Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-10-05
A Narrow Escape
From State Prison
BY SAMUEL E. BRANT
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

& Co. l had the safe combination and
was implicitly trusted by the head Of
the firm. The amount of cash in the
safe varied. Sometimes there would
not be $40. sometimes there would be
$1,000, and occasionally when a large
amount of currency would come in aft
er banking hours it must be kept over
night there. At such times l was al
ways troubled, for the safe was an
old pattern and the lock out of date.
I always counted the cash in the
safe, night and morning. One morn
ing my cash did not correspond with
what had been there the night before
by $40. I thought that l must have
made a mistake in my count the night
before, but on balancing my cash !
could detect no error. Fearing that
something was wrong with me, I said
nothing about the missing money, but,
being sure that my cash balance was
right, made up the deficiency from my
own pocket.
Within a week l missed another
amount from the safe. This time it
was S15. a smaller sum than before,
but the amount in the safe was much
smaller than before. 1t now became
evident hat some n not an outsider
had the lock combination and was
helping himself whenever in need of
ready cash. I feared it might be one
Of the clerks who was tempted. l
shrank from being the means Of send
ing any one especially one I knew
we'll, to prison. so I went to Mr.. Step
toe and told him that ! thought we
should have q new safe or at least a
new lock. The matter was compro-
missed by a safe and lock workman
changing the combination.
What was my establishment ten days
later to miss another $40. I had been
given the combination by the man who
had changed it. He had not even spo-
ken it. l had handed him a slip of pa
per on which he had written it and
handed it back to me. There was
something uncanny about these disap-
%pearances. am no more superstitious
than other fairly educated people, but
l couldn't momentarily resist the feel
ing that q ghost vas helping himself
to the cash.
Still. l didn't report the matter. !
had a dread that l should get some
of my fellow employees into trouble
OF that l should discover that some
thing had gone wrong with myself.
After thinking about the matter a
good deal l found that I couldn't add
a. column of figures twice with the
same result. I called or my doctor
and told him that 1 suspected my mind
was giving way. He recommended me
to take a vacation. I didn't take his
advice, not liking to leave the safe to
any N else during my absence.
I thought Of watching the safe
nights, but I couldn't watch every
night, and there was no knowing when
a robbery would occur. Sometimes
several weeks would elapse between
them. But after L had made up a
hundred dollars from my own pocket
I began to think ] had better take
measures to stop the leak.
One day, when one of the clerks.
George Simpson, came for his salary,
I noticed while he was signing the re-
ceipt slip that the end Of the %forefnger
Of his right hand was covered with the
finger end of a kid glove.
"Cut your finger" 1 asked.
"No; burned it."
The next week when this young man,
Simpson. came to draw his salary he
still wore the covering on his finger.
When l remarked upon it I detected a
look of uneasiness cross his face. I
didn't think much about it, however,
but when another week had passed
and 1 still noticed the kid covering
I began to wonder about the finger.
mot healed yet" I asked.
"No; 1 guess my blood must be in q
bad state.'
"Let me see it."
He took off the covering. The tip OF
his finger looked as if the skin had
been taken off and had not grown
again. l made no remark. but took
the receipt he had signed and filed it
at a time when no money had been
missed for a space of twelve days
made up my mind to watch the safe
nights. I couldn't remain awake every
night in succession, so I took a book
keeper, Travers, into the secret, and we
started in to watch alternately. 1 tool
first watch, Travers second. On the
fourth night, it being my turn. about
II o'clock I heard a key put in the
lock Of the Office door. Some one came
in steathily, and I could hear the
tread toward the safe. Pretty soon I