The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-06

expended in Cheyenne by the girl. 1t
was a bin that 1 had borrowed from
bank just for the purpose. But the
bluff went through easily and caught
a man who could never have been con-
victed of his crime in a court of law,
since there wasn't the slightest exist
ing evidence that he had ever come
into possession of the registered mall
pouch which he had rihed.
1.-THE other quick acknowledgment
OF theft, under pressure was that or
the postmaster of a good-sized Far
Western town. This man had pos
sessed reputation for sterling integ-
rlty, and the case had to be handled
with kid gloves. His method was in
Seniously simple. He made up pack
age of currency to be RENTED TO
Washington. The package contained
$4,000 in bills of various denominations.
The postmaster did up the package
carefully, sealing it in the presence of
two or three employees of his postof-
flee. Then he placed it in the pouch
and fastened the pouch, leaving the
pouch in his office ready to be taken
to the East-bound train. He prepared
the usual letter of transmittal, to be
sent by separate mail, the letter CIV
ing list of the numbers of the bills
forwarded in the currency package.
But the postmaster altered the end fig
ures of some of these bill numbers. His
in one sense; but there are, as you viii
see, all sorts of ways of spiking the
schemes of these too shrewd people. He
knew that the numbers of the bills as
given in his letter of transmittal would
be used to trace the bills, and as he
intended to spend those bills himself
he purposely changed the numbers so
that there would be, as he thought no
possibility of tracing the bills to hir1
THAT same night, while there was a
party going on at the postmaster's
home, he slipped down to his office,
cut hole in the bottom of the fastened
pouch to give an air of VeriSimiltude
to the thing, as it were, distracted the
package of currency put the money
in his pocket and then returned to the
party as cool as a cucumber. The
pouch started on its way to Washing
ton without the hole in the bottom be-
ing noticed for some time.
when the money failed to reach
Washington along with the letter of
transmittal 1 was the one chosen to
go out and investigate the case After
the very first glance at the letter of
transmittal / knew that the postmas-
ter himself was the thief. l peered
to throw him off his guard, and then
l corralled him in his office. 1 had a
couple of solid men with me.
Mr.. j., 1 said to the postmaster,
producing the letter of transmittal,
which was in his own handwriting,
you wrote this letter of transmittal,
didn't your
Why, certainly I did, he replied,
still perfectly cool.
"'Are you perfectly sure that you
got the number of the bill right in
each instance?'
Why. l don't see why I shouldn't
have he replied, a little less conf
dent in manner.
Well, 1 said then, there is some
thing very curious about the figures
in this letter of transmittal. Permit
me to tell you something about the
numbering of United States currency
which you, perhaps, are not familiar
with
Il could see that the postmaster
was beginning to wriggle nervously
The serial numbers on the bills of
the respective denominations l went
on, are Invisible by certain numbers
some denominations by the number
3, others by the number 4, others by
5, and SO on. Now, a peculiar thing
about the bill numbers in this letter
of transmittal of yours is that in
many cases they are not Invisible by
the figure of the denominations to
which the bills respectively belong,
and, therefore, since you admit that
you yourself wrote this letter of trans
initial, and that there could be no
possibility of mistake as to so many
of the numbers of the bills, it would
seem that
That l took the money and pur-
posely changed the bill numbers in the
letter of transmittal-and that is right
put in the postmaster, covering his
face with his hands and breaking
down.
LAS 1 say, the accusing finger need
only be pointed at a slant at the
guilty man and he will quickly sue
cumb, unless he be an habitual GRIM
inal, and for this reason the work of
detectives in most cases of dishonesty
is a great deal easier than it is COM
monty supposed to be-"