The daily Alaskan., 1913-11-28
A THIEVLNG MYSTERY
 By EDITH V. ROSS

]
 reau, more thievery has been going
 on at Trimmingham. This is the
 fourth time stamps have been missed
 in that quarter, and l wish you to go
 there and get on to the thief"
 i've been there twice already" re-
 piled AIurtaugh, without finding any thing wrong. The people of the town
 all have the most perfect confidence in ! Miss Griggs, the postmistress, and her only clerk is her younger sister, aged sixteen. Miss Griggs has appeared to be as much puzzled as any one as to
 what becomes of the missing stamps" !" ] "Tm afraid, Murtaugh, you're too gallant to spy on a woman"
 i There was a hidden meaning in the
 words, for Andrews was not above spying on the members of his force and had learned that Detective Mur- taugh, who had been several times to ! Trmmngham to ferret out the source ] of the trouble, had been making love ! to the DostmiSUess. Indeed, he would have sent some one else this time, but | he suspected Murtaugh of shielding | Miss Griggs. and if he was doing this
 he was recreant 10 his duties as a
 postoGlce official Murtaugh made no reply to Andrews last remark, and
 the latter added;
 "Well, try it once more. If you don't
 get on to the thief this time I'll try some one else
 This was spoken in q tone to give Murtaugh a warning. He was one of | the best men on the force, and An drews didn't wish him to get into trouble by shielding a thief.
 1 Murtaugh had thoroughly convinced himself of Miss Griggs' honesty, and her sterling worth was apparent to every one. He knew it would be folly for him to spy on her, and, acting on his own judgment, he went openly to ] Tfmmingham and told her that he had come to help her find who was stealing her stamps.
 The postolEice was a little one story frame building, all of which was occu-
 pied for mail purposes. One night Murtaugh stole unObserved into the pOstofice, climbed up under the roof
 and bored a peep hole in the ceiling
 through which he could look down into the postodice. A few stamps had
 been left in the postmistress' desk.
 The detective kept awake all night. but heard not the slightest sound be- low. saw no light-indeed, no sign of any one coming to steal stamps. But in the morning the stamps left in the l desk were gone.
 Since the thieyery was perpetrated at night there was no need to watch
 in the daytime. Indeed, no stamps had ever been missed in the day. They
 were counted in the morning and at night How the thief managed to
 get into the house after dark without being detected Murtaugh could not conceive.
 When sure that no one was near to see him he examined every part of the little building, especially the cellar, | for a subterranean passage, but could ! find no passUble ingresS That Miss l Griggs or her sister could so far out wit him as to get into the house while he was there without his knowing it he felt sure was impossible The stealing must be committed by some one else-SOme one who managed to
 conceal himself or herself in the build 1 ing. This person must be able to work
 quite noiseleSSly. Whether the exit
 was made in the daytime or not was
 like all the rest of it-unknOwn. h. deed. Murtaugh could not find any
 possible way any one could get into
 the building unless by going down the chimney. and to do this without be-
 ing heard would be very difficult.
 During the time of his operations his love affair with Miss Griggs was being
 brought to a head and when he re turned to his chief the only thing he had to report was that he was engaged
 to the person whom he had been sent
 to spy on. This he kept to himself, though Andrews knew of his lOvemak-
 ing, for he had sent a detective to spy
 on his spy.
 Andrews astonished Murtaugh by dis
 charging him. He also transmitted an
 order written at his suggestion from
 Washington to Miss Griggs that she
 was required to make good all the stamps that had been purloined. Since
 from the first more than S1OO worth
 was unaccounted for and the salary at | Birmingham was bGt $40O year
 Miss Griggs found herself unable to comply with the order, for she and her mother and sister needed every cent
 of her income.
 Murtaugh found another job Miss
 Griggs was permitted to retain her Iplace till an enlargement of the post office building which was intended could be made In takipg 3ut side of the house the workmen fSSl bare space that was filled with fragments
 of postage stamps. Miss GrigGs' desk had stood against this wall. NEire had guawed a hole from the wall into the back of the desk, which gave them ac- cess to the drawer in which she kept
 the stamps. The tiny thieves, attracted