Year: 1869

From the day that | first came into oul
house, as a partner, have always attended
to the cash and banking business myself, all
moneys, checks, drafts, &c, passing through
my hands or accounted for to me. In three
and-twenty years experience, never had an
error but which on careful revision, could be
rcctited, nor had any moneys ever been lost
or stolen.


You may judge, therefore, Of my surprise
when one day-it had been very heavy cash
day-on making up my account, found my
self two thousand three hundred and fifty
seven dollars short. There was no such a.
mount entered in any way that | could pos
sibly have made an error in, and nothing in
all my transactions upon which to base my
deficit. had but one place in which to put
my money during the day, and that was in a
drawer Of my desk. o solid, old-tashioned
structure, attached to the building. and put
up when the office was built, forty years be
fore. Had the desk been one of the modern
tlimsy affairs, | might have thought that
somebody could have spirited the money out
in some way, but even the idea Of false key
did not harmonize with the old fashioned
lock of solid wood. | always locked the
drawer, and carried the key in my pocket,
and was rarely out of the office during the
day, except half an hour for lunch, and ther
there were rever fewer than three or four
persons in the same room. At night invar-
iably removed every dollar to the safe, SC
that any appropriation of funds must be made
in the daytime.


This was the state of the case the day that
| was two thousand three hundred and fifty
seven dollars short. | went through every
pocket and available place on my person,
though | knew that | never put any money
about me, and then closed my account witt
the deficit, making up my mind not to speak
of it that day. but to consider it until the NOR.
row, before | asked advice. The morrow
came, and, utterly discomposed | admitted
to myself my inability to straighten it, and
called in for advice Mr. Conway, our old anC
confidential bookkecper, in whose judgment
had great reliance. Mr.. Conway did not
like the famous Dutch SQUIRE weigh the two
accounts, and give judgment in favor of the
heaviest; but he did almost as we'll he foot
ed up the column of figures three or four times
counted my cash-balance as often, looking ui
me over his spectacles, and told me the ac-
count was wrong-two thousand three hund-
red and fifty-seven dollars short That's all
the satisfaction there was from Mr.. Conway
After this pledging him to secrecy, thought
fully await events, charging the amount as





How much, for days, this matter troubled
me, | cannot state; but like all things else
after two weeks had gone by, and no eluci-
dation had come to me, it began to wear
away, when one day was amazed and horri-
fed to find another deficit of nine hundred
and eighty-tour dollars. This time | re-
mcmbered some Of the very missing bills, and
knew that they had been taken from my
drawer, and yet I had not left the key in it
one moment while [ was absent from the
room, and all day there had been present at
least two persons besides myself; and there
had been also people coming and going all
the time, but these were separated from me
and the clerks by railing so that it was i'm
possible for any person calling on business
to approach nearer to my desk than fifteen
feet. This time consulted with my partners
and, after numerous theories-all of which
the aid of somerepnted able, detective officer
and, having applied in the proper quarter fol
such person, we wae recommended to Mr.
Peter Schlidorg, a gentleman who, by the
wink he gave me after | had told him the
whole story, and the assertion that ''Wel


fix this lob up in half IN hour" convinced iii;
that he would achieve nothing Mr. Schldoro
commenced his operations by glowering up,
on my employers, one by one and looking in
to my money drawer ,and handling the money
lovingly, SO that ! somewhat feared that he
meant to confiscate it as .part of the ev
dence; and ended by settling upon poor Con
way, who he mysteriously informed me, was
the guilty man, but could give me no reason
for it save that Mr. Conway could not look
him i'll the eye; tor which | did not blame
Conway, for Il more rascally, eve | never be
held in mortal man. | had some trouble il
getting rid of Mr.. Schldorg. which was only
accomplished by bribing him off, and submit
ting to his hints that there must be somethin G
wrong in myself, inasmuch as was not Will
ing that the investigation should proceed.


l then thought l would play my own detcc-
tive, and having put mymoney in the drawe,
as always did. watched the movements o
every one with the closest circumspection, al
though appearing not SO careful as usual Be
fore going 10 lunch each day | counted the
money, and again when | returned; but no
result, until one day, on making up my daily
accounts Il little before three O'clock, found
myself one thousand one hundred and thirty
two dollars short. | almost Jumped in as
tonishment from my seat, for the abstraction
must have occurred within three-quarters OF
an nour, and with myself in the room all the
tme. This was staggering and serious, and
| at once lost faith in myself Here were
four thousand four hundred and sevcnty-three
dollars gone, ana not the shadow of a clue
After another consultation with my partners,
ii flashed across my mind to hunt up one
b, who in his day had been celebrated as
I detective, but of whom had not heard fol
years, and, if he were still alive, to submit
the matter to his address and in an hour |
was with him. b was Interested but he
had retired from business rheumatism was
the only thing he detected, and that to his
sorrow. He, however, would recommend
me to a gentleman who, if he would take the
job, could unrayel it, if it We're to be un-
raveled by human skill, and he gave me /,
letter to the Doctor, or Robert Blaisdell,
M. d., rs he strangely directed the envelope.
Before ! went to bed that night I found
Blaisdell, and not only engaged him, but,
as | could see, interested him, and he
agreed to meet me the next morning at the
Office, and so conduct himself that there would
be no suspicion of his business.


He was there promptly, and opened mat
ters in the hearing of the clerks by talking
coffee, and proposing to sell cargo of Rio
to arrive He never appeared to look at any
Of my people, but, with his pencil, as he was
supposed to be computing quantity and price,
asked several questions, and in a few mo-
ments communicated to me his belicfthat the
clerks We're all right That was q relief
opened the drawer freely handling the money,
and giving him every opportunity to see its
workings. He was bothered. | saw that by