The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-01-20

1t was quite true that nobody SEEM
ed TO have heard such an explosion an
must have occurred when the safa Of
the X. and l.. company was blown
through the Office wall. But one
Waterman on a cattle ship two slips
from the express dock had heard a
noise between 2 and 3 O'Clock which
he had not attributed to the mystery
of the lost safe, however.
''Twere no explosion, officer" ne
told me. THAT I'll be willin' to swear
to-"
What did it sound like?" I asked.
Sure, twas more like a heap o.
lumber fallin' down. l thought twas
in the lumber yard on the next block"
WAS anything going on out In the
river at the timer"
Sure. iv'rything was quiet. I'd
gone below to light me pipe at the
cooks lantern when the noise came to
me-
! telephoned the ship news office
down on the Battery. and oon l had
sotted down the list of the vessels that
had gone to sea since 6 o'clock the pre-
vious evening. Among them was the
Rotterdam OF the Bremen and New
York line, and. although she should
have sailed earlier. I learned by call
ing up the office of the company that
owing to the fog. she had not started
for the Narrows IN charge OF the tug
Charles B. Goodwin until after mid
night.
BY this time 1t was midforenoon,
and the early editions of the after
noon papers were being cried on the
street with elaborate %accoun of the
robbery of the X. and L. safe. one
enterprising sheet had even faxed"
. picture of the diver going over the
edge of the dock into the river to hunt
for the lost safe.
Nevertheless 1 believed that that bit
OF gilded wood I carried around with
me was the clue to the true explana-
ton, so l called UP the towing com
pany that owned the Charles B.. Good
win and discovered where the tug
turn from her trip outside with the
Rotterdam. I was on the wharf whe
the tug came In.
I went aboard and saw the captain.
Mister" I said. .I've come to hear
about it. Have you got the safe?"
What safe?" asked he. looking wise.
THE one your tow happened to car
ry away from the X. and l.. dock this
morning." / said.
Then he laughed and showed me the
safe and several bits of broken office
furniture. which he had covered with
a tarpaulin UP forward. And his story
was interesting, as I supposed 1t would
be.
When the fog showea promise OF lift
ing and the wind changed the tug had
pulled the big steamship clear of her
dock and started down stream. But
they kept inshore. and just of the x.
and L. Express company's dock a fer
ryboat ran out and got in the way Of
the Goodwin.
I'VE had to stick our engines" said
the captain of the tug, land OF course
the towline dropped. The tide swung
the bow OF the Rotterdam plumb into
the end of the dock.
BY hockey, you should have seen
lit! Her bowsprit punched a hole in
one Of the express company's buildings
like a spear into a fat hog. We steam
ed ahead quick, and that yanked the
ships bow out before 1t did more dam
age. But the corner Of the shanty
came with 1t, and 1 reckon a good
deal of what was in the office clatter-
ed down on the old Rotterdam's for
ward deck. The Bremen and New
York line will have to pay a nice IT.
tie sum for damages, I suppose. But
1T warn't our fault.
When we got down the harbor the
captain Of the Rotterdam told me that
along with the other wreckage which
had fallen on his deck was the safe
yonder, and I took 1t aboard before
l left her outside.
Thought they'd been burglarized.
did they? Well, I reckon 1t was about
as queer a case of piracy as ever
happened along this river front"
And he certainly was right. A queer
er thing never happened under my no.
tice, nor did I ever evolve a theory
from a more ~unpromising clew than
from that bit Of gilded wood which,
as I suspected, had been broken or
the figurehead Of the outgoing ves-
sci.