The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1889-07-25
A TRAGIC ENDING.
CASHIER KELLER's FIRST AND
LAST FLIRTArIoN,
Tive Qussr Cases 10 which An Innoeeai
Old Man and Cashier Keller Play
CsnspIeusHs Parts.

TOT nNe yetTb Il netu y queer pl2cc
and pursued q strange occupation,
says . writer In the New York Sun.
-Four banks In q large city made up
q common purse aud employed me
as Q guardian. i was TO look after
the employees when desired, see that
the watehmen were faithful, hang
shout during business hours, hunt
up information regarding patrons,
aud make myself useful In other
ways. ! WIS an old detective, and
almost every bank robber or swlnd-
Ter Of that age was known 10 me by
sight. In those days the banks were
poorly equipped compared to these
now in Use. Not one of the four had
q time-lock, aud, instead Of chilled
steel vaults, they had big ssfes set
in recesses or brick vaults. Bank
burglars could get Into any safe la
three or four hours, aud bank
cashiers were not the shrewd sort
you meet today.
hadn't filled my place q week be-
fore made discovery that
surprised me. My first work had
been to look up the Waterman.
found that the watchmen at the
DrOvers' bank was an old man, lame
and feeble. He came on duty at
O'Clock =. M, and went off
at Z in the morning. He had
q cot in corridor aud after
. little guesti"ning lac admitted that
he always went to he'd nj half past
y and slept s0undly until after 9.
lie had been furnished with a revOlv-
eT, but the weapon had been loaded for
five years. The mau had got his place
because he WAS related to the
cashier. The bank WAS 30 situated
that robbers who had once gained
admission could have worked for
several hours without fear Of dis
turbAnce. IL seemed marvellous to
me that none Of 1.-THE boys" had
caught on the free aud easy way
things were permitted Ia slide along,
aud, determined To keep my eyes
open wide. COsgrOve, the watch
man, ~ ] soon learned, was In the
habit OF going To a certain saloon
near his home every week day at
O'clock in the afternoon, and he sat
nj certain table aud drank q glass
Of beer, ate a sandwich aud, had q
smoke and returned home. ! timed
him seven or eight times aud he was
~ regular A. clOck-wOTk. He had no
idea ! was connected with the bank.
A. n stranger ] pumped him dry,
getting every point burglar would
care for.
The other watchmen were younger
men, vigilant and cautious, and I
had no one To worry about except
COsgrOve. Every week day at half
past dropped into the saloon, took
q table near him, had glass of beer,
aud remained till he went away. |
WAs dead sure that some Of the gang
would tumble to him, as the saying
goes, sooner or later. In those days
there were hut two WAYS 90
do" a bank. One WAS through the
cashier, by forgery or other swind-
ling, and the other through the
Waterman, 10y gaining admission.
Any one contemplating a raid on
the DrOvers' bank would try the
wAtchman first. Firmly believing
this, ! continued To keep an eye on
him, but IL WIS nearly three months
before anything happened. Then,
one day, ] saw the face Of n fellow
called English Jack" on the street.
He had done time for hank work
and was known to the detectives as
fly man. He was not wanted Just
then, and ! felt that he had come to
G on business, and that he would
turn up something sooner or later.
! gave every cashier his description,
aud about a week later I dropped In
ON COsgrOve one afternoon To find
him hObnObhing with "English
Jack" While the latter did not
know me and could have no suspicion
that was connected with the bank.
| kept TO the other end OF the room
and did not tarry long after drink
ing my beer. The two met the next
day and the next, aud u was plain
to see that COsgrOve had taken
q liking to the man.
The fourth day, an hour before the
regular time, ] entered the saloon in
that condition known as half full.
sang q song, took a drink, and then
sat down and gradually relapsed into
that stupOT which was an excuse for
dropping my head aud arms on table
aud going to sleep. The barkeeper
had no thoughts of putting me out,
~ | was n regular customer, and !
was apparently sound asleep when
cOsgrOve came I'm aud took his seat. i
Ten minutes later English Jack en-
tered aud sat down beside him. |
was only four feet away, ami both |
Abbh u AAlhl ! WIS
and asleep and a nonentity. They |
had glass, talked in friendly man.
ner for few minutes. and then Jack |
said: al got some Of the incest wine |
today present to me-that YOU |
ever tasted. I had a bottle ready Ia
bring down, but forgot IL. III hap
pen 60 he going by the bank this
evening I'll Just knock ON the door i
aud hand IL In"
81 might be asleep, "innOcently re-
piled the old Waterman.
Then I'll make Il u point To come
early. II I should be passing at
O'Clock you'd have your eyes aud
ears open, EN- ."
Yves, but"
"PshAW! man, Il will he no trouble
to me; none In the least. When I
like q man I'm willing To do for hirI.
The taste of that wine will give you
five years more Of life. lifts against
orders for you To open the door few
inches tn receive present from d
friend, then it's time you looked for
another job"
hoped To hear the old man declare
that he could not think OF breaking
the strict orders given him, after "A
feeble attempt tn protest, he gave In
aud when they parted IL was with the
that the wine was To
be handed In. ] could have called at
his house aud opened his eyes 10 the
game his friend WAS playing, ar
the scheme la several other
ways, but | hoped To accomplish
more than that. ] went to the pres
ident with my report, aud that after
noon, when the bank closed, was
left behind the counters with three
policemen In citizens clothing, aud
al Of US fully armed. The janitUr
with Us until 4, at which
lime CosgrOve came on duty aud the
Did wAtchman was left alone, as he
thought, without the slightest sus-
piclOu that four men were hiding not
Ten feet from his cot. There were
Two gates by which the offices were
These stood open, but the
bid man never even looked into the
uciOsure. lie sat down on his cot,
smoked his pipe, and then walked !
mp aud down until = o'clock. II was
exactly that hour when there came
! knock on the front door. COsgrove
waited q moment before responding
% it, probably having a stuggle be-
ween duty aud appetite, but he
iuAlly tiptoed To the door, turned
he key, and opened % q few inches. G
We could hear whispers, but within .
lslf q minute the door was violent /
y pushed In on him aud three men
Fsre In the bank. They shut aud :