the room.
In the morning they told a strange story.
They said they saw light at about II
o'clock. 1t 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 discovered
nothing.
The bank officials became alarmed.
They, however, agreed to do what perhaps
would have been wiser if done at first, viz:
to depute few of their number to visit
the vault alone. So it was arranged that
three gentlemen should remain in the
strong room all night, and that no one else
should be with them. Every suitable pre-.
caution was taken when night came. The
sentinel paced up and down outside; the
detectives were not far off and, after the
most vigorous search had been instituted
the gentlemen were locked in.
AT last one of them, who paced the fool
rather impatiently, beginning to think that
perhaps, after all, it was only clever trick
cried out "You ghost, you secret visitor
you midnight thief, come out There is
no one here but two gentlemen and myself
IF you are afraid, l give you my word Of
honor as gentleman that the police are
not here. Come out, / say!" Itwas more
in jest than in earnest that Major c., fol
he was military man, shouted out the alb
surd speech; for, as we have said, he had
begun to suspect that, after all, some prac
tical joke was being adroitly carried on, as
had more than once before been perpetra-
ted, and he did not much like being vic
timized himself.
His astonishment, however, was great
when, in reply, he heard a strange voice
saying: eff you have kept your word ]
viii keep mine. Put out your light, for
I've one, and then Eli come" The Major
and his fellow-directors did not like putting
out the light, but they were no towards,
4 and after some demur it was done Where
the voice came from was, however, mys-
terry, for there were no hiding-pIaccs 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 waited in silence, while the Major
grasped firmly IN one hand aregolver and
in the other held the lantern and few
matches. For little while low, grating