The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-25

W III pOllCe dnO recorded
there, 1t appeared that about a couple of
months before a wealthy Australian ar
rived in London from Melbourne. and on
the afternoon of landing took a cab to
Coutts's. i'm the Strand. and just before the
CLOSING OF the bank drew $4,000 in notes
and gold In order TO make a payment in
the city. He arrived at an office I'm Wal
brook only TO find the principal absent.
He. however. made an appointment for the
Following morning. and then drove away.
but had never been seen nor heard of since
one note Of S100 had been presented and
cashed by a bank in Whitby. while a Sec
ond had been presented i'm Salisbury, but
the number being noted payment was re-
fused. The man who presented it managed
to get clear off, thus plainly showing that
he was one of the accomplices.
The police theory was that the unfortu-
nate Australian. a man named Massey. had
been robbed. murdered and his body Sc
cretly disposed of as the remains of so
many are done away with in the great
metropolis. There is an old saying at Scot
land Yard that any mans life can be TAX
en- for a sovereign in London.
l read the facts eagerly. then noting the
date. turned up a file of the Times which
gave some few additional details. A de-
scription was given of the missing gem
tleman. Who appeared to be n man of con-
siderable influence and position i'm Mel
bourne, and a reward of a thousand pounds
was offered by a firm of solicitors for any
information which might lead to his dis
covery.
/ went carefully over the facts of the
mysterious annearanca aVar finoac aud
then copied for my own information the
numbers of all the missing notes. They
were all small ones. tens. twenties. ifties
and hundreds. and therefore the more easy
to negotiate. Stolen notes are usually. put
into circulation on the continent. for in
Amsterdam and Paris there are receivers
who will buy all sorts of notes knowing
them to be the proceeds of robberies. In
my own mind had no doubt that the bulk
of Mr. Massey's money had already been
negotiated across the chanel. Cayley's pos
session of that note was an enigma.
I m that mysterious conversa-
ton / had overheard when they had re-
turned to the house i'm their police uni
forms. and OF careful calculation added
another suspicion to the already ormida-
bic array. for I found that the morning
when I had gone forth early to Kings
Cross was Just at the period when Mr..
Massey so unaccountably disappeared.
One Saturday evening. about a fortnight
afterwards. Lawrence. foppishly dressed.
came in and invited all three of us along
to the corner house for a smoke. Vickers,
he explained. had caught a bad cold and
feared to come out. therefore he asked
ne oil ~ or ox,or anI laan h;,, 49, x-
My two companions were nothing loath.
and I confess to being easily persuaded
to join the party. for 7 had long wished
to see what in kind of "diggings'' these
two men lived.
A girl of the usual clearinghouse type
opened the door. and having passed into
the hall. guided by Lawrence. we ascended
the stairs to a room on the third floor. I
am slightly short-sighted. but as common
with people who have defective vision I am
possessed of a remarkably quick ear.
Therefore as we passed into the ill-lit
hall. ] detected by the sound that the
house was scantily furnished. This sur
prised me. for its exterior denoted neat
ness and considerable prosperity. Before
the clean, well-curtained windows of the
ground-f1oor were boxes of scarlet gera-
NUNS. the steps were always scrupulously
white with fresh hearthstone. and the brass
handle and knocker well polished. Once
inside, however, I noticed. even in that
bad light. that the place was dirty and neg
lected. the stair-carpet was in holes and
the small upstairs sitting room was bare
ly furnished.
vickers. who was sitting there with a
Jtr4y uh;fa rand1av rvrappad ora,tpI h;C
throat. rose and greeted US heartily. whis-
ky and sodas were at once produced. cigars
lit. and very soon we became quite merry.
After about an hour some one proposed a
game at nap at a halfpenny a point. l
Joined. and with the whole five of us play
ing. the fun soon grew fast and furious.
Why had my two companions so sudden
ly left the police-if they were really DO
licemen? That puzzled me always. They
might, however. be detectives. and the
number of that note had perhaps been
made by Cayley in the ordinary course.
Yet they possessed nothing in common
with police officers. Their air was far too
irresponsible. too devil-may-care.
While we were playing ] saw Vickers ex-
change a strange significant look with Cay
ley. who. in order to hide the smile that
played about his lips. twisted his grey
mustache and ~thoughtfully regarded his
cards. / had announced my intention of
making three-a difficult feat when five
are playing-and consequently my attention
was conferred upon the game. Just as it
became my turn to commence the second
round / heard a strange noise in the ad-
joining room as of a man grooming.
What's that?" I asked. starting and
glancing from one to the other.
Nothing. old fellow" Lawrence an
swered. They say this place is haunted
but it's only the wind in the chimney
"Haunted?" I echoed. at once interested.
HAS it hat reputation
Certainly. The place was to let for
nearly ten years. because the various oc-
cupants heard all kinds of weird noises.
just as you've heard a moment ago. We
however. took it. and after a lot of inves-
tigation discovered the real cause. It's
quite simple"
"What is it?'
why, after being puzzled for months.
we one day discovered that over the Chin
ney in the next room is an old-fashioned
ventilator. which when set revolving by
1 the xrip1 raataC ~ .r-S.I ----rt-- -.