The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-05-31
A BOX OF CIGARS
By Chester Barnett
Copyright. by Daily story Pub. coa

bred and fifty dollars paid to the house
two weeks before Dowd absconded. It
came by mail, 1t Is supposed. Dowd
issued no receipt for It, Neither ala
he make any entry In the books. now
two firms claim to have paid up their
accounts, both Of which aggregated
six hundred and fifty. And besides
laying himself open to exposure.
Dowd has icopardlzea the trade or Inc
two best customers of the house,
THE company is willing to stend
the loss of the six.hfty, besides no'
merous smaller ones, provided Dowa
will furnish the information as to VINO
paid the amount. II he refuses, the
old man Is going TO put Ave hundred
dollars on his head
oh, let M! Jones Il Dock paid the
money said the burglar. half inyol-
unfairly. Get on trail Of that fifteen
thousand. viii your he added, an
grily,
II thought you could tell me about
IT," smiled Sharley, Judging by that
yellow stain on the tip of your ring
finger, They use a peculiar Ink here
that Is very hard to get OFF ones mn
gers. Well. Mr.. Dowd, about the hi-
teen thousand. Each evening before
he closed the safe, you remember, the
old man would bring a cigar box dow
from his private office, The box was
a large one and was supposed to con-
tain Hayanas of a superb quality.
with which he would regale favorite
customers, Indeed, there was a layer
or two Of cigars on top.
"But beneath these the old fellow
slowed away all cash profits, after
converting them into bills of large de-
nomination. No one dared to toueh
the cigars, for the old man was 1eal-
Gus of them--as well he might be, Ono
clerk was discharged for offering one
cigar from the box Sharley lowered
his voice stu more and pointed a
trembling finger toward the safe.
"That box Is still there"
The burglars eyes sparkled with
fierce brightness. He made = move
ment toward the safe.
wait TIL we finish our plan." urged
the auditor sharply. THE door OF the
safe must show damage In order that
suspicion will not turn to me. This
window must be tempered with, too.
| don't want to run my head into q
moose"
go ahead. We agreed on that. We
can tend to the damage later
"All right. BY the way, you are
sure that Jones & Dock paid the SIX
fifty?"
yes, and II you need 1t, there's a
list of the other collections that fall
to appear in the books" and the
burglar produced a paper from his
pocketbook. Now get out the box.
The old fool never gave me the com-
binatlon. / admire his sagacity In
giving 1t to you" He could not foregn
the sarcasm, though he was trembling
with eagerness.
sharley leaned over and spun the
EDlllUlIhLibl VI liN BtltA Abp4 '@'
bolts elinsed and sharley ierked open
the door.
Here It is. And we win smoke one
Of the majors cigars to his better
health"
d. his cigars. Show me what's
underneath and be quick about 1t. II
Dick Dowd was a fool, he Is n no
longer. You can have the cigars, the
rest lie mine. Hand II over, Mr.. Shar.
ieyi"
sharley's lips Strengthened. He
scraped aside the top layer Of cigars
and drew out q si~lyer.plated Colts
that nestled snugly underneath.
Kindly put up YOU hands as high
as you can conveniently, Mr.. Dowd.
and 'obiige' me by not moving for a
moment. Did ! not expressly state
that the money had been In the box?
1t was taken to the First National this
morning and this little trifle took It's
place"
While speaking Sharley had moved
btOWiy HlOubu Auc uVahs oSNihb NJ"
purpose, Dowd suddenly brought down
his right hand in a swinging half cir
Gle, aiming a blow which, had 1t
landed, would have put the Colts out
OF reach. Though Sharley eyaded the
blow, his aim was lost for a moment.
Instantly the burglar sprang toward
the counter where lay the two revolt
vers. sharley employed an old school.
boy trick that has served many a man
after schoolboy days are over. Az his
adversary sprang, he thrust his foot
between the mans legs, and the bur.
glar came to the floor with a terrific
crash.
Sharley stepped to the counter and
poeketed the reyolvers.
Don't be iIl-natured. After favor
Ing me with the information about the
ix-6fty--which, by the way, will assist
me out Of a bad tangle--I had thought
better OF you. Kindly step with me to
the front door till an officer happens
along. You first, please"
The burglar arose and led the way
with suIlen obedience.