The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-09-12
THE HOLSTER
JEWEL ROBBERY

1910. the Independent Burglary lnsur-
anoe Company called up the ONCE OF
the Burns Detective Agency and re-
Quested that an operative be sent TO ,
their ofices ut once.
Cornell" said the manager TO me. |
you haven't had any experience In
tbs burglary insurance line. but |
guess you can handle the work. Go |
over and see what's up. And. say. |
Cornell. remember this: this agency |
Ia retained by the year by this insu--
ance company. One Of our big Gus
toners. Treat their work accord
ingly."
found the ofices OF the fndepen-
dent Company in a Forty-second
street building not lar from Fifth ave
nue.. On presenting my card / was
ushered at once into the private Of
fee O: the vice president, Mr.. Blaney.
"Ah! The man from the Burns
Agency?" said Mr.. Blaney. Cornell
is the name? All, yes; glad they sent
you, Mr.. Cornell. We've heard some
thing of your work. You've never
handled an yof our cases. have you?'
Not any," / said.
well fortunately this isn't COM
plicated case, or at least we don't
think 1t is. It's merely a case Of in
vestigatiCn to assure ourselves Of the
propriety of a policy holders claim.
A mere matter OF form, almost. We
always investigate all claims for pay
ments, you know. Sometimes We are
convinced that something is wrong;
RI FIN
something for us to start fight on.
In this case, it isn't anything like that
In brief, Col Malcolm p. HOLSTERS
home up on Long Island sound was
entered by burglars Saturday night
and Mrs. HOLSTERS diamonds and
pearls, valued a $4,000, and insured
with us for $4,000, were stolen. There
is scarcely the slightest possibility
that there is anything wrong in the
case. Col. HOLSTER is a fine, high
minded man, a gentleman of the old
school. He has paid this company
thousands of dollars in premiums for
the last ten years and never presented
claim before this. We are all Of
the opinion that we will pay his claim
In full, in due time. But-as matter
of form, you understand-we're send
ing you down to look the thing over.
Be careful, Mr. Cornell, but be care
full of our interests as well as the
feelings Of Col. HOLSTER and his fam
lily. Assure yourself that the burglary
was committed, that Mrs. HOLSTERS
jewels were stolen, and report. That
Is the case"
That was enough, for before / had
got through with it the HOLSTER case
had developed into a case so sensa-
tional, so full of strange features that
the Independent Burglary Insurance
Company never dreamed of, that even
today it is spoken of in the Office OF
the agency as THE HOLSTER job"
Being new to the work of investi-
eating burglaries for the insurance
company I went about the task in a
way considerably different from that
employed by the experienced investi
gator. 1 did not go to the scene OF
the robbery. The HOLSTER home lay
up among the hills of Long Island or
the sound. I had heard Of it as q
good example of what taste and mod
crate wealth-moderate for New York
could do in making complete 8
home had heard of Col. HOLSTER
too, in the same indirect way. He
was a retired bond broker, approx
mately IS years old. His first wife
had died many years before. Five
years ago he had married again, thi!
time taking for his bride Margare
wandering, the Margaret Wynderlinl
who for a brief space had won sucl
distinction in Bernard Shaw's plays
There had been some opposition t,
the match at the time on the part o
Mr.. HOLSTERS two grown sons by hi
FIRST marriage. After the wedding thi
opposition was said to have SINNERS
down until now report had It that Co
onel and Mrs. HOLSTER were happil
ct peace with all the world, especiRu
including HOLSTERS two grown sons
I had seen pictures Of both the Co
onel and his young wife In the o,
ciety sections Of the papers. tn
Colonel was an ardent member Of th
Nassau Hunt Club, and Mrs. Holliste
was credited with having develope
great interest In aviation. Thl
served to keep them both In prir
often enough 70 make them conpa
atively well known.
Instead Of repairing at once to TIL
reputed ideal home Of wealth and Gu
ture, went down town. At the On
Of three hours work entered the c
fees Of the broker with whom &C
HOLSTER had been associated in buf
ness, and who now handled the o
gentleman's investments. I W,
equipped with letters of introductio
The news Of the burglary had Il
been made public so, after introduci1
myself as real estate man who
Col HOLSTER had approached with
view of making extensive investment
I found no trouble in furthering n
avowed mission-that of obtaining
Adnx,tia1- nI,ixina the state