Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-12-19

A Puzzling
Case
Setting a Detective to
Catch a Detective.
By ETHEL HOLMES

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g By ETHEL HOLMES i
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They say a woman can't keep a BE-
cret can testify to the fact that one
woman l have known could keep
secret so well that she guided me, q
detective with a reputation for shrewd'
ness, to the detection Of the real Grim.
inal. having been set upon her to
expose her. And this she did without
revealing to me the fact that she knew
him to be the man I should have been
after.
One day l was directed by my chief
to call upon the president Of the Third
National bank. I did 50. and he said
to me:
| "Mr. Williams, we have a woman IN
our employ whom we suspect Of en-
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.gular one, and I must give 1t to you
80 far as 1t has already developed.
There Is mystery connected with It
which Is very puzzling.
1--WE had In our employ man whom
we esteemed very highly. One day he
failed to turn up at the usual time for
the days work. His wife was tele-
phoned to know If he was Ill. She re-
piled that she was about to telephone
the bank for information concerning
him. He had not come home the day
before nor during the night She was
terribly worried for fear that some
thing had happened to him.
"The person among our employees
who had last seen the man-Walter
Pixley-said that Pixley had told him
that he was going to see man who
owed him hundred dollars. he had
hurried away from the bank to catch
his creditor at his Office before the
close of business hours. We learned
from Mrs. Pixley the name Of the
debtor and sent man to him for In
formation concerning her husband.
The party said that Pixley had visited
his office in company with yelled wo-
man, who had waited for him with
out. The money had been paid him,
and he had been seen to 90 away with
the woman.
"This information communicated to
Mrs. Pixley threw her into Mysteries.
"The next phase Of the case was the
report Of one Of our bookkeepers that
funds were missing from the bank.
My informant, Mr.. Carter, told me that
he had suspected Pixley for some time,
and as soon as Pixley disappeared Car
ter had made an examination Of GER
tain books kept by Pixley and had
fallen upon proof that he was q de-
faulter. Carter is an expert &C
countant ] have always had great
faith in him. He brought me his proofs
Of Pixley's guilt, which examined,
and, although Pixley had been doing
all he could to render the accounts
confusing, Carter convinced me that he
was a defaulter.
"Now l come to the third act Of the
drama. Mrs. Pixley, who had undoubt-
edly been deserted by her husband for
another woman, came to me and beg
ged for some employment in the bank.
She claimed that as girl she had at
tended a commercial college and had
studied bookkeeping. I pitied her and
gave her the position made vacant by
her husband.
"The end of my story and the point
at which l wish you to take 1t up Is
a report this morning from Carter that
more funds are being taken from the
bank and that he suspects Mrs. Pixley
Of being the thief. You see from what
l have told you that the case Is very
complicated one. While I do not pro-
pose to lay out a course Of action for
you, would suggest that you watch
Mrs. Pixley. This Of course you can
not do in the bank. You can only do
1t outside Of the bank"
I confessed to the president that the
matter did look rather puzzling. Had
Pixley not deserted his wife for anoth-
er woman 1 would have suspected that
Mr.. and Mrs. Pixley were In league to
rob the bank. And yet, Pixley having
done 80, 1t did not seem likely that
Mrs. Pixley would work on the same
ground as he. told the president that
I would first find out something about
Mrs. Pixley. When had done that I
would proceed to the next step in the
premises.
sent party to Mrs. Pixley's home
to sell her something, to draw her into
conversation and to ask her at what
institution she had studied bookkeep-
Ing. My emissary returned to me with
the information that Mrs. Pixley had
looked at the questioner concerned, but
had given the Merton Business college
as the place where she had received
instruction. at once went to the
Merton college and asked to see rec
ord of the students. The maiden name
Of Mrs. Pixley did not appear as hav-
Ing been a pupil there, and Mr.. Merton
declared that at the time Mrs. Pixley
claimed to have been there he did not
receive women students.
So far so good. had nailed Mrs.
Pixley in lie. This tended to confirm
me in considering her as guilty. But
why she SHOULD steal from the same
bank as her husband was puzzle.
The only reason I could think of was
that she was enabled through sympa-
thy to secure a place there. which she
could not do elsewhere.
Another complication bothered me.
Mrs. Pixley was reported by her fellow
employees to be a pretty good book
kseper. She must have received some
training In this respect. but why should
she have lied as to the school where
she had studiedi
made no. progress after mailing the
lie upon Mrs. Pixley and at last deter.
mined to make her acquaintance and
by pretending as a friend, or to be
smitten with her. to get the secret from
her. Under pretense Of being bank
examiner I became familiar with the
employees, she among the number. I
treated her with Difference and SYM
pathy. One day when she was leaving
the bank after business hours Joined
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