The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-08-04
sut q his sight Hs advApeed into ~
desk and took The carrier down. Mar
s-,,Ms! Gould he l~iisse hts e,e-?

desk and took The CARRIER do~n. Mar
.-,,ns! Gould he leit:se hts e,~-?
~. ii. a, h;it ~~,, ....s
-, 10 ;.., Lad ever teen utter.
d.. :m ,et IA Lilo life II was as this
D. . .r,t. he waa positive he had put
.ae money In the carrier. and equally
-ure II was not there now. He shook
the cup. and hunted carefully about the
desk. but In vain. Then he muttered.
half audibly: There is but one thing
10 do in such case as this. I will see
my friend. John Garner. the detective.
and let him straighten out the mystery.
II he can"
During the course of the afternoon.
In response to Mr.. Dockfelt's message.
a thin. awkward looking man entered
the merchants private Office. Mr.. Dock
felt held out his hand. cordially. well.
Garner" he cried. II can truthfully say
that was never more glad to see you
In my life" He then gave Garner a
complete history of the affair which
perplexed him. and concluded: II have
prepared a statement of points. which
you can study at your leisure" He
then handed Garner the following:
1. Theft always occurred on the first
sale in which bill was rendered IN
payment.
2. Theft always bills. never silver.
3. Theft was generally between Bal
four and Thomas.
1. On the last morning several cups
were stolen from. .
T. Dsckfelt himself put money In car
rier. which reached its destination
empty.
Mr.. Garner put Che paper in his pock-
ct and asked, abruptly: "Who opens
the store in the morning.
Somewhat surprised at the question.
Mr.. Dockfelt replied: "Charles Hurst,
the shipping clerk" Da.> Y
'That Is all for the present" said
Garner. Then he rose and left the Of.
fice. ....-
During the next few days there were
repeated consultations between Garner
and Dockfelt. each time the detective
being in disguise. The third day the
disguise was 10 complete that Mr.. Dock
felt greeted the appearance of an ap-
parently ill-bred and boorish fellow
With sharp: "Well. dr!"
The detective bent forward. "Gsr-
ner," said he. .-.I ....
"WeM, WELT" cried the merchant.
Your disguise is complete. How II III
Have you solved the problem?~ iHdi e
Have I solved the problemP Well.
my dear SIR. It's one Of tho most Pc
culisr cases-yes. think / may say I
have" 49,. 80, ..
Mr.. Dockfelt at once became all ex-
element. His cheeks glowed with ex-
element and his eyes shone brightly.
'Welt-Mr. Garner-let me hear about
~" he exclaimed, drawing his chair
nearer to the detectives. ''Int hi
Gamer took small vial from his
pocket and said; "Look at this"
Mr.. Dockfelt took the bottle and saw
II contained . scarlet liquid. II don't
exactly SEQ the significance Of this"
he said.
"Wait," said Garner; shear me
through. Charles Hurst, tho shipping
clerk, y the cause Of all this trouble.
He and Thomas are IN love with the
same girl. Thomas has been accepted
Hurst burns for revenge. supposed
I was the only person who knew the
secret Of the powerful composition you
see In that bottle. But II seems that
Hurst has discovered It also. Watch
The effect Of the stuff"
Garner took q small piece Of paper
from his pocket, laid it on the table aud
uncorked the vial. He poured small
quantity Of the liquid on the paper
and in ten seconds all that was left
OF the latter was an almost impalpable
gray ash.
"The effect" said Garner, "of the
competition upon the wood bottoms
OF the carriers IL to render the wood
soft. so that II Immediately absorbs
the ashes Of the paper. Hurst. every
morning. put some Of this liquid In Bal
tour's carrier-a very small amount in
deed. The money was. Of course. de-
stroyed. think I can explain the
counts In your statement" be added.
taking from his pocket the slip Of pa
per which Dockfelt had handed him .
few days before. "Theft always oc-
CURED on flrst bill sale Of the morning
because the liquid used was only strong
enough for one bill. The loss
was always In bills, because any
meta: Is proof against this strange
composition. The theft was always be-
tween Balfour and Thomas, because
Hurst wanted to make mystery about
II In the beginning and then suddenly
convict Thomas By having several cups
stolen from. This also explains count
number four. It is needless to explain
why the money did not arrive which
Mr.. Dockfelt himself put in the car.
rier. Hurst had not provided for his
contingency"
The grocer was both astonished and
delighted at the unraveling of the mys.
terry. "You are deucedly clever man,
Garner!" he cried. Nov tell me how
~ N. .sA .,e., uzs Az A.. - g.