Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-08-09
All Amateur Thief
tOriginal. ]

lOriginal1
Two friends, Wallace YoSt m,
ton Palmer, were discussin, :, Clln'
ders made by criminals in 0ll''
their tracks. Yost was SPEAKING as
Il tell you the criminal fron, o.
ment he becomes a criminal has 1s IN mo-
normal control of his faculties" O'
He should have a far keo,ou
of them than before. Had oor, INTRO
a crime my faculties would no al AT ''eC
as a razor" 'n0rp
Il should like to have that state.
tested 1'ellent
1T is possible. Make if wor,s
while and will commit crime, |
what do you mean"
Palmer thought awhile before ron,
Ing. Il will bet you $1,000 to s1o"',
that l can steal $4,000 and NOT no ~
tected for, say, year. | will taLo
money from the safe of my emnlora"
to which l and others have access ~.
money can be returned anonvmonn,s
at the end of the year with intaro..r
1.-THE conditions will not be crimr,,
If you are arrested, l can como o..
ward and claim that it is merely
wager"
'Thnt would not be evidence Ar,
thief could get some friend to nu+ +.
such claim for him"
| 81 believe you're right. So far no h,
Ing considered criminal is copenrnod
| there would be no hope for Won"
The bet was made, and Palmer bo
next day during business hours wblla
| the Office was crowded, walked denh
erately into the safe. which stood omen
| put package of bills in his side coot
! pocket, went and sat down at his desk
| remained there till the hour of closing
then went out in company with mem.
| Der of the firm. Going to his room. he
| sat down to think over what he should +
do with the money. His brain was
clear, and he was pleased to discover
that he had perfect control of his fac.
| ultieS. There had been so many peo
pie in the office at the time the money
was taken, the safe standing open the
| while, that there was no reason WHY
he should be suspected any more than
others. Nevertheless all the office force
would be placed under surveillance. A
detective would be employed, whose
eye would be open to the slightest
clew. Palmer's room might be search.
ed when he was absent SO he couldn't
leave the money there. He dared not
keep It on his person. He dared not
put 1t in bank. He must get rid Of It. /
Here was a risk that he was forced +
to, take. If he were seen hiding the
money, IL 1t were discovered in any
place that would incriminate him, the +
game would be up. However, he be-
lieved that the risk would be in1nltes- (
imal, and he spent several hours max.
ing plans for the disposition Of the
funds. The theft had not been discOv.
cred before the closing hours Of bust. 4
ness and could not possibly be dis
covered till the beginning Of business
hours the next day. He could certain
~ hOb NC "utShCu iii IICLI' II ~ VA
After dinner he went to his grand
mothers, who lived few miles out in
the country, and when 1t was dark and
no one noticed him he strolled back OF
the house. Taking a. spade from the
barn, he went few hundred yards to {
a wood. There under a tree he knew
well-he had often climbed it when
boy-he buried the bills in cigar box
He felt now that the rest would be
easy. He would go to the office as
usual, in the morning feeling sure that
the theft could not be traced to him
All he had to do was to act naturally
He slept fairly well and at 8 O'Clock
in the morning entered the office. The
employees were coming in, and one OF
the partners, Mr.. Knox, was ALREADY
there. Palmer cast q quick glance
about him and saw that all was as
usual. He sat down at his desk ana
tried to lose himself in his work. Bul
he couldn't. He dreaded the moment
when the money would be missed
Then he began to wish the discover!
would be made and his suspense emu.
ed. About II o'clock the cashier wen'
into the safe and soon returned WIN
a serious look on his face Going
the head Of the firm, Mr.. Devlin, nc
whispered something in his ear Ins
gentleman arose and went to the saie
with the cashier. Both entered. anu
both came out together, the head u
the firm taking In with a searcnmS
glance every man In the office.
Palmer's heart was beating IKE
kettledrum. and he felt the blood lear
ing his face. Should he look at dis GU
ployer or keep his eyes on bis wO.s
He had wit enough left to choose ".
latter course. but he felt that the e.s
Of his employer was on him. anu
look uneoncerned was out of the qu''
ton.
"Mr Palmer, win you step inlO ~
private officer
Palmer knew that the first par.
his game had gone against him. Du'
was plucky. Indeed, he had
plucky and nerved himself for SUE