The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-25
(Ncw York Telegraph

Ravenot. collector in the same bank
for ten Years. was IL mode smploye.
Never had he given occasion for the
slightest criticism and never had an
error been discovered in his accounts.
lie lived alone. carefully avoided new
acquaintances. vas temperate in all his
tastes. and seemed happy and con-
tended. When. perchanCc, some one
would say to him. ut must he tempt
ing to handle such large sums OF
money" he would merely reply:
Why" Money that does not be-
long to me is not money"
so. when he did not appear AT the
bank at the usual hour one day the
idea of any wrongdoing IN his part
knew him. even the hypothesis of Il
crime seemed impossible. The police
easily traced every movement of the
evenings before. He had cashed his
last checks near the Montrouge gate.
His receipts amounted 10 nearly 20O,-
600 francs. After h a no sign of him
could be found. Search was made in
every direction. hut without success.
Foul play was feared. AS a mere mat.
ter of form kilograms were sent out
TO all the frontier stations. But In
the opinion OF the bank directors there
was not the slightest doubt of the fact
that thieves had robbed him and
thrown him into the Seine.
One man alone shrugged his Shout
ders AS he read all his in the daily
napers; that ma was Ravenot him
self. At the Very when the
expert detectives lost trace of him he
was making his way to the Seine over
outlying boulcvards.
Under an arch of the bridge he
changed his uniform for a suit of
civilians r1nfhaS N-hi,6 6o l1oG hi1Io,
there the evening before, put the 20O,-
600 francs into his pockets, made a
bundle Of his discarded outfit. weighed
ii with q stone and tossed it into the
river. He then returned to the city
and slept peacefully all night at a ho-
toll. Thus. in the space of a few hours,
he had become transformed into a
thief emeritus.
BY taking advantage of his start in
time he could easily have boarded a
train and got II of the country, but
he was 90 shrewd to think that a few
miles of space would protect him from
the police. He certainly would be
caught. and this fact decided him as to
his future course.
He put the stolen money into a large
envelope. sealed it with five seals and
repaired to u notary's Office.
"Monsieur,' he said. addressing the
lawyer. permit me to state my bust
ness. In this envelope are some funds
which / wish to put in a safe place,
as l am about to start on a long jour
ney and do not know when / shall re-
turn. There is nothing to prevent my
leaving it in Your keeping. is there"
Nothing at all. l will give you Il
"A receipt! Ravcnot had not
thought of that. Where could he put
a receipt? TO whom could he intrust
il? If he kept it on his person he
would lose all the benefits of his act.
He hesitated in the face of his un-
foreseen obstacle. hen replied:
Il am quite alone in the world and
the trip | am about to take is very
or destroyed. Because of the uncer-
tainty of things couldn't you keep the
paper in your possession? Then. when
] return it would merely be necessary
for me to mention my name either TO
YOU or to your successor. You can
make a note on the envelope that it
can be reclaimed under such a condi-
tion. If there is any risk YOU can
easily sec that / alone run it,"
Very we'll. Your NAME. please"
Henri Duverger," replied Ravenot
promptly.
When once moro in the street he
drew a long sigh of relief. The first
part of his program had been success
Gully carried out. No matter if he
was taken now. The fruit of his theft
was out of harms way. He had coolly
reasoned in this way: AT the end of
my term of Imprisonment l Fan claim
my deposit. No one will dispute the
ownership with me. So. after a few
uncomfortable years l shall be rich.
That will be much better than drudg-
ing all tho rest of my life. shall go
to the country to live as NJ. Duverger,
pass my time in doing good and go
down TO a peaceful old g u%ntroublcd
by remorse."
He waited another twenty-four
hours. then ave himself mp to tho
authorities. Another in his place
might have invented a story. He pre-
ferred telling the truth. for what was
the use of losing any time? He did
not tell what disposal he had made OF
the funds. He merely said:
IT don't know where the money is
I dropped asleep on "a bench. and ]
was robbed In my turn"
Because Of his hitherto irreproach-
able reputation he was given only a
five years sentence. This he received