Arizona republican., 1911-03-25

inch through which he drilled, it seems quite plausible that the alarm did not work because he drilled through that plate before fve-fifteen, before the alarm was set. All of which proves that someone connected with the bank did the work Could a clerk have se- creted himself anywhere?
 No, sir. I can take my oath on that" answered John Beggs. Be sides, I never saw the thiefs face be- fore. I made my round at five. no. body here, then"
 Poe requested two clerks to take the positions of the scrub-women and had Beggs stand on the spot where he had been attacked. After that Poe walked back and forth, twisting his lips with tense fingers and glancing up sharply from beneath his heavy brown brows. sensing the situation.
 Finally, giving a little satisfied grunt, he asked to have Beggs tied as he had been when found.
 The policeman who liberated Beggs was at hand. and proceeded to initiate the manner of tying.
 Poe picked up an end of the rope idly. and made casual examination; then he drew out his knife and shipped of bit of 1t. which he placed carefully in his vest pocket. as he turned to view the officers clumsy work at duplicat ing the thief's rope-tying method.
 It was funny way he was tied up." said the policeman, stopping with a puzzled frown. This rope ran in a loop over Beggs's neck. came down be- tween his legs, and tied in the back. There seemed to be some system to it."
 Like this, was it?" asked Poe, catching up the rope. throwing loop of 1t over the trembling watchman's neck. drawing the ends up between his legs. and tying them behind in a se- ries of peculiar knots.
 The officers eyes went wide with sur. prise. That's it. exactly!" he ex- claimed. |" I never saw anything like it before. l noticed 1t particular"
 Poe volunteered no explanation to the awed group around him; but he did smile to himself as he glimpsed the cashiers interest. He had already asked in detail about the two women, but had learned little. outside of the fact that they were trustworthy, did their work with the regularity of such machines. and that the one whose body was found damned in the front door was the woman who was scrubbing beside Beggs. According to Beggs's story. the other woman must have been killed, too; but she might have escaped, or been released by the crimi nal; at least, her body had disappeared entirely.
 That was clearly where the doubt lay. Poe took the broken bucket used by the woman whose body had disap peared, wrapped it into a neat parcel turned to the cashier, and extended hii hand in goodbye.
 But you couldn't have formed any theory in such short time." exclaimed Cribben. Why, you haven't any clue outside of the scrub-woman's disap pearance. ,She was probably killed and carried away, to shift suspicion
 Probably" answered Poe. the strange wrinkles fiickering for a mo ment in his cheeks. But I'm taking a bit of wet rope with me, and the pieces of that bucket. l may be able to gather something from them"
 Without further comment. he bowed and walked out. On his way to the South Station, he sent the following wire in cipher to Burns, the million. aire banker, who shared with Mitchell and Poe their secret work in the inter ests of justice.
 Canvass opium dives catering to foreign criminals. Watch for tall. Englishmal with close cropped hair, tenor, decided stoop Send Volume H. and suit of slops by my man to Grand Central at 11:12. I'll run across you
 Christopher Poe took an afternoon train for New York, secured an in. closed section, locked the door, care. fully united the bundle containing the broken bucket and examined it. first and then minutely.
 At quarter past eleven the train glided into New York and Poe slipped along the platform to meet his man. from him shabby suit of and thin, little book lettered H."
 Dismissing the man, he crossed quickly to hotel, secured a room fin a moments time. and changed to the disguise
 While doing SO. he paused occasion lily to run through the index to the Fellumed volume; a wonderful little look, painstakingly printed in a clev. ,rly contrived cipher code The fooled | ,oyer showed charming taste. the work | having been done by a binder even bet | CT than Cockerell. The book was one | # set Poe had compiled with endless abor. It contained the history of | rocks. little known to fame, but who | lad been connected with clever crimes. bank robberfes. Their | methods of work. usual haunts. com 'anions. and other valuable personal | were detailed. Meantime he had finished transform ng himself into an ordinary looking ough, down on his luck, and had ropped into chair. skimming | trough the book Suddenly he topped at one entry and read it through carefully.
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