The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1899-10-19


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 early
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 in front of the
teller's window On Thursday the
Macon Weekly Telegraph had news
paragraph commenting upon the neat
quarters Of the Macon County Farm
ers' & Traders Bank. On the gem
eral ledger were some rather odd
entries under the account of Sex
pense, but the business of the Farm.
ers' & 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 S
services were recognized as worth
something more than his schooling,
for he was put on 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 the 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 a 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-
posit ledger or general ledger.
One Thursday in June notice was
given that Wallace, Hunt e. Co. and
Joseph Sanderson, the big cattle buy
ers at Macon, would draw heavily on
the Farmers & Traders Bank on
the Saturday following. SO, at about
II o'clock on Thursday, Ashby Grant
ham filed 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, and a fine
haze overspread the early sun. Grad
ually the atmosphere thickened and
thickened, It's oppressiveness scarce
ly 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 macadamized
streets. Awnings were pulled in;
windows were made in readiness to
close; wagons here and there ratified
briskly along that packages might be
delivered before the rain: and on all
sides were the preparations that al
ways precede storm in the country,
where each man must be his own
weather-o observer.
r The southeast wind had softeped to
q mere zephyr. To the westward,
from north to south, sullen black arc
of cloud stretched ominously. A
ragged border of rolling brown frInged
it, setting off the smooth, blue-blacli
rain-cloud behind. The dusk and the
silence deepened together.
Business had been slack in the
Farmers &, Traders Bank. AS the
clock licked on toward three, when the
express train from the East should
thunder in only two blocks from the
bank, both the cashier and his assis-
tant sat idly at the counter, waiting.
II hope it will be on time" the
cashier said. "When that currency
gets in I'll leave you to balance the
books and lock up. / want to get
home early this afternoon.
"The train ought to be in in five
minutes. What's that now?"
"Thunder, wasn't it?" queried the
cashier; and they sat listening till the
muttering of the storm and the
rumble of the train sounded in one
deep diapason.
Five minutes later Yates, the OK
pressmau, came in with his express
pouch tightly strapped, and as he
stood ut the window, opening it to
take out the precious package, the
first lightning flash told that the storm
would break in moment. Grabbing
his receipt book from under the very
pen of the cashier, Yates dashed out
with the cry, "It's coming"
The wind had whipped fercely into
the northwest, and n simoom of dust
was sweeping up Main street At the
teller's window inside, Cashier Graves
and his assistant were cutting the
sealed and sewed package which hold
a small fortune i'll paper currency,
when suddenly the front door opened,
with rush of wind and swirling dust.
1t closed again, and before either
the cashier or his assistant had time 10
recover a breath, two heavy, muffied
figures stood in the dusk, close to the
brass bars of the window.
"Good" exclaimed cultural voice.
"We'll take thatl' and heavy re-
volver was pointed directly at the head
of Mr.. Graves.
AT the very instant that the little
guarded window darkened with the
two figures, Ashby Grantham had
dropped to the floor under the coun-
ter. Instinct had guided him. His
| heart was leaning a0ainst his side