The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-05

Boyd. Nobody has accused you or evil
designs, and Mr.. Fiske here speaks
only we'll of you. Now, / want every
| fact that you can impart bearing upon
this robbery and as quickly as posi-
| BILE. Where is the bag in which you
We're carrying the gold and bonds?"
IN get it, Boyd" cried Fiske. has
tening TO an innner room.
| He returned in a moment, bringing a
stout leather bag, such as bank clerks
! frequently carry, the mouth Of which
| is secured with a short strap and
| buckle. AS Fiske placed it on chair
/ Boyd quickly leaned forward and
opened it.
"Ah! the gold is still here" he cried,
tiled in a small canvas bag. Was ii
thus when you left here with it, Mr..
| Benson?"
Just as you see it, SIR groaned
Benson, trembling visibly.
Plainly the bag has suffered no In
| jury as from a knife in the hand OF
thief Now. answer me, Mr.. Benson.
/ Who placed the bonds and gold in the
| bag for transportation"
II did, sir took them from a safe
| In the inner room, under Mr.. Fishes
! direction, and put both in the bag and
| buckled il. Mr.. Fiske saw me do so,
also Miss Dole, his stenographer. The
bonds were in single package, secured
with two rubber bands, and the bag OF
! gold was on top Of them
Did you at once start for the sub
! treasury
Not at once. | delayed to wash my
hands at the lavatory, leaving the bag
and it's contents on the table in the
next room. Both Mr.. Fiske and Miss
Dole remained there, however, so the
theft could not possibly have been COM
mitted at that time"
Boyd glanced quickly at Fiske, and
asked:
Did you leave Miss Dole alone in
that room while Benson was washing
his hands?"
II left her for barely moment. 1
came here to my desk after some let
ters. OF course, / had no suspi
cion-'
How was Miss Dole engaged while
Benson was packing the bag?"
"She was typewritiIg a letter for
me-"
step into that inner room as If to
get something, ard leave the door open
for a moment" commanded Boyd low
ering his voice a little. Il want to look
at the rOom-and the Stenographer."
| Mr.. Fiske complied, and Boyd quietly
| drew nearer the door between the two
rooms. The inner one was the smaller,
| having a desk and a table, a safe in
one OF the walls, a stenographer's stand
and outfit, and one window looking out
into Wall street. While he peered briefly
into the room, BOYD saw that Miss Dole
was a tall. fashionably dressed girl,
with an abundance of auburn hair, and
that she was seated at her typewriter
close by the window. Boyd glanced up
| at the window catch and saw that 1t
| was locked
HAS Miss Dole left that room since
Benson packed the bag?" he asked,
after Fiske had returned and closed
the door.
mo, sir. I can swear to that"
How about the window? Can she
have opened it without your knowledge,
to have dropped out the package of
bonds to a confederate, assuming her
to have removed it from the bag while
you both were absent?"
| "Impossiblei" declared Fiske. Il was
absent only a moment, and she would
have had to mount the sill in order to
throw the catch. She could not pos
sibly have done so, and opened and
closed the window, without my having
seen or heard her"
II see that ii is locked now" returned
Boyd, apparently dismissing with a
snap of his thumb and finger further
consideration of the girl.
Then he reverted quickly to Benson,
and said:
Now TO continue. After washing
your hands, what did you do?'
II came and got the bag, and then
FASTENED directly 10 the sub-treasuTy.
l did not enter any place on the way,
but went as quickly as possible. When
| opened the bag. / at once saw that
the package of bonds had been abb
stracted. AS truly as God hears me,
gentlemen, / nearly tainted. | at once
closed the bag and rushed here at the
top of my speed to report the robbery
to Mr.. Fiske. That was less than half
an hour ago"
For a moment Boyd sat silent, with
his searching gaze fixed upon the
CHASTITY countenance of the agitated
clerk. Then he abruptly exclaimed,
with decisive intonation:
"Oh, come, come, come; That's not
the whole story, Benson! You imply
; that the bag did not once leave your
hand. In that case this robbery would
have been utterly impossible, since the
bag is intact, and you found it closed
and buckled in reaching your destina-
ton. Benson, you are suppressine
something! Out with it now! Where
did you stop on the way?"
Boyd's influence over others at such
time is Well nigh irresistible. To
!. Fiske's manifest surprise. yet not a
whit to that of Felix Boyd the clerk
instead of replying, suddenly bowed
forward in his chair, covering his pallid
/ face with his hands, and burst into
tears.
Good heavens!" calculated Fiske.
whats the meaning of this?"
Felix Boyd already had arisen, and
approached to lay his hand of Benson s
shoulder.
Come, come, Benson!" he cried
kindly. Pull yourself together and tell
me the whole truth. l am quite con-
WINGED that you are guilty of an indis-
! cretion only, not of any premeditated
crime Redeem yourself, then, by an
/ immediate confession of the whole
truth. The recovery of these bonds may
! depend upon it, and each passing mo-
ment may be of value. Speak up like a
man."
Benson, half choked with sobs raised
his haggard face and nodded.
! 81 will, sir; indeed, / WILL" he
groaned, in almost abject despair
God forgive me, Mr.. Fiske, for having
r deceived you. l have lied in one point
only, yet / felt that my statement was
; equivalent 10 the truth, for I cannot
conceive how this crime could have
5 been committed. Not for a moment did
the bag leave my sight, SIR vet I die
stop just once on the way and set Il
| down-only once, sir"