Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-04

.sieged by rebels. At Victoria besrd
of the rupture between Huerta ana
the United States.
Puzzled as to what to do. stonnad
where / was. I was in rebel fer,;
tory and could not get into the fed
eral lines. Foreign refugees were Iear-
| ing Mexico when they could, and
was tempted to do the same. Bpt
| had lived a long while in the count-v
and If I were to go away from It ala
not know how / would make living
/ was walking through the town On.
day when suddenly 1 encountered nv
shadower face to face. On this occastc,
he seemed as much ratified at the meet
ing as I. He started. put his hand to
his hip, thought better Of the move
ment and did not draw his weapon.
| followed his movements exactly.
you yillainw I exclaimed. Raise
finger against me and will kill you"
'If you do my secret will be buried
with me-" he said, very much excited.
l gathered courage. For some rea.
son, either because he was unaided or
because we were on public street I
seemed to have the advantage I con.
Guided to permit him to explain his
object toward me IL he would without
betraying my ignorance of 1t. / glared
at him and said nothing.
Il am ready to restore the whole
amount" he said, mot that you could.
In the present state of the country.
compel me to do so or imprison me
for the crime"
go on" 1 said without indicating
that 1 did not know what he was talk.
ing about
The fact is" he continued, 'thst I
have not had a moments peace Of
mind since took the money"
THAT is the usual result with new
criminals" put in, still ignorant Of
what money he referred to.
mot a cent has been wasted, not a
cent spent The bills are in packages
just as they were taken from the
safe"
A sudden light broke in on my dull
brain. This man who 1 supposed had
been shadowing me had considered me
his shadower. Truly, a guilty con-
science needs no accuser.
Where are they?" l asked.
'1Il never tell until 1 am promised >.
immunity from prosecution"
"Will you be content with such a
promise from me?"
He thought awhile before replying to
this, then said: II suppose I'll have to
be content You were an official Of
the bank. In these times we can't
choose our methods. My principal mo-
tive is to get the matter off my hands
and off my conscience"
Every well; so far as my promise of
immunity goes 1 will give it, and I
think it will be respected by the Others
concerned. If the whole amount taken
is restored l am quite sure you will
not need to fear prosecution.
Come to my room and draw up the
papers"
1 went with him and, as we sat fac
ing each other. listened to his recital
as to how he came to take the money:
Zone of the clerks in the bank was
a friend of mine. 1 had been for years
in the employ of a safe and lock COM
pany. The clerk suggested how easy
it would be for him to admit me to the
safe and for me to pick the lock and
take enough money to make us rich.
We both fell under the temptation. On
pretense of being behind with his
books he worked at night, took me in
when no one but himself was there.
and I opened the safe and took the
money.
81 carried it northward. crossed the !.
Rio Grande and buried it in a metal
box in the state of Texas. The clerk
who admitted me to the bank became
panic stricken at what he had done
and would not accept a cent OF 1t. l
dared not spend it, for I knew detec-
tives were watching me, as they
watched all intimate friends of the
banks force. And that's the reason
why the secret service men never got
on to who took the money. None OF 1t
was ever spent"
The man concluded by saying that
he had known / was an officer OF the
bank and asked me to tell him how L
had spotted him. Then confessed
that 1 was perfectly ignorant OF his
being the thief of the money lost until
he told me that he was. But he was
so relieved to get the matter on his
mind that he did not regret the mis-
take.
Alter L nau SWOTu u lAS A1oh
Keep the secret pertaining to himself
md the clerk who had helped him we
started together for the Texas border.
.rossed it in a lonely place on the
north bank OF the Rio Grande and dug
Up the stolen bills. deposited the mon
y. dividing it among several different
Texas banks, and wrote those concern
d on its return an account Of the ad
Tenture by which 1 had discovered II.
I gave the man who had returned u
unds for his immediate use from my
'wn pocket and he went l know not
whittier. My terror when 1 supposed
vas in danger of my life was turned
o amusement at the denouement. ana
he further I pass from the former tins
nore I derive of the latter.
-s-on