Amazing Stories, Vol. 3, No. 2 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE GREAT FOUR DIMENSIONAL ROBBERIES are turned in the lock, the door of the compartment opens. The valuables are contained in a tin box which may be removed and taken to a table in the middle of the vault, or, in case a customer wishes privacy, he may go into a small room or closed booth adjoining the vault. “When the attendant unlocks your box, he immedi- ately removes the bank’s master key, but leaves your key in the lock. On replacing your box, you close the door and turn the key, thus locking the compartment. So you see that, while the bank’s key is needed to — unlock the door, only your own key is needed to lock it. Is all that clear?” T assured him that it was. He continued thus: “The method used by the bank employee in Los Angeles was so simple that it’s funny no one ever had thought of it before. He would notice the customers that were in the habit of taking their valuables into. one of the private booths and staying there for some time. When, as it frequently happened, the vault was unoccupied while one of these customers was going through his papers, the bank attendant would remove the customer’s key, make a wax impression of it, and quickly put it back in the Jock again. — “From this wax impression he would file out a duplicate key, and the next time he was alone in the vault, he would open the patron’s box and rifle it of its contents, after which he would lock it. In this way he lifted about a hundred thousand dollars worth of bonds, but we set a trap for him and finally landed him in jail. = “A confidential report of this case was sent to the president of every bank in the country and practically - all of them adopted the rule of requiring all customers who left the vault to take their keys with them. That rule was being enforced in the Milwaukee bank at the time the big robbery took place there, so the wax impression scheme could hardly have been used. An- other thing that made us give up the idea that this was an inside job was the fact that the only person who was in a position to pull anything of this sort was the man who had reported finding the insurance policy. Naturally, if he were a thief, he would have known better than to throw the policy in the waste-basket and even if he had been such a dumb-bell, would not have reported it to the bank officials. “At that, we put the poor guy through the third degree and checked up on his private life and the amount of money hehad been spending, but we couldn’t get anything on him. ; “Just about this time, five other banks—four in Chi- cago and one in Detroit—reported similar robberies and we knew at once that the jobs were being pulled from the outside and that we had to deal with one of the cleverest and most dangerous crooks that ever lived.” “But surely, you don’t suspect me!” I blurted out. Dern grinned and Clancy laughed out loud. “Say, kid,” the latter chuckled, “didn’t you hear the = chief say that this guy is one of the cleverest and most dangerous crooks that ever lived? think that picture fits you, do you?” “Oh, I see what you are driving at. You don’t think ~ course we don’t suspect you. he certainly | dimension. You don’ t. 105 I’m clever enough to be a crook,” I said in rejoinder. Clancy opened his mouth for a comeback, but Dern cut him short. “Shut up, Clancy, and let me do the talking.” To me he said, “Don’t mind him. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by that crack.” Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he again addressed his assistant. “You know, Clancy, sometimes these college guys are smarter than they look. Remember the D’Autremont case? If it hadn’t been for the accurate description of the crooks which a California professor doped out of an old pair of overalls, we’d never have caught those birds. “But to answer your question,” he resumed. “Of I don’t mind telling you though that we did check up on you—just as a measure of precaution. But, since you have not been outside of Winchester for over three months, you have an iron- clad alibi and a clean bill of health. The reason we came to you is that you are an expert on the fourth dimension.” I protested: “T’m afraid you have been misinformed. I know a little bit about hyper-space, but hardly enough to be called an expert.” “But didn’t you invent some kind of jigger for taking out a man’s gizzard without opening him up?” “You mean the Hyper-Forceps. But it wasn’t my invention, I merely helped Professor Banning work out the mechanical details of his idea. Furthermore, since it was just a forceps or device for picking up articles and had no cutting edges, it could be used only for removing unattached articles like foreign substances and gall-stones.” “Nevertheless, you may be able to help us. Perhaps we are on a wild goose chase, but we have learned that m tracking criminals, we can't overlook even the most insignificant clew or the most improbable possibility, if you know what I mean. “Our coming to you was suggested by a newspaper story. In referring to the lack of any satisfactory explanation of the series of robberies, the reporter said, ‘the robber must have worked through the fourth dimension.’ “All I want to find out from you is whether it) would actually be possible for anyone to remove the contents from a safe deposit box without opening the door.” “As easy as shooting fish,’ IT assured him. “I could do it myself with the Hyper-Forceps.” A “The hell you could !” This was from Clancy. “Excuse me, Mister Clancy,” said Dern in a sweet tone of voice, “but suppose you try keeping your ears open and your mouth shut.” Then, turning to me. “Please pardon the interruption. You were just say- ing that with the Hyper-Forceps you could remove the contents of a safe deposit box without opening the door. Would you mind explaining just how this aston- _ ishing thing could be done?” “Not at all. Simply by moving it through the fourth Are you familiar with the fundamental principles of hyper-space ?” “Tm afraid not, although I have read the two maga- zine stories which you wrote on the subject.” “So did I,” the unsuppressible Clancy butted in. COMmMicookxs.cOnn