The Burglars Fate and The Detectives | Page 8

you object to telling me what they are?" said the detective. "Perhaps I can enlighten you."
"Well," responded the girl reluctantly, "I fear that Eugene has not told the entire truth in this matter."
"In what respect?" inquired the detective.
"I would not do anything to injure Mr. Pearson for the world, Mr. Manning, and he may have forgotten the circumstance altogether, but I am sure that I saw one of those robbers on two occasions before this occurred, in the bank and talking to Mr. Pearson."
"Why should he seek to conceal this?" asked the operative.
"That is just what I cannot understand," answered the lady.
"Tell me just what you know, and perhaps I can help you in coming to a correct conclusion."
"I don't like to say anything about this, but still I think it is my duty to do so, and I will tell you all that I know. More than two weeks ago, I returned from my dinner to the bank one day, and I saw this man in the private office with Mr. Pearson; I noticed then that their manner toward each other showed them to be old acquaintances rather than mere strangers. This man left the bank in a few minutes after I came in. He had the manner and appearance of a gentleman, and I did not think anything of it at the time."
"Did Mr. Pearson tell you who he was, or explain his presence there at that time?"
"No, I did not ask anything about him, and he did not mention the matter to me."
"When did you see them together again?"
"That same evening about dusk. I had been making a call upon a friend, and was returning home when I met them walking and conversing together."
"Did Mr. Pearson recognize you on that occasion?" inquired the detective.
"No, sir, he did not seem to notice me at all, and I passed them without speaking."
"You are quite sure about this?"
"Oh, yes, quite sure. I recognized him immediately when he came yesterday afternoon to leave the valise in the bank, and also when he came with the other man when the robbery was committed."
"Do you feel confident that you would be able to identify him, if you were to see him again?"
"I am quite sure that I would," returned the girl confidently, "his features are too indelibly fixed in my mind for me to make any mistake about it."
"Have you said anything to Mr. Pearson about this?"
"Yes; as soon as we were out of the vault, I said to him--'One of those men was the man who left the valise and the same one I saw in the office the other day.'"
"What reply did he make."
"He appeared to be doubtful, and simply said, 'Is that so?'"
"Very well, Miss Patton," said the detective at length, "we will look fully into this matter; but in the meantime, I particularly desire that you will say nothing to any one about what you have told me to-day. It is very necessary that a strict silence should be preserved upon this point."
The young lady cheerfully promised compliance with this request, and in a few moments the detective, after thanking her for her kindness in seeing him, arose and took his departure.
As he strolled back to the hotel, he revolved the information he had received carefully in his mind. He had also obtained from Miss Patton a description of the two men, and found that they agreed very nearly with what he had learned from Mr. Pearson. He went to his room immediately, and prepared a report of all that had transpired during the morning, carefully detailing all that he had heard relating to Mr. Pearson's alleged intimacy with one of the robbers, and of the successful attempt he made to extricate himself from the vault, by means of the ten-cent piece. After concluding his relations, he requested the assistance of another operative, in order that they might scour the country round about, in the hope of finding some clues of the escaping robbers.
On the next morning, operative Howard Jackson, a young, active and extremely intelligent member of my force, arrived at Geneva, and placed himself in communication with John Manning, for the continuance of this investigation.
When Manning's reports were duly received by my son, William A. Pinkerton, the superintendent of my Chicago agency, he gave the matter his most careful and earnest attention, and as he finished their perusal, he formed the opinion that young Pearson was not entirely guiltless of some collusion in this robbery. The more he weighed the various circumstances connected with this case, the more firm did this conclusion become, until at last he experienced a firm conviction that this young man knew more about the matter than he had yet related.
It seemed strange to him that a young, strong and active man like