The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-10-02
A Man of Graft


| at eighteen resolved that he
"ouiu Toll and play the hypocrite half
lifetime to enjoy the other half Ha
secured a position in bank. In year
ne mad been twice promoted and had
gained the good will of the manager
FURTHER promotion came SLOWLY as
there were trusted employees ahead of
MN, but death came to make vacancies
and help him along, and at the end of
ten years he was assistant cashier.
Mlnturn was given a two weeks va.
catlon when made cashier. He said
that he was going to Rutland TO mass
the time with a relative, but he lied
ABOUT It He journeyed south to
Iewkesbury, and between that town
and Cheltenham he put up at a road.
side inn under false name and claim.
ed TO be from London. Under the name
OF Clyde he bought a 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 a
resident No one doubted that he lived
in London, and no one questioned that
he 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 $4,000 were missing. He
had robbed the bank after office hours
Saturday night and consequently had a
long start Not until 1t was known that
he had taken cab at the very door Of
the bank and driven to the depot, hav-
ing 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 a
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 he had be-
trayed his trust after twenty years of
integrity was forced upon all. The po-
lice were set'to work at once, and a.
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 $4,000 and at the end of
four it was increased to f10.0G0, but
Mnturn 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 month no one had turned
paper having a resume of the case fell
into the hands of Martha Whitley,
kitchenmaid in 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 a compartment with man
whose actions and speech had struck
her oueerly He had addressed her in
broken German, but he was unmistak-
ably an Englishman. At her first sight
of him she was sure he was clean shay
ed but she was hardly seated when he
appeared with side whiskers and SEEM
ed to be ten years older than before.
She noticed that he held a newspaper
to shield his face as much as possible
and was evidently anxious not to be
scanned too closely. He had with him
O bulky satchel. and by the time the
junction was reached he was asleep or
feigning to be so.
Martha Whitley was a bright girl
for one in her station, and when she
left the train she had her mind made
ND that her fellow traveller was either
q detective or a fugitive. She said
nothing to any one, however, and the
incident had slipped from her mind
when the article in the paper recalled
If Then she believed the stranger to
be none other than the defaulting cash.
Ter. and she stated her suspicious to
constable. The officer was supposed to
be a 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 hldlng IN
the country. He also figured that Min
turn would not go far, for fear OF be-
ing noticed. Starting in at Eyesham
Junction, he drove south with morse
and buggy and kept his eyes and ears
open. He pretended to be looking TOT
a brother of his who had disappeared
and whenever he made inquiry he de-
scribed Minturn as he ought TO nave
looked without the whiskers. IL TOOK