Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-01-02

INcheU UUo uOOT DculUu l1elu, anu WILLIE
the old man was protesting and command
ing he was seized, bound, gagged and
laid on his cot. The work was done neat
ly and rapidly. and as he was disposed of,
English Jacks voice was heard quietly OBJ
serving:
Now. old gentleman, you Just lie quiet
and you won't be hurt; but if you go to
raising a row we shall crack your skull
without any particular ceremony. Get
out your tools, boys, and get to work.
Let us have a little more light on the sub
iect."
He lighted two more ~gas-burners, and
we heard them opening their bags
selecting out their tools. Not one of US
moved a hand until the trio entered by
one of the gates. Then we rose up, re-
volvers cooked and leveled, and the villains
were so amazed that not the leastresistance
was offered. l sent for the president, and
he came to find the fellows hand-cuffed,
the Waterman helpless, and a burglars kit
laid out for work. There was $3.50, 900 in
cash in the big safe, and the burglars
would have secured every dollar of it had
| not dropped to the scheme. Each one
of the robbers got a long sentence to
prison, but there was sorrow mixed with
elation. Cosgroye had to go, of course,
but on the very next day after giving his
testimony In court he committed suicide
by hanging.
One other adventure that | met with
while holding my place had a queer incep-
ton and d tragic ending. In those days
the cashier of a bank carried the key to
the safe or vault, and he alone. In the
Farmers bank, Mr.. Keller, the cashier,
often remained to fix up his accounts after
oil o+hor- bod 1oror4o1 ua nac. a c11ia+
reserved man, very gentle In his speech
and actions, and had been with the ~institu-
ton seventeen years. While he was mar
ried he was never seen in society, and it
wasn't once In five years that he took a
holiday. He did not chew, smoke, gamble,
bet, drink or swear, and he appeared ut
terly insensible to the charms of the female
sex. He was held up as a model Of excel
lence and a paragon of virtue, and the
man who would dare suspect him of even
a failing would have been put down pretty
quick. While | quietly Investigated the
doings of some of the other responsible
employees, | gave Keller no thought. The
board Of directors would have felt insulted
had | Swallowed him.
| had been in the employ of the syndi-
cate about a year and a half when, one
afternoon, as | was going to supper | saw
K6ller on the street, half a square ahead
of me. | was hurrying up to overtake
him, whena woman turned In from a side
street, and almost halted as they met. |
stepped into a doorway, and l saw him
look after her sharply. When she came
along to me | was surprised to see how
homely she was in face and figure. She
was coarse in facial expression, had a
squat figure, and looked more like a scrub
woman out for an airing than a lady. 1t
wasn't like Keller to notice a woman on
the street, and his actions aroused my
curiosity. | was at the same place at the
the same hour next day, and this time the
woman certainly bowed to him. He SEEM
ed frustrated and confused, and finally came
to a dead halt and looked after her. When
he resumed his walk followed the woman
to a second-class hotel and found her to be
a boarder there under the name of Mrs.
Ransom Pierce, widow. She had been
there a month, seemed to have plenty of
money, and was respectable so far as any
one knew. What was there between her
and the cashier?
They met the third afternoon, each
bowling. On the fourth day they stopped
and chatted a moment, and on the fifth
they turned off the street together and
walked five or six squares in company.
Next day a note came to Keller in business
hours, and he read it and smiled as is
greatly pleased. In about ten days |
solved the problem. What do you think
the solution was? Our old and trusted
cashier a man supposed to be
adamant, a husband with a
wife as handsome as a picture
mashed" on a woman built for the hay
fields instead of the parlor! | refused to
to believe it myself at first, and | felt that
| deserved to be kicked for my suspicious,
but within a month every suspicion had
become a fact. They were writing to each
other daily andsthen meeting were frequent.
in a quiet way | found that he was absenting
himself from home three or four evenings
a week, and | soon settled it that he was
in the woman's company. Keller acted
so queerly about the bak that | looked to
see the others notice it. A man with half
an eye could see that a great change had
come over him, but no comments were
made, and neither did | dare go to any of
the officials with my story.
A climax comes to all such affairs sooner
or later. | made up my mind what course
to pursue, and one day, when the woman
packed up and departed for the East, l be-
heved the climax at hand. That same
afternoon all the employees were out of the
bank by FIVE o'clock, all except Keller and
the j%anitOr. | was watching from a door
way across the street, and when he ap-
peared at $50 with a satchel in his hand
and headed for the depot I followed him.
| let him buy a ticket to New York and get
aboard the train, and then arrested him.
He had scarcely a word to say, seeming
like one dazed by a blow. He was taken
to the police station and the president sent
for. When the sstchel was opened the con-
tents proved to be S67. 500 in green
backs, all the currency the band had on
hand. Keller was leaving wife, home. rep
u%tation, and every thing to enjoy life in
Europe with a woman who could not COM
pare with his own kitchen girl. He had no
excuse to urge, no explanations to make.
| We honestly believed him crazy, and it
was arranged that he should be taken
home and nothing done or said about the
matter. He was informed of this decision,
but while waiting for a carriage to arrive
he drew a pistol from his pocket and blew
his brains out.
AN INVOLUNTARY THEFT.
How a Young Man Picked a Pocket and
Never Knew 1t.