The Argosy, April 1912 — page 157: what you’re looking at

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

FROM BOTH SIDES osity longer, again went to the vault, deci- ding to go over once more the entries of the securities on hand. But as he reached the threshold of the large steel room he stopped abruptly, then leaned forward eagerly, his eyes riveted to a spot in the center of the floor. There it was, plainly revealed by the narrow shaft of sunlight which came through the little barred window, high up in the wall. At first it had seemed only a broken arc of a circle, but as his eyes grew accus- tomed to the semidarkness, he plainly made out the entire ring, in a few parts of which the minutest holes appeared. Burrows was not slow or dull of com- prehension. As a matter of fact, he was exactly the opposite, and he immediately saw, or thought he did, the meaning of the whole thing. “Tt’s a tunnel!” he exclaimed aloud. ‘Some one has dug his way to a spot be- neath this vault, and that circle is where they’ve drilled for an opening into it. And just how soon—’”’ He staggered back a step, as he realized that Clayton must be the one who had dug the subterranean passage, in order to steal what securities there were in the vault, and in this way cover up his theft of those al- ready taken. When Burrows reached this conclusion he fell upon his knees to make a closer ex- amination. Then, satisfied, he hurried to the room where the directors were in ear- nest discussion. And as he entered they all turned questioningly toward him. “Gentlemen,” he began, and his voice rang clear and confident, “I trust you will pardon my intrusion, but I have come here to give you the particulars of a matter—” “Burrows, you shouldn’t come in here,”’ Clayton interrupted. “Pardon me, Mr. Clayton, but I have good reasons for coming, and I think these gentlemen will all agree with me when I tell them the vault of this bank is very apt to be found cleaned out any night. In fact—”’ “What’s this you’re saying?” the presi- dent broke in excitedly. The directors stared at Burrows with varying expressions on their faces—some leaned forward keenly, as if to better catch every word he uttered, while others lolled back in their chairs, their attitude showing that they considered his statement as one { emanating from a mind slightly disordered. circle ‘has been bored from beneath. OF THE BARS. 143 But Clayton’s expression seemed to be one of mute appeal. “What does he mean, Clayton?” Mr. Stanton queried, and the president turned to the cashier. “Do you know?” “No, he doesn’t,” Burrows stated before Clayton could reply. ‘“ No one knows of it except myself, and I just learned of it a moment ago. The floor of the vault has been pierced from underneath, and from what I can make out, a hole large enough to admit a man has been drilled in the floor.” “What are you talking about?” one of the directors queried scornfully. “If they’ve drilled a hole that size—” “You don’t understand me,’ Burrows went on. “ They’ve drilled in a circle large enough to admit a man, I should have said. In two or three places their drilling has just come through, leaving the tiniest holes. But as the sun struck the spot at a certain angle, I could plainly see where the. entire If you doubt my word, I can quickly prove it to you.” A brief but hurried consultation took place, and this in turn was followed by the president, the cashier and Bradshaw, one of the directors, going to the vault, leaving Burrows in the board-room to await their return. During this interval, many questions were put to him, and although some of them were asked in a tone of suspicion, he apparently gave no heed to this, and feeling that he had placed the bank under great obliga- tion to him by his discovery, made every effort to enlarge upon the importance of it. Presently, the three men reentered the room, all very visibly excited. They closed and locked the door after them. “He’s right!” Bradshaw burst out. “It’s there, just as he says! We all saw it!” His words, and the manner of Clayton and Stanton, now fully aroused the other directors, and the cashier went on to ex- plain all that they had seen. All the time he was speaking, Burrows watched him keenly, and felt that the man was avoiding his eyes, while he marveled at his coolness. “But where can the tunnel start?” one of the men asked. “That’s a question to which none of us can reply at present,” the cashier contended. “And for that matter, it may prove to be a very difficult one to answer.” GomiGcdoo S