San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-04-15

he TOOK step toward tne sergeant !,
policeman standing beside him lift
ed his nightstick, and Pelham crashed
to the floor.
Dana cried out In establishment. The
cry died in his throat. For the SER
geant thrust a revolver against his
stomach. The banker was suddenly
sick.
Hands up, and don't move, every
last one of you," cried the sergeant.
His sixteen policemen wheeled sud
denly upon the armed guards who had
accompanied the messengers. Night
sticks knocked them down, and their
revolvers were taken as they sprawled
upon the floor. -
Keller, dazed, uncomprehending,
reached for the switch that should
lower the grating again. Too late he
remembered that the mechanism Of
the thing had got out of order week
before. A temporary repair had fixed
the mechanism so that the grating
could be lowered and raised once. AZ
ter that had been done it was neccs-
sary to adjust certain parts of the
machinery again. And, of course,
there Lad been no time to do this
now.
Sick with apprehension he reached
for the revolver which, upon the ar
rival Of the police, he had placed
again upon the shelf below the coun-
ter. But before his fingers closed upon
it a bullet from one of the police
mems revolyers struck his shoulder
and whirled him dizzily TO the floor.
A. tap upon the head from one of
those heavy nightsticks rendered the
teller hors de combat.
And almost before the dazed bank
employees could think Of offering re-
sistance they were disarmed, beaten
unconscious, or shot.
Sacks appeared from beneath the
blouses Of two Of the invaders. These
two stepped into Keeler's cage. His
assistant, covered by a revolver, had
no opportunity to resist. More than
eight hundred thousand dollars in bills
were swept, in less than 80 seconds,
into the sacks carried by the counter
felt policemen.
Seventeen of them, including their
leader, and reinforced by the six
hand-cuffed men in business clothes
herled those of the bank employees
and customers vho still were con-
scious into an inner room, the private
office of President Dana. A telephone
in the room was ripped from its fast
ening. Dana was seized and search
ed. From his pockets were removed
keys; one of them fitted the lock Of
his private office, and the door was
fastened upon them. From the unr
formed porter the key to the outer
door had been taken. The great doors
swung open on to Broadway.
Attracted by the closing of the
doors, the porter's police whistle and
the noise of the shots was greai
crowd of excited people. They set uT
a yell of exultant fury as the police
men descended the bank steps, hust
ling the handcuffed men toward empty
taxicabs that happened to be stand
ing at the curb. The spectators could
guess that a robbery had been at
tempted. and that the bandits hat
been captured. After all that tho
papers had been saying about the in
competence Of the police department
it was good to see with your own eyes
proof of the falsity of the newspaper
charges.
That is, it was good until you hap
pened to read the afternoon papers
81 tell you, jerry" said Jimmy Pei
ham positively, "it's the Gray Ghost. v
Jerry Tryson shook his round bald
head. Also, his shoulders moved with
mirth.
"Mr. Pelham, you're as crazy as
was ten years ago."
"were you crazy, Jerry!" asked
Pelham, mildly.
The red face of the ex-policeman-
now one of the most successful pri'
yate detectives in New York-took on
a deeper shade.
"You know what / mean; every
thing that happened. l said Gray
Ghost and 1 got the raspberry from
headquarters, the papers, the public,
and everyone"
Except me-" insinuated Pelham.
Tryon's eyes lowered in embarrass-
ment. "Don't think I've, ever forgot
ten it, the way you encouraged me,
backed me-everything. Only. Mr.
Pelham, the Gray Ghost is dead
"And ten years ago everyone said
that he had never been alive" smiled
Pelham.
The square blue chin Of Tryon set
stubbornly; his lower lip protruded
pugnaciously. "But, Mr.. Pelham, we
cornered the Gray Ghost aboard your
yacht ten years ago. He jumped over
board a couple of hundred miles from
land. You can't get behind that, Mr..
Pelham"
al never saw his dead body; did