The Portland daily press., 1899-08-05

NeMriy TOUR years, TX am not mis-
I taken"
ITO hold the position 80 long he must
have an excellent characterT she OBJ.
eervcd lpquiringly.
"Iie has conducted himself IN a com.
meudable manner during this period"
DO you know whether OF not he was
ever telegraph operatorT
i should think you wcre-or were play
ing the part OLA detective" laughingiy
rejoined her uncle, so like those which
1 heard the detective ask are your ques-
! tons"
Please answer my last one, and I
promise "a. ask you no more"
wei; ! hgye Understood that be was.''
Il now have a favor to ask OF you,
which hope yoH win grant me without
the slightest hesitation. | wish 10 see
the cashier without delay; to be con-
Quoted into his presence or have him
conducted iqto ming"
Summary he is at home this even
ing. and it win take us but a few mo-
mcnts to 30 there
A few minutes later she had been intro
duced to the cashier. was seated ncar
him and said:
"Mr. Barton. IL the detective In your
employ has failed to discover any clew
to the person or persons who hurglarized
your bank, strange as It may seem to
you, think thatiI--without the least cx-
perience in hunting down criminals-can
furnish. you with one"
You do?" fell from the cashiers lips
In a tone of indcscribable amazement.
while her uncle stared at her.
My uncle informed me that the com.
bination now used in opening the bank
safe is 's-a-u-f.' Z"
at is"
WAS not the one just previously used
and presumably known only to yourself
and your bookkeeper DAWN"
1T was" replied the cashier, whose
amazement was evidently greater than
before, as her uncle's.
Your bookkeeper was once telegraph
operator. my uncle thinks"
"He was"
II am not n professional operator, but
am sufficiently acquainted with teleg-
raphy to enable me to transmit and re-
ceive messages.
For two days last week, In order that
he might visit his sick sister l did the
telegraphic work of the station agent in
the village where live.
Late in the afternoon of the first day
that l was thus employed heard
Wednesday, probably dawn, but pos.
sibly s-a-u-f,' transmitted over the wire
the only wire passing through our sta.
ton.
THE cali or 'sine'-terms that will
not take time to explain--did not repre-.
sent any Office or operator ON the line, !
was certain-and later assured by our
station agent-and the message seemed
to me very singular.
"As s-a-u-f is your present 'combina-
ton and your bookkeeper was once IN
operator, | think
''That he is responsible for the crime
Mr.. Barton broke in. $50 do l, as | had
| informed him that when ! changed the
combination l intended ii to be what il
| is. ! think you have offered me the nee
essary clew, and in that event you shall
| be handsomely rewarded"
With this Miss King and Mr. Barton
babe each other good morning, and she
left his presence.
To abbreviate, the burglary was found
to have been perpetrated by one OF tho
| operators in the local Western Union Of
fee, the information necessary to the easy
/ accomplishment of the deed having beer
furnished him by the bookkeeper And
Wednesday night was chosen for the
burglary because the operator was sup
posedly then far away from the town
where it was perpetrated.
The suspects under arrest frankly con.
fessed that they were guilty, said that
they desired large sum of money In or.
der to carry on a business in which they
were secretly engaged and eventually in.
tended to make good 10 the bank its loss
As every cent OF the "spoils" was re.
turned to the bank, the criminals were
subjected to no punishment other than
to be discharged from the positions they
held.
Miss King was the recipient OF $500
from the bank, which enabled her to ac-
complsh her grand end--free her home
from its incumbrance. And she persists
that her unexpected good luck" was due
to her having accommodated another
Chicago News.