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curtly and, without another word, opened the door of the cage, passed out and let it slide to behind him. Stevens watched him with a rather grim smile as he disappeared. The bank was closed to the public. Stevens remained alone in the teller's cage. One by one the clerks and as sistants went out. Presently nobody was left in the bank except the watchman, Wrigley, the cashier, and himself. Then Stevens hastily trans ferred five packages of ten hundred dollar bills apiece to his coat pocket, finished his work and took the money to the safe. Wrigley joined him. Stevens' pre tense of counting it was not elabor ate. Wrigley had taken off his glasses-and was thinking of his home. Presently the safe door slammed and, with, a courteous "good-bye," Stevens found himself in the street. He jumped aboard a car and de sended half a mile away, at the fur nished room house in which his new home 'Was to be. He had already transferred his baggage to the rail road station by cab, and had had it expressed thence a few days later. He had left no clue behind him. That evening for the first time in months he had dinner at a restau rant. He smoked a cigar, strolled about town and finally went home and to bed. Not until next morning did he open the packages of bills. When he did so he saw to his hor ror that they were valueless. Every one except the top bill In each pack age was a Confederate greenback. Instead of the five thousand dollars which he had imagined was in his possession he had just five hundred barely enough to pay the doctor's expenses. Stevens was paralyzed with dis may. His coup was useless, and he had spent about twenty dollars mov ing and on the dinner of the preced ing evening. There was only one course now to go back and smug gle the money into the drawer again, this time not under the listless watch ing of Wrigley, but "under the eagle glances of Waterbury. A wave of disgust and utter self contempt passed over Stevens. Fate had dealt him the worst, because the most unexpected, blow. Well, he would go back on the following morning; he could somehow contrive to replace the money; at the worst suspicion need not fall upon him, and when the money was found the matter would cease to be of pressing interest. Stevens spent a miserable night Remorse, disgust, self-loathing, and a vast pity for nis helplessness to make Mary's life happy struggled within him. When at last he reached the bank it was to find the officers gath ered together in .groups, eagerly dis cussing something. "You've, heard the news, Stevens?" inquired Wrigley. t ? "No," answered Stevens. "Waterbury's dead." -. The room seemed to swim round Stevens. He Bardthe old man's voice continuing, as it far away. "Yes," he -was. killed in the wreck on the Southern & Eastern this morn ing. He was thenf' four hundred miles away from New York, and his clothes were stuffed with bills ag gregating twelve thousand dollars. We've searched the safe and find he had filled it with Confederate bills, with a single good one on top of each package. They're counting up the loss now." Stevens staggered into his cage. "Mr. Harrison wants to see you," announced a boy presently. Stevens went Into the president's office as If he were drunk. "Ah, Mr. Stevens, this is a very un fortunate occurrence' said the presi dent. "You have heard of it,, pf course. Unfortunately there seems to be no room for doubt as to Mr. Waterbury's purpose, and, more hap pily, I don't think Tve shall be the losers, as we should "have been but for that unfortunate wreck. Well, Mr. Stevens, we are going" to ask you.