St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-04


firm.
At 3:55 the manager of Ployd,
Cow & Co. handed in his book and
checks amounting to $4,000. The
paying cashier looked up as he heard
his voice.
He called some one to take his
place, and disappeared into the
secretary's room, and within twelve
minutes the police were at work on
the case.
The check presented at 3:45 was a
forgery, and the man who presented
it some dummy" who had made
himself up like Mr. Smith, of Ployd,
Cow & Cos.
This was not a difficult task The
counterfeit man was the same height
as the original, and about the same
make. Smith had not spoken a hun
dred words to the cashier during the
five years his firm had dealt with the
bank
He always wore blue serge office
coat, whatever the weather. He al
ways wore a silk top hat, and it in
variably worked it's way to the back
of his head before he had worn it
three minutes.
No one ever saw him at the bank
without his trimmed eyeglasses
and his tightly rolled umbrella. a
Smith had friendly nod for the
patrons he knew in a business way,
but he seldom spoke a single word to
any one.
Officers were sent to every railway
terminus; they searched the hotels
and every likely place for a man to
try to change his clothes. If the fell
low had not some safe hiding place
selected in advance the chances were
more than ten to one against his
making an escape
In Room 25 of Cremane's private
and commercial hotel, which l will
admit was not firSt-class eStab-
lishment, but still good enough for a
traveller earning $40 a week, I read
most of the particulars given above
in the evening paper. The officials
had done their best to keep the whole
affair dark until some clue was
gained but the reporters had been
too many for them
L had come in from my round of
calls utterly tired out. Reaching my
room, 1 pulled off my boots, lighted
pipe, sat down with my feet on the
bed, and this bank business was the
first thing which caught my eye as I
glanced over the paper. l had just
finished the article when the night
porter came up.
Heard about the bank sWindle p"
he asked, as he entered my room,
without the preliminary trouble of
tapping.
Just read it,
Cool chap, wasn't he? And, say.
there are couple of detectives down
stairs now. They say they've shad-
owed him here, and they're going to
search the whole place. They are
on the floor below now, and will want
to come in here in a minute
He had hardly finished speaking
when the men appeared. 1 was a
head shorter than Ployd's manager.
l was thin, while he was stout, and I
was young, while he was middle
aged
But those old sleuthhounds came
in on tiptoe, looked at me out of the
corners of their eyes and sat down
on the edge of my two chairs to
question me, the bigger of the two
taking the precaution to place his
seat between me and the door. 1t
was fully d quarter of an hour be-
fore they had finished, and then
they seemed to take it as a personal
injury that 1 hadn't committed the
crime.
Before my visitors left one of them
suggested with a wink to his COM
rade that / might as well be taken
along on general principles, as there
was no telling what l might not
own up to after a week in prison.
But the other was not SO evil-minded
In fact he took fatherly interest
In my welfare, and put his hand upon
my shoulder pleasantly and compass
sionately, as he advised me it would
be better to restore the money while
there was yet time. / refused to dis
gorge, and he went out sorrowing.
saying that l had missed a golden OPP
portunity, and that I should live to
repent and wear a convict's suit.
The hotelwas thoroughly searched.
Those men did their duty; and I
think they would have carried off
every soul within the place as a
suspicious character had not the
manager interfered, and the detect
ives finally withdrew with at least
two pocketbooks crammed with
notes.
At 10 o'clock 1 was finishing nv
third pipe, and had long before
changed my paper for novel. was
just getting sleepy when a queer
thing happened.
My bed was in one corner Of the
room. I sat on a chair on the left
hand side, with my feet across the
middle. l had my book on a line
with my eyes, and all had been
quiet for the last half-hour, when
suddenly voice exclaimed:
We'll, old man, that must be an
interesting yarn
l bounded to my feet and-saw no
one. looked around the room care
fully, peering into every corner-no
one. I slipped toward the door on
tiptoe, and opened it with a ierk
and saw-no one.
Then I turned, and there was a
man standing on the other side of
my bed. He wasn't ghost. He was
made of blood, flesh and bones, like
myself.
To say 1 was frightened is putting
1t mildly. 1 was scared. 1 sank
right into a chair, with my mouth