The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-07-04
AN AMAZING STORY
(From the New York Sum-


One day last April such of the
people of Rome as read anything but
the war news in their papers may
have noticed a brief item from Vi
emma, which reported a burglary IN a
house adjoining the German embassy
in that city. A safe, a very unusual
and burglar defying safe, had been
cut open like a cheese, and a large
sum of money extracted. So at least
said the newspapers. If anything ex-
cept money had been taken they for
bore to mention it.
A month or two earlier two very
famous, deft and skilful Italian
cracksmen had escaped from Jail.
That matter had not been widely
celebrated. If now m or two OF
those reflective souls found in every
town, who love to clip and col!ate
criminal items, trace up fanciful
clues and write to the newspapers
about them, did so in Rome nobody
paid any attention to them.
Seemingly one person only in all
Rome took any lively interest IN the
Vienna burglary, and he was I'M
INJURED in the inner vastness OF the
Vatican; a ~sequestered and eccleslas-
teal retreat into which echoes OF the
intrigue and crime of the profane
world seemed hardly likely to pene-
trate. But to Monsignor Won Gerlach,
papal chambelain and master of the
papel chamberlain and master of the
burglary conveyed so startling a
message hiatt within a few hours he
had fled not only the Vatican, but
Italian territory. When the police,
scarce two hours after his flight,
broke into his rooms they found them
Uttered with discriminating docu-
ments which he had no time to de-
stroy or take away and which re-
vealed the papal chamberlain as head
of the German spy system in Italy.
Let us 60 back further. We know
that experts in trigue, like E.
Phillips Oppenheim would have be-
gun this narrative in different form
and prolonged the suspense. But in
a lightly amateur way we shall mere
~ try to note the facts.
Know then that the Italian police
had long been trying to explain a
train Of mysterious happenings, in
GLIDING the loss of two Italian bat
JlSSIllUS, IIlS oSIlCuCICO dill III I'LL
Leonardo da Vinci. In some way they
learned that documents revealing all
were in a safe in a private house
next the German embassy in Vienna.
But that safe! Here enters romance.
Not only did it have every burglar
foiling device known to safe makers.
Not only was it electrically connect
ed with every police station in vi
emma, but it was so constructed that
it roughly opened it would pour
forth a cloud of that a~sphyxiating
gas so dreaded in the trenches, which
would stretch the safe breakers life
less before the open evidence of
their guilt. (Romance writer's please
copy.) ,
But the Italian detectives were not
thus to be foiled. They were not of
the easy New York type, privily they
secured the release from prison-un-
der cover of an escape-of Italy's
most skilled and admired cracksmen.
Provided with gas masks and prom
ised $4,000 and immunity for past
offenses, these scientists operated on
the safe with complete success.
The documents secured showed
Won Gerlach, formerly an officer in
the Bavarian army and-as. spies
must be-a person Of most pleasing
personality, to be the head Of the