Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-07-20
CHAPTER XVI


opening from the assistant cashiers
Office. and one directly opposite. which
led to a narrow hallway opening into
the main hall.
Along this narrow hallway were
doors opening into the Offices of va
rious officials of the bank. The vaults
In which were kept the currency and
negotiable papers. bonds, stocks, notes.
ETC., were on the floor below. and the
new vault built against the wall at
the rear of the room was designed as
a receptacle for the banks books Of
account. Therefore it had larger in
terror than an ordinary vault, and as
the shelves had not yet been built in
there were several feet of free space
inside, which would be occupied by
books and records later on.
The huge steel ribbed door had been
left invitingly open by the workmen
engaged in adding the finishing touch
es. and consequently it afforded an un-
equaled source Of delight to Bobby
and Kitty, whose active imaginations
readily converted the interior Of the
vault into the cave of daring SNUG
glers who. presumably gone on a des-
perate enterprise, had left deserted their
secret cavern and the precious con-
traband articles which. Bobby assured
Kitty. were surely to be found there
in. So what was there for high spir-
tied little girl to do. when her brother.
who never failed at asserting his SUI
periority over a mere girl and the
superiority Of the men folk" in gen.
eral, insisted that she go first into the
yawning blackness of the big safe?
Surely she must maintain the tradi-
lions Of the fearlessness of her sex as
she knew them and take the dare"
which Bobby forced upon her.
Slowly into the steel bound shadows
she went, her waxen faced dolly
clutched tightly against her throbbing
bosom--yet in she went. Suddenly the
huge door scraped shut. All was black
ness AS she screamed in her fright
she heard the click of the metal bars
as Bobby playfully turned the ham
dies. Then all was silent. save for
the means of the little girl as she lurch-
ed blindly toward the door of the safe
and scratched the metal thicknesses
with her tiny nails.
The dolly fell to the floor. the ends
of the soft little fingers began to bleed
from frenZied contact with the bars
that ribbed the interior of the safe
door, and after a few moments the
wee girls form sank Imply to the bot
tom of the vault. where she gasped
convulsively to breathe in the air that
was gradually losing it's life support
ing qualities Not many minutes
would elapse ere she had consumed all
the precious oxygen in the suffocating
interior of the necessarily air tight
vault
!
AS Jimmy Valentine dashed into the
vault room he cried to Red Flanagan.
who was at his heels:
go get one of the clerks to run for
some sandpaper. Pumice stone is too
soft for this job. My fingers are not
in shape for a trick like this. Go!
Rum
Red turned and darted away on his
urgent Grand Well he knew just how
necessary it was for Jimmy Valentine
to have sandpaper to rescue Kitty If it
were true that the skin on his fingers
had grown calloused or had reached
| even it's natural thickness.
Jimmy Valentine pulled manfully at
the handles of the vault door. Per-
haps, after all. the combination had
not been turned and only the doors
weight held it in place. But the metal
barrier would not move. He pressed
| his ear to the hairlike crack. He
heard the sound as of a little body
falling to the floor and the faint means
Of the prisoner calling. Bobby, Bobby
Bobbyr'
! Valentine bent over the combination,
peered sharply at it, then began to
twill the cylinders gently. Around
and then back he turned the knob.
No; It was of no use. Nothing could
be done until the sandpaper arrived.
His fingers had lost their sensitiveness
and hence their cunning, and in the
meantime Valentine we'll knew the
prisoner was consuming whatever OF
-, the priceless air that remained.
The door leading from his office
| swung open, and again Red Flanagan
darted in. He flung himself on the
vault room floor directly below Val
entine's knees and held his ear close
to the crack of the safe door
Think you can make it. JimmyT
he gasped.
"Guess so; never failed on lock
| like this. Why, in Gods name, don't
that fool come with that sandpaperW
/ Valentine was desperate at the delay
"Hes gone to a-here he Isl" cried
Red as he heard hurrying footsteps in
| the assistant cashiers Office. Red
! Jumped to his feet and out into Val
entine's room. He seized the roll of
sandpaper from the messengers
| hands.
What are you going to do with itT'