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A v jJ J JJ r J I t i 1 True T 1 rue Y 11 f t Detective Stories t I MATTER OF MINUTES t b r Copyright by The Wheeler Syndicate Ina me InaIT T WAS evident that the robbery robber IT I of the Rock flock Island Express had been effected In less than a guar ter of an nn hour The express car had been hitched on Immediately behind the engine and one of the firemen recalled having seen Deen Kellogg the messenger mes meso messenger ch checking up his accounts about fifteen minutes bet before ore the train pulled Into Morris III Ill The n next time he glanced up a shade had been pulled across the tIle window v of the express car and the first he knew of the robbery was after the train stopped at Morris and Pitney the Ule brakeman shouted out that Kellogg had been killed and that thousands of ot dollars was missing from the safe Jameson who rho was In charge of ot t the baggage car directly behind the express express ex ex- press car provided what appeared to tobe tobe tobe be the only clue to the crime by statIn stating stating stat stat- In ing that shortly after the fhe train left Jollet JolIet a man In a red mask had hall entered entered entered en en- his car held him up at the point of a revolver and had then passed paE Sed through to the car beyond leavIng leaving leaving leav leav- ing Jameson In charge of another masked man who had disappeared as the train slowed down at Morris I was scared stiff admitted the and didn't dare budge The express authorities at Morris promptly sidetracked the express car and wired the tile details of the case to William A A A. PInkerton who arrived only a few hours later Meanwhile llan however the contents of the safe had been checked up and It was discovered discovered discovered dis dis- covered that more than was fiS ml missing Kellogg the messenger er was dead dearl but hut before dying he had evidently evidently evidently evi evi- dently given gl a good account of himself Before Defore he lid did anything else Pinkerton Pinkerton Pinkerton Pinker- Pinker ton walked back over the track on which the train had come Into Morris Less than half a mile out he discovered dis dig discovered covered a red mask lying clo close e to the track and he also noted n a most significant sig fact although fact although there was more than a foot font of snow upon the ground there thre were no prints foot within a u quarter mile of the mask Returning to Morris the detective commenced his examination of the express express express ex ex- press car but failed to find anything of value alue Close Inspection of the body of the dead messenger however brought to light another point which PInkerton felt certain ought to prove valuable Under Kelloggs Kellogg's finger nails was a acon con considerable ld roble quantity of what at first appeared to b be wet paper or pulp cf some sonic kind but which the detective recognized as the outer layers cf tf f human skin torn off during the struggle when the messengers messenger's fingers were fighting to secure a n hold upon his assailant I Upon returning to Chicago Pinkerton Pinkerton Pinker Pinker- ton at nt once requested the officials o of the road to have all the men employed ed edon on the train come to his office one b by one to be Interviewed Jameson he lie directed was to be the time last man set sett t. t When Pitney the brakeman entered entered en en- PInkerton did not overlook the fact that he was dressed d In a new nw outfit which was distinctly above e his sphere In life From the points of his glossy shoes to the top of his new derby the brakeman had evidently treated himself to a new brand wardrobe wardrobe ward ward- robe In honor of ot his Interview with the famous detective In spite of the he fact act that he be had very little to tell It H t was wa he who had discovered the robbery but he had seen nothing of the man ninn in the red mask thou though h Jameson's excited recital of the holdup holdup holdup hold hold- up had caused him immediately to Investigate the express car That was Just as we were pulling pilling Into Morris concluded the bral brakeman eman find I pave gave a yell ell the minute I saw what t hl they had done to Kellogg what I wanted to talk to ou j-ou ou about about said PInkerton Sit down wont won't you ou And take off ort your coat cont Its It's warm In here Your our gloves too he added noting that Pit Pit- pey kept hi his hands covered ered After a n moments moment's he hesitation the brakeman peeled off his new gloves end and PInkerton had difficulty in concealIng concealing concealing conceal conceal- ing a start of satisfaction The Time hacks backs of the roars mars hands were seamed and scored Morell with a network of scratches I Been neen pla playing with with the cat inquired In Inquired Inquired In- In PInkerton casually No no Pitney replied I r got those handling a busted trunk a n few nl nights ago and then he launched Into a description dc of his experiences on the night of the time robbery When he had hall finished Pinkerton thanked him and bowed him out of the time office but the muffled buzz of n a hell bell In the anteroom Informed the men stationed there that Pitney was to be followed night and day So far as I was concerned Pinkerton Pinker Pinker- ton suld said later the case cafe ended right right- there The backs back of PItney's hands coupled with the absence of prints foot In the vicinity of the red mask mask mask- which proved that the Job had been I handled by someone on the train train train- pave gave e the whole thing thins dead awa away There There had been no hold up in the baggage baggage baggage bag bag- gage car Therefore Jameson was In Inthe Inthe inthe the game too The Time pair of them had framed up a n most plausible story which If It hadn't been for the time shreds of skin under the dead mans man's nails nalls stood a n good chance of ot being bc believed As It was my ray men shadowed them I until they got careless and began spending their stolen money Then we I we e closed In recovered all but 2000 and sent the pair to the penitentiary I for tor life Dead men may not tell tales but but sometimes their fingers do t |