The morning call., 1893-08-20

same primitive principles. | was doin z
business with one six weeks ago where
the family kitchen was directly in the rear
of the cashiers window. and a woman
who Vas cooking the dinner left the meat
frying on the fire to come in and cash a
check for me-. Alongside the burg pro of
safe was a trundle- bed and on top of the
safe itself WAS smoked ham and a sack
OF -four. 1t was banking and housekeep-
ing combined.
1t was figured that l had only one dan
ger To guard against. A burglar might
drop in some day and rest the muZZle of
his revolver 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 | had more than
$40 outside. To prevent any experiments.
however. | gave out that l had arranged
shotgun battery just where it would do
the most good. and that by pressing a
lever l could blow the BODY of any
bad, bad man through the front win
DOW and clear across the street, and
that he would he dead at the
end of his voyage. Everybody believed
this fiction to be fact. and some people
were so timid that | had to do business
with them away from the window. 1t
was expressly stipulated in my contract
with the syndicate that il | received any
thing for safe deposit it must be al the
risk Of the deposltors, and they must be so
warned in advance | had scarcely opened
for business before dozen people in to W d
wanted the use of our sale. AS we were
to do more or less business with them
could not refuset 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 at EustOD-square
station, was transferred down TO DerrInton
junction, 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 electrical
| genius, and is now living on the royalties
paid him for half dozen good things.
| When he had visited for couple of hours
and he had looked things over he said:
~ ou sleep here; you are all alone. anG
| 1t wouldn't be any trick at all for sharp
man to clean you out. 1t won't be an
other three months before somebody will
try 1t on"
"How?"
We'll. 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 combina-
! ti0n. 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, but as stone
was plentiful in the neighb0rhood 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
fiintv soil, so hard that pick could hardly
disturb it. The floor of the bank was a
little more than four feet above the earth.
| Tom was about week working at ODD
times to get things in shape. He cut out a
| trapdoor In front of the safe, brought down
wires and battery. and when he had fin
lshed we had con,riyance which he alone
had power over from Derrinton. By means
OF switch up there he could spring the bolt
oil The trapdoor and door worked on a
spring to close the opening again. Astaple
In the door and another in the frame per-
mitted the use of a neg, so that there
might be no fear of accident during bust
ness hours. The understanding we had
was that Tom should drop that door every
hour between o'clock at night and the
next morning. and the thing worked as
easy is rolling off log. For the first few
nights the click OF the bolt woke me up as
the door fell, but after time it failed to
penetrate my drowsy senses.
had to run my bank to suit the eonven-
ience OF the public, and il was never
closed before 6o'ciock in the evening and
was often open until Z. As a rule, all
persons who wished to use the safe over
] night came in between and 7. 1 gave