The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1916-11-23
.
A Puzzling
Case
Setting a Detective to
Catch q Detective.
By ETHEL HOLMES

They say woman cant keep a Sc
cret. can testify TO the fact that one
woman / haze known could keep a
secret SO well that she guided me,
detective with a reputation for shrewd-
ness. to the detection OF the real erin
inal. having been set upon her TO
expose her And this she did without
revealing TO me the fact that she knew
him TO he the man should have been
after
one day / was directed 10y my chief
10 call upon the president Of the Third
National bank. did So and he said
to me:
mir williams. we have woman In
our employ whom we suspect of EN-
bezzliug our funds The ease Is sin.
gular one, aud must glye II 10 you
so far MS It has already developed
There is n mystery connected with 1t
which is very puz2lng
I'VE had Ia our employ man whom
we esteemed very highly. One day he
failed 10 turn up at the usual time Tor
the days work Ills 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-sad that Pixley had told him
that he was going TO see man who
owed him hundred dollars. lie 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 a man to him for In
| formation concerning her husband
The party said that Pixley had visited
| his office in company with n yelled wo-
man. who had waited for him with
out The money had been paid him.
and he had been seen to go 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 Plxley disappeared Car
| ter had made an examination OF GER
tain books kept by Pixley and had
| fallen upon proof that he was de
faulter. Carter is an expert &C
countant | have always had great
| faith in him. He brought me his proofs
| OF Pxley's guilt, which ! examined,
and, although Pixley had been doing
all he could to render the accounts
confusing, Carter convinced me that he
was defauter.
"Now | 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 a girl she had at
| tended commercial college and had
studied bookkeeping | pitied her and
gave her the position made vacant by
her husband.
| THE end OF my story and the point
at which | wish You to take it up is
| 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
| have told you that the case is a very
complicated one. While | do not pro-
pose TO lay out 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
| il outside Of the bank"
| | confessed TO the president that the
matter did look rather puzZing. Had
PiYley not deserted his wife for anotb-
er woman would have suspected that
Mr.. and Mrs. Pixley were in league to
rob the bank. And yet, Pixley having
done so. II did not seem likely that
| Mrs. Pixley would work on the same
ground as he. | told the president that
would first find out something about
Mrs. pixey. When had done that
would proceed to the next step In the
premises.
| sent a party TO Mrs. Pixley's home
to sell her something, to draw her into
conversation and 10 ask her at what
institution she had studied bookkeep'
ing Ny emissary returned 10 me with
the information that Mrs. PiYley 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 hay'
ing been pupil there, and Mr.. Merton
declared that at the time Mrs. Pirley
claimed to have been there he did not
receive women students.
So far so good | had nailed Mrs
Pixley in a 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