The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-10-30

| WHB AlluO3b L1Ak6@DeuGVe pcEBUIit and nothing that had happened to her was of very great consequence.
 So she managed to put the whole difacult question in the back of her mind, where she mentally tagged 1t as something to be inyes- tigated when she got back; and she entered into all the exciting little activities of vacation with her old zest. and uneonsciously did her best to forget about Dover entirely.
 Maplehurst was not a large place; the bank of which her fa- ther was president was only three blocks from the old-fashioned white e-pillerd house that had been the Dunn home for two genera tions. Jean fell into Q habit she had acquired during her college va- cation days; she would stroll down to the bank, along toward noon, go into her fathers ofice, ad wait for him to finish his mornings work so that she could take him home for lunch.
 She was sitting on the corner of his desk, on the morning of her third day in Maplehurst, waiting | for him to complete a telephone call, when she chanced to notice through the open doorway, that some workmen were being very busy in the lobby of the bank. She watched them, trying to figure out what they were doing. It all seemed to center about the grilled window of the cashiers cage, where the men were splicing wires, drill ing holes in the floor and other wise being exceedingly active.
 Dad" she said, when he hung up the receiver, what are those men doing out there?"
 MT. Dunn peeked out the door, and leaned back in his chair com placently.
 Tear gas," he said briefly. ''It's a new form of insurance against bank robbers"
 "Tear gas7" she repeated. How do you mear?"
 He pushed back his chair and got up.
 Come on in," he said, land I'll show you"
 They walked across the lobby, went through an iron grill, and into the cashiers cage. MT. Hobart, the cashier, bowed when Jean en- |; tered, stroked his lean chin, and said to MT. Dunn, well, they're al- ) most finished" ; "See?" said MT. Dunn. Under l, the counter there are three little cylinders = see them? There's tear gas in them, under pressure, with concealed outlets on .the lobby side . of the counter. Now, you see where the man is installing that button } effect, in the hoor?"
 1 He pointed, and Jean nodded. The worker looked up and grinned. That" said her father, "is what touches them of. Step on that, and the lobby'd be full of tear gas in 10 seconds. Now then, suppose this Jackson gang pays us 8 visit. They come ys to the wicket, here, : and point gsn at MT. Hobart and tell him to put up his hands. He obeys, of course; but as he does so he reaches out with his foot-which they can't SC him do, because he's only visible from the waist up to anyone on that side of the counter l-he reaches out and touches that button. Whoof! Out comes the tear gas, and there's nothing for the bandits to do but run. Neat, isn't it?"
 She looked at the contrivance, wide-eyed.
 But you've never had any rob- bers down here," she said. It was impossible to imagine any sort of violence in Maplehurst. Her father agreed.
 That doesn't mean we never will have any, though" he said. People like these Jackson gang sters seem to specialize in robbing small-town banks. And we have to be especially careful, because of the pottery plant payroll"
 Six miles away there was large factory, devoted to the manufac- ture of almost everything in the earthenware line from tiny flower vases up to great sections of sewer Ipipe in which a man could stand upright. A sprawling, slatternly town surrounded it and housed 1t workers; but the factory banked in Maplehurst, because one of its directors was leading stockholder in the Maplehurst bank, and every other Saturday an armored car came over to Maplehurst, just be- fore noon, and got the factory pay roll.
 "Ill feel better, with this tear gas installation in in time for this coming Saturday" said her father, as they left the cage and started of for home. i've really been ner- yous, lately, thinking how unpro- tected we are down here. But a puff of that tear gas is stronger than any gangsters automatic We're safe, now"
 They walked slowly home. thorugh the pleasant warmth of early summer. and after lunch Jean walked back to the bank with her father, her hand slipped through his arm, chatting aimlessly and affectionately. When he went into the bank again she started leisurely down the street, planning to stop in at little confectionery shop just beyond the Palace Hotel and visit with the little old lady who had once been her Sunday school teacher.
 AS she crossed the street and ap- preached the hotel, she saw a man standing on it's old-fashioned, small townish wooden veranda. She gave a little start, and looked again; surely there was something familiar about the set of those shoulders and the way he cupped his hands about a I .-.nkat~ k1 IfxL1t atfa ~ato Ac at