Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-05-31
DAILY SHORT STORY
A Man of Craft.
Copyright. 1902. by c. B. Lewis ]

lifetime to enjoy the other half. He
secured position in bank. In year
he had been twice promoted and had
gained the good VIII of the manager.
Further promotion came slowly, as
there were trusted employees ahead OF
him, but death came to make vacancies
and help him along, and at the end of
ten years he was assistant cashier.
Minturn was given n two weeks va
cation when made cashier. He said
that he was going to Rutland TO pass
the time with a relative, but he lied
about 1T. lie journeyed south to
Tewkesbury. and between that town
and Cheltenham he put up at road
side inn under a false name and claim
ed TO he from London. Under the name
OF Clyde he bought Il small farm and
installed an old woman as housekeeper.
and her brother, who was an old man,
as manager.
For five long years Minturn came
and went, and people grew used TO the
sight of him and looked upon him as
resident. No one doubted that he lived
in London, and no one questioned that
lie was an insurance agent. At the
bank in Birmingham everything went
well. and the directors now and then
congratulated each other upon their
advancement of the young man to his
present position. One Monday morn
ing a thunderclap came. The trusted
cashier and 100000 were missing. He
had robbed the bank after office hours
Saturday night and consequently had
long start. Not until it was known that
he had taken Il cab at the very door OF
the bank ana driven TO the depot, hay
ing a bulky satchel with him, would
any of the bank officials doubt his hon
esty. Indeed, they defended him when
he had been gone three days and even
suggested that he was the victim of
plot.
However, the cashier was the only
man who could have got at the money,
and as it was missing and he could
not be heard Of the fact that lie had be-
trayed his trust after twenty years of
integrity was forced upon all. The po-
lice were set to work ut once, and 4
large reward was offered to incite their
zeal, and there was hope that the rob
Der would be overhauled. When two
weeks had passed, the reward was in
creased to $1,000, and Mt the end of
foup it was increased to 10000. but
AIinturn seemed to have vanished off
the face of the earth. The cabman had
left him at the depot, but in what di-
rection he Travelled the closest inquiry
could not ascertain. Scotland Yard had
full charge of the case, assisted by
numberless private detectives. but at
the end of n month no one had turned
oInr Tl,,f
paper having n resume of the case fell
into the hands of Martha Whitley. n
kitchenmaid In n family in Ledbury.
On the Saturday evening that the bank
had been robbed she had been coming
from q brief visit to her sister at Red
ditch and had Travelled to Evesham
Junction in n compartment with Il man
whose actions and speech had struck
her queerly. He had addressed her in
broken German. but he was unmlstak-
ably an EngliShman. At her first sight
of him she was sure he was clean shay
ed. but she was hardly seated when lie
appeared with side whiskers and seem
ed to he ten years older than before.
She noticed that he held n newspaper
to shield his face as much as possible
and was evidently anxious not to be
n bulky satchel. and by the time the
junction was reached he was asleep or
feiCning to be so.
Martha Whitley was n bright girl
for one in her station, and when she
left the train she had her mind made.
up that her fellow traveller was either
u detective or fugitive. She said
nothing to any one. however. and the
incident had slipped from her mind
when the article in the paper recalled
it. Then she believed the stranger to
be none other than the defaultinE cash
Ter, and she stated her suspicious to n
constable. The officer was supposed to
be thick headed man. but he proved
his wit on this occasion. He reasoned
that as the fugitive had not been
heard of at any seaport or prominent
inland town he must be in hiding in
the country. He also figured that Min
turn would not so far, for fear of be-
ing noticed. Starting in at Evcsham
Junction, he drove south with horse
and buggy and kept his eyes and ears
open. He pretended TO be looking for
a brother of his who had disappeared,
and whenever he made inquiry he de-
Scribed Minturn as he ought TO have
looked without the whiskers. 1t took
him just four days to do what fifty de-
tectives had failed to do in Il month.
He found Il farmer who scratched his
head for awhile and then replied that
the description fitted London land
owner named Clyde living only three
miles away. That was the c!ew, and
within four hours the cashier had been
arrested at his farmhouse. He had gone
straight there with the plumber. every
dollar of which, was recovered. To
excuse his long stay he claimed to be
out of health. hut his intentions were
to wait for yet anS,her month and
then quietly leave the country with the
Doodle. The reward was justly divid-
ed between the young woman and The