Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-03-10

attracted my attention to him. l saw
him gaze through the open doorway in
TO the parlor in very evident terror, and
"Gott in Himmel!"
l could not restrain a smile at the
sight of the tall, strong man overcome
by childish fears, and was about to up
braid him for his foolishness. But | re-
membered the vein of superstition
which runs through the lives of the
Pennsylvania farmers, and so said moth
ing.
"Come back with u.s." again pleaded
Sarah.
mo. If there IS anything out of the
ordinary about my house, / am all the
more determined to remain and find out
what it is," l said, decisively. Then l
added. more softly, for | did not wish
to wound the kind heart of my old nurse
i knew her fear for me grew out of
her love and solicitude for my welfare
II can take care of myself under any
circumstances. l am not child now,
Sarah"
Den let Jake stay with you until
you find out" Sarah persisted.
We'll, bud de oats, Sarah; We god to
finish de oats Tomorrow" hastily ex-
claimed Mr.. Hunsicker, in remon-
STRANGE.
Now come, how foolish this is! What
could be the matter with the house?
Nothing hurtful, that is certain. I'll
be all right. Don't worry, and I'll ride
over in the morning and tell you how
soundly l slept"
'Der's no candle here. / go ged Won
and pring id ofer," Mrs. Snyder said.
"Not necessary for tonight. l am
going to bed early, and will not need it.
Tomorrow We'll see about lamps, for
sometimes / like to read late. See how
bright the moon is going to be. 1t shines
right into the bedroom, and will give
me plenty of light to go to bed by"
l finally succeeded in getting rid of
them. Old Jake was eager and anxious
to be off, but Sarah hung back, reluctant
to leave me to the lonely terrors which
her superstitious mind had conjured up.
1t was only after had given my prom
Use to come Immediately to her house
in the event of any danger to me spring
ing up, that she consented to leave.
Feeling profoundly gratified that my
coming here had revealed to me such
absolute trust and love as inspired my
old nurse, placed my arm about her
waist while going to the door, and then
parted from her with a kiss on her
wrinllled old cheek.
After the sound of the wagon wheels
had died away in the distance, l disrobed
and prepared for bed. The moonlight
was so enticing, however, that / sat
down on a chair by the window and for
few minutes gave myself up to remin-
iscent thought.
But before / go on with my expert
ences in the old house, must tell about
the bank robbery of which l was sus-
pected.
Up to year before, l had been en-
ployed in a large savings institution in
Philadelphia. My advancement with
this concern had been slow but steady
ana after ten years of earnest work i
finally attained the position of senior
paying teller. Under my immediate
charge was the vault, in which the cash
and all securities held by the bank were
kept. This vault was, of course, guard
ed by time lock. Theb ebank opened for
business at ten o'clock, but the book
keepers began their work half hour
earlier. There was separate vault for
the books of the concern, which was not
furnished with time lock, and all the
bookkeepers knew the combination of
this vault.
The bank was noted for it's conserva-
tive business methods, and the great
cautiousness with which it's funds were
guarded. 1t was the established rule
that the timepiece of the money vault
should not be set to open until half
past nine, at which time the bookkeep-
ers and most of the employees were at
work. In short, so careful were the
officials that under no circumstances
was it allowable to leave the combna-
ton lock unguarded by the clockwork,
unless some responsible employe was
present.
One afternoon I set the clockworll
mechanism to throw the bolt at half
past eight, an hour before the usual
time, as / intended to get to work the
next morning at that time. The semi
annual examination of the books and
securities by the trustees was to take
place, and l wished to have the moneys
under my charge in order.
When l left the bank that afternoon
I found telegram awaiting me at my
lodging place:
Come out to Fairlawn this evening
We entertain a small party. 1 want
you" Thus the dispatch ran, and it was
signed by name very dear to me-Flor-
ence Morley.
1 would willingly have gone to the
antipodes to please the lovely young
woman. and my disappointment was
keen when l thought of the time lock
having been set to open at half-past
eight the following morning. For Fair
lawn was a country seat of Mr.. Nor
ley's, about 80 miles distant, and l
should not be able to return until near
ly ten o'clock in the morning, and the
hi 1,n L. I 4