The times., 1897-05-23
How a Postofiice Inspector Came
to Be Deceived.
LONG SEARCH FOR LETTERS
A Tale of a Country Postoffice and
the Daughters of the Postmaster.
Four Weeks Hard Work in Rum
ming Down False Scent-The
Bird Finally Caught in the Act.

OF the doings at Shelby until two or three OF
my feilow-inspectors had tried their hands
and made q failure of il. Then took the
case a nd failed most ignoniiniously OF all,
because | added blunder TO failure.
Shelby was and is fal sized vii
Iage without a railroad connection Ii
is eight miles 10 the nearest railroad
town, with a daily mail carried in a
cart. For years and years there had
been no complaint about the postoffice
at Shelby, when suddenly half a dozen
complaints came in, almost together. lnl-
portant letters which had been mailed from
different places had failed to show up,
and letters mailed away had failed to reach
their destination, The postmaster was an
old man named Harper, and for assistants
he had his two daughters. one being nine
teen and the other fifteen years of age.
Mr.. Harper had held the office for fifteen
years when the complaints came in. The
postoffice was an IL of his residence,
with a front added The inspectors who
preceded me had looked the ground over
and left the case mystery. Everybody said
that Harper was honestyitself, and the idea
that the girls would tamper with the mails
was NOT to be entertained. A nephew drove
the cart, and his character also stood high
Nothing could be traced direct to Shelby,
and so the last inspector reported the same
as the first. A month went by and more let
ters disappeared. Three letters mailed in
Shelby for New York failed to reach the
metropolis, md various letters written 10
a patent medicine firm in Shelby, and
each inclosing dollar, were reported miss
ing Itwas then I took the case, and though
j was called a sharp man, you viii see
how egregiously blundered.
The mail carrier was the first man to see
to. | arrived on the ground without my
identity being revealed and watched him
for two weeks. There was opportunity dur
ing his eight mile drive TO open the bags
with duplicate key, but watched with
out result, except to be satisfied of his
honesty. Then l made myself known to
the postmaster and received warm well
come. He was very much distressed about
the thefts, and to the best of his knowledge
and belief all had taken place in his office.
There We're only about twenty persons W no
rented boxes, and all other mail was put
into tie general delivery As the father
and his two daughters were the only ones
handling the mail lor having access to the in
terror OF the office it seemed that one of
the three must be the thief, and yet could
not bring myself TO believe that. / was
given the fullest opportunity 10 investigate,
and aIsodid some work outside unbeknown
to the postmaster. / caused TO be mailed
to the patent medicine people large num-
ber of letters, with private number Oh each
envelope Tie first batch OF ten came
through ali right, but out of the second two
were missing. The whole ten had left Den
ton in the mail bag. as well knew, and the
two had either been taken en- route by the
carrier, or by some one after their arrival
at Shelby AS the carrier had brought
over two passengers in his cart that
trip be might be considered out OF
it. The mail had arrived at Shelby
at o'clock and been called for
an hour later. Next day a batch of six
letters came through all right, and SO on
the next, and on the third ten were received.
/ helped TO distribute the mail and count
ed three letters and recorded the number
Father and daughter all knew this, and yet
at O'Clock three OF these letters, together
with two for certain merchant, which
had particularly noticed, were missing and
could not be found.
That evening after the office closed
we turned it upside down, as it were. hut
nothing came of it. The old postmaster
was in the deepest despair, while his two
daughters wept and sobbed over what they
believed would be the ruin of all AS an
inspector, and with such evidence before
my eyes, it was my business to believe one
OF the three guilty, and yet L had no
reason to believe that they would be idfotic
enough to purloin letters under my very
nose. / simply didn't know what to think |
and next morning was knocked off my feet |
to receive a complaint from Washington |
that three important letters posted at |
Shelby ten days before for city only 100 |
miles away, had been lost en- route | |
telegraphed for enlarged instructions, and |
upon receiving them / told Mr. Harper 1 |
must let go of the case Temporarily for |
another. l shifted my quarters over TO |
Denton, through which all mail to end |
from Shelby must pass, and made such ar |
rangements with the postmaster that every |
letter was counted and its address taken |
] mailed about thirty decoy letters in this |
time, and at the end of fourteen days had |
the satisfaction of knowing that eleven 1
different letters had somehow or other /
been made away with at Shelby. This was
adding evidence TO evidence, but l did not |
return TO Shelby to lay the matter before
the old postmaster. / went back there in
the disguise of farmers hired man look
ing for work, and luckily for me no farmer
wanted a man. ] therefore loafed about
the village, and was in and out of the post
office half dozen times per day-always
there when the mail departed or camein
BY looking through the glass door of one
OF the boxes could see the general delivery
box, mail tables, etc, and carefully scru-
tinize the con duct of the three as they did
their work. l kept up this espionage for
q week before anything happened Then
the mail came in one afternoon while the
father was temporarily absent, and the
girls opened the bag and assorted it. As
they picked up the letters each pocketed
pne with a sly look, and you NAV believe
me when tell you turned away with
heavy heart. Instead of one thief there
were two, and those the handsome and |
winosme daughters of an honest and up
hight old man. 1t would break his heart
when he learned the truth, but must tell
him and those girls must be punished
i went to the hotel, threw off my dis
giiise and then returned TO the postoffice
somehow felt that the girls ought TO
ook guilty, hut they did not. They gave
NE a cordial greeting, hoped / had come
back 60 stay until the mystery was thor
,ome themselves more innocently. That |
light after the office was closed to the
public, asked the father TO my room, and
hen went over the case with him There
orld be no matter of doubt that score |
" more of letters had been purloined from |
IFS office. There were three Of them who