Tombstone epitaph., 1915-07-25

coins. I'd make him"
 Giovanni, evidently to cover his confusion, had turned and hurried to the sideboard where he kept his change locked up. Poe gave a quick sign to Burns, slipped from his chair, and darted through the kitchen door. Giovanni turned :eist in time to see Poe's feet disappearing into his pri- vate kitchen. "Andatevenei" he yelled out. whirl. ing around, his face white. h.s long | fingers seeking in the belt beneath his vest
 He lurched forward. ieaped across the intervening space, grasped the ! door-jamb. and swung into the kitch. en.
 "Christo, Chiudete la portal" he screamed. springing for Poe. who had stopped before the stove and opened ! the ash door.
 Poe leaped to his feet. evaded Clio | yanni's clutch with an expert twist, and burst through the outer doorway | into the small vestibule. where he snatched up the heavy ash-sifter from the top of barrel
 | Giovanni. his teeth bare. screaming in rage. grasped a long, keen knife from the meat-block, and leaped | through the doorway after him.
 Drop that" yelled Burns, rushing in from behind, revolver drawn and ready.
 As the hulking big cook sprang for | Poe with his vicious knife. Poe swung with the short-handled ash-sifter and smashed 1t full force in his frantic face.
 | Quick" Poe signaled to Burns, who stood stupefied as the top of the ash-sifter was smashed in. and it's contents whizzed through the air; a stifiing cloud of ashes. a batter of clinkers and coal. and, chief of all. a shower of shimmering gold pieces which cut into Giovanni's battered face and whizzed past his head Gold coins were hurled in all directions from the ash-sifter.
 As the cook, dazed and blinded, slashed at Poe with the knife, Burns leaped upon his from behind and pinioned his arms to his side, wrest. ing the blade from him.
 A rush of feet was heard in the res taurant. as the customers came to their senses and flew to Giovanni's as- sistance.
 Through here, Quick" cried Poe.
 He caught up a handful of gold pieces that had scattered from the ash-sifter. grabbed Giovanni's legs. and. with Burns supporting the upper part of the cooks body, dashed down the steps into the alley.
 A shot rang out from behind as they swung into the street, and showed the struggling cook into the open door of a taxi that Poe had in waiting two stores below.
 Poe dexterously tied the frantic, fighting cook, and by the time he had finished the taxi-driver had stop ped in front of the police station.
 Poe spoke to a lieutenant. and three plain-clothes men rushed otf at once to capture the little wholesale merchant from whom Poe had ob- tained the sweated twenty and ten. dollar gold pieces. Poe, at his own request. was locked alone in the cell with Giovanni.
 After half an hour he came out smiling. and joined Burns, who told him that the wholesale grocery dealer had been easily captured and just locked up. He pressed Poe for an ex. planation- The banker-detective was jubilant; after disposing of a few de tails with the police he ordered taxi, and when they had started for home drew a deep breath and turned to Burns
 Wasn't :. great" he exclaimed. Did you think I'd rubbed Aladdin's lamp when l conjured all those gold pieces out of the coal and ashes in the sifter?"
 T didn't know. How on earth did you guess the gold was there?"
 That puzzled me for while" smiled Poe. But 1 slipped around to the back porch. listened for a minute to Giovanni shaking the sitter, and finally took handful of ashes from a barrel standing there. took the hand fui to a chemist friend, and asked him for an analysis for traces of gold. His analysis showed that in the handful of dust was 30 per cent emery and 2 1, per cent pure gold"
 You don't mean it," exclaimed Burns excitedly.
 Yes. It startled me too. But re- called an old unique case in which , some sweaters had placed gold coins in burlap sack, and shaken them un- til enough dust had been worn of. Then they burned the sacks, and col lected the dust that had adhered to the cloth. and sold it through regular : jewellers findings jobbers who buy : scrap gold and silver. I just found |. out from Giovanni that he and his brother had used practically the same method, shipping the carefully made ash-barrels to a secret cellar, where ' the pure gold was melted from the } mixture of ashes. emery. and coal in } big furnace, and sold through a iew- elers' findings man who had no sus. ! picion of how the gold was procured