Show t I 1 V I 1 0 cd rr 0 o 0 V j 01 in 0 M 4 A po as 4 1 I 1 the than 11 gd good end C counterfeit 0 u HA 0 I 1 it e r f e 1 t JEROME by W X 1 1 P GORIN I 1 er 1 copyright 1906 by br jerome P gorlo gorka 0 1 F 1 1 I 1 1 a i I 1 HE story of the great B ville bank robbery illustrates how a bad action may result in good and the villainy of one kind ind of criminals be the means 0 of 4 bringing malefactors I 1 of another sort to jus ice it also one of the hidden of matrimony and emphasizes tie 6 danger of dealing incautiously with but no one must inest suppose the moral ehte tale to be do evil that good hay follow far from it it has no toral I 1 1 it Is simply a narration of the vi cullar circumstances of an unusual x in r i tho year there were two tanua in 1 D ville fille a thriving little city within miles of new york wio file a rather father insignificant inele affair the he Woth bethany bros a re remarkably healthy arki prosperous concern for forso iso i pall a place I 1 arday oc oct B S when mr arries jr ries tj t e old cashier tor for bethany bathany I 1 ros emidd bored to open tho the big biff safe 0 o lock avo uld not respond to his 1 raft 1 1 pula I 1 tid ps and the hour for com bloss found bethany bros in the embarrass in e predicament of baving no rhoney with ith which to pay 91 4 f I 1 the nowry nc w quickly spread but al kheua th e a wore were not wanting enemies 9 insina tj that the reason given g alven was rusi ito to train gain time and that the illy ay iy a oi hole wasa vas improbably probably insolvent there as no rully earl earby la the morning a stranger call 01 wanting want ing ng change for a hundred dol lr lir beh t II 11 iio 0 stood around quite awhile to the bani cers excuses to biste pric bremers tr emers and others othera I 1 I 1 ahe A the he lock wont work dvork we cant open 1 he ile bate rep repeated james bethany for ii fiftieth time but ft a man from the afe cakora will be here at kj 7 md tomorrow we will vill be all right the sate was in plain alcha and as kauai the makers narno name W was as lettered n jt lt tho stran stranger xer expressed sympathy nd showed his in interest ferest by asking ausk lne cind and of similar questions ciany pan ea that had como to his knowledge retook the noon train for now new york ut lut before leaving leavin g lie he sent a long lone telo to one william westi west ram ain ln cipher a R i street new york I 1 the fact that ho he aeilt a telegram did until after the tot jot come out however I 1 macl jat t hah haa been dove done 4 A t 7 that ev evening g both the 11 e gathany t brothers and mr charles and when railroad station e arc r e itt at the 1 isa I 15 1 train train stopped tc a man inan carry lim a r g an d a j apall small valise S stepped off accosted b by J james arnes bethany aj t being eleb i sald bald he I 1 was waa the he tt after e batem eaten supper all four cj to the bank 11 v tile the marnina morn mor nIna nir tr 1 jr 1 ja M A 8 ab fore the safe eafe was waa opened and the lock put in order and oiled Gra gracious clous exclaimed mr dr Char charles leg 1 I suppose it would take halt hal f so I 1 I 1 long ions the expert explained that it was a very nn fin elock almost never setting out of order but when once it did so go wrong w was as very very dilli difficult cult to manip manipulate ulatO and adjust he set it on a new combination and flave 0 the numbers on a card to wr mr Cil charles arles when all was finished ho he presen presented present 4 id a form of receipt printed expressly for his fir firm which bethany bros signed showing that he had done the work how long it took what was waa the matter etc the bill for his services arid and expenses he said would besent by mall mail then the man whoso choso name was mein I 1 11 0 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 y t k 4 AI 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 ai 11 I 1 a I 1 I 1 t I 1 0 I 1 1 I 1 mr 1 71 e 0 I 1 W 0 i i HE SAID HE WAS THE PERSON EXPECTED t ert crt went to bed at the hotel T the he n next ext day saturday at noon ho left for new york the bank opened as 03 usual saturday and to dispel ariy any doubt as to its solvency the counter was piled high with I 1 I 1 curr currency eilcy I 1 monday morning when hen mr charles opened the safe ile he found a few dollars ln in specie and a slip af pf paper on which was scrawled you should change your name to E Z mark I 1 brother after the first shock was over which caused constein con consternation stern 11 tion bo bordering r diring on panic pa I 1 in the town telephonic communication muni cation N was ras had bad with the safe kulii b ui cje N ww X york ork louco I 1 the bangui safe company said that their man had not yet ret returned resumed umed buti but they listen for a moment to any doubts of his honesty the next day they telephoned that thata j mehnert had reported at the office ln an such condition that he could hardly walk or talk ills story was as follows on the th train in the seat just in front 1 of me were two men who fro from their conversation I 1 learned were ware in the I 1 safe company one of them was waa going to elmira on the same pame errand as aa my MV own to open a sate safe the other was a salesman on his way to chicago he asked mo me for a match and gave me a cigar they were extremely pleasant and pretty soon we were all three talking safe business after smoking the cigar I 1 dont remember r anything except vaguely that one of them go off aize train with me and we had something to drink when I 1 came to rry my senses monday afternoon I 1 was waa in a cheap hotel in buhalo I 1 move or speak but A a doctor came anil and got me on ma my feet the landlord wild a man claiming to be my brother brought me there early saturday In morning orning in a cab saying I 1 was on a spree that he had to cd to cleveland but would bo be back tuesday he paid three days board for me when I 1 found my satchels wore missing I 1 suspected that one atthe othe men had taken my place iaea at B D gilleand vil leand that the bank had been robbed all my money was waa gone but tho landlord bought rne me a ticket to new york and put roe me 0 on a tho train I 1 was very foolish and shall wever never get bet over it dt the amount aalen was in the neigh boyhood of it tiko take mex TOO me I X M W sharp of the detective firm of good sharp two minutes to evolve tho the correct theory of the way the thins thing had been do done ne I 1 the stranger who wan wanted teda a hundred dollar bill changed was waa the fload of a gang of three bank burglars business was to go about the country locating banks eaty easy to rob and that would probably yield q a good haul he happened into bethany dros bros just in the nick of time took in the situation at a glance and telegraphed hla his pal west full information and instructions west and the other member of the gang shadowed mehnert from the bangue peoples office to the train bought two tickets to buffalo talo planted themselves in the meat in n front of mel luel nert and lured him into conversation they were provided with drugged cigars and liquor and as aa they expected mehnert t fell into the trap aft er gaining possession of his sateh satchels ls 1 and credentials the rest was easy baay one of them took meinert to buffalo so Q j I 1 thoroughly drugged that he could not regain consciousness tor for two or three days thon then the other personated persona ted him at a iu ville tha gang leader did not 1 go isea w york but a about bo at halar wa train lil pals and mehnert had taken she ahe went a fear ta in miles iles beyond B D ville and joined 0 tsugi 11 than who had taken balcon erts 0 the poon noon train saturday both ge geta ting oft off at the next station they bought a cheap horse and auf buggy f ii tle i ae jaje and committed tho the robbery which as ui wa the combination I 1 or 4 tips tu UA I 1 I 1 I 4 1 was the easiest sort of an affair monday mornin jr when the crime was discovered i co verea they were in chicago chica go new 1 york canada or anywhere else they chose to go I 1 I went with bethany and mel lael nert hert 1 to the rogues gallery but neither fie lither could identity identify the stran geror the rann man who rapa irod the lock it was a more mere i coincidence that one ofie of the crooks bore a general to mehnert Mel 31 nert einert so that an ordinary vt of one i would fit the other they were doubtless the same gang that had been operating for some months montha in various parts of the country making long lone jumps and covering heir tracks with extreme cleverness william west was w as the only one the police had an idea about and they were wrong in that no 11 R street was a third rate ate 1 hotel h otel and saloon west had been there only a few days the proprietor had 1 za I 1 MN I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 2 d I 1 I 1 I 1 1 A I 1 A I 1 j I 1 I 1 I 1 0 I 1 11 a I 1 I 1 4 R y I 1 f t 9 I 1 1 I 1 1 I 1 0 I 1 k 1 1 1 I f k i I 1 r f 0 tt J SUCH A XAN CAME INTO THE never seen him before doubtless he be hid had a different address it if not a different nami nam every week the cae was plain enough but catching the criminal 8 and recovering part of the money was vas not accomplished I 1 shed for roon months this and was brought about only through a sad incident a lapse lape of honesty As has boon been said the te robbers took all the money except someer some emall nall change that Is all the good irr ioney there were a number of counterfeit bills I 1 ih in the safo safe that had been acau accumulating rn ti lating for years the robbers apparently itic think tl they I 1 eyne needed odid althou although gif they evidently lidd handled them while lookin looking sadly over these bills the only ones left mr ajr charles exclaimed claimed t a why I 1 they took tha food d counterfeit two twenty nty tha Wilkes barre bill I 1 I 1 asked quickly mr air charles repeated what lie he ii had said adding adaina that the bill in question was as tha best counterfeit ho he had ever geen ideen v do you remember the he number inquired wo we leave havet idt ln in tho iho letter book lao bo MPH replied i I 1 we aa aben t he bill I 1 oae tf 1 I 1 the bank to see what they thought of it on looking it up lie ha found that the fhe number I 1 wanted wa waa the upper upper left hand corner was torn tom off and there was a let letter ter S written in ink on the ba back ek in the lower left hand corner said mr air charles I 1 jotted all that down but observed 1 I cant believe they would take a bill marked like that and a counterfeit to boot there was considerable conald erable ar girmant over the matter and another bearc search h made for the bill it was there last week asserted mr charles for I 1 remember ber showing it to a traveling man fram from boston who had a counterfeit five passed gassed on hl hj m the day before lie he wanted my opinion of the five and then I 1 sho showed shoed ed him the Wilkes barre twenty and nd put it back on the pile of bad money in this pigeonhole I 1 from the moment the bill was first mentioned one of the clerks a young man who naho had boon been with the bank about a year seemed ll III 11 at ease he turned pale and finally blurted out yes they took lt tt but it was in the middle of a package of good money I 1 took 20 of good money ney saturday an and d substituted the counterfeit for it I 1 thought I 1 could replace tt it today and he burst into tears so they did take it said I 1 to myself and what Is better they dont know they have if and may pass it ou out not noticing that it Is kad bad I 1 bethany bros were bemb members ers of a bankers association that vigorously prosecuted bank crooks and through it nearly every bank in tho he country was asked to look out for the counterfeit twenty fully described in their circular and to keep the matter from the newspapers so that the robbers would not be notified lii in which case they would of course destroy the bill I 1 wrote the treasury department at washington requesting immediate information it the bill should ever be sent bent to them ten rafort hs to a day after the date of the robbery I 1 received word from washington that they were returning the counterfeit twenty to a bank in a town on cape cod the th ne next at dayl day L stepped up to ao the cashier of that bank and showed showed him the message that bill was waa deposited said he e by py mr bixby who kveps keeps a little hotel hoel around tho the corner and ho he redeemed it a few minutes ago he told me ho he got it florb fron a minister who la Is spending his v vacation here Thet themay Th eway A ivay I 1 remembered whom I 1 got it from esthe Is the corner was torn I 1 charged 10 cents befit for thai tha mr bixby want to pay it but when I 1 showed shoed him a package of mu currency cur roncy I 1 ayo ds s putting up that day to send to washington for foe re dempt damp lon tion he said he guessed it was only fair to pay something toward the expense of having on inquiry I 1 Hc arned that this bank was knot in the association and had riot received the circular then I 1 called on mr baxby amri uri bixby said he had given given the bill mackto back to the minister and pointed him out to me sitting on the ve veranda rands the minister had the counterfeit in ats h is fahd and was looking rue ruefully ruly at it when hen I 1 introduced myself ill 1 got this the other day lf said he be from a man inan whom I 1 carrl married I 1 ed 1 l ip n the loot the hotel he was a stranger at jurcso frere so am I 1 and lie he asked the hancl landlord 1 J to 0 direct him to I 1 a clergy I 1 mans jp muse u 9 e s aal ayl ay j ghe nghe wished to bo be mw ailed the woman anan a with him and aiwas stand in g mr baxby P re berred mir him i tome X t t r it aby 11 I 1 P 0 n se I 1 performed I 1 the ceremony czere ay and he jive luo this billas arcco a guiver saw U liza I 1 7 41 1 I 1 before and dont know where he Is staying or whether hp he Is still i in n town or not I 1 ills his description of the man tallied fairly well with tho the appearance of one of the gans gang and as he felt sure he would know him it if he saw him again we started out to walk about the town which was fairly swarming with summer boarders stopping at the office where the marriage license had been procured I 1 compared the sig signature a I 1 I 1 II W I 1 0 1 I 1 I 1 1 I IF k h I 1 4 I 1 b I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 at I 1 I 1 I 1 7 t I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 e f 11 1 0 I 1 II ac I 1 V 0 I 1 0 0 0 t 1 0 I 1 I 1 C 41 i T I 1 ai A 4 I 1 I 1 I 1 PUT A PISTOL TO HIS HEAD with the writing on the slip left jn the safo safe and decided they had both beeh written by the same hand the namo name signed was william weston not ailt quite or rather a little more than william I 1 I 1 J wesl wes t we failed to find him an and d I 1 re returned arned to the hotel lintel foi for supper 4 ilaff in g told that it was the invariable hb habit it of everybody man waman oman 1 and nd child to go firo to the bostom ovary every evening when ther the mall mail arrived ta chat hat it weston was waa still in town he h would surely be there with the rest reat of the population RM but although we watched until the office closed he appear lies fies gone I 1 concluded deject dejectedly edy then a thought struck me he may have designs on a bank here jf if so for this being Satur saturday deiy tonight la ii tho th very abr tanie ha would select to dd the job As A thero there was only one bank bafik q any consequence in the he place flit one oita th at had had bad the counterfeit twenty I 1 went at once to the cashiers bouso he wai was not 0 t a at t horne home but would be at 10 I 1 1 lm I 1 w halted a eted till he came yes res 1 said lie ho in response to my question sucha man as you came into the bank the tha other day with a cheap time lock appliance which tie be said would work v ork as well wel as the very costly ones he Moi argued that ia asi my bank Is situated ho iio sane burglar burgia ld attempt to blow open the safe therefore the danger was farat th at 1 I fridg lit compelled to opt oam ti it at the muse leof of A tuni |