Show r T TT I ii i The Strange Adventures 1 j 0 of Christopher Poe c ct a t Storks Stories of Strange Cases Casu Solved In n Secret by a Banker Detective i if v. v h. h f j. j By ROBERT CARLTON BROWN Copyright 1315 by W W. G tS G Chapman 4 4 E THE CLUBBED THUMB H E S v y gl 6 l fc I l l WI l QI fc lIo k Slipping SUpping a light spring coat over his thin suit office cut Oxford style Christopher Poe walked briskly to the theM M Manhattan National a neighboring bank of ot which he was a director On the way he heard newsboys shouting an art extra All about the Manhattan National robbery Pu Purchasing a copy h het hee read the story printed printed at length beneath a brief news news notice notice a clever a scoop op secured by a descriptive writer who chanced upon the scene as he her r r was returning home in the early morn morning ing lag If It theres there's anything wrong its it's an Inside job that's sure sure commented P Police lIce Sergeant Muldoon left in charge with three of ot his men while the Burglary Insurance inspector who received th the alarm from the Manhattan Manhattan Manhattan Manhat Manhat- tan National this morning rushed off to summon a superior officer who held keys to the front door of ot the bank Ten minutes l later ter the Burglary In Insurance 1 aurance manager arrived blown in a f tax taxi V The door was unlocked and the themen themen men men filed in There was not a movement movement move move- i ment not a sound not ano another he p person In the big banking besides besIdes' the group that had just entered unless the limp bag of ot bones by the safe sate door could be counted The Inspector approached the body t and turned It over with his toe revealing reveal reveal- ing fagg the terror terror fixed fixed face tace of at Summers bank watchman The officers and inspectors huddled together about the safe saCe staring stupidly stupid stupid- ly 11 from tram the body to the open masonry door The sergeant stooped to look through the heavy stone doorway openIng openIng open open- Ing fag into the vault which contained the safe proper that he cried as he caught a quick motion and a glint of ot light in the dim interior th the safe sate itself Its It's one atthe of at the new whirling safes sates The light that startled you was reflected by the spin spin- w r r V ning steel the safe saCe itself it whirls c Uke a top after It is wound up andset and andset set to stop at a certain hour in the I v j morning Its It's absolutely burglar burglar proof I Even the motor that runs it and the I time lock regulator are inside it We I Ican can all be mighty thankful the safe is still whirling That shows she hasn't been opened Theres no way of ot it then r queried the police officer poking his finger in toward foward the i revolving mass massof V of at metal Here The manager jerked the officers officer's arm back by his sleeve Youve heard of at people having their fingers rs neatly nipped off by electric fans Cans Well this safe will do the trick J- J only a thou thousand sane times as vell well Youve You've got to be be- be tr t. Look Laok Heres Here's w where lere they got him came an Interrupting cry from tram froma I a Burglary Burglar Insurance call man call man who V had been examining the body Sum of um- um c mers I And heres here's heres here's heresA A police officer 0 who had been scanning the floor lurched heavily forward blood rushing to to his ap apoplectic face as as he stooped to t to pick up a small object from beside the tha safe The thing was mottled red and gr green en badly discolored and about I f three quarters of an inch square at atthe atthe the top and two inches long At the bottom clung clotted blood r A A finger huh grunted the Burglary Burglary Duro Bur Dur- 1 o glary Insurance manager jumping to 5 his feet Ceet and thrusting his eager face tace I r over oyes the policeman's shoulder I Yes Its It's a thumb 1 Look cried the call cal man call man on his knees besides the night watchman's body Summers thumbs thumb's gone Bit off ort said the Inspect inspector t tor tor V stooping to examine the hand the 7 call man call man n held up Plucky guy that V Summers ly put up a stiff fight i Tore fore the got bot him He pushed the corpse of the watchman watch watch- j SV m man n musingly m with his broad toe As Ashe Ashe he bo did so a bunch bunch of at keys came to light The manager manage pounced on them r i Summers doing with keys to the vault that contains this safe sate he cried t e I The inspectors inspector's jaw dropped and ho he looked dazed dazed the tall man man let the hand fall back to the floor 9 in his astonishment I said from the first it was an InsIde inside in In- side job remarked the police ser- ser 4 1 grant ant with intense satisfaction i. i i how he lost his thumb V r 11 t. t s added the manager deftly fitting the Gl keys In the vault door Got his bandin hand band handIn f In the way of at the tho safe and it clipped tile the thumb off He lIe should have been more more careful considering the fact that Vr J to make keys V he be was clever enough to fit this door poor But he couldn't have undertaken h j L the Job cried the call man call man heres heresa i a hole In the back of at his hla head its it's where they hit him with a pipe ppe or a agun run gun un or some tool The The manager kicked a heavy smashed m shed bulls bull's eye bulls eye that lay near the dead mans man's he head d. d It Its s his own lamp be he said when his thumb was cut cutoff cutoff off in the whirling safe he fell back In the surprise of ot it and landed square V V on his own lamp That's what hat did for tor him Then what's this trail of blood cried the call man call man pointing to a scattering scattering scat scat- of at red drops across the floor in 10 inV ina V a wave wavering line to o the Burglary Insurance Insurance r ance ante company's signal switch set in inthe the wall wall V V t 1 h V V I l. l shaul The manager shrugged his ders Summers did the Job he said with finality waving his hand band about the big banking banking room If there'd been anybody anybody anybody any any- body else in It with him where are they now They woul wouldn't disappear In the air you know a and ld they weren't blown to atoms because there was no soup used Talk Tak facts acts The cashier of the Manhattan National National National Na Na- had bad been Informed at once atthe of at the watchman's attempt and his death He arrived about seven o'clock heard the detailed story and quite agreed that Summers Summers' w was as guilty He lIe the vault door and dismissed the police police po po- po lice In an effort to hush up the matter as the safe saCe had proved an efficient guardian of at the funds funds in Its Us trust and there was no loss to the bank except except except ex ex- ex- ex the lucky one of the dishonest watchman 1 4 T 1 i Before Defore Christopher Poe finished reading the news story he found Cound himself at the door of the Manhattan National As Ashe he entered the cashier stepped toward him with a look look of ot relieved recognition I see you have read It all in the papers That's an accurate write write-up The reporter was one of the first here We tried to hush the thing up We must muffle the clamor about this disagreeable disagreeable disagreeable dis dis- agreeable business Just a dishonest watchman which may cause us the loss of at public confidence Yes I feared that as I read this account Its It's written rather lightly answered Poe seriously May I look at the safe saCe Having looked at the safe saCe Poe asked to see se-e see the body of Summers and was led to the presidents president's private room where it had been carried He scanned the corpse in a quick comprehensive glance and asked asked Wheres the missing thumb Oh here answered the cashier pointing to a heavy piece of wrapping wrapping- paper on which lay a group of ot objects objects objects ob ob- taken from Summers Summer's pockets and the tha severed thumb Poe turned the thumb over looked closely at atthe atthe atthe the nail nan made a superficial observation observation observation tion of at the rest and turned to the cashier Kindly send a with this digit to Doctor Robinson on Thirtieth street treet and Fifth avenue Please Pleas ask him to cleanse it thoroughly restore the skin where it has been bruised and put some of his liquid glass mixture mixture mixture mix mix- ture on it so it can be handled and examined Tell him to send it to my apartment within two hours Now if It you will be so good as to ask the janItor janitor janitor jani janI- tor to bring me his longest ladder I will see if I can crawl through the middle ventilator back there the one with the glass cut out completely Of What cried the cashier Poe had stepped to the cashiers cashIer's side and nd rem remarked Dont you see theres there's no glaze on that middle window It looks dull compared com compared conk com pared to the others I noticed it as 1 came in The pane has been cut out around the edges with great precision so no warning wires should be interfered inter with with Where is the stepladder der The cashier went off to hurry the janitor and when he returned Christopher Christopher Christo Christo- pher Poe stood inspecting the slight trail of ot blood extending from the vault vaultI to the Burglary Insurance company's company s signal sIgnal box Nobody could have crawled through one of at those windows cried the cashier anxiously as he returned too small It would d be impossible im Im- im- im possible Besides look at the bars Poe made no reply but climbed the ladder quickly When he reached the top he rubbed his finger along the edge of the tho sill and pulled in his lower lip reflectively He ran his free Cree hand through his upstanding brush of brown hair and then flattened his palm against the ornamental bars bars' that covered covered cov cov- ered the aperture As he did so the grating of ot bars fell out and he ho thrust thrust- his head quickly through the hole looking down to the ground twenty feet below He lie endeavored to push his shoulders through the window- window frame but they wets wece too broad Glancing Glanc ing lag up at the bank bink roof he found it quite as impossible that any anyone one could have reached the ventilator from Cram there thereas as from the ground The only chance was that the window had been gained from Cram the adjoining building a n vaudeville vaudeville vaude vaude- ville theater twenty feet Ceet away which 0 made it seem seem unlikely Wriggling back tl through the tho n window Christopher Poe Pac descended at once to the floor of the bank The cashier and several clerks stood in an astonIshed astonished astonished aston aston- group evidently awaiting an exPlanation explanation explanation ex ex- from Crom their Eccentric director But they received no satisfaction See you later po Poe nodded to the cashier and strolled out Turning the corner corner he followed the sidewalk which led him to the rear of the bank He lie stepped into th the twenty ty foot ty-foot foot gap between gap between the bank and the vaudeville house and picked pice up the steel grating which had its window wIndow frame Rotten he commented twisting out a corroded bolt Been there twenty years years without tJ attention Too small all a a U thing to to be worth loo looking a ti after f Cr- Cr I ft rw y f. f i He threw the window window grating grating down disgustedly and glanced up at the wall of ot the theater opposite There was a fire escape jutting out about two feet beyond the line Une of ot the building almost opposite the middle ventilating window window window win win- dow in the bank and only two feet teet lower down but eighteen feet teet away The flicker of at an idea flashed in Foes Foe's violet eyes he be entered the lobby of ot the theater and with some difficulty obtained permission to explore the seldom used seldom used fire Standing on the narrow landing outside outside outside out out- side a second story second story window he learned that the fire escape was of ot the self self- adjusting counter balance order order order-an an arrangement devised so so that the lowest lowest low low- ow- ow est section would connect with the ground only when actually needed The iron stairs formed a a ladder about fifteen t feet et long lone which jutted straight out from the fire-escape fire landing and was balanced by weights in such a away away away way that when a person stepped out outon outon on n the horizontally lly placed ladder it went down with the weight and reached the ground readily righting itself again Poe Foe tested the working of the extension exten lion sion stair staIr ladder ladder and calculated with witha a quick eye that if It an agile man were to run out rapidly not giving the ladder much time in which to descend with his weight he he- might if It he were were wonderfully dexterous of limb fall tall flat fiat forward from the end of ot the descendIng descending descending descend descend- ing ladder and catch at the ledge to the middle window in the bank opposite opposite op op- op- op thus spanning an apparently unbridgeable gap of at eighteen feet Having assured himself that this was possible Christopher Poe Foe climbed the four tour flights of at fire-escape fire stairs and finally emerged on the theater roof There he Inspected the door leading below and found it securely locked from the inside inside Then he made madea a circuit of the roof root space searchIng searchIng searching search- search Ing everywhere for tor certain traces he hoped to discover but finding noth noth- ing He seemed disappointed in this this' and made a second careful search but that too proved fruitless Without further loss of ot time he hurried down the fire fire escape escape entered by the window that had been for him and asked the janitor to take tak him up the inside stairway The mad man did so and Poe Foe examined the pad pads pinochle Its It's a happy lucky happy lucky go-lucky place sir air I see see- Play poker too asked Poe taking out his pencil and working work workIng working work work- ing a white poker chip chIt alon along the bo bottom bottom bot bot- tom of at Pollys Polly's cage toward the wires Polly snapped at the chip with her beak but finally Poe managed to extract extract extract ex ex- ex- ex tract it and hold it up for the janitor to see Polly screaming Hello What are you up to No They aint none of at em plays 1 F her ler here The Janitor scratched hs hIs head and looked at the chip Dont know where she could a picked that up It weren't here yesterday That's the trouble of ot keepin birds where folks talks goes an comes as they pleases Youre sure that chip wasn't there yesterday I Y Yes 9 I J cleaned her cage Do any of at the boys you speak of play poker anywhere queried Poe quickly Oh I 1 spose so Some of em aint got else to to- the Io-the do the Human Frog for tor instance he aint had hadan anen engagement engagement en en- in twenty years All right thank you replied Poe stepping to the door and making a mental note of the relative position of the parrots parrot's cage and the key hangIng banging on the wall le Ike slipped the janitor a half dollar halt dollar turned and hurried abruptly abrupt abrupt- ly down the stairs stairs On the street again Poe walked up Broadway and entered a saloon near Forty second Forty second street well known as a rendezvous of ot the sporting fraternity Slivers Poe beckoned aside a flaccid flaccId faced faced man with a confidence confidence- begetting Iron Iron gray gray mustache who was leaning against the bar chewing a tooth toothpick tooth pick Slivers a picker pIcker up up for tor a gam gambling bUng bUng- house in the neighborhood bowed and hurried to Poes Poe's side glancing up at him in the swift anxious manner of at a fortune follower scenting somethIng something something some some- thing In the shape of at ob oblong ng money Poe extracted the poker chip he had rescued |