The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-04-22
North Mankato Firm Discovers Who
Had Stolen the Money.
Wheu Accused the Young Thief Con.
fesses to the Crime.
He Is Now Doing the Stunt Of Pay.
ing Back the Cash.
Interesting News Items Gathered il
Brooklyn" Today.
From Thursdays Daily.

From Thursdays Daily.
Farm Bros, the Belgrade avenue shoe
dealers, had little experience in de-
tective work about six weeks ago. They
caught their man and extorted a con-
fession out of him, and though they did
not have him arrested, they secured from
him promise to pay back all the money
he had stolen from them, a promise that
has already been in part fulfilled.
Ever since the first of the year the
Farm boys had been missing money.
They kept their cash receipts of each
day in two small paste board boxes,
which lie in an open desk while either of
the two brothers is in the store. Every
night they count over their sales and
balance up their cash. Some time in
January shortages began to occur. The
brothers wondered each time whether
they could not have made mistakes in
the amount of change they gave their
customers. 1t would happen about once
every two weeks that dollar or half
dollar was missing from one of the boxes.
The brothers were puzzled, but kept the
matter to themselves.
One day six weeks ago, while both of
the brothers were at work in their cob
bling room, which opens into the store
proper by door next to which the desk
stands, a young man, living in the neigh
borhood and we'll known to them both
stood by the desk. All three were jok-
ing about some peculiar expression they
had noticed in the newspaper. The
caller held the newspaper in his hand and
was laughing loudly and writing the
expression over and over again, on the
paper. He was standing near the desk.
Not long afterwards he went away.
1t happened that the brothers had oc-
casion to count up their cash short
time after he had gone. 1t had been a
very dull day, and they had taken in
only 1915. One dollar was gone. They
suspected this young visitor, though at
the same time they wondered at their
own suspicious, as they had never dream
ed before that, that fine fellow would be
guilty of stealing. Nevertheless they
set a trap for him.
The next day the same young neighbor
again came in to call, and again asked
for the newspaper. The money had been
counted and arranged in such way the
slightest disturbance would easily be no
ticed The young caller once more found
something to joke and laugh at in the
paper which he held up in such way as
to conceal the movements of his other
hand.
By and by one of the brothers look
ed into the boxes and began counting the
money. A customer happened in at that
very time, and the habitual visitor made |,
a hasty departure. One dollar was mis- |
sing.
On the evening of that same day he !
came back to the store John Farm de-
manded back the dollar The suspect at |
first denied all knowledge of the money,
but, as both brothers began to tell of the
scheme they had worked to catch him,
he trembled like leaf, broke dow, and
confessed all.
The thief did not know how much he
had taken, but, said he thought it was
about So As that was about the whole
of the money that the Farms had miss
ed, they agreed to refrain from prose
cutting the young man or telling his par
ents, if he would pay back $40. The thief
agreed and has since been paying back
the money in installments of so cents per
week. He has paid So SO far.
The thief was far more concerned
about his parents knowing anything )
about his trouble, than he was about
getting into the clutches of the law. 4
The five stewards of the Belgrade ave-
une Methodist church have not yet def
nitely secured place in which to sell
lunches on South Front street on Wood
mems picnic day, June 8. Ladies of the
church are very much interested and
eager to take a hand in the work of
making funds for the church treasury. /,
Miss Martha Anderson, who is en-
oloyed in the awning mandatory of j.
J. Mayer on Belgrade avenue, was not
able to work today on account of lame
ness of the right hand. The hand re-
,eived slight injury about three weeks
ago, and in some way the wound was
poisoned Much soreness and swelling has
been the result.
Ed. Hintz has gone to Winthrop to
work in meat market.
Serv Schaus has returned from st. !,
PAUL, where he went with a view to
ooking around for location for home
or his family. He has decided that ST. :
- ooII Mouth Man IL