THE MILL MYSTERY.
“Have you heard the news--great excitement--big robbery--everybody
talking about it--hurry up!”
It was thus Andy Rush greeted Ned the next morning as he stopped at the
latter’s house on the way down town. Andy’s hair was more disarranged
than ever, and his blue eyes fairly shone.
“What’s up?” asked Ned, who had come to the door in answer to Andy’s
whistle, having been met with the flow of words that startled him.
“Last night--midnight, I guess--Judson’s mill--thousand dollars--great
excitement--safe blown open--money taken--detectives notified--I’m off
to see the fun--hurry up!”
“Hold on!” called Ned. “I saw--I know--” and then he stopped. The memory
of what he had seen in the night; the light in the mill, the actions
of Bill Berry, and his meeting with Noddy Nixon, who carried a square
box; all this came to Ned in an instant. He was about to tell Andy, but
on second thought decided that he had better keep his own counsel, at
least, for a while.
“Coming along?--no time to lose!” cried Andy.
“I’ll be down after I have breakfast,” replied Ned, waving a farewell to
Andy, and returning to the house sorely puzzled.
He ate his breakfast rapidly. He hardly knew what to do in reference
to what he had witnessed during his watch at the mill. After some
thought he decided to wait a little while, learn more particulars of the
robbery, and then relate everything to his father.
In a little while Mr. Slade left the house and Ned soon followed. When
the lad reached the centre of the town it needed no one to tell him that
there was considerable excitement. In a small place like Cresville news
spreads quickly even without a daily paper.
Ned soon found his chums, Bob and Jerry.
“Have you heard about it?” demanded Ned.
“Yes, Andy Rush told me,” said Jerry.
“And he told me, too,” put in Bob. “That fellow is as swift as his name.”
“Did you hear any particulars?” demanded Ned.
“It was an old-fashioned safe, according to what the policeman told
me,” said Jerry, “and the burglars had little trouble in getting it
open.”
“Did they blow it apart?”
“No, simply took a chisel and hammer and cut the lock out. The door was
only soft iron.”
By this time the three boys were near the mill. There was quite a crowd
about, and several policemen were on guard, preventing any one, but
those having business, from entering the establishment.
“One side, please,” called a man suddenly, coming up behind the three
chums. “I’m in a hurry.”
The boys turned aside, to give passage to a short, stout fussy man, who
seemed in a tremendous state of excitement.
“That’s Sheriff Blackwell,” said Jerry. “I suppose he thinks the robbers
are here waiting for him to arrest them.”
There was really little news of the robbery to be had. Mr. Judson
related what particulars he knew to the police.
“I had a little more than one thousand dollars on hand late yesterday
afternoon,” he said to the officers. “Several people paid me some bills,
and, as it was late, I didn’t go to the bank, but locked the money up in
the safe. I seldom do this, as the iron box is no match for burglars.
“As far as I know the only persons who knew the money was in the safe
were my son and myself. I am sure neither he nor I told any one.”
“We must get right to work looking up clues,” said the sheriff.
But there were apparently no clues. As has been said, the door of the
safe was of soft iron. The robber, or robbers, had used a cold chisel
and a hammer, and cut out a section of the door around the big clumsy
lock. Then it was a comparatively easy matter to get at the cash. The
thieves had left nothing behind them that would throw any light on the
mystery.
Having learned all they could, and seeing that there were likely to be
no developments at the mill, the three chums wandered up the street. All
the while Ned was busy thinking. Finally he said:
“Boys, I’ve something to tell you. I want to ask your advice. It’s about
the robbery. Come where we can find a quiet place.”
Soon the three chums were sitting comfortably beneath a big oak tree,
that cast a pleasant shade from the sun, which was already hot, though
it was early in the day.
“Now, let’s hear the yarn,” said Chunky.
Thereupon Ned told what he had seen while watching the mill the previous
night.
“Well, I should say you did know something about the robbery,” commented
Jerry. “Why didn’t you tell this to the police?”
“I did think of it,” said Ned. “But I wanted to get some advice first.
You see the light may or may not have had a connection with the crime.”
“Yes, but it looks suspicious, seeing Bill Berry around,” came from Bob.
“Are you sure it was him?” asked Jerry.
“As sure as I am that I’m talking to you now.”
“And are you just as positive that it was Noddy?”
“Even more so. Wasn’t I talking to him?”
“And he said he had fish bait in the square box?”
“He didn’t exactly say so, but he intimated as much.”
“If it was fish bait, why should he try to hide it, as you say he did?”
asked Jerry.
“That’s what puzzles me,” replied Ned. “I only wish I had seen what Bill
saw in the mill office when the light was burning.”
“Maybe Bill is the robber,” suggested Bob.
“I hardly think so,” was Ned’s opinion. “He may have had some connection
with it, and may even have known about it. But, in my opinion the person
who took the thousand dollars was the person who had the light in the
office, and that wasn’t Bill.”
“Do you--do you think Noddy--er--Noddy took the money?” asked Bob in a
hesitating tone. He felt rather delicate about accusing an acquaintance,
even one so undesirable as Noddy, of a serious crime.
“Well, I hate to think so, but it does look suspicious,” said Ned. “He
certainly acted afraid because he met me.”
“Could any one get out of the office any way except going through the
front door?” asked Bob.
“Yes,” replied Ned. “There is a back door that goes out into the mill
yard. From the yard a person could pass onto the road along the river,
and then come up along the north side of the mill fence, on Peterson
street.”
“And it was at the corner of Peterson street and Maple alley that you
met Noddy, wasn’t it?”
“That’s just where it was.”
There was silence for a few minutes among the boys. Each one was busy
with disagreeable thoughts.
“Did any of you hear how the mill office door was opened?” asked Ned.
“The lock wasn’t forced on either the back or front door,” answered
Jerry. “So I was told. The police think the robber used a skeleton key.”
“Then it comes right down to a question. Is Noddy Nixon guilty?” asked
Bob solemnly.
“It’s hard to decide,” replied Ned. “I’d hate to accuse any one, even
when things look as suspicious as they do now. Do you think I ought
to tell the police? Perhaps they will arrest both Bill and Noddy on
suspicion.”
“You’d have to be a witness against them, and that would not be very
pleasant,” suggested Jerry. “Besides their word would be as good as
yours in court, and you have no proof. I think the best thing to do is
to wait a while. If suspicion points more strongly to Noddy or Bill,
then you can come forward and tell what you know.”
“Then I’ll wait a while,” said Ned. “In the meantime we can, all three,
have an eye on Noddy and Bill. They may do something or say something
that would give us a clue.”
“There’s another thing I don’t believe any of us have thought of,” came
from Jerry.
“What’s that?”
“Why, you know, Mr. Nixon, Noddy’s father, owns several shares in
Judson’s mill.”
“Are you sure of that?” asked Ned.
“Positive. I heard mother saying something about it the other day. It
seems the concern was made a stock company not long ago, and Mr. Judson
wanted mother to invest some of her money in it. He remarked at the time
that Mr. Nixon had taken ten shares of the stock, and thought it a good
investment.”
“That might or might not throw additional suspicion on Noddy,” remarked
Ned. “If he knew his father was interested, financially, in the iron
mill, he hardly would take money that he knew might cause his father a
loss.”
“Well, all this talking don’t bring matters any nearer a solution,” said
Jerry, finally. “I think all we can do is to wait and watch.”
“And meet every day to compare notes,” suggested Ned.