The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-04-18
al did. It's Quilted. was the signifi-

three-fifteen; the signal came from
opening the door, suppose. Then
rhoned you. and came over here at
once, but the policeman was already
working over the Waterman.
There was considerable consterna-
ton and confusion. during which the
cashier found his safe utterly empty,
and secured John Beggs's account of
all that had happened, to his knowl.
edge,
You say both scrub-women were
killed." queried Cribben sharply.
Where's the other body"
There weren't no other body! " put
in the policeman. evidently astounded
by Beggs's account of the crime.
The cashier frowned. then looked up
with an Illuminating flash.
Can't you see, +" he cried Who
ever did it tried to get away with both
the murdered bodies, to place suspi-
with one and was evidently scared of
while dragging the other over the SILL"
But how could the man himself
have got in?" cried John Beggs.
The cashiers ardor abated, He made
no reply, but went again to the safe,
set in the wall at the rear of the room
/ in a prominent position.
His inspection produced the astonish-
4 ing facts that the outer door had been
drilled through. evidently by hand, in
Just the spot where the tumblers could
be thrown; but the metal of the inner
i door, by far the more important of the
two, had been melted by powerful
electric current. 1t was a curious
combination, wholly unprecedented.
Why TIE same process had not been
used on both doors was mystery.
Why the automatic signal had not
worked when the safe was broken.
was another; for there was a metallic
casing in the outer door which could
not have been broken through after
/ five-fifteen, when the burglar alarm
was mechanically set by the Burglar
Insurance Company.
That outer door Is twelve inches
thick" declared the insurance man.
Nothing but a diamond drill could
/ touch that chrome steel. l doubt IL a
man could drill through it in ten days.
The whole thing seems impossible.
] The minute the drill touched the cleo
trio sheathing the signal would have
! been sounded at our Office 1t regis
tered all right, when the front door
was opened at three-fifteen The sig
nal hasn't been meddled with either"
Well, give it up" groaned the
cashier
1t must be one mans work. He
couldn't have let any confederates in"
declared the other. The alarm would
have been given at our office on the
opening of window or door. and
there's been no tampering with the cir
cult"
Maybe the second scrub.woman
was confederate, " suggested Crib
ben, suddenly. " She can't be found.
Beggs didn't see her killed. She must
have helped the thief. He couldn't
have done all this without an accom-
plice,"
But, SIR" exclaimed John Beggs,
who was listening to tie theory, that
woman's scrubbed here for two years.
She's all right I'm sure she was
killed. heard her scream and moan
know her voice"
Again the nervous cashier was
forced to give up his clue
Well, what's to be done?' he asked
hopelessly.
We'd better wire the Bankers Pro
tective Association. suggested the in
surance man. You're members, and
Mitchell. the President, has a great
way of getting to the bottom of these
things. I've sent the news out through
our regular channels, our detectives,
and the papers"
Then telegraph Mitchell. Well
/ leave things just as they are
There isn't much to leave, but the
4 safe itself" answered the other " The
/ devil couldn't have done heater job.
I Not clue. Not thing"
4 At two o'clock that afternoon short
/ wasted man, of medium height. and
athletic build, dressed in a simple Ox-
ford suit, stepped into the Merchants
National, and was shown in to the de-
spairing cashier.
My name is Hardy; Mr.. Mitchell
has asked me TO come down and see
what I can do" he said, simply, taking
off his hat and running thin hand
through his brown brush Of outstanding
hair, a patch of white tufting out near
the middle
Cribben glanced grumpily at the
newcomers eyes, they were violet. and
he seemed more like a dapper society
butterfly, than world-hardened mar
sent out on criminal investigation.
Oh, yes. Sit down" replied Crib
OSl, MOI over gracious N MS manner
He would have bounded from his sea
and assumed his best directors, meet
ing manner had he known that tbs
strange man representing himself a;
Mr. Hardy was really Christophe,
Poe, yice-President Of big New Yorl
bank, and director in several others
who had enough money and leisure t.
indulge his hobby of criminology. l
was for this reason that he took TIL
name Hardy, not caring for curiou
outside interest in his work. With hin
were associated Mitchell, Of the Bank
ers' Protective Association, and Burns
Fice-President IN two banks and hold
Ing other honorary positions. All thre
were of the same financial and socia
!. standing. but no one knew they eve
had been actually engaged in detectiy
work. Christopher Poe was the al
knowledged leader of the trio. H
knew the haunts of all criminals fror
San Francisco TO Shanghai. from Me-
York to New Zealand. He could a
, most tell where TO put his finger 0
any man wanted by the police. Pc
had the pedigree OF every criminal 2
I much by heart as the pedigree Of
e rare Turner. famous alexandria. Z
r.Irala, i