Year: 1870

ponce cdlcn us rs we 20 HOlllc WIFI llc Stull
1t amt the getting it that bothers us, but it's
The way to fetch it home through the streets.
Well to make long story short, laid out
to break into that very bank which was so
handy to the sewers. I had the choice OF
pals, and | picked out those l thought
could trust. | was mistaken in that, but I'll
fool em yet got feller to hire the base
ment under the bank, and then for a month
or so | let the matter lay STILL only was ma
turing my plans all the while. At last al
was ready, and six of us had sworn to stand
! by each other through thick and thin and to
share equally the danger and the stuff, only


| was to have ten per cent. on the share o
the five others for finding out and planning
4 the lay.


Scotch Rob and me and Gentleman Tim
and Jerry Nudge was to be inside the base
ment. Gentleman Tim WAS the man that


hired il for a brokers' office, and Charley


Ferris was TO be in the sewer, and cute Jack
was to be IN the street


EVe all four were to be in the basement one
Saturday, and as time for locking up came
| three Of us got into Il big press supposed tC
/ be full OF papers. Ccntieman Tim then
walked out of the office and gave the Janitol
the key of it. He then came back and open
ed the door which he had not locked and
came into the office.


He then locked the door from the inside
with q false key, and joped US in the press.
We locked the door of that inside, and there
we four fellows stood, packed together like
sardincs. Soon we heard the iantor open
the Office door and come in to clean out. He
swept around the office and arranged things
4 little rs we could tell by the noise he made,
and then he cleared out and left US. | want
ed to sneeze real bad when he was in the Of
flee, but | managed to stop it, After he had
gone we stepped out. We had abundance
of time before us only we had to keep still
for q time, us the lantor was most likely
sweeping the bank up stairs. SO we had a
good snooZc. and got to work about mid
night. The first thing was to get down the
plaster overhead without noise which we
did by holding Il blanket under it and in pick
inc it off gently and in small pieces. We then
got to the latls. and Jerry Nudge, the car
penter among us. cut them off with a fine
saw. | forgot to say that we hung blankets
before the windows, and rs there We're iron
shutters too, both noise and light were kept
from the street. For month previous Gen
tleman Tim had been bringing to the office,
in small quantities, such things as we need
ed, and we had good stock of everything
on hand.


We then struck the floor of the bank, and
Gentleman Tim, standing on the press, soon
sawed out a piece some three feet square.
Luckily there was some loose mating on the
floor overhead and not Il tackeu-down car
pet, and it lay exactly over where we had
cut. You see | had often been in the bank
and had taken the bearings Of things. Well,
we clambered up through the hole and sur
veycd the things. Scotch Bob was a safe
lock maker, and he thought he could open
any combination lock if he only had time.
SO to work he went. We fellows went be
low and left him to himself. as he could
work better that way. You see, we had not
intended to remove any thing that night.
The time would be to short. We were only
to get ready to 90 through the vault safe
and get away with the stuff on Sunday
night. All night Bob worked, and I watch
ed and listened while the others slept. We
knew the ianitor visited the bank on Sunday
about noOn so Bob Cuinc down through the
hole about eleven the next day, and care
fully drew the mating over the opening.
Jerry then rugged up u prop or two with
the piece of floor on top and made it quite
steady, and no one could see from above any
change. About noon the anitor came in.
The bank folks thought he didn't do his duty
or he't have caught us; but bless you he
couldn't see anything wrong-we fixed all
that Well, Bob went back to his work and
WOlhtu ill llit ulltIllOOll, Oul Will no lICk,
and so when nine o'clock came that night,
Charley and me took hold Of things We
got our iimmies and our plug-ugles, and
fixed up prop to work the opener against
| was bound to open any safe, once get a
purchase with my opener. They can't stand
long against it,


Before we got to work Gentleman Tim
went to the bank door and with fine brace
and bit he made u small hole through the
panel of the door, then he tied q bit of cord
to q wire and stuck the wire through the door !;
he felt it pulled on the other side and knew
Cute Jack was at his post. Leaving the
wire through the door we rugged u spring
hammer so that it would strike like dinner
gong. only it would strike on n book and
make u dull thud instead Of Il clear noise
like bell. Jack was to pull the wire and
keep us posted by it Of outside matters and
dangers Then we got to work, and | got
the opening to bear. We made little or no
noise, still we stopped work whenever Jacks s
bell gave one thud, which ment danger, two
thuds ment go ahead again, while three
thuds mcnt that some one was either coming
into the bank or that some policeman was
searching along under the stoops, and would
when he GOT to the bank stoop, most likely
discover Jack rs he lay curled up. Should
this happen he was to teign sleep, and, at
the worst, could only be made to move on.
However, everything was propitious, and
the bell only sounded the one rap whenever
the policeman drew near the bank, We had
worked an hour, and | felt sure a couple
more would let me through the door, when
Bob, who had not discontinued his attempts
to unfold the combination of the lock utter
ed Joyful exclamation, and the ponderous
door swung open. He had hit upon the
combination partly by luck and partly from
his knowledge of locks. The inner door was
of but little hinderancc to us, and we were
soon in the vault itself. Gentleman Tim
produced some large india rubber bags which
he had provided. and into them we hurredly
placed the wealth of notes, stocks and bills,
which we found A lot of depositors' tin cash
boxes were ranged around, and these we broke
open and added the contents to ourpile The
bags now became full, and yet more was to be
had for the taking. Itwould not do for one of
us to load himself with even single dollar,
for if arrested in the street on suspicion we
must have nothing traceable to the bank
about our persons. A long, low trunk was
in the vault, and by measuring its thickness
we found it would Just enter the sewer at the
corner.


Now came the most dangerous part of the
work. BY pulling the string, the wire end
of which was in Jacks hand, we commune