Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-12-12
The Daily Story
Copyrighted. 1913. by Associated Literary Bureau

| rerring TO me-'has a key that will
serve your purpose
Il handed him my key ring. and he
tried all the keys on it. but without
effect"
Mr.. Tourtelotte." I said IT am in
/ clined TO think that this episode may
have some connection with the rob
berry"
will you kindly explain howy
II assume that the key OF your safe
! was on the ring"
1T was"
| Were your eyes on your keys every
moment they were in the others pos
| session."
NO. His back was toward me
| when he was trying them"
! 1 sat bordering for awhile before
saying anything more.
Il fear l said at last. that shall
have to give up the case. There is a
possibility that some game was played
on you by this man to whom you loan
ed your keys, but to find him would be
impossible. Besides, il would require
all the ingenuity of first class modern
detective story writer to show how a
chance momentary loan OF keys on a
train could result in money disappear
ing from your safe without that safe
having been forced open.'
why do you decline TO suspect Miss
Martini"
Because she has a very expressive
face, and it would be impossible for
her to carry such a secret without be-
traying il. Moreover, l have perfect
confidence in my ability to tell n rogue
from an innocent person by looking
into the eye"
Very well, sir; since you acknowl-
edge your inability to ferret out the
matter you are welcome TO retire
from it,
1 learned afterward that he employ
ed another detective. who worked on
the lines he indicated, and Miss Mar
tin was kept under surveillance. But
she was never known 20 spend cent
that she could not afford to spend, and
no clew was found against her. | met
her on the street one day, and she rec
ogniZed me as having been at the house
where she was employed Immediately
after the robbery. She told me that
Mr. Tourtelotte had dispensed with
her services. but she did not know
1 left her I entered her new address
in my notebook in accordance with my
habit of keeping the addresses of per-
sons in any way connected with my
cases.
There was a special reason which l
did not know at the time why Mr.
Tourtelotte wished to fix the robbery
of his safe on Miss Martin. He had Il
SON whom he suspected of being in
love with her. He informed that son.
Edgar. that he was convinced that
Miss Martin was thief. but since he
could not prove 1t he made no Charge.
But, not desiring to have one whom he
did not trust a member of his house
hold, he had sent her away.
This was the first Edgar Tourtelotte
knew OF his fathers suspicious. He
came ut once to me to hear what |
knew about the matter. | told him
that ] had no suspicion whatever OF
Miss Martin; on the contrary. l was
sure that she was an innocent girl.
This pleased him very much, and he
begged me to try again to discover
the guilty person, agreeing to pay me
for any time 1 spent in doing so. |
told him that, not being one of those
detectives who could work up case
from a scratch on n wall or the stump
of n cigar. I would not undertake TO
work uD one in which | bad no clew
whatever added that believed his
fathers safe had been robbed by pro-
fessional criminal and there was n pos
sibility that at some future time an
explanation might come out by some
crook in limbo.
The lovers were in time relieved by
just such an explanation. 1t came TO
me in roundabout way. A lot of
Us detectives were sitting together one
evening swapping yarns when one Of
the party told that a crook who had
given him samples OF his ingenuity
related the following with great pride:
He had marked a rich man for his
quarry and noticed that he left the
suburb in which he lived every morn
ing by certain train for the city
One day, we'll dressed. the criminal en-
tered the same car with the gentle
man, followed by a confederate On
he way to the city he pretended to be
lawyer with n case coming off IN
court that he must try when he reach
I'd the city. In this way, aided by his
confederate. he secured the rich mans
iafe key long enough TO take an i'm
PRESTON OF 1t in wax. entered bis house
" treIlis. opened his safe and Sc.
.urcd a good lot Of swag.
There was no use having this in
,enious crook arrested. for he had al
eady been sentenced to serve term
f ten years in state prison, but in.
ormed the 1ourtelotte family OF the
EXPLANATION of their safe mystery. and
was soon afterward informed by Ed
ar Tourtelotte OF his engagement,
nth his fathers consent, to Miss Mar
In. On the day Edgar was married he
ent me a check for 500.