The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-06-11
AGAINST TINE.

one of the greatest mistakes that
man can make is to think that because
some one else is prosperous in certain
line of business he can make money at
that business also. 1t is astonishing
that so many men whom we would call
sensible make this mistake. A man will
amass q fortune in salt, say, and lose it
all in starting a mandatory; q man
will make himself fabuloasly wealthy on
stomach bitters and lose every cent of
it trying to start daily paper All
this goes to show that q man is an I'M
thinking animal. He sees the outward
signs of prosperity, and jumps at the
conclusion that it is the business and
not the man behind the business that
makes the money. He forgets the years
of unseen toll, the close attention, the
minute calculations and the thousand
and one things that tended to make the
business what it is.
To come down to personal matters
may say that ] made the mistake of
thinking that / could make little extra
cash-after hours as it were-in basi-
ness entirely disconnected with my
present occupations business that |
had not the slightest practical knowledge
| of, and in which had no previous train
ing. The conclusion was what / mil ht
have expected complete faihures
| An hour after midnight took my
dark lantern and a few Necessary i'm
plements, and drawing my sloueh hat
over my eyes went into an alley in the
rear of one of our most wealthy banks
The cutting out of the door panel was q
simple matter, and stepping inside l
placed it once more in position, and by
the aid of some paste and slips of paper
kept it there so as not to create IN
| favorable comment if policeman
should happen along. / was at loss
for moment which door to take next,
| for / found myself in sort of back hall,
4 but turned-down light showed dimly
through the ground glass one, so |
rightly eoniectured that this room con-
tanned the safe. Stepping through the
panel which l speedily cut found my
self in a nicely carpeted room with a
closed desk, and a table on which
papers were neatly arranged. At the
| end of the room was the black iron
door of the safe, with the silver
lettered disk cleaning like an eye from
swarthy face at the glimmer of the
single low gas jet. l turned out the gas,
drew up the table, placed on it the little
lantern with its disk of white light
towards the safe.
! believe in doing things methodieally,
| 40 I had talked to both teller and cash
Ter about the safe. 1t seems that both
had TO be there at one time before the
safe could be opened. As one lived al
one end of the city and the other at the
other. it would have been difficult for
robbers to get them together at the
middle of the night. | formed friend
ship with both of these young men and
found that the cashiers words for open
ing the safe were ''hold the fort and
those Of the teller. flor l am coming
The cashier said that if ] would come in
after hours he would be pleased to show
me the workings of the safe, which he
said was one Of the finest in Detroit.
promised would drop in after the bani
had closed and accordingly, here l was
You see / had the whole thing wei
planned, for if any inqaisitive policeman
= should make inquiries would have nj