The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1916-03-23

When the First National bank of a
certain large and prosperous middle
western city was robbed of $138,000
in gold and 100000 in currency and
negotiable securities, the problem was
not to discover how the vaults had
been reached, nor to learn the thief's
identity, nor yet what he had done
with the money; all the factors, in
short. which commonly shroud such
affairs in mystery were quite well
known in this instance, alike to the
banks officials and the representa-
tives of the Sutherland Detective
agency who were called secretly to
the banks aid in the awful hour of it's
affliction. Indeed. to make this case
positively unique in the annals of sue
cessful bank footing, the money was
known to be intact, and there were
perhaps half-dozen people who could
have guided you to within hundred
yards of it, yet not one among them
was there who could so much as lay
finger upon the treasure.
For the bright eagles and double
eagles, the currency and the negoti-
able paper, together with Elliot Perky.
late assistant-cashier of the First Ma
tional bank, later, embezzler In the
amounts specified, latest, suicide, all
lay somewhere upon the bottom Of
Lake Michigan. And to that same bot
tom Elliot Perky was pretty securely
anchored, too because most of the
gold, weighing in round figures 500
pounds, was tightly fastened to his
person when he suddenly shifted him
self and his precious cargo to the port
gunwale of his small boat, with the re-
suit that the little craft capsized as
quickly as the jaws of steel trap
close, and Mr. Perky and the loot shot
downward through some eight or ten
fathoms of limpid blue water, in all
probability to be seen no more by the
eyes of man.
The banks president, together with
two Of its directors, and an operative
of the Sutherland branch at Metropo-
lis (Which we shall call the city, be-
cause that is not its name). were
eye-witnesses to Mr.. Perky's spectacu-
lar finish. To be more circumstantial,
a power-boat bearing the anxious bank
ers and the operative was only jump
or two behind Mr.. Perky's clinker;
the operative stood in the bow, his
fingers already crooked in alert readi-
ness to hook themselves firmly in Mr..
Perky's collar, when the fugitive re-
sorted to the desperate. irrevocable
expedient described.
1t likewise might seem simple mat
ter to have called in a diver, shown
him him where the treasure had sunk
and sent him down after it; ten faith
oms Is no great depth for diver to
work in; but
Well, divers were enlisted, several
OF them. And therein lies our story.
Until his chief ordered him to Mack
tnaw Felix Hazard knew nothing about
the First National bank robbery; one
may imagine how the hysterical bank
officials were straining every effort
to keep the appalling calamity quiet;
but when he was informed of the ma
ture of his journey to the northern
extremity of the peninsula he pro
ceeded with exact thoroughness to ac-
quaint himself with every available de-
tail of the crime. And the more he
learned the greater grew his admira-
ton and wonder at the audacity, the
ingenuity and painstaking method
with which the robbery had been en-
gineered.
by heck, Felix" his chief burst
otr tnlI
give a man access to a quarter of a
ton of gold, and just see how easy he
can get away with it.
This Perky person chose a Satur-
day afternoon, loads the gold into an
automobile and hustles to a secluded
spot in the country-Lord only knows
where-where he boxes the stuff. The
same night he traverses the state to
Ketcham, expresses the boxes to Prof.
Henry Dwight at Mackinaw as min
eral specimens then to Remy, so
miles away, where he catches train
for Sheboygan. Monday Perky shows
up at the express office at Mackinaw
and, as Professor Dwight, gets the
boxes.
What l can't figure out is the rest
of Perky's program. What did he
mean to do with his bundle when he
loaded 1t into small boat and head
ed for Mackinaw?"
well, what am l supposed to do at
Mackinaw?" Hazard wanted to know.
I'm no deep-sea diver"
The chief perplexedly rubbed his
nose.
Its kind O. funny" he presently re-
piled. 1.-THE bank is not after us to
recover the money; they have divers
there now to do that and 1t ought to
be dead easy-only 1t isn't"
Hazard cooked an interrogative eye
brow and the other continued:
They tell us they're being constant
Iy hampered in their work-under wa
ter. y understand-and they don't
know what to make of it. They
haven't found the slightest trace of
the money-or Perky either. Supersti-
tious lot, those divers; believe some
kind O. jinx has got 'em, and they re-
fuse to go down any more. Meanwhile
the bank and the bankers insurance