Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-11-22
Dec. 81. 1886.

rr,, Dec. 81, 1886.
s ss%s south SR n ssa %s, ' s;Sss;.
j. w. Arbogast.
Compare this with the reflection of
the original and tell me if you do not
now detect various isolated marks and
incomplete letters, all of which tally
with the text have inserted here"
Dunlap made the comparison.
II am obliged to admit that your con-
illusions now appear plausible" he re-
luctantly admitted.
Sturgis shrugged his shoulders.
well, call them plausible, and let us
proceed. Chatham kept the appoint
ment yesterday; but for some reason
Arbogast was delayed in leaving the
bank. Perhaps the necessary prepare
tions for his fight took longer than he
expected"
You think he intended to abscond 2"
"Why should he have changed the
combination of his safe, as he did, if not
to give himself as much time as possible
to reach a place of comparative safety
before the books could be. examined 2"
asked Sturgis. Chatham, becoming
impatient, forgot the dictates of pru-
derce and started for the bank to as
certain the cause of his accomplice's
delay. He met Arbogast at the Wall
street door. The two men reentered,
Arbogast setting down his satchel in
the vestibule and leaving the outer
door ajar, as Quinlan found it few
minutes later, when he stole the satch-
ell. have every reason to believe that
it was at Chatham's request that the
men returned. He wished to use the
telephone, and he did so"
"Your story is connected, and it is
certainly not lacking in detailx," said
Dunlap, incredulously; Sin fact, the de-
tails are far too abundant for the evil
dence thus far advanced
Every one of the details is based up
on facts" replied Sturgis. "What I
| have accomplished thus far has been
simple enough, because luck has fa-
vored us. Yesterday being cleaning
day at The bank, the floors were
scrubbed some time during the after
noon, before Arbogast was ready to
leave and before Chatham had arrived.
1t thus happens that almost every
footstep of the two men has remained
family but distinctly outlined upon the
wet floors, which have since dried, pre-
serving the record. The detectives last
| night obliterated portion of this rec
ord, but they have left traces enough
for our purpose. If you care to crawl
around on all tours as I did you can
readily distinguish these traces for
| yourself"
| No, thank YOU" answered the bank
er. Il prefer to take your word for this
| part of the evidence
Then shall resume my story" said
Sturgis. 1.-The footprints show that
Arbogast stood at his desk while the
scrubbing was going on. We may safe
ly say itswas after half-past four
o'clock when he started to leave the
bank; for otherwise it is presumable
that Chatham would have waited for
him at the corner of South and Wall
| streets, as he was asked to do in the
bookkeeper's telegram. He first
| walked ever to the safe and closed it,
changing the combination, so that the
| lock could not be opened until he had
| had fair start. Next he went to the
| clerks room for his hat. and coat and
for the satchel in which he had packed
| just the few necessities for immediate
| use in his fight. He started to leave
the building through the Exchange
place door; but probably remembered
that the Wall street door was not
locked, and went back to lock it. AS
he was about to close the outer door,
| Chatham arrived on the scene, and the
two men reentered, as we have already
seen. The footprints tell their story
fully and absolutely, their chronology
ical order being established by the oc-
casional obliteration of a footprint in
one trail by another in a subsequent
trail. The two men walked back into
the room in which we now are. Their
actions after this will be clearer to you
if you will follow on this diagram"