The Harlowton news., 1912-01-05
A Narrow Escape
From State rison
BY SAMUEL E. BRANT
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

was cashier for Richard Steptoe
& Co. I had the safe combination ana
was implicitly trusted by the head Of
the firm. The amount of cash in the
safe varied. Sometimes there would
not be $40, sometimes there would be
$1,000, and occasionally when a large
amount of currency would come in aft
er banking hours it must be kept over
night there At such times | was al
ways troubled. for the safe was au
old pattern and the lock out of date.
I always counted the cash in the
safe, night and morning. One morn
ing my cash did not correspond with
what had been there the night before
by $40. ! thought that | must have
made a mistake in my count the night
before, but on balancing my cash l
could detect no error. Fearing that
something was wrong with me- said
nothing about the missing money. but,
being sure that my cash balance was
right, made up the deficiency from my
own pocket
Within a week I missed another
amount from the safe This time it
was $15, a smaller sum than before,
but the amount in the safe was much
smaller than before. It now became
evident that some one not an outsider
had the lock combination and was
helping himself whenever in need of
ready cash. I feared it might be one
Of the clerks who was tempted. |
shrank from being the means of send
ing any one, especially one | knew
well, to prison, SO l went to Mr.. Step
toe and told him that ! thought we
should have new safe or at least
new lock. The matter was compro.
missed by safe and lock workman
changing the combination.
What was my astonishment ten days
later to miss another $40. l had been
given the combination by the man who
had changed it. He had not even spo-
ken it. | had handed him slip Of pa
per on which he had written it and
handed it back to me. There was
something uncanny about these disap-
pearances, am no more superstitious
than other fairly educated people, but
couldn't momentarily resist the feel
ing that ghost was helping himself
to the cash.
Still, l didn't report the matter.
had dread that | should get some
Of my fellow employees into trouble
or that l should discover that some
thing had gone wrong with myself.
After thinking about the matter a
good deal l found that I couldn't add
a column Of figures twice with the
same result. l called on my doctor
and told him that suspected my mind
was giving way. He recommended me
to take a vacation. | didn't take his
advice, not liking to leave the safe to
any one else during my absence.
thought of watching the safe
nights, but I couldn't watch every
night, and there was no knowing when
robbery would occur. Sometimes
several weeks would elapse between
them. But after l had made up
hundred dollars from my own pocket
I began to think | had better take
measures to stop the leak.
One day, when one Of the clerks,
George Simpson, came for his salary,
l noticed while he was signing the re-
ceipt slip that the end of the forefnger
of his right hand was covered with the
finger end of a kid glove.
Cut your finger?" l asked
mo; burned it,
The next week when this young man,
Simpson, came to draw his salary he
still wore the covering OF his finger
When l remarked upon it l detected =
look of uneasiness cross his face. l
didn't think much about it, however.
but when another week had passed
and l still noticed the kid covering
began to wonder about the finger
"Not healed yet?" l asked.
"No; guess my blood must be in a
bad state.'
LET me see it,
He took off the covering. The tip Of
his finger looked as if the skin had
been taken off and had not grown
again. made no remark, but took
the receipt he had signed and filed it.
At n time when no money had been
missed for a space Of twelve days
made up my mind to watch the safe
nights. I couldn't remain awake every
night in succession, so l took a book
keeper, Travers, into the secret and we
started in to watch alternately. took
first watch, Travers second On the
fourth night, it being my turn, about
IL o'clock I heard key put in the
lock of the office door. Some one came
in steathily, and | could hear the
tread toward the safe Pretty soon
heard a faint sound like a tumbler
falling in a lock. I waited awhile and
heard another, then another, until l
had heard four. My position was be-
hind desk over which was an electric
light. Hearing the safe door swing
open, switched on the light There
was man reaching into the safe. He
turned pale as a sheet and faced me.
/ went to him. He was Simpson.
IT wasn't taking anything out. I was