Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-10-04
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE POTTSVILLE BANK.

IOunu ISuI III ile EOOlllS. anu bt'lu-
ing over me and having pistol in his
right hand was a man whose face was
hidden by black cambria mask. 1t
was half Il minute before | got my full
senses. and then l heard him saying:
Make no outcry or you are i dead
man. You must get up and dress"
The lamp had been lighted. and the
door leading out into the hall was
wide open. Such a thing rs burglary
was almost unknown in the annals of
Pottsville. and to wake up from Il
sound sleep and find a couple of bur
glars in my room made me dumb with
surprise.
You must dress and come with us
wake her up you must take the con
sequences. Come, now; we are in a
hurry"
The hall door was slightly ajar, and
as we passed through it and outdoors
l saw that entrance TO the house had
been gained by cutting a panel out of
the door We walked straight down
to the gate and ont of it and turned
to the left and when quite clear of
the grounds came to q horse and cart
in the keeping of Il third man. As
we halted. the talleSt of the trio said:
Il am glad to see that ymI are no
food. If you continue 10 act Sensibly
all will be well"
But what does this mean?' l de
manded.
1T means that we want the money
in the louisville bank and that you
are to help us get it
Never. If that's your game, you
are left"
But you Will help u.s." he ,exclaim-
ed. and there was Il sort of hiss in his
voice that reminded me OF an angry
serpent. Yes. you will help us, or
your wife Will never see you alive
again. Into the cart with you"
! obeyed the order and two of the
men took seats beside me, and the 9th
er vanished in the darkness. The men
with me lighted cigars and offered me
one as we drove away. 1 shook my
head. and the tall man said:
Just as you wish. You know Chap
man. cashier of the bank, of cOurse!"
Yes"
He alone has a key to the vaults.
We can't get into his house on account
Of the burglar alarm. and you must call
him out. We will accompany you TO
the house and stand by you while YOU
ring the bell. Chapman Will probably
call TO you from the window OF his
room. You must tell him that there is
CO N h,v nj u
him 10 dress and come down. His wife
is away, and so we have everything in
our favor. You may think to play us
game. If you try it on we will kill
you offhand. Now. come on
We took the middle OF the street, and
the men walked on each side of me.
and each one Of them carried q pistol
in his hand
When we reached Chapman's house
we softly advanced to the front door.
and as l rang the bell the men posted
themselves on either side.
Up went a second story window at
the first ring, and Chapman put his
head out and asked what we wanted.
l replied that there was trouble at the
bank, and without asking for details
IL
The men had him IN a moment. as he
was as completely taken by surprise
as l had been, and had he made any
struggle he would have been roughly
used
The thought that he must give up the
$4,000 lying In the vaults gave him
desperate feeling. but he restrained
himself and hoped that something
might occur.
Not a soul did we meet as we walked
to the bank, but when almost there
stray dog came running up TO us. One
of the men gave him a kick, and he
ran bowling away; but, unnotfced by
anybody, he sneaked back and entered
the building with US. The first move
made after we entered was to pull
down the curtains and strike a light.
When we could see to move about, the
tall man said TO Chapman:
You have the keys. and l want you
to open the vault. We are after the
money and don't want to hurt either
Of you"
Chapman looked around in despair
and then unlocked the door OF the
vault and pulled it halfway open The
TWO men crowded forward to enter.
scanning TO forget us for the moment.
ana one Of them pulled a bag from
uniar his vest and set the light on the
no--
All OF sudden. and with no seeming
excuse for it. the dog. who had halted
uear the front door, set up howl and
came rushing back at us in a savage
manner. We We're all startled and up
set. ana In the confusion Chapman and
l did thing we were never able to
explain afterward
We hurled ourselves against the door
and acted 50 quickly that neither OF
the burglars had time TO fire a shot
when we had them safer than in pris-
on. All we had to do was to arouse
the town and open the door in the
presence Of armed men, and they came
out humbIy enough 10 go 10 trial and
receive n sentence of ten years apiece