Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-07-08
MISS HAINES' BROTHER.

MISS HAINES' BROTHER.
Although the bank at Valley City
was called '"The Valley City Bank
and was supposed to be private in
stitutiOn, it was really one Of the
seven branch banks belonging to q
San Francisco syndicate Of bankers
Twas simply in charge Of it on mod
crate salary and under heavy bonds,
and / had the credit of being cap.
italist where no credit was due. The
syndicate erected One-StOry build
ing for the bank. The front Of this
was rallied off in the usual way, and
the rear was divided into two rooms.
One was used as private room in
which business appertaining to the
bank was transacted and the other
was my bedroom. was ayoung man
and single, and / had not only to act
as president, cashier, and teller dur
ing the day, but as Waterman at
night. The only help l had was a
bookkeeper, and he was with me
only three half days per week. The
remainder of his time was put iE
with shipping firm in the same
town.
You will say this was curious way
Of running a bank, but can find you
a dozen Of them in the territorial
towns of to-day conducted on the
same primitive principles. l was do
ing business with one six weeks ago
where the family kitchen was direct
lY in the rear Of the cashiers window,
and a woman who was cooking din
ner left the meat frying on the stove
to come in and cash a check for me.
Alongside the burglar-proof safe was
a trundle-bed, and on top of the safe
itself was a smoked ham and a sack
of -four 1t was banking and house
keeping combined.
1t figured that / had only one
danger to guard against. A tough
man might drop in some day and rest
the muzzleS Of his guns on the ledge
Of the window and order me to pass
out all the money in sight The safe
was always kept locked, and it was
seldom that l ever had more than
5000 outside To prevent any eXpe-
riments, however, l gave out that
had arranged shotgun battery just
where it would do the most good,
and that by pressing lever l could
blow the body Of any bad. bad man
through the front window and clear
across the street and that he would
be dead at the end of his voyage.
Everybody believed this fiction to be
fact, and some people we're so timid
that had to do business with them
away from the window. 1t was eX-
pressly stipulated IN nv contract with
the syndicate that if l received any,
thing for safe deposit it must be al
the risk Of the depoSitorS and they
must be so warned in advance
had scarcely opened for business be-
fore a dozen people in town wanted
the use Of our safe. AS we were to dc
more or less business with them
could not refuse to take temporary
charge Of valuable papers and various
sums of money,
The bank had been running about
three months when my brother Tom,
who had been telegraph operator al
Big Bend, $50 miles away, was trans.
ferred down to Grand Crossing. only
ten miles away, and he seized the
first favorable opportunity to come
down and see me. may tell you
that Tom was mechanical and cleo
trical genius and is now living on the
royalties paid him for half a dozen
good things When we had visited
for a couple Of hours and he had
looked things over he said:
"You sleep here, and you are loaded
for bear, but it wouldn't be any trick
at all for a sharp man to clean you
out 1t won't be another three
months before somebody will try il
on"
ssHow?" '.-
swell, you'll get caller in the
evening probably, and the first thing
you know you'll get rap On the head
and before you come to he'll have
opened the safe and skipped with
your cash. It's combination, see,
but if that can't be hit it can be
drilled or blown open. / think I'll
make things little safer for YOU"
The bank had no cellar, hut as
stone was plenty and cost only the
labor of quarrying, the walls were
built two feet thick. To get below
the frost line they had to be sunk
nearly five feet. The Space inclosed
by the walls was f1inty soil, SO hard
that pick could scarcely disturb it
The floor OF the bank was little
more than four feet above the earth
Tom was about week, working a,
odd times to get things in shape. He
cut out trap door in front of the