Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-05-02

was large shade tree, and as near as
could make out she disposed of the note,
when folded up, somewhere about the
tree. When she left I followed her for
a short distance, and looking back saw
young and well-dressed man occupy
ing tie place vacated by her. An hour
later, when could examine the tree,
I found hollow in the trunk just abou,
on line with her shoulder as she sat
on the bench. Zone not looking for it
would have sat there fifty times and dis
covered nothing.
My theory was that she had an accom-
plice-the young man whom had seen.
The hollow in the tree was their postof-
flee. Next day was at the park half an
hour before her usual time, and behold!
the young man was occupying that
bench. AS she appeared he got up and
took seat hundred feet away, aud by
watching closely l saw that she took a
note from the tree. Before leaving she
wrote and 'posted' one in reply, and af-
ter she had gone saw him get it. I
was now certain that / was on the right
trail, and / went to Mitchell to secure
some particulars I wished to know. I
told him had clue, but would not re.
oil VIII htnb = 1n1
him that the combination of the vault
door had four numbers, and he alone
knew it. 1t had been changed about a
month after Mrs. Gray's arrival, and he
hesitatingly admitted that the wor0 was
"Aime, which was her Christian name.
He would not, however, admit that this
fact was known to her.
For two weeks after securing this in
formation | hardly got sight of Mrs.
Gray. For some reason she remained
very closely at home. l found out from
Mitchell in a roundabout way that the
money needed to pay the men at coal
mine and also at large factory was de-
posted with him on the fourteenth of
every month. It was simply passed in to
him to be locked in the vault overnight as
it came up from Pittsburgh by messenger.
Ireasoned that Mrs. Gray would worm
this information out of him in some way,
or that her accomplice would discover it,
and that if she had the combination of
the vault she would make her strike on
tie night Of fourteenth. On the
twclfth day of August she exchanged
notes at the park, also on the thirteenth.
On this latter date shadowed the young
man for three hours, and became salts
fed that he was from Pittsburgh, and a
"slick IN. Among the things he did
was to 90 to the depot and inquire about
various night trains, and particularly one
which passed over the road half an hour
after midnight.
I promised Mitchell that Il climax
would soon De reached, and thea stakej
my all on what might happen on the
night of the 14th At S O. clock on that
evening | threw piece Of ''dosed'
meat 20 lis dog from Il neignboring yard,
and at 10 softly climbed the fence to
find the canine in his kennel, and sick
enough to remain there. | lay down
within ten feet of him, hidden behind a
bush. and it was an hour and half be-
fore anything happened. Everybody in
the neighborhood was in bed and asleep
by that time, and was not greatly sur
prised when female sgure, which l
knew to be that of Mrs. Gray, suddenly
appeared and passed me five feet away,
going toward the bank. She stopped
at the kennel to speak Of the dog, and
then opened the rear door and entered.
did not move from my hiding place IN
! til she reappeared, about twenty MINUTES
| after. She carefully locked the bank,
and as she passed me on her way to the
house followed quickly behind. The
keys she laid on the back steps, softly
opened the side gate, and | let her
reach the street before brought matters
to climax. She was only out OF the
gate when she was joined by man, but
when | rushed to seize them he got the
alarm, aud was off before could grab
!, him. / got her. however, and she had
bundle under her arm, which took
charge of-a bundle containing about
SO, 900 in greenbacSs.
What nervy woman she was' She
just simply laughed bit as ] led her ur
the steps and rang the bell to arouse
| Mitchell, AMI when l had told him all,
/; aud lad the money and his keys to prove
it, she just looked up at him with a
smile and asked: