The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-05-27
THE BANK ROBBERS.
By HENRY J. RUTLAND

years before, and referred to some
land specu 'ation in connection will
banking
Onr building was plain two story
brick standing ut a corner, and the In
terror was plainly furnished, as was
the rule Ia those days.
There was n front room and two
rear rooms with hall the length ol
these latter. One room was exactly
over the vault, and this leads me to
tell you how the vault was built 1t
was of brick, and two feet thick, and
at the top of the ioists of the second
| floor were covered with boiler plates
| The spaces between the joists were
| filed in with cement. On top of the
second floor joists, before laying the
floor, we laid other plates of iron, and
when the bank was opened for bust
ness we had little fear of our cash
being stolen by any tenant of the up
| stairs rooms.
| The idea was to rent the rooms to
lawyers or doctors, but the first caller
J decided to take all three, and to paw
one years rent in advance. He was a
stranger to all, but gave his name as
Samuel Goldwaithe, and explained
| that be was an inventor and was then
seeking to perfect certain tools for the
| use OF miners. One of his ideas was
drill to be worked by turning a
wheel The man had frank, open
| face, smooth tongue, and when he
offered to put down whole years
| rent in advance it would not have
been business to keep him out While
| Mr.. Desnoyers, my partner, was per
fectly satisfied as to our mp stairs man.
| was not. There wasn't the slightest
| reason to suspect that he was not
what he claimed to be, or that he had
any designs against us. but some
how felt myself suspecting him from
the first moment | saw his face He
hadn't got settled in his rooms when
| planned that he would enter our
vault by way Of the back room, or at
least make an attempt to do so, and
this idea was never out of my mind
thereafter. | WAS laughed at by my
partner, but this only male me the
more obstinate in clinging to my
idea,
Goidwalthe furnished the front
room as reception room and Office,
the second as a bedroom, and the
third as his workshop. Exactly over
the vault he had carpenter pus up a
heavy framework of beams, and among
the stuff moved in were chisels, ham
mers, augers, bits, drills, files, saws,
and many other carpenters and me
chanics' tools. could say nothing,
as he made use of all these as an in
ventor, but my suspicious regarding
his final object were continually
strengthened
For three months our man up stairs
scarcely entered the bank below or
spoke to one of us, except as L met
him at the hotel where we both board
ed He was SO quiet and easy spoken
that everybody had a good word for
him, and he invited many of the town
people TO visit his rooms and examine
his work At the end of six months
he was universally liked and respect
Ell, and if he had wanted couple of
hundred dollars at our bank dozen
business men would have backed his
note. While | had become ashamed
10 longer mention my suspicious. they
bad by no means left me, We had
no watchman, and the safe IN the vault
was one Of the old pattern which was
neither fire Lor burglar proof My
chief dependence was the strength of
the vault. | made all sorts of esti-
mates. but finally decided that Gold
wathe conld not cut his way down
into the vault and open the safe in
less than twelve hours at the very
least The tools and appliances of
that day were very crude compared to
the me dern.
The man mp stairs had been with
MS half a year, and no one conld find
the least fault with his conduct. when
he seemed to make special effort to
win my friendship. Up to this time
he had passed the evenings III his
rooms. Without saying aWord to my
partner, had passed my evenings in
the bank, never leaving until about 10
o clock. | did this to shorten Gold
waithe's time, providing he intended
to enter the vault. | was always at
the bank at half past 7 in the morning,
and this would give him only nine
and half hours to work, where had
| figured It would take him twelve
One evening something was said
about cards, and he so managed it
that | invited him up to my room in
| the hotel to play a few games. As
| long as he was there there l appre
hended no danger, and SO it finally
came about !hat we used to srend al
most every evening in company.
Sometimes | went to his rooms, and
sometimes he went to mine, AID he
never exhibited the slightest curiosity
regarding our business in the bank.
One evening he did not leave me I'M
til IL o'cIsck Next day Desnoyers
said:
"Our man mp stairs has been away,
eh?"
No"
But | met him as he came from
the depot last night at 10 o'clock
"lou are mistaken. He was in my
room until IL.
is that so? Why, | met a man
who looked exactly like him He was
carrying "A satchel, headed for the
bank, and | am sure he went up the
stairway
This statement puzzled and annoy
ed me and kept my suspicious active
Knowing that Goldwalthe was viii
me at the hour of 10 | was obliged to
believe my partner mistaken, but YET
there was something about the cast
| did not like About four weeks la
ter, one morning as | opened the
bank, the ticket agent at the depo
came along on his way to breakfast
A train passed at six o'clock and n,
was obliged to be there
Lost your inventor % he asked a
he came up.