The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-09

ury door and IN the chamber itself. Such large
number of soldiers were kept here so that any
tempt at bribery would be impossible Among such
number one or two to be ncorruptibe,
and the guards constantly changed Seldom
was either officer twice duty here during
the month. With such an enormous amount at stake
every precaution was taken"
Are there any at the right or left Of this
corridor in which the thieves could have concealed
themselves while they fired the miner"
''No; the corridor leads to the treasure chamber
alone"
Then" said Jennie. Il can't see how it was pos
sible for a number of men to have made away with
the treasure in such circumstances as exist here"
Nevertheless, my dear young lady the treasure
Is gone. We think that the mine laid with the
connvance Of one OF more officers on duty here.
You see the amount at stake so large that a
share Of it would tempt any nine human beings out
of ten Our theory is that the train was laid posi-
bly, electric wires being used which would be un-
noticed along the edge of the corridor and that the
brfbed officer exploded the dynamite by bringing the
ends Of the wire into contact We think that the
explosion was great deal more severe than was
anticipated Probably it was expected that the shock
would break hole from the treasure chamber TO
the street. but strong were the walls that no i'm
preston was made upon them and a cabman who
was driving past at the time heard not sound of
the explosion, although he felt trembe of the
shock of earthquake"
You think then that the thieves were outsider"
That seems the only possible solution"
The outside doors locked and bolted of
course?"
"Oh, certainly! But if they had confederate or
two in the large hallway up stairs they would see to
1t that there was no trouble about getting in Once
inside the large hallway with guards stunned by the
shock the way to the treasure chamber was absc-
lutey clear"
There We're sentries outside the building. SUD-
pose?
Eyes"
Did thegsee any vehicle standing or driving near
the treasurg?'
mo; that5i the strange part of It, and, moreover
the senries although pacing outside the walls of this
building, heard nothing OF the explosion beyond 8
low rumble and those who thought Of the matter at
all imagined explosion had occurred in some dis
tant part of the city"
Then the outside doors in the large hall above
were not blown open?'
No; the officer reported that they were locked
and bolted when he examined them, which was some
minutes OF course after the disaster had taken place
for he, the officer In charge had been thrown down
and stunned, seemingly by the conclusion of Dir
which took place. -eer-
AS Jennie walked down the corridor she saw more
and more evidence of the CONFUSION. The thick iron
been stirred since it was moved to get the two men
from under it. Its ponderous hinges were twisted az
they had been made of glue and it's massive bolts
were snapped across like bits of glass All along the
cof11uor on the floor was thick coating of dust and
ueorls' hney powdered. growing deeper and deeper
until the entrance to the room was reached There
were no windows either in corridor or chamber and
the way was lit by candles held by soldiers who ac-
companied them. The scoria crunched underfoot as
tha oh nha itself
of dust sand and plaster, all finely powdered Law IN
the corners OF the room and side was piled I'D
higher than mans head There seemed to be tons
OF this debris and as Jennie looked up the arched
ceiling resembling the roof of vaulted dungeon
she saw that the stone itself had been ground to fine
dust with the tremendous force Of the blast
Where are the remnants Of the treasure chesf?"
she asked
The director shook his head
There are remnants; not vestige of 1t Is to
be found"
"Of what 1t madeY'
I'VE used to have an old treasure chest here made
of oak. bound with iron, but some years ago. new
receptacle being needed, especially made of
hardened Steel constructed the modern principle
of those burglar proof and freproof safes"
And do you mean to say there is nothing left of
ths?"
Nothing that we have been able to discover"
well, have places where dynamite explo-
sions have occurred, but know Of nothing to COM
pare with this L am sure that if dynamite had been
used or any explosive generally obtained there
would have been left at least some remnant Of the
SAFE Hasn't this pile Of rubbish been disturbed
since the exploson?"
Yes; it has been turned We made a search
for the two men, but we found trace Of them"
And you found particles Of iron or steel?'
The heap throughout is just you see it on the
surface, fine, almost impalpable dust We had to
exercise the greatest searching through it. for
the moment 1t was disturbed with a shovel 1t hlIed
the air In sufocating clouds. OF course we shall
have it removed by and by and cart 1t away, but I
considered it better to allow it to remain here until
we had penetrated somewhat further into the mys-
terry than we have already done"
Jennie stopped and picked up a handful from the
heap Her action caused a mist to rise in the air
that made them both choke and cough, and yet she
was instantly struck by the fact that her handful
seemed inordinately heavy for its bulk
May take some Of this with me?" she asked
"Of course" replied the director 81 shall have
packet of it put up for you"
L would like to take it with me now" said Jennie
Il have curiosity to know exactly of what it Is com
posed. Who is the government analyst or have you