The Winslow mail., 1899-10-26

y
Il uphold my clerk who upholds the
banks rules
l felt her brush past me as she came
out of the room and saw her walk round
the desks, her lips tightly compressed
and her head high.
The following morning when turned
| up at the bank the porter met ME with
the inquiry had seen anything of Mr..
Blakely? No one had seen him since
| the bank closed the night before. He
was not in the bank-had not been
home-indeed, it was Mrs. Blakely who
had driven down the first thing to in
quire about him; and no one had seen
him.
"Mr. Boyton," she asked, "have you
seen my husband? You were the last
to leave, 1 believe?'
Eyes, madam, but 1 have not seen Mr..
Blakely since he put you into your car
riage yesterday"
THAT decides it," she muttered.
Something has happened to him in his
room. The door must be forced. Por-
ter, go for carpenter!''
"You take the whole responsibility of
forcing the green baize door?'' sug-
gested.
"The whole esponsibility," she re-
piled, and turned away impa atiently.
When the carpenter arrived Mrs.
Blakely led him to the door and ordered
him to force it. He smiled grimly as
he looked the door up and down. He
sounded it with a mallet and his Jaw
fell.
''Iron!" he said, laconically. "'Tisn't
my job; you want blacksmith
The porter was sent off in the car
riage to fetch smith When the man
arrived he eyed the door critically and
looked dubious
For five minutes he dealt rapid fire
of blows, and then the door began to
tremble, then to shake. Finally, after
ten or twelve minutes, it gave shudder
and came forward, swinging on its
hinges.
Mrs. Blakely darted forward and
stopped. Six feet farther down the mar
row passage another door obstructed
the way. She signed impetuously to
the smith, who stepped forward and
shivered the lock of the second door,
which was only light wood. All was
darkness beyond the door,
I turned to Mrs. Blakely, who stood
gazing in wonderment into chaos.
Porter" she said, in hushed voice,
''get me lantern. Then you can both
leave US. Mr.. Boyton's will be all the
help L shall need"
We passed through the doorway and
into a small, dark room, poorly fur
nished with a little office furniture and
Uttered with papers. There was no
sign of Mr.. Blakely.
''Look!' cried Mrs. Blakely. ''Look!
A trapdoor!"
l saw square had been cut out of
the carpet, in the center of which was
ring by which raised the trap.
Looking through, we saw ladder
leading down to darkness.
Going carefully down four rungs of
the ladder, | held the lantern out at
arms length and surveyed the scene
A stone-walled chamber stretched be-
fore me like a large vault. In one wall
was a low, barred door; in a corner was
small furnace. A peculiar-looking ma
chine stood in the middle of the vault,
and upon ledge of its frame rested
row of silver coins.
I went down, and, stepping, as 1
thought, to the ground, my foot encoun-
tered something soft. 1 sprang aside,
avoiding it, and saw the body of Mr..
Blakely huddled up in broken bundle.
"Ah, me! All, mel" she moaned,
propping the head upon her knee with
frenzied tenderness. Richard, hus-
band! You did not merely dream-you
lived your crimes that highland now!
This is his secret! Last night-the
night before, he was restless in his
sleep; he talked of coming, years of
coining-coining silver coins and reap
ing profit-proft. The, mint makes
profit on its silver coins, and why not
I?' He said that, and as 1 lay awake !
hoped he merely dreamed. Dead, dead!
Yes, yes, and if you had lived these
hands would kill you for the ignominy
and shame! Richard! Oh, Richard!
Richard!"
Beyond the police, only Mrs. Blakely