San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-05-23
A PRISONERS STORY.

1t was the invariable custom of the night
Waterman of the Merchants and Mechanics
bank at Clio to throw open the front doors
and raise the curtains at 7;S0 O'Clock each
morning. By that time all the stores were
open and the streets full of people. From
$50 to s he swept and busted, and the bells
had scarcely struck the latter hour when the
bank officials began to arrive. Then the
Waterman went home, the doors were closed,
and at 9 the bank was ready for business
One September morning the cashier teller
and two of the clerks arrived to find the
heavy front doors still closed. Peter, the
Waterman, had been in service nine years,
and this was the first time he had oversight
his hour. The grocer on one side and the
shoe man on the other had pounded on the
bank doors at a quarter to s, and not receiv
ing any response, were certain that some
thing out Of the way had occurred There
were nine of us who entered the bank as the
cashier unlocked the doors. The curtain.
had not yet been raised when we knew that
robbery and murder had taken place When
we got the full light we saw Peter lying on
his back on the floor outside of the railing
He was fully dressed, and had been struck
on the back Of the head, and the blow had
crushed in the skull The body was cold
showing that death had occurred,some hour
before
Further investigation proved that the door
of the vault had been drilled and blown open
and that the bank had been robbed of every
dollarbf its cash on hand. Taking the loss OF
bonds, stocks and cash, the aggregate was
about $50, 000 about half of which fell upon
the bank Burglar tools, fuse, flask OF
powder and other articles were lying about
and on a desk we found the loaded club which
had dealt Peter his death blow. When we
cameto investigate as to how the robbers
had'etfected an entrance every body was al
sea. Whey. could only have come and gone by
the front door. None of the windows had
been raised, the back door was heavily barred
and the door leading to the cellar had not
been tempered with.
Peter had no key to the lock of the front
door. He could open it from the inside, but
not from the other. The cashier and book
keeper, both old and trusted'men and stock
holders, alone had keys. He must, we CON
cluded, have admitted the robbers TO the
bank, but tho fact of his having been muir
dered was proof Of his integrity. Had heput
up a job with them, they would not have fin.
low, and what excuse they could have urged
to gain admission was beyond our figuring
Detectives were put to work on the case, but
not the slightest clew could they get for
weeks. 1t seemed as if the robbers had taken
wings as they left the bank. Three months
later two men, who were suspected of being
good fellows" were arrested at point 300
miles away, and in another state, for stealing
q horse and buggy. In following up this case
to conviction it was proved that they had
arranged to do a bank in a country town,
and that'the rig had been stolen as a part of
the programme. One of the men was recog-
nized as person seen in our town ABOUT the
time of our robbery, and the bank people be-
came satisfied that both of them had a hand
in it. They had no proofs, and the matter
would have been permitted to drop but for
me.
The loss of cash was only about 81, 900.
About S35, 900 in securities belonged to de
postorS, and the balance was the loss of the
bank None of the securities had been ne
gotiated thus far and it was my theory that
the robbers had them securely hidden away
somewhere. While 7 could not be positive
that either of the men arrested for Stealing
the horse and buggy was the party wanted
for our job, two of our citizens were so posi-
tive in identifying one of them that | was
ready to chance it. The bank had offered a
big reward for the arrest of the robbers and
murderers, and after due elaboration with
myself and several consultations with friends
determined on a plan. The men had been
sent to prison for three years apiece When
arrested they made fight, and burglars
tools were also found in their poss---.