The daily morning Alaskan., 1904-02-04
AN HONEST BANKER
fcspwfrhi noa. by O. B. Warner

. -
 n,arest town. My liking for the
 banker was returned He gave me the advice d father would give,
 In July Of the second year Mrs. Drew and her child went east to be
 gone for a couple of months. Within
 a few days thereafter the banker be-
 gan talking to me about taking fort
 nights vacation. It was finally ar
 ranged that we should go up into the
 Taos mountains to Ash and hunt and
 have good time generally; but to
 my surprise. after We had made our plans Mir. Drew said to me;
 'I shall leave the bans in charge of Mir. Williams. the bookkeeper, and
 everything will go on as usual, but 1t
 will be wiser not to mention the mat ter of my going. ] need a vacation, | but people have an Idea that a banker
 ought to stick right by the shop. If it Is known that ! am going there
 will be more or less gossip, which ] wish to avoid"
 I cleared up everything at the office
 on a Saturday. gave my substitute ruU instructions and banked about ! &3.OOO in greeubacks. Darkness wac coming on as We left town, and the streets were pretty well deserted, and
 in getting out we did not pass any one who saluted us. The banker held tbe relns. and we rode fully fifteen miles over the moonlit road before turning on and going into camp for the night
 At daylight next morning ] saw the contents of the wagon for the hrsl time. and there was cause for wonder ! There were two blankets, two baskets of food and two rifles, but no tent and no nshIng outfit while the only cook ing utensu was d tin co6eepot There was one other article iu the wagon Il was a large. old fashioned satchel, and lt was full to bursting and had two straps bucklod around it SO that ii could be carried as knapsack. We ate our breakfast in silence, and then Drew abruptly sald:
 'I am about to explain matters tC you. Do you know what that satcheI contains:7
 NO"
 "Aloney-greenbacks. golG over S5O- ! 900 in all have robbed my own bank and am leaving home, family and country forever. have been planning
 thIs thing for years
 ! l was dumb with astonishment and
 without looking up or changing his tones he continued:
 This vacation is only blind l lefi ! on Saturday night so as Co get a long start. ! brought you along because
 wanted company in the wilderness. Ii is a matter of 800 miles from here tC El Paso. with hard and dangerous travelling. and you are to go with me. l sat and stared at him and wondered ! if it were not all a dream. He had spoken very seriously, but l could noi | credit him. I was about to say so | when he turned full upcn me, and then ! knew the worst The man was inc sane,
 Under bis direction I removed every ! thing from the wagon, placed the har-
 ness in it and then drew it over the
 fire. The horse had probably been ! turned loose. as ! saw his tracks later on. When the wagon was well ahre, the banker loaded his rifle. mOtioned me to do the same and then lifted the
 satchel on my shoulders and made 1t fast He took baskets and blankets, and we set or for the mountains.
 At5 o'clock ] told him l could go no | farther and he consented to go into camp.
 We put In a hard day of itagalu next
 day. making about twenty miles, as ] ! figured it. When night came again. ] determined what to do on the morrow. ! l had pocket compass, while be had none and did not know of mine. ] was satisfied that home lay Co tue north east and also that he did not know It's ! direction. If I had the lead, ] would gradually turn to the northeast, and if ! be failed to suspect me ! would pilot | him home in about three days. The | idea had full possession Of me next morning when we were ready to set
 out. but what did the cunning rascal
 do but take the lead himself and hold ! to the south.
 When night came again, ] deter mined on another plan. The first
 signs Of daylight saw one putting it
 Iu practice. Mir. Drew had used the
 satchel for a pillow. but his head ! slipped or, and be was sleeping sound ! ly. I made up a package of meat and bread from the baskets, got hold of my rife and the satchel and then
 cautiously withdrew from the camp l l figured that as soon as he missed
 me be would go back over our trail
 and SO headed to the east Go q D 'lI
 the range on that face ! coulS not
 have been half a mile from camp when |; heard him yelling Thinking he was
 on my trail, looked around for cover . On my left was a mass Of rock. and a
 few feet up was an opening. It was not large enough to shelter me, but
 crowded the satchel Into it and then
 get or in a wild flight that lasted for
 miles
 It was night when I got down
 among the foothills. l had seen noth- ! ing of the banker. It required two
 days to get back to town and another
 day to organize a party to go in pur-
 suit of the lunatic and the money.