The Burglars Fate and The Detectives | Page 8

calling upon her. At this point Mrs.
Patton excused herself, and retired, with the evident intention of
leaving them alone.
Manning quietly and delicately made his inquiries, and the girl
answered them in a plain, straightforward manner. Her story
corroborated all that had previously been related by young Pearson, and
left no doubt in the mind of the detective that the occurrences of the
eventful afternoon had been correctly detailed. He could not, however,
control the doubtfulness that was impressing him with regard to Eugene
Pearson.
"I cannot forbear the thought," said he, when Miss Patton had
concluded her story, "that if Mr. Pearson had displayed a reasonable
amount of manly bravery, this robbery could not have taken place."
"There is something very strange to me," said the girl, musingly, "about
the manner in which Eugene acted; and--there are some things that I

cannot understand."
"Would 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.