Evening star., 1922-09-14
THE DEAD LINE
By Arthur B. Reeve
The Stars Week End Fiction
First of Three Insta1lments.

IL
electric wire than in massive walls
of steel and intricate lock devices.
But here is case in which. 1t seems,
every known protection has failed:
We can't afford to pass that by. II
we have fallen down We want to
know why. as well as to catch the
burglar"
How are the signals given?"
asked.
We'll, when the days business is
over. for instance. Schloss would
swing the heavy safe doors together
and over them place the doors OF
wooden cabinet That signals an
alarm to us here. We answer 1t and
if the proper signal is returned. all
right. After that no one can tamper
with the safe later in the night with
out sounding an alarm that would
bring quick investigation.
But suppose that it became neces-
sary to open the safe before the next
morning Might not some trusted
cmploye return to the Office. open 1t.
give the proper signals and loot the
safe?''
NO indeed" he answered conf
IDENTIFY. "The very moment anyone
touches the cabinet: the alarm is
sounded. Even if the proper code
signal is returned, it is not suficient.
A couple Of our trusted men from
the central office hustle around there
they are satisfied that everything is
right. We have the authorized sig
natures OH hand of those who are
supposed to open the safe and a
duplicate of one of them must be
given or there is an arrest"
McLear considered for a moment
"For instance. Schloss, like all the
rest, was assigned a box in which was
deposited a scaled envelope contain
ing key to the Office and his own
ytrpon hl. In MO
knew the combination. Now. when
an alarm is sounded as it was last
night and the key removed to gain
entrance to the office, record is
made and the key has to be sealed up
again by Schloss. report is also
submitted showing when the signals
are received and anything else that
is worth recording. Last night our
men found nothing wrong, apparent
ly. But this morning We learn OF the
robbery"
THE point is. then" ruminated
Kennedy. what happened in the in-
terval between the ringing of the
alarm and the arrival of the special
otficers* l think I'll drop around and
look Schloss' place over. nc added
quietly. evidently eager to begin at
the actual scene of the crime.
ON the door of the Office to which
McLear took us was one Uf those
small blue plates which chance visit
ors to Maiden lane must have seen
often. To the initiated-be he crook
or jeweler-this simple sign ms cans
that the merchant is member OF the
Jewellers Security Alliance, enough
in itself, it would seem. to make the
boldest burglar hesitate. For it is
the motto of this organization to
get" the thief a any cost and at any
time, Still. it had not deferred the
burglar in this instance.
Il know people are going to think
it is d fake burglary exclaimed
Schloss, stout. prosperous looking
gem broker, as We introduced our
selves. But over two hundred thou
sand dollars worth of stones are
gone he half groaned. Think of
it. man" he added. "one of the great
est robberies since the Dead Line was
established. And if they can get
away with it. why. no one down
there is protected any more. Half
billion dollars in jewels in Maiden
lane and John street are easy prey
for the cracksmen"'
Staggering though the loss must
have been to him. he had apparently
recovered from the first shock of the
discovery and had begun the figh; to
get back what had been lost.
1t was as McLear had intimated, d
most amazing burglary. too. The
door of SchloSs' safe was open when
Kennedy and 1 arrived and found the
office. Surrounding the safe, l no
ticed a wooden framework construct
ed in such a way as to be a part of
the decorative scheme of the office.
Schloss banged the heavy doors
shut.
There, that's just how it was
shut as tight as drum. There was
absolutely no mark of any one taju-
pering with the combination lock.
And yet the safe was looted"'
Lov RI II .,,p 4
Craig. Il presume you carry bur-
glary insurance."
Schloss looked up quickly That's
what L expected as first question.
No. l carried very little insurance
You see, l thought the safe one of
those new chrome steel affairs, was
about impregnable. l never lost Il
moments sleep over it; didn't think
1t possible for any one to get into It,
For. as you see. 1t is completely wired
by the Hale Electric Protection-that
wooden framework about it. No one
could touch that when it was Set
without jangling a bell at the CEN
trail office which would send men
scurrying here to protect the place.
But they must have got past it,"
suggested Kennedy.
fes-they must have. At least
this morning l received the regular
Hale report. 1t said that their wires
one was tampering with the safe But
by the time they got around, in less
than five minutes, there was no one
here. and nothing seemed to be dis
turbed. So they set it down to in
duction or electrolysis, or something
the matter with the wires. l got the
report the first thing when 1 arrived
here with my assistant, Muller
Kennedy was on his knees, going
over the safe with a fine brush and
some powder, looking now and then
through small magnifying glass.
mot a finger print he muttered.
The craftsman must have worn
isn't mark of soup having been
used to blow it up. nor of can
opener to rip it open, IL that were
possible, nor of an electric or other
kind of drill"
"Tve read of those fellows who
burn their way in," said JSchloss. =
But there is no hole" objected
Kennedy, mot trace of the use of
thermit to hurn the way in or of the
oxyacetylene blowpipe to cut a piece
out. Most extraordinary" he muir
INJURED.
"You see." shrugged Schloss. every
one will say it must have been opened
But l am the only one. l have never
written it down or told any one, not
even Muller. You understand what
am UP against?"
There's the touch system" I sug
gested. Your remember, Craig. the
old fellow who used to hle his fin
gers tips to the quick until they were
SO sensitive that he could actually
feel when~he had turned the combi-
nation to the right plunger? Might
not that explain the lack of finger
prints also?" I added eagerly.
Nothing like that in this case.
Walter" objected Craig. positively.
This fellow wore gloves all right