Evening star., 1924-12-12
tConti,0ied from Yesterdays Starr

tCont'Oied from Yesterdays Starr
Very well. then" said he. II will
tell You. Mr.. Boon. A very strange
thtnE happened here this morning.
FiVe little packages, extremely heavy
for their size, were dropped into the
hcal collection box during the night
or in the early hours. The box was
cleared at Z. Mr.. Boon. and it was
then that they were found. They
would have escaped notice, ] do not
doubt. had it not been for the pc
cuiiar circumstance that they were
all without the requisite stamps-un-
stamped. Mr.. Boon. The sorter put
them aside, and when he came to deal
with them later he found that there
were also five bulky envelopes. sim
1larly without stamps. Now, here Is
a curious fact, Mr.. Boon"-with an
other app/ ehensive glance about the
room-"both the envelopes and the
Packages were all addressed 10 i'm
portaW hospitals and research insti-
tutiovs in the city. an envelope and a
package to each of five institutions"
He leaned back to see the effect on
me of this thrilling revelation.
You amaze, Mr.. Glover" said /.
Certainly peculiar and suspicious
circumstance
Wasn't it," Mr.. Glover agreed
~
pcared to consist of heavy little
boxes wrapped in corrugated card
board and brown paper. Well, now.
Naturally the office was agog witt,
the news Of the dastardly outrages
In Wall street. and the sorter some
how connected these envelopes and
packages with the crime, Mr.. Boon.
He summoned his immediate chief.
and the result of their colloquy was
nnl ri al
held over for investigation by our
police department.
Hare they been opened YETI /
asked.
Mr.. Glover looked panied at my
lack of finesse.
Not officially, Mr. Boon-not Off
Cially. Special authority is needed
1or that" He dropped his voice tn
a whisper more confidential than ever.
But / can tell you-quite uuofticially,
of course--that the square packages
contained black boxes of wood, in
side which were what at first sight
appeared to be Jumps of solid lead.
Closer invcstiga alton. however. proved
these last to be lead cases with eX-
tremely thick sides.
What was in the lead cases?''
Mr.. Glover shook his head
Il cannot say" he said ponderous-
ly. But as / am inclined to think
some outrage is contemplated. ]
should say--e&plosiveS, But, as you
may know, there is special depart
ment OF the post office primarily con-
ccrned with the handling of such con-
tingencies. and at the moment. Mr..
Boon, an investigation is going for
ward-behind closed doors"
You don't know what was i'll the
envelopes"
Once more Mr.. Glover was panied
at my bluntneSs.
"No. That ] cannot tell" he said
severely 'Iou now have all the in
formation | can lay at your disposal,
Mr.. Boon-and that. sir, l beg you to
remember. is quite unofficial-and
sacrosanct. 1t must not be bruited
abroad
] admit that ! saw little ground for
connecting this mystery with the
robberies round Wall street. nor any
need for secrecy. | was inclined to
think Mr.. Glover's love for the mys-
FERROUS had led him into fantastic
Interpretation of some silly joke on
the Institutions, but l thanked him
with every appearance of being i'm
pressed. and took a speedy .eave of
him. | was not a little annoyed with
myself for having wasted my time on
the pedantic fool. But subsequent
events, since made public. were TO
show me that Glover, for all his absurd
pomposity. had got nearer the truth
than | imagined, and that ] had un-
dcreStimated what was to prove one
of the most surprising Of Il chain of
happenings that ultimately were to
battle the whole world Yet. as I say.
al the time | thought the thing some
il-conccived joke or the institutions.
or pefAaps the result of an error on
the part of some manufacturers dis
patch clerk. and ] took little stock
of it. Without pausing to look into
the bank. 1 made for the seaplane
jetty and the Sieve,
Round the landing Stage now. in
addition to the bronze painted ma
chimes of the police, a. number of pri-
rately owned boats were moored.
Luxuriously appointed craft, with
their closed cabins and the silk or
brocade curtains on their windows, I
they made the old Sieve look more
disreputabe than ever; but when ]
noticed ;hat one or two of these swell
conveyances belonged to bank presi-
dents like my father. I smiled to
think that my old tub. like a mon
arel pup to a dog-fight. had been
tirst on the scene of action. And as
set the old girl skimming down the
bay, I smiled still more when 7
thought how ornamental all that