Show THE WILLtAMSON SAFE MYSTERY By F S HESSELTINE Copyright by BhorUtory Pub Col One morning In tho spring of ISO the attention of persons walking along Sudbury street Boston was attracted at-tracted to a hugo Iron safe that was being put out from the warerooms of a wellknown safe company which forman for-man years had done business on that street The safe was not now Indetsi the t style and appearance of It Indicated that It had been built many years ago for Bome special purpose In which i It had doubtless seen long service Altogether Al-together the appearance of this strange object so excited my curiosity that although I was In a hurry to reach my otllce I waited until tho thing was ilnally loaded and moved lowly I off up the street Then I enCored en-Cored the store of the safe company and being well acquainted with tile manager I asked If he could give me the old safes history lie replied that there was a strange story connected with It known now only to himself For certain reasons It never had been known except to two people and they had been saL sa-L edly bound one by personal Interest and the other by a solemn vow never to divulge the secret This promise he said has been faithfully and sacredly sacred-ly I kept but now all those In any way connected with or affected by It have passed beyond the dark river The safe which has stood here for many years like a specter reminding me of the dead past has now to my great relief vanished forever and I know no good reason why the strange story should not be told While I may withhold or change names In the rq cltal that which I uiii about to relate Is true and Is capable to some extent of verification More than 60 years ago a stranger of good appearance entered the shop of ono Korshaw a manufacturer in this city Inquired for the proprietor and stated that ho wanted constructed a strong flre proof safe giving the description and dimensions desired By his conversation he appeared familiar fa-miliar with such work and stated plainly how he wanted this constructed construct-ed and the kind of lock required the keyless combination not having then been Invented In answer to Inquiries he said that he was about to open a jewelry store In Hanover street that he did not Intend to do a retail business busi-ness but would carry a considerable Block for wholesale visiting for trade dealers in neighboring cities Being convinced of the strangers responsibility by a large advance deposit de-posit and by the promise of full payment pay-ment on completion and delivery Mr Kershaw accepted his order and in due time the safe was completed and delivered Soon after a sign was put up on the storeJ Williamson Wholesale Dealer In Watches and Jewelry No great display was made In the window Goods were received and shipped by the rear entrance opening on an alley way Apparently but little business was done at the store and frequently Mr Williamson was absent visiting his customers or buying additional stock in New York city In disposition he was quiet and retiring re-tiring and rarely spoke except In response re-sponse to some Inquiry Within a year after his arrival In Boston Mr Williamson Will-iamson sought the hand of the eldest daughter of a respectable merchant a deacon In the church which he attended attend-ed producing at the same time letters from New York Indorsing his worth and character Having thus satisfied her parents ho was accepted and with little delay married Very soon after he was received on profession of his faith into the church and by his quiet correct life liberality and honest hon-est dealing secured the confidence and respect of all who knew him About this time a strange epidemic of crime swept over the Puritanic city of Boston The houses of the wealthy were entered and robbed of Jhelr valuable contents Packages of money were boldly seized within the very enclosures of the bank the thief escaping through some passageway or by fastening behind him the door through which ho escaped the satchels satch-els of bank messengers filled with valuable contents wero suddenly snatched and the robber eluded pursuit pur-suit At night persons were garroted and robbed on tho public street The police force was small and although they exercised unusual diligence every few days some new and startling start-ling crime committed with wonderful skill and boldness was announced It was thought that a gang of experienced experi-enced criminals had made a descent upon the city so long exempt from crime and every stranger was under uuuplclon and carefully watched One night not long after his marriage mar-riage Mr Williamson was found on Charleston bridge in a dazed exhausted exhaust-ed condition and assisted to his home When sufficiently recovered ho stated that while crossing the bridge he was suddenly seized from behind his throat grasped so that ho could not cry out and his pocketbook containing contain-ing a large sum of money taken from him He struggled to free himself from his unknown assailant until ho gasped for breath and fell exhausted unconscious On the following day Mr William ion offered a liberal reward for the arrest of the highwayman but as he lad not Been him he could give no lue to aid In the detection of the criminal Some of the persons robbed however who had caught a glimpse ol tho thief described a dark person with heavy black hair wearing blue glass spectacles and as It was believed be-lieved that ho and the assailant of Williamson were one search was made for a person answering this do scrlptlon Weeks passed and the mysterious robberies and holdups seemed no nearer near-er n solution Every clue and sus plclon was followed up Strangers were arrested and obliged to prove their Innocence I nocence Everybody became a detective detec-tive Some weeks after the last robbery a stranger came to the express office with a trunk which he wished transported trans-ported to New York Something in the manner of the man an unnatural halfdisguised appearance excited the suspicion of tho alert sharpeyed express ex-press agent and while he proceeded to make out the receipt he secretly sent a message to the constable Upon I his arrival that official Instantly began to question the stranger demanding to know the contents of the trunk Ills Inquiries were frankly answered with proper explanation and tho key produced that the captain might verify tho same by examination The Innocent Inno-cent frankness of the stranger disarmed dis-armed the constable and half apolo glzlng for not accepting his statements as sufficientthe captain stooped to unlock un-lock the trunk when suddenly tho stranger leaped by him and out through the door barring It after him by thrusting a stout cane through the lion handle Throwing himself against tho door tho captain soon broke the Improvised bolt and rushed off In pursuit following the fugitive down through Dock square Marshall and Hanover streets Into a narrow court leading from tho last street where tho man had disappeared nut though there was no outlet other than that by which he had entered a thorough thor-ough search of this place a few moments mo-ments after failed to discover the fugitive fu-gitive or tho way of his escape After the houses opening on the court wore searched without discovering any trace of the probable thief the proprietors pro-prietors of the stores fronting Hanover i over street on each side and having rear entrances were sent for Among these was Mr Williamson but as It was ascertained at his residence that ho was absent from the city entrance was gained to his store by a side window win-dow Here however as In the other stores no person or sign of one was found The burglar for such an examination I ex-amination of the trunk at the express office proved him to be was never captured I cap-tured nor was trace of him discovered I discov-ered although diligent search of that neighborhood was made by the whole police force Not long after the city was again startled this time by tho announcement announce-ment in the morning papers of the mysterious disappearance and probable prob-able murder of Mr Wllltamson He was known to carry large sums ol money upon his person and as there was no good explanation of his absence ab-sence It was thought most probable that ho had been robbed and murdered mur-dered 8 Information was Bought by advertisement adver-tisement In tho newspapers with promise of liberal reward but all Investigation In-vestigation proved unavailing After some weeks of vain Inquiry and search the general suspicion that ho had been murdered and his body thrown over the Clyirlestown bridge became a settled conviction but his faithful trusting wife refused to believe be-lieve him dead and her father finally proceeded to Now York to see what Information If any could be gained from those with whom his son in law had dealings In that city What he ascertained there I do not know but Immediately on his 10 turn he came to my employer for n workman to go to tho store and open In hit presence the safe containing the stock stored therein After some drilling the bolt was sprung and tho door swung open disclosing a sight at which I started back affrighted and amazed and which so horrified the troubled and anxious father that ho fell like a dead man on the floor There within tho safe lay the dead body of Mr Williamson the trusted and respected jewelry merchant An examination of the safe disclosed dis-closed a hardly discernible aperture I drilled through the back near the top from which on the Inside hung a flexible flex-ible tube by which respiration was made possible for a person enclosed and through which noise from without could reach the Inmate On the Inside of the door a hole had boon cut so that the key could be Inserted and the bolt thrown The handle of this key had broken off leaving the key In tho lock There were indications that food and water had been stored In the auto but none remained even the shoes bore marks of tha teeth as If gnawed for sustenance sus-tenance A black wig and blue glass spectacles lay on the floor of the safe Seeing all this we soon conjectured for what purpose this safe was made and usedn temporary place of quick retreat Wo wondered If the key was broken by accident In the hasto to elude that last pursuit or In attempting attempt-ing to reopen the door We thought we knew now though each was silent tile mystery of the many recent crimes but mitt thing wr 8 tiirtaln they ceased and tho autt of them was never found or arrest I |