New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-03-15
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/, Inc nuge steel ribbed door had been
left invitingly open by the workmen
engaged in adding the finishing touch
e., 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 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.
lin. So what was there for a high spir.
lied little girl to do, when her brother.
who never failed at asserting his su-
periority over mere girl and the
superiority of the "men folk" in gen.
eral, insisted that she 60 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 han
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
vthat 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 its 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 trick like this. Go!
RUM
Red turned and darted away on his
urgent errand. 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 its natural thickness.
4 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
hls ear to the hairlike crack. He
heard the sound as Of little body
falling to the floor and the faint means
Of the prisoner calling, "Bobby, Bobby.
Bobbyv'
| Valentine bent over the combination,
peered sharply at it, then began to
twirl 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 well 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.
J ''Guess< so: never failed on lock
like this. Why, in Gods name, don't
that fool come with that sandpaper?"
Valentine was desperate ut the delay.
'He's 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
bands.
"What are you going to do with it,
asked the inquisitive clerk.
Red showed him away and darted
back toward the vault room.
''None of your business" he cried.
'and keep out of here"
"Give It here. What Is it," exclaim. |
Cd Valentine as Red ran to him.
mo. T."
that's best. Is the bank emptyT
"Yes. thank God, Mr. Lane hiss I
gone. There's no one here to pipe
what we're doin'-and even II there