Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-29
A DETECTIVES RUSE.

A UEIECllVES kUNE.
Thepresdent Of the Bank Of Stability, nlR,
nt at the green baize table in the large and
airy directors room of that institution. He
paused in his writing for a moment and
touched the silver bell at his elbow, and in .
moment the janitor appeared at the door.
@John," he said, "would You ask Nh.
Brooks to step this wayg"
ayes, sir" said the departing %janitor. Soon
after John came into the room and said:
4Mr. Brooks is not down yet sir"
aNot down yet?" echoed the president.
aWhy, that's strange. It's twenty minutes
past TO-"
Tho president arose and passed through to
the bank.
3Mr. Jones,n lie said to the bookkeeper,
Eahasn't the cashier come down yeti"
a have not seen him this morning, sir"
said Jones.
"This latcness is not customary" asked the
president.
mo. sir; Mr.. Brooks is generally very
punctual."
sHe may be i'll this morning" said the pres
| ident, but I should think he would have sent
us word"
The bookkeeper made no answer. He evil
IDENTIFY had no particular liking for Mr..
| Brooks, the cashier.
"He lives at the Bellmere house, I think"
continued the president.
eyes, SIR"
"Well, I will just step down and see what
is the trouble. As the directors come in
kindly tell them I will be back in a few min
utes, and ask them to wait for me. l want
to see theu particularly this morning."
Mr.. Bonus, president of the Stability bank,
| walked down the street towards the Bellmere
hotel, intending to make some inquiries after
| Ar. Brooks. He was so absorbed in the un-
usual fact Of the cashiers absence during
business hours he didn't take that care which
/ q portly old gentleman should take in passing
dlong a crowded street, and the first thing he
knew he had the breath knocked out of him
by a man with a valise in his hand running
against him. Mr.. Bonus was rather firm on
his feet, however, and the other colliding
party was thrown backwards a couple of
steps.
"Hullo, Bonus," cried his acquaintance,
"you are about as solid as your own bank, I
take it."
"You are in a hurry this morning, Saun-
ders," gasped Bonus as he recovered from the
shock.
"Oh, not particular; just got in on the
morning train from Chicago, and I say,
Bonus, your bank must be a solid instita-
tiong'
ut is" said Bonus, "but why do you make
that remark7"
"Well, it is not every financial institution
nowadays that can afford to let its cashier
take a vacation trip to Canada"
ITO Canada?" ventured Bonus cautiously;
| @you mean Mr.. Brooks, I presume"
ayes, as I got into Chicago last night I saw
Brooks buying a ticket for Detroit for the 9
o'clock train, Michigan Central. I slapped
him on the shoulder and asked him if he was
going to take a vacation, and he said he had
relatives in Detroit. I told him Detroit was
! pretty near the border line for a cashier, and
he laughed a triae nervously it seemed to ne
and said, YES, it was.' Then he asked me
when I was going back to Stability, and I
said tomorrow morning. So he shook hands
and said if l saw any of his friends to give
them his regards, and then he took his valise
and ven on the Pullman.
ayes" said the president. "Brooks has gone
away for a couple of weeks; he has been a
little overworked for the past year."
II thought he looked a trifie tagged out"
| said the other as he went on his way.
Mr.. Bonus walked down as far as the hotel
but he did not go in. He turned around and
looked at his watch, it was nearly IL o'clock.
| He knew that the train which left Chicago at
9 o'clock the night before was we'll into the in
terror of Canada by that time, and if Brooks
was really an absconder, he was safe from
pursuit. AS Mr.. Bonus entered the directors
room of the baEk the directors were all seated
around the green table waiting for him. He
turned the key in the door and took his place
in the arm chair at the head of theetablc.
sGentfemen, u he began in q husky voice, II
am afraid that I shall a to announce that
Brooks, your cashier, is at this moment i'll
Canada"
There was silence around the board for
fully a minute after this startling announce
ment, then Mr.. Meiggs spoke up:
allow are his accounts, Wr. Bonus"
cat the last inspection" replied that Off
cial, "they appeared all right"
appeared, humph," growled Mr.. Meiggs;
"you know 1 never liked that fellow; he was
a deuced sight too clever for me. Now, if he
has got away with any cash it will certainly
be q considerable amount"
The silence that ensued seemed to give as
sent to the proposition by Mr.. Meiggs.
II met Saunders on the street just now"
said Bonus, "and he saw Brooks leaving on
the 9 20 clock train last night. Brooas evil
IDENTIFY gave him to understand hat he had
gone on his vacation. I think it would be q
good idea to have that information go abroad.
I think we might have it announced that
Brooks has gone off for a couple of weeks to
visit friends in Detroit. This would give us
time to turn around and consult as to what is
best to be done"
There were several mods at this proposition,
but Meiggs, who was theE kicker of the board,
said grufiiy, "Stuff. What good would that
doa The truth is bound to come out the
moment the reporters get a scent of the
affair. At best it would only postpone the
difficulty for a week or two"
~ am thinking of tho credit of the bank, y
said Mr.. Bonus, mildly. IF you don't like
my plan, Mr.. Meiggs, propose something"
ayes" murmured the otherA propose some
thing"
The phrase Propose something" went
round the table, and each one of the members
looked anxiously at Mr.. Meiggs.
"Tbe first part of the proposition" said
Metgggs, lis to telegraph to Chicago for an
eAp0II dCCOuIALoliO, 0Alu dSA uluA W DIlI!S
down as many assistants as he requires, SO
that We may speedily know our position.
Are there any objections to that proposals"
Mr.. Meiggs glanced up and down the
table.
There were no objections.
my next proposal is this: Telegraph to
Chicago for one Of the best bank detectives in
the city, and place the case in his hands. A
train leaves Chicago at l o'clock. 1t is now
shortly FER II. If you commission me to
write the dispatches l will guarantee to have
both on that train and we can meet here at 3
to consult. In the meantime say nothing at
all about the affair, and after consulting with
the detective, if you think it best to put the
announcement suggested by Mr.. Bonus in the
papers there's ample time to do it."
This was unanimously agreed to, and at 8
o'clock the board of directors again met. The
Interview with the accountant was brief. He
was given charge of the books and cautioned
not a little to keep silence, a caution which he
assured the gentlemen was quite unnecessary.
Mr. Meiggs had met the detective at tho