The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-12-22
HIS SINGULAR CASE.
A Detectives Strange Experience
with a Sleep Walker.

WIFI a ESACC IL ~ 1ihAGI-
''BRoxToN, y y, May II. ls73 Send your
best man 10 me Immediately
WILLIAM HARDY"
Such was the telegram received by the
chief of the bureau Of which / am "A
member. and / was deputed to work
upon the case: not because ! was the
'best man connected with the bureau,
but by reason OF the fact that ! was the
only available man.
Four hours su bsequent To the reccp-
ton Of the message / was confcrrIuE
with Mr. Hardy-a man nearly sixty
years Of age, the proprietor Of 4 small
store con nected with his residencc-to
whom had made myself known, whose
story was as follows:
~ hen. at the close of the rebellion.
after a four years service in behalf Of
my country, / returned 10 my home in
this town, my health was SO impaired
that ! could not follow nay former vu-
cation-that of a carpenter. 20 I con
verted one Of the rooms in my house
into q store and began 10 sell confec-
tioncry, cigars and other small articles.
With the growth Of the town my busi.
ness has increased until II affords no
au income sufficient 70 support my wife
and myself have no Childrcn-in q
comfortable manner; and / have been
able to pay all the debts whic! J. owing
t0 my impecuniousncss. was obliged 10
contract durin Z the earlier part of my
career as a. merchant, and lac smiled
as the last word fell from his lips
Early last evening he continued.
i was called u pom by a gentlcnan-a
stranger to mc-who said that years
ago he borrowed nine hundred dollars
Of my father and had come 10 pay that
amount and accrued interest to me
my fathers sole heir. lie did pay me
nearly sixteen hundred dollars.
As it was too late 10 deposit the
money in the bank I placed it in my
safe / had scarcely done 50 when,
glancing AT one of the windows in the
store, [ saw the head and shoulders of
man, who looked like tramp and
who was watching me closely.
The lower sasn OF the window was
slightly raised and the idea suggested
itself to me that this man might have
been listening to the conversation
which had been carried on in the room,
learned about the money and was
watching TO see what ! did with it /
stepped to the window, raised the sash
still higher, put my head out of the
window. looked up and down the
street, but nowhere was the stranger
TO be seen.
when l closed the store for the
night ] was iuclined 10 take the money
with me into the house proper On
second consideration ! deemed it wise
10 let IL remain where it was, as the
safe Is furnished with a combination
lock, and | could leave the doors be-
tween the store and my sleeping
room open and thus be enabled to
hear anyone who effected an entrance
to the store and was tampering with
the safe.
This morning, to my intense amaze
ment, l found that the money was
missing from the safe, though nothing
indicated that the store had been forci-
ble entered or any tampering with the
safe-whose combination Is known only
To me.
Il decided toemploy detective with
out delay and wired your bureau Tor
assistance"
May not the burglar have gained ac-
cess to the store from some other part
Of the building?' ! inquired.
HE could not without passing
through my sleeping-room, as you will
find by examining the premises. and l
do not think he could have done this
without waking me-" was the reply.
Il am not so sure that you would
have been Weakened by his passing
through your sleeping apartment, as a
professional manages TO get about a
building without making much noise.
Have You looked through the house?'
Il have not"
Let Us do so,' arising from my seat
in the store as ] spoke.
We started on our investigation of
the premises and in the kithen found
an uufastened window above a sinh.
below which, out Of doors, were the
tracks OF a mans bare feet in the dirt
that had been moistened by a slight
rain about half past ten the previous
evening.
4 careful examination revealed sim
liar tracks on the floor in the kitchen
and on the carpet in his slecping-room,
convincing Mr.. Hardy that l was cor
rect IN my suppositiOn that the burglar
had not directly entered the store.
Though he passed through my
sleeping. room without waking me l
cannot comprehend how he could have
reached the interior of my safe with
out injuriug the receptacle" Mr.. Hardy
remarked.
From long experience ones hngers
become so sensitive as TO enable him
TO open n safe when the combination
is unknown 10 him. / rejoined; after
a pause adding: Can you give me any
description of the man who watched
you through the Window
Il cannot, further than TO say that
he was evil-loolsing, had a heavy mus
tache and beard, was probably about
six feet in height" was the reply.
Were his mustache and beard light
or darlS?r
! should say they were almost
black
Il viii see if / can learn anything
concerning the whereabouts of this
man"
With these words went from Mr.
1ardy's presence. bat two hours later
returned 10 the store, 10 find him It's