The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-04
A Puzzling
Case
Setting a Detective to
Catch q Detective.
By ETHEL HOLMES

+ By ETHEL nOLMES !
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
They say q woman can't keep a Sc
cret. I can testify to the fact that one
woman I have known could keep a
secret 20 well that she guided me, q
detective with q reputation for shrewd-
ness, to the detection Of the real GRIM
inaL I 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 1 was directed by my chief
to call upon the president Of the Third
National bank. did SO, and he said
to me:
"Mr. Williams, we have a woman in
our employ whom we suspect of EN-.
bezzling our funds. The case is sin.
gular one, and must give it to you
70 far as 1t has already developed.
There is a 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 II 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 a 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 a 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 60 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 de-
faulter. Carter is an expert &C.
cOuntant- l have always had great
faith in him. He brought me his proofs
Of Pixley's guilt, which l examined,
and, although Pixley had been doing
all he could to render the accounts
confusing, Carter convinced me that he
was defaulter.
"Now I come to the third act Of the
drama. Mrs. Pixley, who had undoubt
eddy been deserted by her husband fol
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 hat
studied bookkeeping. pitied her ant
gave her the position made vacant by
her husband.
The end Of my story and the poin
at which l wish you to take it I'D 1.
a report this morning from Carter tina
more funds are being taken from tn,
bank and that he suspects Mrs. Pixie,
OF being the thief. You see from wha
l have told you that the case is a yer,
complicated one. While do not pro
pose to lay out a course of action fo
you, l would suggest that you watcl
Mrs. Pixley. This of course you can
not do In the bank. You can only d.
1t outside Of the bank"
i confessed to the president that tn
matter did look rather puzzling. Ha,
Pixley not deserted his wife for anotf
er woman would have suspected tina
Mr.. and Mrs. Pixley were In league I
rob the bank. And yet, Pixley havin
done so. 1t did not seem likely tina
Mrs. Pixley would work on the sam
ground as he. told the president tina
would first find out something abou
Mrs. Pixley. When l had done that
would proceed to the next step I'm tn
premises.
sent party to Mrs. Pixley's HON
to sell her something, to draw her int
conversation and to ask her at wins
institution she had studied bookkeel
ing. My emissary returned to me wit
the information that Mrs. Pixley ha
looked at the questioner concerned, b,
had given the Merton Business COLES
as the place where she had receive
instruction. at once went to IL
Merton college and asked to see a re
ord of the students. The maiden nan
Of Mrs. Pixley did not appear as ha
ing been pupil there. and Mr.. Mertc
declared that at the time Mrs. Pixie
claimed to have been there he did n
receive women students.
So far so good. had nailed Mr.
Pixley In lie. This tended to confir
me in considering her as guilty. b
why she should steal from the san
bank as her husband was a puzzl
The only reason l could think of W,