The Van Buren press., 1898-08-06

own cashier. In fact, he was the first
man in the store, with the exception OF
the shipping clerk. An unexpected Gus
toner came in, and Mr. Doekfelt made
sale. and. forgetting that there was
no one in the cashiers desk. sent the
carrier along. He quickly remembered,
/ however. and making change for the
customer from his own pocket, fol-
/ lowed the cup, which had barely passed
out Of his sight. He advanced into the
desk and took the carrier down. Mar
selous! Could he believe his eyes2
Both tip and bill were gone.
If Mr.. Doclfelt had ever been utterly
/ bewildered in his life il was at this
moment. He was positive be had put
the money in the carrier, and equally
sure 1t was not there now. He shook
The cup. aud hunted carefully about the
desk. but in vain. Then he mutteFed,
half audiblv: There is but one thing
F 10 do IN such a case as this. will see
my friend. John Garner. the detective.
and let him straighten out the mystery.
+ il be can.
During the course Of the afternoon.
! in response 10 Mr.. Doekfeltis message.
thin. awI<R ard-looking man entered
the merchants private Office. Mr.. Dock
felt held out his hand. cordially. We'll.
Garner" he cried, Il can truthfuliy say
that / was never more glad to see you
in nv life" lie then gave Garner
complete history Of the affair which
perplexed him, and concluded: Il have
prepared a statement Of points, which
YOU can study at your leisure" h
then handed Garner the following:
!. Theft always occurred on the first
sale in which a bill was rendered in
payment.
2. Theft always bills. never silver.
,. Theft was generally between Bal
four and Thomas.
4. On the last morning several cups
were stolen from.
5. Dockfelt himself put money in car
rier. which reached its destination
empty.
Mr.. Garner put the paper in his pock
ct and asked, abruptly: Who opens
the store IN the morning
Somewhat surprised at the question.
Mr. Doekfelt replied: Charles Hurst,
the shipping clerk
That Is all for the present" said
Garner. Then he rose and left the Of
fee.
During the next few days there were
repeated consultations between Garner
and Dosekfelt. each time the detective
hefng n disguise. The third day the
disguise was 80 complete that Mr.. Dock
felt greeted the appearance Of an ap-
parentIF ill-bred and boorish fellow
With a sharp: well, sir"
TIE detective bent forward. Car
ner.v said be.
well. weu.~ cried the merchant.
Your disgUise Is complete. How is it?
lave you solved the problem?"
Have I solved the problem? Well,
ny dear sir. its one Of the most pc
euliar eases-yes. l think | may say [
have"
Mr.. DockfeIt at once became all ex-
element. His cheeks glowed with ex-
citement and his eyes shone brightly.
-Weli-Mr. Garner-let me hear about
it." he exclaimed, drawing his chair
nearer 70 the detectives.
Garner took a small vial from his
pocket and said: Look at this
Mr.. Dockfelt took the bottle and saw
It contained a scarlet liquid. 81 don't
exactly see the significance of this
he said.
wait" said Garner; hear me
through. Charles Hurst, the shipping
clerk. is 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 it seems that
Hurst has discovered it also. Watch
the effect Of the stuff"
Garner took a small piece of paper
from his pocket, laid it on the table and
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 impal pable
gray ash.
"The effect" said Garner, "of the
composition upon the wood bottoms
Of the carriers is to render the wood
soft, so that it Immediately absorbs
the ashes of the paper. Hurst, every
morning, put some Of this liquid in Bal
four's carrier-a very small amount in
deed. The money was, Of course, de-
stroyed. | think l can explain the
counts in your statement" he added,
taking from his pocket the slip of pa
per which Dockfelt had handed him
few days before. Theft always oc-
CURED on first 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 a mystery about
ii in the beginning and then suddenly
convict Thomas by having several cups
stolen from. This also explains count
number four. 1t is needless to explain
why the money did not arrive which
Mr.. Dockfelt himself put in the car
rier. Hurst had not provided for this
contingency"
The grocer was both astonished and
delighted at the unraveling Of the mys-
terry. "You are a deucedly clever man,
Garner!" he cried. Now tell me how
on earth you got at the facts, so far as
Hurst is eoncerned?"
Easily enough" replied Garner. "As