The Carlisle independent., 1917-09-27
MY LADY VITRIOL

tective association that ReSilius Marvel was studying out new ease" He nodded to me in an abstracted way. On the glass-slabbed table before him were a dozen or more little rolledup wads of paper. I knew they repre- sented puppets he had been moving about, shaking up. almost talking to, almost making them talk to him separating, combining, analysing, in fact winnowing facts with sieve of probability.
 T think I've got it." he said, sweep ing his mines from the table with an air of precision and finality. You have come in at the finish, probably You were in at the start, so you will have glimmering idea of what it is all about when l speak one word Ransome."
 That is suggestive" told Resilius Marvel, but scarcely enlightening. fancied that Alison Ransome was a closed chapter in the suppressed sen sations of local banking circles"
 What! with one hundred thousand dollars unaccounted for, and the gag placed with all hands around?" de- rided the great one. Hardly"
 Ransome had been anybody's friend and everybody's favorite. He had broken into banking about a year pre- vious in the eager, rollicking fash ion of a college lad full of financial theories and expecting some day to gain presidency in jump. His un- eIe was the big man in the Unity National bank. and Alison skipped over messenger service, the book" and the currency pen in very brief period, and had charge of the ponder ous and opqlent money vaults with three men to help him fill an easy job.
 Then one day a big sensation was born at the Unity National. Ransome and bank policeman who had left he institution two hours previous, he former handcuffed to a treasure satchel, returned, both of them white 'aced and scared looking. They bore he satchel casually enough now, for one side of it showed a circular gash with half the surface Tapping loose, and emptiness where there had been fifty thousand dollars in neatly packed and labeled national bank notes.
 In word, this happened: A bank at Riverton, a suburb twenty miles put, had made a special deposit of the money noted, subject to call and personal delivery when required. It was special fund and larger sum ill ready cash than the suburban bank cared to risk carrying. Besides that the transaction was trusted by the Unity National The call of that morning had been anticipated for sev- erai days. Ransome was deputized to deliver the money and bring back a receipt.
 He never qualified for the receipt and he and his guard never got as iar as the suburban bank. Once tboard the train and occupying one .eat together, in order to rest com ortably the handcuff was unlocked md the satchel was set on the car loCr. The guard retained hold of the nd of the chain, and Ransome set his eet firmly on the satchel so 1t could ot be budged without his knowing it.
 To and behold! in spite of all their precision. as they neared the end of heir brief journey and lifted the 7atchel to rehandcuff it to the wrist of Ransome, it was discovered empty. That is, some one occupying the seat directly behind them had reached under the tilting footrack, had insert ed keen shoe blade within the leath- CT receptacle and had quietly lifted out it's contents. The train had stop ped at all local stations, so the clever thief might have left the train at any one of six stops.
 Not soul recalled even noticing the missing passenger. The shoe knife was found on the car floor Also a cane, light and somewhat peculiar as to it's end fitting-of which more anon. It was now in the possession of the man who had reawakened in my mind the little history am trying to epitomize in my struggling, faulty way.
 Neither money nor thief was found. No possible blame could attach to young Ransome. It marked him, how ever, as an unlucky wight with big loss to his record. Then followed a happening that placed him in the s'hoodoo" class. It was in connection with the bank cash reserve. the real strength and sinew of the institution. kept sacred and apart within the holy of holies of the Unity National. When foreign capitalists visited the bank. or it was policy and business to i'm press client. or ruralite correspond ents were in evidence, 1t was the prac- tice to show them over the institution. winding up with a view of the treas ures of the great inner vault where real money was really kept.
 As in all large banks the Unity Ma tional maintained It's actual cash re- serve in permanent form. Thus there were packages representing $10.O00, s50,00O, even $100.000 In these the