Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-06-01
A DEAD MANS HONOR
BY CHARLES b. LEWIS.

All UuC your AoVOt WHICH, yOu WILL ACAl1oAA'
Der was fraught with more exoitement
than any other of tho civil war, the firm
Of Bass, Williams & Girder, which was do
ing business in a town on the New Eng
land coast, appeared in the newspapers in
connection with a series of startling Incl
dents. The firm dealt largely in> fisher
mems supplies aud in fish and lumber,
and In connection with it's general store it
had a private bank and the town post
Office. George Bass was postmaster, at
least In name; John Williams ran the
store and Joseph Girder conducted the
bank. The "head man" of the firm was
Philip Lacy, who was a bachelor and had
grown up with it from a boy. He was i'm
plioitly trusted, and any n of the part
ners would have suspended one Of the 9th
ers as soon as Lacy.
~ On the morning of July s in the year
named one Of the employees opened the
store, to find Lacy sitting III aohair in the
bank, with a gag in his mouth and his
legs and arms tied to the chair. He was
released at once, but it was an hour before
be could tell his story. He had been in
the habit Of remaining at the store until a
late hour in the evening, looking over
books and accounts. On tho previous
evening, just after 10 o'clock and as he
was ready to leave, he had suddenly been
attacked by two men, who must have been
secreted in the store with that object In
view. He was seized from behind and
choked into a state Of insensibility, and
when he recovered he vas sitting on the
chair, bound and gagged, and the two
men were at work on the door Of the bank
vault. The vault was merely a brick
closet, defended by an iron door, which
had none too safe a lock. There was no
safe inside. All the money Of the store,
bank and postoffice was placed In this
vault at night, and on this occasion be-
sides about $50, 900 in g%reenbacks there
were governments bonds amounting to
$50, 900.
The robbers took Lacy's vault key from
his pocket and had the door open In half
a minute. Each one of the firm had q key
to the vault, but Girder and Lacy were
the only ones to make use Of them. The
robbers were not masked, and made no
effort to conceal their identity. They went
about their work in the coolest manner
and when ready to depart did not leave a
10 cent shinplaster behind them. Money
and bonds were packed In a satchel, and
before going they sat down to q lunch OF
crackers and cheese and afterward smoked
a cigar. They told Lacy that they be-
l0nged in New York and had had an eye
on the ''plant' for several months. They
had done him little injury, and the last
thing before departing they removed the
gag and gave him a drink Of water and
told him the time. When the man came
to tell his story, 1t was not questioned in a
single particular. He gave such a close
description Of the men that they were REQ.
ognized by the Boston detectives as Sam
Hastings and Charlie Ford, two notorious
all around crooks. Indeed it became
known that the former had been hanging
around the town for a month or more.
1t was not until a detective was called
into the case that the finger Of suspicion
pointed to Lacy. The employee who found
him gagged and bound suddenly recollect-
| ed that all the knots were loose and that
it was little work to throw the ropes of.
| Lacy had seemed much exhausted, but this
might have been a sham. Lacy had been
heard to wish for money to 60 into bust
ness for himself, had said he was tired Of
working for other folks, had attempted
to borrow a considerable sun of money to
buy a share in a fishing craft. Once the
tide turned against him 1t was easy to
make out q strong case. After a weeks
Investigation the detective was satisfied
that the trusted "head man. had robbed
the concern and had hidden the booty, an6
there were 90 many points which favored
this idea that Lacy was held for the crime
L M. .ln-~ nekr~ Ahn unhlnu~, n 1,rut Vyol
picked up In the harbor which had beer
upset, and when she was rightedtw deat
men were found Ia her. That they wer'
not sailors wal easy TO see, and that tn
craft had been stolen from a town a few
miles away was soon ascertained. Tn
coroDer's jury decided that the nalneles
strangers had taken the boat out for a sal
and been upset In a squall, and the inoi
dent hardly provoked comment. Their
was the key TO the robbery, but no on
grasped It. II came TO the ears Of the de
t~ective, but he was working to convic
Lacy and paid no attention to outside mat
ters.
Any man who has made q study o
crime will tell you that 4 perfectly limo
cent man often misleads Justice Or con
victs himself by his demeanor when unde
charges. When Lacy found that his stor,
was disbeliaSed, he felt % grieved that b
sulked and refused to answer question
. and thus made matters worse for himself
There was nothing which he could no
have explained, and yet when asked to q
plain in order to aoquit himself his silenc
was construed AZ 4 sure indication .
guilt. The fact that he had been full,
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