Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-04

/ to the manager of the bank-a fellow
| named WilSon-who lives just OIL
/ Holborr"
III do that for you" said Wade. II
saw booth near the Royal Exchange.
| What brought you here, sergeant?"
Nothing brought me here, exactly.
thought I saw light in the engravers
shop, and went back to Old Jewry and
got the duplicate keys. 1 haven't been
| up yet. BY the time 1 came back. the
/ light was out"
| He gave them telephone number.
| and. in a short time. Wade was talking
to the manager.
/ I'll come around and bring the keys"
the man said. rs there burglar"
THAT is what we want to know"
/ said Wade.
He returned to find Cardlin and Elk
walking up and down on the opposite
side OF the street.
! The manager will be here in )
minutes he told them.
IF you fellows will go up, Ill hang
on here" said Cardlin. i've got gun,
and if anybody is there he will have
| to come out by the front door"
! Crossing the road. Wade fitted key
in side door, opened it. and went in,
Elk following. Within was a narrow
passage that ran along the side of the
bank premises. At the end was q
small electric lift around which wound
narrow stairway to the top of the
building.
There will be so many city police
men here that nobody will escape"
said Elk. ANY burglar trying to get
through would be crushed to death in
the crowd. What is it to be-the lift
or the stairs?"
Wade had decided on the stairs. and,
removing his shoes, he went up noise
lessly. with Elk close behind him. They
reached the top landing and saw two
| doors, both half-paneled with glass.
on which was painted the name of the
engraver. Wade fitted the key into the
lock, turned it noiselessiy, and stepped
| into a large workroom Save for q
! glass-paneled office in one corner. the
room took up the entire floor. Here
| were a number of benches. Uttered
with engraving TOOLS as they saw when
they turned on the lights.
mo one here" said Elk. 1.-THE place
hasn't been disturbed"
| Across the ceiling ran a number Of
steel girders that had been painted
white, to harmonic with the rest Of
the room. Looking around. Wade saw
bar Of steel hanging from one Of
| these. 1t was fastened to the girder
/ by wire, and ne wondered what par
ticular purpose this dangling bar
served.
The lower part of it was hidden be-
tween two benches and going forward
TO make closer inspection. he cav
that beneath the bar a great Jagged
| hole had been torn in the concrete
| floor. On one side of the hole Law
a crowbar. a powerful motor-jac and
a steel cone. Attached to one of the
solid legs of the benches. a rope lad
der dangled drought the hole into
the darkness beneath.
Wade knew instantly what, had hap
pened. The steel bar, having been
suspended. was braced against the
girder; the cone had been placed, point
downward, on the floor, and between
had been inserted the motor-jack A
few turns of the screw would have
made the jack tight. and the pressure
applied by this instrument would have
been sufficient TO drive hole through
matter to enlarge the hole with the
crowbar.
Gripping the rope that held the end
OF the ladder, Wade squeezed through
the hole and descended into the room
beneath. 1t was big ofice with line
after line of desks. Obviously. he was
now in the banks Offices. He found
door, the lock of which had been cut
away, and beyond this a narrow steel
I
He heard the sound of a door opening
I below and jerked out his pistol, but
there was no necessity for defense.
The bank manager had arrived and
admitted Cardlin by the main entrance
| Wade found them on the ground floor
and questioned the manager.
1T Is extraordinary that they should
have broken in here" said the
manager. I'VE carry no large reserves
of bullion-we're too near to the main
Office"
asked Wade.
eyes. There are a number of deed
boxes deposited here" said the
manager. But they couldn't get at
them without forcing this door. and
it hasn't been touched"
He indicated a great steel door. set
in the wall in the small inner ONCE.
where his desk was placed The door
was locked. but an examination Of the
lock showed that it had been tempered
with. There were scratches on
the paint and, hidden beneath
the desk, was a kit of tools and a
powerful blow-lamp. Producing a
bunch of keys, the manager turned the
lock and swung open the door.
The managers office was q small
room leading from the public ofices.
1t was almost like a vault Wade
thought, and the Offices. It was almost
like vault, Wade thought. and the
ofhcial explained that it had been
used for that purpose.
We have number of clients who
are members of the stock exchange, and,
in the. old days, before the vault was
QUILT this room was used to keep scrip
and documents that we wished to get
at quickly. Somehow. I never thought
they'd do anything with this door,
Evidently he was very proud of the
new vault. The door was of chrome
steel, he explained, and was the very
latest type.
Are you sure there's no other way
into the vaults'" asked the bearded
The official smiled.
unless somebody has found a way
OF eating through ten feet of concrete,
there's no other way" he said en-
phatically
He asked them to stand back while
he spun the dial Then. inserting FIRST
one and then another key, he turned
the lock. There was the faintest of
clicks, and the door swung open. He
turned a switch. and the interior of
the vault was flooded with light.
Here are the deed-boxes.' he said
pointing to row upon row of boxes.
And there"-he indicated a steel grille
that separated this apartment from an
inner-"iS another vault: but we keep
our books and a little cash there"
Which of these boxes belongs to the
Patterson trust?" asked Wade
The manager indicated boz. smaller
than the rest. and Cardin pulled it out
Then, to Wade'S amazement, he inserted
a wedge-shaped instrument between the
lid and the box There was a sharp
crack. and the lid few open. Putting in
l..