Evening star., 1901-06-01
HYPNOTIZED THE CASHIER

: II tell you what" said the long, lank
man with the wandering eye, who stood on
the rear platform of the 14th street car,
this hypnotizing business is getting to be
a great thing, isn't it?''
Not particularly replied the three
other men on the rear platform, who
wanted to be alone with their thoughts.
Yes. stree, great thing, for fact
went on the long, lank man, disregarding
their lack of encouragement. Die read
about the queer case of that bank cashier
out in 1owa?"
Yep" answered the three other platform
ISLANDERS in chorus, hoping thus to stop
the long, lank mans flow of conversation:
But he wasn't to be stopped.
ut sure was odd, wasn't it?" he proceed
ed. But the papers got the details all
mixed up 1t happened in my home town
out in Iowa, and l was home when it hap
pened, and / know that the papers got the
story all twisted. The cashier of the bank
said he was hypnotized you know, and rob-
bed while he was that way"
Sure thing" said the other three, gloom
that"
said the long, lank man. I've known him
for thirty years. and he never was a drink
ing man. The way the thing happened. ac-
cording to his way of telling it. was this:
window at the noon hour, while all the
rest of the bank folks were out eating. He
was alone in the bank He was checking
up some figures of the paying teller's when
a man with a long black beard and pierc-
ing black eye-he particularly noticed the
piercing black eye, he said-walked in.
THE cashier says that the queer-lookfng
visitor never took his eye off him, and he
began to feel a bit uncomfortable to be
stared at that way. He tried to avert his
gaze from that of the man with the pierc-
ing black eye. but, try as he would. he just
couldn't do it. He said that that mans
eyes seemed to burn hole clean through
his head to the back of his skull, and the
idea made him nervous.
Look a-here,' he said to the stranger,
at the same time feeling around with his
hand for the gun that he knew was In the
paying teller's drawer, what's your busi-
ness. anyhow
"'Who, me-? said the man with the black
beard, and he laughed lightly, never, how
who, by this time had got hold Of the
paying teller's gun. and was prepared to
bring it into action at any moment. Why.
I'm a professional money acquirer. and he
stuck his head suddenly through the win
dow and began to make certain passes in
front of the cashiers eyes. I am q natu-
ral-born picker-up Of large sums Of cur
rency preferably from the cashiers Of
me because they like me. Now, you, al
though you have only known me for about
seven minutes. are already so pleased with
my personality that you are about to be
stow upon me all of the paper money in
the bank. You know You are. Now, tell
me, amt your
1.-The cashier said that a queer sort of
feeling ran up his spine to his head that
the stranger with the piercing black eye
was telling the truth and nothing but the
truth.
But said the cashier to his peculiar
visitor involuntarily smiling, what will be
Of I al ia
paper money-the whole 100000? Won't
be prosecutor
1.-The stranger laughed heartily. never,
however, removing his gaze from the CASH
ier.
Prosecuted, nothing he said, making
few more passes in front Of the cashiers
eyes. The directors Of your bank all know
me, and like me, and it would please them
greatly to have you yield gracefully to my
request that you hand me the banks funds.
In fact. I think they're liable to promote
you for doing it
"'All right said the cashier Since you
put it that way. why. of course
This was the cashiers story. He said
that that was the last he remembered of
the whole business. He was found lying in
a stupor on the bank floor when the rest
of the bank folks came back from their
lunches. and the 10000 in paper money
was clean gone from out the safe, which
was open, as it had been since the begin
ming Of business in the morning.
THE cashier was arrested, as a matter
Of form-and perhaps because there weren't
any bruises or such like found on him, indi-
eating that he'd been attacked. He was
in a daze for two or three hours after his
arrest. and then he came to with a snap,
like man coming out Of a nightmare
Where am I?' said he.
You're in jail said one Of the skepti-
cal directors Good acting stunt you're
putting up, too
THE cashier looked at the skeptical d.
rector in grieved sort of way, and pre-
h ciI -
when he told his story. He said that he
had undoubtedly been hypnotzed. He told
the story just as I've told it, and added
that he'd been exceedingly susceptible to
hypnotic suggestion ever since the time
when. young fellow he had permitted
a travelling mesmerist to hypnotic him on
the stage. There were lot of folks that
remembered the time when he had been
hypnotized on the stage Of the town opera
house. too. he said. 1t surely was as queer
case of mental suggestion as ever heard
about. and l wouldn't have believed 1t if I
hadn't been right in the town at the time"
The long, lank man with the wandering
eye paused and looked searchngly at the
flower beds in Thomas Circle
''Well. the cashier wasn't held, of
course?" said one Of the platform ISLANDERS.
The long, lank man spat tentatively be-
fore replying.
You can just bet your last years Pana-
ma hat he was held he said then. Held
tightern nackerel in a picking barrel
overlooked a few little things When his
wife slipped down to the bank that lunch
hour and got the $4,000 he told her to
hustle home and spread the bills. which
were all Of big denominations, out UNDER
meath the rag carpet in the dining room.
Now, there wasn't much sense In that
scheme. Jim wasn't aware of the fact, of
course that one of the first places these
detective sharps look for hidden money is
underneath rag carpets. The detective of
the American Bankers Association got
down to the town from Chicago on the next
day. and he walked straight to the cashiers
home and pulled up the rag carpet in the
dining room as If he knew the money was
there all the time. Jim got eighteen years
He's IN the prison laundry. and he's gained
twenty-seven pounds since he was SEN
fenced. There sure Is something monstrous
queer about this hypnotizing business. and
no mistake. and the long, lank man with
the wandering eye stepped off the car with
a musing, speculative grin on his face
while the three other platform ISLANDERS
gazed at each other sheepishly.