THE STORE ROBBERY
“What’s the matter?” asked Jerry as Ned came down on the dock, his face
quite pale, and, evidently laboring under some excitement.
“Store--robbed--last--night!” panted Ned.
“Whose store?” asked Jerry and Bob together.
“Father’s,” replied Ned. “They just discovered it, and I came to tell
you we’d have to delay the trip. They got in last night, and got away
with about three thousand dollars in money and jewelry. About one
thousand was in cash. It’s a big loss. Now I’ve got to go back and help
dad.”
“Who did it?” asked Bob.
“That’s what they’d like to find out, Chunky,” said Jerry. “I don’t
s’pose the burglars left their cards, with their addresses on, behind
them.”
“Great excitement! Terrible! Awful! Big robbery! ’Bout a million loss!
General alarm sent out! Get the detectives to work! Send for blood
hounds! Notify the sheriff and start a hunt! This is the greatest thing
that’s ever happened!”
The boys turned to see whence the torrent of words proceeded.
“I might have known it was Andy Rush,” said Jerry. “Is there anything
else, Andy? Haven’t you forgotten something?”
“Oh yes! I forgot to tell you. I have a clue to the thieves!”
“What?” cried all the boys at once.
“That’s what,” said Andy, growing more calm as the others grew excited.
“I went over the place as soon as I heard of the robbery, and I got the
clue. I’m going to be a detective some day. You just keep your eye on
me.”
“It’s all we can do to keep track of what you are saying,” said
Ned, “let alone what you are going to do. But tell us about it. I’m
interested.”
“Let Ned tell us of the robbery first,” suggested Bob.
This was voted a good idea, and Ned related how, when his father’s
department store was opened in the morning, it was discovered that
the safe had been blown open, and the money and jewelry stolen. In
addition the thieves had carried off some solid silver tableware, and a
few rolls of valuable silk.
“How did they get in?” asked Bob.
“That’s the funny part of it,” replied Ned. “There’s no trace of
anything being forced, not a door or window is disturbed, as far as we
can learn.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Andy calmly. “That’s where my clue
comes in. I know how they entered.”
“Then why didn’t you tell the police about it?” demanded Ned somewhat
indignantly.
“Because no one asked me to,” answered Andy. “I wanted to tell you, but
I couldn’t find you so I came here, as I thought you’d be starting on
the trip.”
“Well, you can tell me now, Andy,” remarked Ned.
“I can explain it better if we go up to the store,” Andy answered. “I
want to show you just how it was.”
“We might as well go there,” came from Jerry. “We will not undertake
the trip to-day. To-morrow or next day will do as well. Besides, maybe
we can help your father, Ned.”
“I don’t want to spoil your fun,” interposed Ned. “But I’ve got to
stay home for a few days anyhow. You could go on without me.”
“We’re not going,” said Bob stoutly.
“No indeed,” chimed in Jerry.
The boys talked of nothing but the robbery as they started back towards
Cresville, having locked the boat up. When they got to Mr. Slade’s
store they found a big crowd about the place. They elbowed their way
through the throng and were about to enter, when a little man with a
small bunch of whiskers on his chin stopped them.
“Here, where you boys goin’?” he asked.
“Inside,” answered Ned.
“I guess not, young man. I’m a deputy constable, sworn in special t’
maintain order an’ not to let anyone inside. I’m goin’ t’ do it, tew,
an’ you can bet your bottom dollar on it,” and the little man threw
back his coat and displayed a big tin star.
“Who swore you in?” asked Ned.
“Chief Dalton, that’s who, an’ I’ll arrest ye, if ye make any more
threatenin’ moves.”
“Well, it’s my father’s store, and these are friends of mine,” said
Ned. “We want to go in.”
“Look here!” exclaimed the little deputy excitedly. “Look me in th’
eye, young man,” and he pulled down the lower lid of the optic, placing
his face close to Ned’s.
“Looks all right,” said Ned, with a smile.
“Course it does; there nothin’ th’ matter with that eye. But d’ye see
anythin’ green in it?”
“No,” answered Ned.
“No, I guess not. I cut my eye teeth some time ago. Th’ last time I
bought a gold brick was so long ago I’ve forgotten it. You can’t come
it over me with any of your bunco games. I believe ye’re part of th’
robber gang!”
The little deputy seemed so impressed with his sudden idea that he was
for at once putting the four boys under arrest. He was only deterred by
the timely arrival of Chief Dalton, who had heard the disturbance and
come to see what it was about.
A word from him satisfied the constable, who was one of a number
hastily sworn in when it was found what a crowd had gathered on hearing
news of the robbery, and he let the chums pass.
“Come ahead boys,” said the chief. “This is a bad piece of work.”
“Do you think it has any connection with the Northville robbery?” asked
Jerry.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. But I haven’t time to talk. I’m trying to
get a clue to start with, and I can’t seem to find any. I will before
night though.”
“Have you found where they got in?” asked Jerry.
“Not yet,” answered the chief. “Have you heard anything, Ned?”
“Andy here seems to think he has a clue,” replied the son of the store
proprietor. “Tell him about it, Andy.”
Andy blushed at the notice he was attracting from the head of the
Cresville police force.
“It was this way,” began Andy, when they had all entered the store,
which was deserted as far as customers went, since Mr. Slade had
ordered it kept closed. “I was one of the first to arrive. In fact I
was an early customer. I wanted to buy a new knife. So I was on hand
when the head clerk discovered the safe had been robbed. As I’m going
to be a detective, I decided I would look for clues. I couldn’t find
any around the safe, so, when the clerk ran to the telephone to call
for the police, I wandered through the store. No one noticed me, and I
soon found myself on the top floor. If you’ll come with me there I’ll
show you what I found,” and Andy started toward the elevator.
“Oh can’t you tell us without waiting all that while?” asked Ned who
was growing impatient as it really seemed Andy had discovered something.
“I can, but I can do it better if I point out to you what I saw,”
replied the boy. “Come on.”
They followed him. The elevator carried them to the top floor. No trade
was done there, as it was only a loft used for storing stock or goods
that were out of season. Andy led the way through the half darkness to
the rear. He stopped in front of a window the sill of which was thick
with dust.
“Look there!” he exclaimed, pointing to something in the soft and
fluffy covering of the sill. It was the print of a man’s foot.
“The mark of the arrow!” exclaimed Ned as he bent over it. “The same
man who stole our boat robbed the store!”
The party gathered around the window, the chief plainly excited at the
unexpected clue. The window had a large iron shutter on it, and this
was partly closed. The chief swung it open.
“There’s how the thieves got in,” said Andy, pointing to a window in
a building which was close to Mr. Slade’s store in the rear. In this
half-opened casement a plank could be seen sticking, as if some one
had pulled it part way in and then left it.
“There’s the bridge they came across on,” said the chief. “Sure enough,
Andy, you’ve discovered what I could not. Come on, we’ll make positive
of it.”
Down stairs the party hurried, and around the block to the building
which abutted Mr. Slade’s place in the rear. The structure contained
stores on the ground floor and apartments for several families above.
The top story was used as a lodge room. There was a hallway at one side
of the store entrance, which gave access to the flats above, and the
door to it, as the chief learned was never locked.
“They just waited their opportunity, went up to the lodge room, stuck
the plank across, and came in the window,” said Mr. Dalton.
“But the window did not appear to have been forced,” said Jerry.
“They didn’t have to force it,” replied the chief. “It has no lock on
it.”
Up to the lodge room went the chief and the boys, their entrance
attracting no attention, as the crowd, and most of Cresville’s idlers,
were in front of the robbed store.
“I thought so,” the chief said as he came to the door of the lodge
room where it opened from the hall. The portal had been forced. Through
the big apartment they tramped, and to the rear where there were
dressing and store rooms, seldom used.
“Look!” cried Andy, pointing to the dust covered floor. “The mark of
the arrow!”
There, plainly to be seen in the particles of dirt were the footsteps
of the mysterious man who had escaped the police in the motor boat
chase. The marks were all over, showing that the one who made them had
tramped about the room making his arrangements to rob the department
store.
“There was some one with him,” the chief said.
“How can you tell?” asked Ned.
For answer the police official pointed to another series of footprints
in the dust. They were smaller than those with the arrow mark, and bore
no distinguishing imprint.
The board, a plank about ten feet long, had been dragged from a store
room as the marks in the dust showed. It had been drawn back only part
way, probably because the thieves had been in too much of a hurry to
leave after securing their booty.
Following the chief the boys descended the stairs from the lodge room.
The recent developments put a new light on the matter, though the boys
did not see how they could lead to the detection of the thieves.
“I must have a talk with some of the tenants of this place,” the chief
remarked.
They had reached the street by this time, and the boys were about to
leave. At that instant, Mr. Nixon, Noddy’s father came running up to
the head of the police force.
“I want your help!” Mr. Nixon exclaimed.
“What’s the matter?” asked the chief.
“Noddy has been kidnapped!”