The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-01-16

It's something more than heat that S
making the plaster fall from the ceiling
Of the Corlears Bank" insisted Tommy
Grant, police reporter on The Chronicle.
Take a slant at this and he showed
his hat. i was Just making a deposit
when two or three pieces fell on my
head"
Listen. Tommy" said Cadogan. with
mock severity, @'if 1 was you I'd so home
and sleep it off. AS they say on the stage,
'Hokum"" and he walked away.
Grant stared after him chagrned. He
had seen a handsome girl IN the window
Of the room above the bank just before
the shade was jerked down. yet on at
tempting to get into that room there had
been no answer to his knock He took
the matter TO Mansfield. his city editor.
with no more success. Then, convinced
that something was wrong, he consulted
The Chronicle ''morgue.'' the repository
of photos. clippings and other information
that all good newspapers have.
And then he was certain. For a late
clipping showed that Chris Monk had Just
been released from the Ohio state peni-
tertiary. having been met there by his
daughter IneZ, and a half tone OF that
young lady showed her to be the girl he
had seen in the window.
Grant reached a decision at once. and
G o'clock found him at the bank building.
Practically all the tenants had left fer the
day and scrubwoman was cleaning out
the room over the bank, the door of which
was marked. "A. Sanderson. Investments
Brick dust. steel filings and some broken
hack saw blades In the wastebasket from
that room showed that the reporter 8
'hunch" was well founded He watched
his chance and slipped into the room as
the scrubwoman left
Tt was simply furnished with couple
of chairs and two fiat topped desks. on
one of them was a telephone. There was
nothing in any way suspicious-unti Tom
my Grant lifted the rug on the floor and
found a neatly made trapdoor.
He was examining the work thus far
accomplished, with help of a pocket flash
when a slight sound behind him caused
him to turn. There stood the lady Of the
window, covering him with a wicked look
ing automatic.
He arose, grinning ''Well. Miss Inez
Monk. I see you're going into the business
with papa" he said, thumbs in the arm
holes of his vest.
The girl appeared startled. ''How do
you know my name?" she demanded. COW
ering him steadily.
"Why. I can read It on your bracelet"
returned Grant, with an amiable smile
But as the girl glanced down at her arm
he was on her like a tiger,
He had grasped her pistol hand instant
", and though she fought back furiously.
he was gaining the mastery when two
pairs Of powerful hands seized him from
behind. In a very few moments. and with
scarcely sound. he had been bound hand
and foot and securely gagged. Lying on
the floor he glared at his captors One
was Chris Monk himself from his photo
graph: the other Grant did not know.
Instead of killing him out Of hand, as
Grant more than half expected they would
do, they rolled him over into a corner
and shut him off from the rest Of the room
with one OF the heavy desks. He was
helpless, and, more, he could not see what
they were doing.
However. he could listen. and by so
doing he made out from the sounds and
the low voiced conversation of what was
going on.
First one of the men finished the job Of
cutting through the ceiling Of the bank
below. Grant heard the duh thud Of the
falling plaster with its web Of steel Then
he gathered that a rope ladder was being