The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-07-17
PROVING HIS GUILT,
By klNossuRY WEIGH.


Copyright. 1909. By American Press ALSO
ciation.l
am a postofice inspector and have
had a good deal to do with ferreting
cut crime in the extraction 81 money
from letters. work on certain prin-
ciples that / have evolved by long ex-
perience, and II is usually very easy
matter for me to hunt down culprit
This is because when a man begins to
steal he continues his thefts They
are not committed by various people
an one has to do is to find that one
person. Besides, there are various
traps we set for him which he is not
likely TO suspect
! once bad case where got some
information IN advance which seemed
to facilitate any Investigations might
make. John Crawlins. merchant,
complained to me that ms letters were
being robbed in passing through the
postoffice. / asked him If any one "a
his employ had access to his man, and
be told me that It was received and
taken to the postofiice By clerk
named Robert Byrnes. Byrnes was
taking the money II any one In bis en-
ploy was taking IT. and be interposed
no objection TO my investigating In
that direction. lie had suspected
Byrnes and had watched him.
Incognlto made the young mans
acquaintance, or. rather, the acuuaint-
ance Of the family Of which be was
part. He was the idol Of bis mother
a widow; two younger sisters aud q
sweetheart. Marion Swift. l saw that
something was troubling the mother
and set about Winning her confidence,
suspectlng the cause OF her worry to
be her son. He was a gay, free hand
Cd young fellow, and whatever was
on bis mind was sure to come to the
surface. His mother finally told me
that her boys generous nature was
likely TO prove his ruin. He made
both her, hts sisters and Marion Swift
presents that she was sure he could
not afford She had heard Of the ex-
traction Of money from bis employers
mali and was in great distress FOR
fear her son was the culprit
This was d pretty direct elew. New
ertbeless there was one thing that pre-
vented me from following 1t with
proper persistence sympathy. Mrs.
Byrnes was a lovely woman, Marion
Swift was an attractive aud innocent
girl, while Robert was boy whom
every one loved. To confess the whole
matter hadn't known Mrs. Byrnes
an hour before had made up my
mind that she was the woman l was
looking for for a wife.
never occupied SO much time ia
solving detective problem -not that
! couldn't solve It, but because I /
didn't wish it solved 1t looked to me
like one Of those cases where young
mans heart runs away with bis hon
esty. and have known a number Of I
them. II I fixed the crime upon him
1 would wound myself through not
only his mother. but his betrothed and I
his sisters, aged respectively fifteen
and twelve, all Of whom / had come to
love-
However have always believed
that Ii is weakness to tamper with \
human frailties. and to shield young
Byrnes would be TO my own dishonor.
knew way to prove his guilt, and /
determined % use IT.
Nine times in ten IN placing a sheet
Of folded paper in an envelope one will
put Ia the folded edge first because
the letter will 80 ID that way easier.
asked the merchant to write let
ter to one Of his correspondents to
whom be was used to send money. He
lid SO. ] put it Ia the envelope with
the folded edge down and. sealing ii,
told him to send It to the postofice at
> certain hour by Robert Byrnes. He
promised to do SO, and left him.
The longest interval I have ever
known III my life was that between
writing and receiving that letter
was in a private Office at the post
yflce when one Of the clerks handed 1t
o me. I held it IN my hand fully ten
minutes before had the courage to
open It. II the envelope had been
,pened there we're nine chances in ten /
hat the letter would be found re-
rersed Finally / tore or the cover.
II was as had placed It.
Though ! was much relieved, was
lot convinced and determined to make
he experiment again and again TIL /
vas sure. But my suspicion, induced
" the boys mothers information. was
disturbed, and concluded to look else
where. After investigation I discoy-
red that whenever Robert desired to
eave the Office earlier than usual be
you'd coniide the man to another I