Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-08-17

ma gained an entrance to the building: and
that one of them. having caught sight of
Shorty DUFF as he reached IN to steal The
satchel from the vcstlbulc, had fired upon
him. This would explain the pistol shots
heard by Flynn. y careful examination OF
the bank. however. failed to reveal any
trace OF n bullet
The valisc, when opened. proved to con-
tain only q change of linen for n man and a
few toilet articles of but slight Intrinsic
value. The satchcl itself is an ordinary
cheap leather handbag. stamped In imita-
ton of alligator skin.
The police are now looking for its owner
In the hope that he will be able to throw
some light on the mystery of the pistol
shots"
When DR.. Murdoch had finished read
ing, everybody, except Dunlap and
Sturgis, looked disappointed. The
former settled back in his chair, the
muscles of his face relaxed, and the
anxious bank president once more be
came the genial and polished man of
the world. The reporter sat gazing
thoughtfully at his wineglass.
well, Mr.. SturGis," said Murdoch.
what do you think of my little prob
lem?"
II have already been assigned to
work up this case for the Tempest" an
swered the reporter, quietly.
Indeed? Perhaps you are the au-
thor of this very article? No? Then
are you willing to make the solution
of this little mystery the subject of
our wager and the test of your theo-
RESP"
Hold on, DOCTOR" exclaimed
sprague; "you are doing sturgis an
injustice. Why pick out, as test of
his ability, a problem which, to all In
tents and purposes, has already been
solved by the police? Give him some
truly knotty question and he will be in
his element; and then, at least, some
interest will attach to your wager"
"Ah! you think the problem has al
ready been solved?"
"To be sure. The article you have
read us started out as If it were going
to.prove interesting; but, instead Of
that, 1t ends in an anti-climax. What
Is the crime here? The confessed theft,
by petty sneak thief, of satchel
worth. with its contents, perhaps eight
or ten dollars. And where is the mys-
terry? The ownership of few pieces Of
unmarked linen of SO little value that
the owner does not care to take the
| trouble to claim them"
II cannot agree with you, Mr..
Sprague. While the crime in this case
may be petty theft, it contains, to my
mind, interesting features, which you
appear to lose sight of in your disdain-
full summary. The problem, it seems
to me, involves suitable explanation
Of two rather mysterious pistol shots,
to say nothing Of such minor details as
lighted gas jets behind securely locked
gates. AS Mr.. Sturgis has informed us,
in his earnest and lucid way, every ef-
feet has cause. should like to know
the cause that lighted the gas in the
| Knickerbocker bank"
II shall probably find out that cause
the day after tomorrow" said Mr..
Dunlap, smiling, land shall give the
fellow talking to for his carelessness
In forgetting to turn out the gas when
he locked up"
"Afr. Dunlap's suggestion" contin-
ued Murdoch. ''is plausible in itself,
and we might even assume that the
same careless employe, after locking
up the bank, forgot to close the outer
door on the Wall street side. But even
then, we have not disposed of the own
ership Of the satchel nor of the two pis-
tol shots. The police theory that these
shots were fired by bank robbers seems,
I admit, very far-fetched. Profession
al craftsmen would hardly be likely to
fire unless cornered; and then they
would fire to kill or at least to disable.
If their bullets failed to hit the mark,
they would at any rate leave some
trace"
II beg to suggest" remarked Dunlap,
that the shots heard by the policeman
and his prisoner We're not fred from
the inside of the bank"
THAT appears quite likely" admitted
Murdoch; but they must at any rate
have been fred in close proximity to
the bank, since the witnesses agree
that they appeared to come from in
side. In that case, whence were they
fired? BY whom? And why? On the
whole, my little puzzle does not seem
to me SO i'll chosen. What is your own
opinion, Mr.. Sturgis?"
II quite agree with you that the
problem is probably not SO simple as II
seemed at first blush to Sprague.
Very we'll. Then doubtless you are
willing to undertake the task Of supply
ing whatever data may be required te
complete the chain of evidence agains1
Quinlan?"
by no means" replied sturgis. de
cidedly.
"Indeed2 Ali well, of course, if Mr.
Sturgis wishes to withdraw his bet
81 do not wish to withdraw my bet,
said Sturgis; II will agree to solve YOU
problem within 80 days or to forfei
my stakes; but / cannot undertake tx
prove the truth or falsity of any {
priori theory. l have no persona
knowledge of the matter as yet, ant
therefore no theory"
"Quite So" observed Murdoch, iron
ically. Il had forgotten your scientific
methods. OF course, it may turn on
that 1t was the policeman whostole TIN
satchel from Shorty Duff"
Perhaps" answered Sturgis. imper
turbably.
Murdoch smiled.
well, gentlemen" snid he, u nc
cept Mr.. Sturgis' conditions. II yo'
are willing" he continued, turning t.
the reporter, "our host will hold tn
stakes and decide the wager