The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-12-05
AShby GraQtham'8 Bank Robbers.
Bv Hollis W. Field.


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with interest, and his breath came
with uncertain little catches, as he
began to explain his work.
Mr.. Graves was indulgently inter.
ested in the beginning; then he was
curious and questioning. Half an hour
later he was bending over the draw
ing, as much absorbed as was the boy.
All day long, i'll the slack of business,
they planned At night the parting
injunction of the cashier was:
Remember, Ashby, if we do this,
1T must be our secret. 1t will be no
good if it gets out "
That was famous cold snap i'm the
history of Macon County. There were
days when nor farmers wagon came
to town, and days in which pages of
the banks journal had not twenty en-
tries all told. But every night for a
week the bank shades were closely
| drawn, and the cashier and his assis-
tant worked behind them, carpenter
ing.
On Saturday afternoon, after carly
closing, deaf old Mrs. Maxim scrubbed
, out the bank, and on Monday morn
ing new hempen mats were laid at the
entrance doors and just i'll front of the
teller's window. On Thursday the
Macon Weekly Telegraph had n news
paragraph commenting upon the neat
quarters of the Macon County Farm
ers' n Traders Bank. On the gen
eral ledger were some rather odd
entries under the account of Eek
pcnse, but the business of the Farm.
! ers' Il Traders Bank went on to the
satisfaction of its stockholders.
In January a semi-annual dividend
Of seven per cent. was paid, and in
the April following Ashby Grantham's
services were recognized as worth
something more than his schooling,
for he was put on a salary of twenty
five dollars a month as bookkeerer.
For weeks Ashby had been taking
turns at the teller's window, paying
checks and receiving deposits. He
had learned the dexterous, sliding
movement of tho left thumb which
could slip only one bill at time over
the sensitive points of his fingers,
and when he had counted out the sum
called for by check he had no ner-
vousness as to whether he had paid
too much. He had reached that state
of proficiency when to him money had
no value; it presented numerical units
and was as abstract as were the long
columns of figures in the journal, de-
| post ledger or general ledger
One Thursday in June notice was
! given that Wallace, Hunt & Co. and
Joseph Sanderson, the big cattle buy
ers at Macon, would draw heavily on
the Farmers " Traders Bank on
the Saturday following. So, ut about
ii o'clock on Thursday, Ashby Grant
ham filed n telegram with the depot
operator, ordering fifteen thousand
dollars in currency shipped from the
| banks balance in Chicago, to come by
the three O'CLOCK express the next day.
Friday morning gave promise of
rain. The air was close, aud a fine
haze overspread the early sun. Grad
unlly the atmosphere thickened and
thickencd, its oppressiveuess scarce
Iy relieved by the gentle breeze that
famed from the southeast At noon q
storm was plainly impending.
The few scattered wagons from the
country began to rattle and bump
homeward along the macadamizcd
streets. Awnings were pulled in.
windows We're made i'm readiness to
close: wagons here and there ratified
briskly along that packages might I've
delicycrcd before the rain; and ON all
sides were the preparations that al
ways precCle n storm in the country.
where each imam must be his own
wcothor-Ohscryer.
Tho r,rFft.,uI ,t.tfI hY Il u,.fI,v,I L..
r. mere zephyr. 70 the westward,
from north Co south sulIeu black arc
of cloud stretched ominously. s
ragged borlcrof rolling brown frngcd
st. setting on the smooth. blue black
roiu-cloud behind The dusk and the
silence decpcucd together.
Business had been slack i'm the
Farmers g. Traders Bank As the
clock licked ou toward three, when the
express train from the East should
thunder in only two blocks from the
bank, both the cashier and his assis-
taut sat IDLY at Che counter waiting.
81 hope % viii be ON time the
cashier said when that currency
gets iu 90 leave you TO balance the
books aud lock mp. ! want 90 get
homo carly This afternoon.
''Iho train ought 60 bc BOO iu fy.
Minutes What's that nOw2'
Thunder, wasn't it2' quoricd tho
cashier, and they sat listening tin tine
muttcriug of the storm md the
rumble Of tho train sounded i'm ono
deep dinpason
Five minutes later Yates, tho cs-
pressman, came i'm with his express
D. pouch tightly strapped, and as he
+ stood at the window, opening it to