The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1909-03-26

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aIdS become q nXed CONVICTION Wltn me
that no crime is ever committed
where the criminal fails to leave be
mind some clew that, if it is only found
and its worth appreciated, will in
tvariably lead to the detection of the
.culprit.
az haveFa case in mind, a post-ofice
gsbbery. 1t happened when | was con-
nected with that department, before
was transferred to the broader field of
fie"secret service. l will never forget
the village where 1t occurred. 1t was
a.townGof some 800 or 400 souls in the
Green mountains. 1t had only one
hotel, and, in the three weeks that /
was detained there, l almost de-
stroyed my digestion endeavoring to
support life on it's abominable fare. l
believe that / felt a keener satisfac-
ton In the. royal meal l secured at
Boston, on my return to Washington,
than l did in capturing the author Of
She robbery.
THE post-ofice safe had been
tapped for "a large quantity of stamps,
about $500 in money and a brand new
money.order book. This last item
gave Importance to the case, because
a book of money-order blanks in the
bands of, a clever crook can cause the
government more trouble than a ses-
sion of congress.
"Fhe safe was a crude iron affair
which was fastened by means of a
clumsy brass key. The key was too
large and too heavy to be logged about,
qnd after the safe was locked it was
Mid away in a corner of the cash.
drawer. A peculiar circumstance OF
the robbery was that the safe had
been found locked and the key was in
its place of concealment. The cul-
pfits had possessed an intimate
knowledge of the habits of the post
master and his assistant, Miss Lundy,
a young lady of fine appearance and
charming personality.
Mason, the postmaster, had a
theory that two tramps had committed
the theft. He said that two suspicious
characters had co;ne into the office the
afternoon before the robbery and had
bought five two-cent stamps. He con-
sidered this a suspicious. circumstance,
as he said that persons of their type
always bought stamped en~velopes-no
more than they needed at the time
and that they always mailed their let
Sers before leaving the office, address,
1ng them with the dilapidated pen
maintained by the postmaster at all
country Offices for victims who have
no alternative than to use it. At the
back of the building, a window-glass
had haon hrplyon puf and Mocnn ocno
Gially directed my attention to it, as
he said it must have been by this
means that the robbers gained en-
trance to the building. All of the
doors had been securely locked.
made a minute examination of the
premises, and the only thing l found
was a small steel pin with a green
glass head 1t was in a crack Of the
floor Immediately in front of the rifed
safe. Without attracting attention,
secured the pin and stuck it beneath
the lapel of my coat. / thought it
might prove of value. 1t did. 1t was
the key to the situation.
MY examination showed that the
robbers had entered the post-ofice
through the front door, and that the
broken window was merely a blind or
else 1t had been broken by accident.
4 didn't take much stock In this last
theory, but put the window down as a
deliberate effort to muddy the water.
There were two doors, a front and a
back one. The rear one was kept
Hooked and the key to it hung on a
mall In the office, Only Mason and
Miss Lundy had keys to the front
door.
1T was not so easy to trace Mason
and the young lady on that evening.
After some considerable work
learned that neither of them had beer
at home the early part of that par
Ecular evening. No one knew where
they had been nor what they had done
during this period. Mason had left his
home and Miss Lundy her boarding
house early after supper on that
night on the pretext of taking a walk.
Mason had returned sometime after
midnight. The hour of Miss Lundy's
return was uncertain.
ALREADY sorely puzzled over the evi.
dence which was accommodating, one
morning, upon arising, I was more
than ever mystifed by finding a slip
OF paper under the door of my room.
In a sprawling, unnatural hand, four
words were written upon it
Mason robbed the safe.
when | visited the p~ostofice, I no
ticed that Mason was pale and hag-
gard and he was as nervous as a
Gagged leopard.
when | went to the hotel at noon,
Y found a tiny note on the table In my
room. It was a dainty. perfumed bit
OF paper, just the kind that refined
young ladies employ in their polite
correspondence. jumped to the con
.clusion that 1t must be- a further mes