The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-05-18
The Double Bank
Theft
BY MALCOLM BROWN
Observation-Disclosures

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Copyright, 1922, Western Newspaper Union.
Stevens, the assistant teller, relieved
Waterbury between the hours OF one
and two. On Saturdays Waterbury
went home at twelve, when the bank
closed, and Stevens remained behind
to clean up the work. This occupied
about an hour and half, or longer.
Stevens was getting fifty dollars q
week, and his wife was In the hospital.
The delicate and difficult operation
had been successful, but Stevens owed
nearly five hundred dollars. The sharks
were pressing him, too.
He had thought over his problem.
In his desperation the moral aspect OF
the projected crime amounted to MOTH
ing. He knew that he could walk out
Of the bank, just before closing time,
with four or FIVE thousand dollars IN
his pockets, In the shape Of hundred
dollar bills. Old Wrigley. who super
intended the depositing Of the money
in the safe, was as blind as bat. The
exploit would not call for any remark
able exhibition Of nerve.
"Whats the matter, Stevens? why
are you looking at me like thatT' de-
manded Waterbury irritably.
Il beg your pardon" stammered Ste
vens. Waterbury had been very try
Ing Of late; he seemed bent on picking
q quarrel, and on the flimsiest Of pre-
texts.
Waterbury was pacing the floor OF
his cage when Stevens relieved him at
twelve o'clock that Saturday morning.
II thought you were never coming ne
growled. He nodded CURLY, and. with
out another word, opened the door OF
the cage, passed out and let it slide
to behind him. Stevens watched him
with rather grim smile as he d1sap-
peared.
The bank was closed to the public
Stevens remained alone in the tellers
cage. One by one the clerks and as
sistants went out. Presently nobody
was left in the bank except the watch
man, Wrigley, the cashier, and him
self. Then Stevens hastily trans
ferred five packages Of ten hundred
dollar bills apiece to his coat pocket,
finished his work and took the money
to the safe. Stevens found himself In
the street.
He jumped aboard car and de-
scended half mile away, at the fur
nished-room house In which his new
home was to be.
That evening for the first time In
months he had dinner at restaurant.
He smoked a cigar, strolled about town
and finally went home and to bed.
Not until next morning did he open
the packages of bills.
Everyone except the top bill In each
package was Confederate greenback
Instead Of the five thousand dollars
which he had imagined was In his pos
session, he had just five hundred
barely enough to pay the doctors ex-
penses.
Stevens was paralyzed with dismay
There was only one course noW-tO
go back and smuggle the money into
the drawer again, this time not under
the listless watching Of Wrigley, but
under the eagle glances Of Waterbury.
A wave Of disgust and utter self
contempt passed over Stevens.
Stevens spent miserable night.
Remorse, disgust, self-loathing, and a
vast pity for his helpfulness to make
Mary's life happy struggled within
him. When at last he reached the
bank it was to find the officers gath
cred together in groups, eagerly dis
cussing something.
"You've heard the news, Stevens?"
inquired Wrigley.
NO." answered Stevens.
"Waterburys dead"
The room seemed to swim round
Stevens.
Eyes, he was killed in the wreck on
the Southern & Eastern this morning.
He was then four hundred miles from
New York, and-his clothes were
stuffed with bills aggregating twelve
thousand dollars. We've searched the
safe and find he had filled it with Con-
federate bills, with single good one
on top of each package. They're
counting up the loss now"
Stevens staggered into his cage.
"Mr. Harrison wants to see you,"
announced a boy presently.
Stevens went into the presidents
office as if he were drunk.
"Ah, Mr.. Stevens, this is very un-
fortunate occurrence" said the presi-
dent. "You have heard Of it, Of course.
Well, Mr.. Stevens, we are going to
ask you to act in Mr.. Waterburys
place for the present, and later pos
sibly, we shall make the position per-
1nanent. The salary, you may know,
is two thousand five hundred dollars.
Good-morning."
Stevens first act was to slip the
packages away where their presence
might be discovered later. His second
was to pray with all his heart to be
made worthy Of his fortune.
Strongly Entrenched.