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—■ ' "T THra m 't^Sk. /fig ""^g?^* - -■lTlT'^j-O'T7?*^-- -y"K'.'■ VI. —The Explosion ol tlie Treasury. When Jennie returned to Vienna and was once more installed in her luxurious rooms at the Palace Btetnheimer, she received in due time a copy of the Daily Bugle, forwarded to her under cover as a reg istered letter. The girl could not complain that the editor had failed to make the most of the news she had sent him. As she opened out the paper she saw the great black headlines that extended across two columns, and the news itself, dated not from Venice*, - but from Vienna, was in type a shade larger than that ordinarily used in. the paper and was double leaded. The headings were startling enough: PHANTOM GOLD. The Most Gigantic Robbery of Mod ern Times. The Austrian War Cheat Dynamited. Twenty Million Pounds In Gold Looted. Appalling; Disaster at the Treasury in Vienna. Four Men Killed and Sixteen Others More or Less Seriously Injured. "Dear me," the princess cried, in looking over Jen nie's shoulder at these amazing headings, "how like home that looks! The Bugle doesn't seem at all like a London journal. It reminds me of a Chicago pa per's account of a base ball match, a base ball match when Chicago was winning, of course, when Anson had lined out the ball from the plate to the lake front and brought three men in on a home run at a critical point in the game." "Good gracious!" cried Jennie. "What language are you speaking? Is it slang or some foreign tongue?" "It is pure Chicagoese, Jennie, Into which I oc casionally lapse even here in prim Vienna. I would like to see a good base ball match, with the Chicago HiiiS g'.'Uift Strong. Let us abandon this effete mon archy, Jennie, and pay a visit to America." "I'll go with pleasure if you will tell me first who looted the war chest. If you can place your dainty forefinger on the spot that conceals 200,000,000 florins in gold, I'll go anywhere with you." "Oh, yes, that reminds me. I spoke to my hus band this morning and asked him if he could get you enrolled as a special detective, and he said there might be some difficulty in obtaining, such an appoint ment for a woman. Would you have any objection to dressing as a nice young man, Jennie?" \; V "I'd very much rather not. I hope you didn't sug gest thai to the prince." The princess laughed mer rily and shook her head. "No; I told him 1 believed that you could solve the mystery if any one could, and, remembering what you had done in that affair of the diamonds, my hus band has the greatest faith in your powers as an In vestigator, but he fears the authorities here will be reluctant to allow a woman to have any part in the search. They have very old fashioned ideas about woman in Austria and think her proper place is pre siding over a tea table." "Well, if they only knew it," said Jennie, archly, "some things have been discovered over a teacup Within our own memories." "That is quite true," replied the princess, "but we can hardly give the incident as a recommenda tion to the Austrian authorities. By the way, have you noticed that no paper in Vienna said a single word about the robbery of the war chest It must have been telegraphed here very promptly from Lon don, and yet they do not even deny it, which is the usual way of meeting the truth." While they were talking a message came from he prince, asking if he might take the liberty of break ing in upon their conference. .. few moments after the prince himself entered the apartment and bowed courtly deference to the two ladies. "I have succeeded," he said, "beyond my expecta tions. It seems that a newspaper in London has* published an account of the whole affair, and the po lice, who were at their wits' end before, are even . more flustered now that the account of the robbery hag been made public." "Jennie has just received a paper from London," said the princess hurriedly, "which says the war chest of Austria has been robbed of 200,000,000 florins, but there is nothing about it in the Vienna press." "No," replied the prince, "nor is there likely to be. The robbery is now known to all the world except Austria, and I imagine nothing will be said about it here." "Is there, then, any truth In the report?" asked, the princess innocently. "Truth! It's all truth; that is just where the trouble is. There is little use in our denying it, be cause this London sheet is evidently well informed, and, to deny it, we should have to publish something about the robbery itself, which we are not inclined to do. It is known, however, who the two correspon dents of the London paper are, and I believe the police are going to make it so interesting for those two gentlemen that they will be glad to leave Vienna, for a time at least. Of course nothing can be done openly, because Englishmen make such a fuss when their liberties; are encroached upon. One of -the young men has been lured across the frontier by a bogus telegram, an"d 1 think the authorities will see that he does not get back In a hurry; the other we expect to be rid of before long. Of course we could expel him. but if we did it would be thought that we had done so because he had found out the truth about the explosion." "How did you learn about the explosion?" asked the princess. "Oh, I have known all there was to know ever since it happened!" The princess gave Jennie a quick look, which said as plainly as words, "Here was the news we wanted In our own household and we never suspected it." . "Why didn't you tell me about it?" cried the princess indignantly. ._. • -vf■; '■. "Well, you see, my dear, you never took any In terest in politics, and I did not think the affair would (Copyright, 1899, by the Author.) have auy attraction for you. Besides," he added, with a smile, "we were all cautioned to keep the mat ter as secret as possible." "Aud wonderfully well you have managed it!" exclaimed the princess. "That shows what comes of trusting a secret to a lot of men. Here it is published to all the world." "Not quite all the world, my dear. As I have said, Austria will know nothing about it." "The princess tells me," said Jennie, "that you were kind enough to endeavor to get me permission to make some investigation into this mystery. Have you succeeded:" "Yes, Miss Baxter, aa I have said, 1 have suc ceeded quite beyond my expectations, for the lady detective is comparatively a new thing in "Vienna. However, the truth is the police are completely in a log. and they are ready to welcome help from what ever quarter it comes. Here is a written permit from the very highest authority, which you are not to use except in a case of emergency. Here is also an order from the chief of police which will open for you every door in Vienna, and, finally, here is a badge whicn you can pin on some not too conspicuous portion of your clothing. This badge, I understand, is rarely given out. It is partly civil and partly military. You can show it to any guard, who will, on seeing It, give you the right of way. In case he does not, ap peal to his superior officer, and»kllow him to read your police permit. Should that fail then play your trump card, which is this highly important docu ment. "The director of the police, who Is a very shrewd man, seemed anxious to make your acquaintance be fore you began your investigations. He asked meNf you would call upon him, but seemed taken aback when I told him that you were my wife's friend and a guest at our house, so he suggested that you would in all probability wish first to see the scene of the explosion and proposed that he should call here with his carriage and accompany you to the treasury. He wished to know if 4 o'clock in the afternoon would suit your convenience." "Oh, yes," replied Jennie. "I am anxious to be sin at once, and of course I shall be obliged to him if he will act as my guide in the vaults of the treasury and tell me how much they have already discovered." "You must not expect information from the police —in fact, I doubt if they have discovered anything; still, if they have, they are more likely to keep It to themselves, and I imagine they will hold a pretty close watch on you and be more anxious to learn what 3'ou find out and thus take the credit, if they, can, than to furnish you with any knowledge of the affair they may happen to possess." "That is quite natural and only what one has a right to expect I don't wish to rob the police of any credit there is to be gained from this investigation, and I am quite willing to turn over to them what ever clews I may happen to chance upon." "Well, if yen can convince the director of that, you will have all the assistance he can give you. It wouldn't be bad tactics to let him know that you are acting merely jn an amateur way, and that you have no desire to rob them of their glory when it comes to the solving of the problem.". Promptly at 4 o'clock the director of the police put In appearance at the Palace Steinheimer. He proved to be a most obsequious, highly decorated old gentle man, in a very resplendent uniform, and he could hardly conceal his,surprise on learning that the lady detective was a woman so young and so pretty. Charmed as he was to find himself in the company of one so engaging, it was nevertheless evident to Jennie that he placed no very high estimate ou the assistance she might be able to give in solving the mystery of the treasury. This trend of mind, she thought, had its advantages,'for the director would be less loath to give her full particulars of what had already been accomplished by the police. Jennie accompanied the director to that extensive mass of buildings of which the treasury forms a part. The carriage drew up at a doorway and here tho director and his companion got out. He led the way Into the building, then descended a stair, entered au arched corridor, at the door of which two soldiers stood on guard, who saluted as the chief passed them. "Does this lead to the room where the explosion took place?' asked Jennie. "Yes." "And is tins the only entrance?" "The only entrance, inadaukV "Were the men ou guard in this doorway injured by the explosion : •Yes. They were not seriously injured, but were rendered incapable for a time of attending to their duties." "Then a person could have escaped without their seeing him?" "A whole regiment of persons might have escaped. You will understand exactly the situation if I com pare this corridor to a long cannon, the room at the end being the breechloading chamber. Two guards were Inside the room and two others outside the door that communicated with this corridor. These four men were killed instantly. Of the guards Inside the room not a vestige has been found. The door, one of the strongest that can be made, somewhat similar to the door of a safe, was flung outward aud.cmshed to the floor the two guards who stood outside it In the corridor. Between the chamber in which the chest lay and the outside entrance were sixteen men on guard. Every one of those was thrown down, for the blast, if I may call it so, traveled along this straight corridor like the charge along the inside of a gun barrel. The guards nearest the treasure cham ber were, of course, the more seriously injured, but those farther out did not escape the shock, and tITe door by which we entered this corridor, while not blown from its hinges, was nevertheless forced open, its strong bolts snapping like matches. So when you see the great distance that interveDes between the chamber and that door you will have some idea of the force of the explosion." "There is no exit, then, from the treasure cham ber except along this corridor?" "No, madame. The walls of the chamber are of enormous strength, because, of course, it was expect ed that if an attempt at robbery were ever made It would be from the outside, and It is scarcely possible that even the most expert of thieves could succeed In THE ST. PAUL GLOBE, SUNDAY, JUI,y 0, 1899. passing the two guards at the door, sixteen guards and officers along the corridor, two outside the treas ury door and two in the chamber itself. Such a larg« number of soldiers were kept here so that any at tempt at bribery would bo impossible. Amocjf such a number one or two were sure to be Incorruptible, and the guards were constantly changed. Seldom was either officer or man twice on duty here during the month. With 6uch an enormous amount at stake every precaution was taken." "Are there any rooms at the right or left of this corridor in which the thieves could have concealed themselves while they fired the mine?" "No; the corridor leads to the treasure chamber alone." "Then," said Jennie, "I can't see how it was pos sible for a number of men to have made away with the treasure in such circumstances as exist here." "Nevertheless, my dear young lady, the treasure Is gone. We think that the mine was laid with the counivanee of one or more officers on duty here. You see, the amount at stake was so large that a share of it would tempt any nine human beings out of ten. Our theory is that the train was laid, possi bly electric wires being used, which would be un noticed along the edge of the corridor and that the bribed officer exploded the dynamite by bringing the ends of the wire into contact. We think that the explosion was a great deal more severe than was anticipated. Probably it was expected that the shock would break a hole from the treasure chamber to the street, but so strong were the walls that no Im pression was made upon them, and a cabman who was driving past at the time heard not a sound of the explosion, although he felt a tremble of the ground and thought for a moment there had been a shock of earthquake." "You think, then, that the thieves wore outside?" "That seems the only possible solution." "The outside doors were locked and bolted, of course?" 'Oh, certainly! But if they had a confederate or two in the large hallway up stairs they would see to It that there was no trouble about getting in. Once inside the large hallway, with guards stunned by the shock, the way to the treasure chamber was abso lutely clear." "There were sentries outside the building, I sup pose?" "Yes." "Did they see any vehicle standing or driving near the treasury?" "No; that is the strange part of it, and, moreover, the sentries, although pacing outside the walls of this building, heard nothing of the explosion beyond a low rumble, and those who thought of the matter at all imagined an explosion had occurred in some dis tant part of the-city." "Then the outside doors in the large hall above were not blown open?" "No; the officer reported that they were locked and bolted when he examined them, which was some minutes, oi luurtse, after the disaster had taken place, for he, the officer In charge, had been thrown down and stunned, seemingly by the concussion of air which took place," As Jennie walked down the corridor she saw more and more evidence of the convulsion. The thick Iron bound door lay where It had fallen, and it had not been stirred since it was moved to get the two men from under it Its ponderous hinges were twisted as if they had been made of glue, and its massive bolts were snapped across like bits of glass. All along tbe corridor on the floor was a thick coating of dust and debris, finely powdered, growing deeper and deeper until the entrance to the room was reached. There were no windows either in corridor or chamber, and the way was lit by candles held by soldiers who ac companied them. The scoria crunched underfoot as they walked, and in the chamber itself great heaps of dust, sand and plaster, all finely powdered, lay in the corners of the room and on one side was piled up higher than a man's head. There seemed to be tons' of this debris, and as Jennie looked up at the arched ceiling, resembling the roof of a vaulted dungeon, she saw that the stone itself had been ground to fine dust with the tremendous force of the blast "Where are the remnants, of the treasure chesf?" she asked. The director shook his head. "There are no remnants; not a vestige of It Is to be found." "Of what was it made?" "We used to have an old treasure chest here made of oak, bound with iron, but some years ago, a new receptable being needed, one was especially made of hardened steel, constructed on the modern principle of those burglar proof and fireproof safes." "And do you mean to say there is nothing left of this?" "Nothing that we have been able to discover." "Well, I have seen places where dynamite explo sions have occurred, but I know of nothing to com pare with this. lam sure that if dynamite had been used or any explosive now generally obtained there would have been left at least some remnant of the safe. Hasn't thla pile of rubbish been disturbed since the explosion?" "Yes; it has been turned over. We made a search for the two men, but we found no trace of them." "And you found no particles of iron or steel?" "The heap throughout is just as you see it on the surface, a fine, almost impalpable, dust We had to exercise the greatest care in searching through it, for the moment it was disturbed with a shovel it fllled the air In suffocating clouds. Of course we shall have It removed by and by and cart it away, but I considered it better to allow it to remain here until we had penetrated somewhat further into the mys tery than we have already done." Jennie stooped and picked up a handful from the heap. Her action caused a mist to rise in the air that made them both choke and cough, and yet she was instantly struck by the fact that her handful seemed Inordinately heavy for its bulk. "May I take some of this with me?" she asked. "Of course," replied the director. "I shall liavw a packet of it put up for you." "I would like to take it with me now," said Jennie. "I have a curiosity to know exactly, of what It Is com posed. Who is the government analyst, or have yon such an official?" "Herr Feltz, In the Graubenstrasse, is a famous analytical chemist. You cannot do better than g« to him." "Do you think he knows anything about ex plosives?" "I should suppose so, but If not he will certainty be able to tell you who the best man is in that line." The director ordered one of the men who accom panied him to find a small paper bag and fill It with the debris of the treasure chamber. When this was fione. he hanSetl the package to Jennie, who said: "I shall go at once and see Herr Felta." "My carriage Is at your disposal, madame." "Oh, uo, thank you! Ido not wish to trouble yon further. lam very much obliged to you for devoting so much time to me already. I shall take a fiacre." "My carriage is at the door," persisted the direo tor, "and I will' instruct the driver to take you direct ly to the shop of Herr Feltz. Then no time will be lost, and I think if I am with you you will be more sure of attention from the chemist, who is a very busy man." Jennie saw that the director did not wish to let her out of his sight, aad. although she smiled at his suspicion, she answered politely: "It is very kind of you to take so much troublo and devote so much of your time to me. I shall be glad of your company if you are quite certain I am not keeping you from something more Important." "There Is nothing more Important than the In vestigation we have on Tiand," replied the chief grimly. A few minutes later the carriage stopped In front of the shop of Herr Feltz in the wide Graubenstrasse. The great chemist himself waited upon them and conducted them to an inner and private room. "I should be much obliged If you would tell me the component parts of the mixture In this package," said Jennie as she handed the filled paper bag to the chemist. "How soon do you wish to know the result?" asked the man of chemicals. "As soon as possible." "Could you give me until this hour tomorrow?" "That will do very nicely," replied Jennie, lookiug up at the director of police, who nodded his head. With that the two took their leave, and once more the director of police politely handed the girl into his carriage, and they drove to the Palace Steia lieimer. Here she bade him good-bye and thanked him cordially for his attentions during the day. The director answered with equal suavity that his duty had on this occasion been a pleasure, and could he have her permission to call at the same hour tomor row afternoon and take her to the chemist? To this Jennie assented and cheerily bade him good night. The princess was waiting for her, wild with Curi osity to know what had happened. "Oh, Jennie," she cried; "who fired the mine, and who robbed the government?" Jennie laughed merrily as she replied: "Dear princess, what a compliment you are paying me I Do you think that in one afternoon I am able to solve a mystery that has defied the combined tal ents of all the best detectives In Außtria? I wish the director of police had such faith In me as you have." "And hasn't he, Jennie-" "Indeed he has not He watched me every min ute he was with me. as if he feared I would disappear into thin air, as the treasure did." "The horrid man I I shall have my husband speak to him and rid you of this annoyance." "Oh, no, princess, you mustn't do anything of the kind. I don't mind it in the least; in fact, it rathe* amuses me. One would think he had some suspicion that I stole the money myself." "A single word from the prince will stop all that, you know." "Yes, I know; but I really want to Yelp the di rector, he is so utterly stupid." "Now, Jennie, take off your hat and sit down here and tell me every incident of the afternoon. Don't you see lam just consumed with curiosity? I know you have discovered something. What is It?" "I am not going to take off my hat, because I am going out directly again; but, if you love me, get me a cup of that delicious tea of yours." "I shall order it at once, but dinner will be served shortly. You are surely not going out alone tonight?" "I really must Do not forget I have been used to taking care of myself in a bigger city than Vienna Is, and I shall be quite safe. You will please excuse my absence from the dinner table tonight." "Nonsense, Jennie! You cannot be allowed to roam round Vienna in that Bohemian way!" "Then, Princess. I must go to a hotel, for this roaming round is strictly necessary, and I don't want to bring the Palace Stelnheimer into disrepute." "Jennie. I'll tell you what we will do—we'll both bring it into disrepute The prince is dining at his club tonight with some friends, so I shall order the carriage and you and I will roam round together. You will let me come, won't you? Where are you going?" "I am going to the Graubenstrasse to see Herr Feltz." '•Oh, I know Herr Feltz, and a dear old man he isl He will do anything for me. If you want any favor from Herr Feltz, you had better take me with you " "I shall be delighted. Ah, here comes the tea! But what is the use of ordering the carriage? We can walk there in a very few minutes." "I think we had better have the carriage. The prince would be wild if he heard that we two went walking about the streets of Vienna at night. So, Jennie, we must pay some respect to conventionality! and we will take the carriage. Now tell me where you have been and what you have seen and all about It" Over their belated decoction of tea Jennie re lated everything that had happened. "And what do you expect to learn from the analy sis at the chemist's, Jennie?" "I expect to learn something that will startle the director of police." "And what is that? Jennie, don't keep me ou tenterhooks in this provoking way. How can you act so? I shall write to Lord Donal and tell him that you are here in Vienna, if you don't mind." "Well, under such a terrible threat as that I sup pose I must divulge all my suspicions. But I really don't know anything yet; I merely suspect. The weight of that dust, when I picked up a handful of It, seemed to Indicate that tfie gold is still there In i~j rubbish heap." "You don't mean to say so! Then there has boon no robbery at all?" "There may have been a robbery planned, but I don't think any thief got a portion of the gold. The chances are that they entirely underestimated cm force of the explosive they were using, and, unless I am very much mistaken, they are dealing with some thing a hundred times more powerful than dynamite." '•And will the chemical analysis show what c.t plosive was used?" "No; it will only show what the debris is com posed of. It will settle the question whether or not the gold Is in that dust heap. If It is, then I think the government will owe me some thanks, because the director of police talked of carting the rubfilsh away and dumping it out of sight somewhere. If the government gets back its gold, then I suppose the question of who fired the mine Is merely of academic interest." "The carriage is waiting, your highness," was the announcement made to the princess, who at once jumped up and said: "I'll be ready In five minutes. I'm as anxious now as yon are to hear what the chemist has to say, but I thought you told me he wouldn t have the I analysis ready until 4 o'clock tomorrow. WhatN the use of going there tonight?" ' "': "Because I am reasonably certain that the diiec' of police will see him early tomorrow morning, a I want to get the first copy of the analysis myself. With that the princess ran away and presently ' ( appeared with her wraps on. The two drove to t* shop of Heir Feltz on the Graubenstrasse and w told that the chemist could not be seen in any i.. cumstances. He had left orders that he was not be disturbed. * "Disobey those orders and take In my card: s: the princess. A glance at the card dissolved the man's dout and he departed to seek his master. "Ha Is working at the analysis now, I'll w. rant," whispered the princess to her companion, ' a short time Heir Feltz himself appeared. He gre ed the princess with most deferential respect- V seemed astonished to find in her company the you woman who had called upon him a few hours pre lously with the director of police. "I wanted to ask you," said Jennie, "to fin! your analysis somewhat earlier than 4 o'clock torn, row. I suppose it can be done?" The man of science smiled and looked at her i a moment, but did not reply. "You will oblige my friend, ~I hope?" said t princess. "I should be delighted to oblige any friend your highness." replied the chemist slowly, '-but. v fortunately, in this instance I have orders from i authority not to be disputed." "What orders?" demanded the princess. "I promised the analysis at 4 o'clock tomorrow and at that hour It will be ready for the young lac' I am ordered not to show the analysis to any one it ore that time." "Those orders came from the director of polic I suppose?" ;.-iljVi The chemist bowed low, but did not speak. "I understand how it is, Jennie. He came he Immediately after seeing you home. I suppose 1 visited you again within the hour after he left y. with this young lady. Is that the case, Hen- Feltz "Your highness distresses me by asking questio that I am under pledge not to answer." "Is the analysis completed?" "That is another question which I sincerely ho your highness will not press." "Very well, Herr Feltz. I shall ask you a qu< tion or two that you will not "be frightened at. have told my friend here that you would do anytb! for me, but I see I have been mistaken." The chemist made a deprecatory motion of 1 hands, spreading them out and bowing. it w plainly apparent that his seeming discourtesy caus. him deep regret He seemed about to speak, but t princess went impetuously on. "Is the director of police a friend of yours. He Feltz? I don't mean merely an official friend,' but personal friend?" "I am under many obligations to him, your hlgV ness, and, besides that, like any other citizen Vienna, I am compelled to obey him when he col mands." "What I want to learn," continued the prince? '■> her anger visibly rising at this unexpected opposite, "Is whether you wish the man well or not?" -- •" "I certainly wish him well, your highness." "In that case know that if my friend leaves tb shop without seeing the analysis of the material s! brought to you the director of police will be dismiss from his office tomorrow. If you doubt my influen. with my husband to have that done, just try the c periment of sending us away unsatisfied." The old man bowed his white head. "Your highness," he said, "I shall take the i sponsibility of refusing to obey the orders of ti director of police. Excuse me for a moment." I retired into his den and presently emerged with \ sheet of paper in his hand. »*• "It must be understood," he said, addressing Jo nle, "that the analysis is but roughly made. I i tended to devote the night to a more rain a scrutiny." "All I want tonight," said Jennie, "is a rouj. analysis." "There it r is," said the chemist, handing her t"! paper. She read: Calcium «, .Iron "I"?.".""""!."." i Quartz Feldspar „ Mica * Gold ?.. 3» Traces of other substances ..........C;'. . ' Total .1D( Jennie's eyes sparkled as she looked at the ii* ures before her. She handed the paper to the pri:- j cess, saying: 1; "You see, I was right in my surmise. More thr. one-third of that heap Is pure gold." "I should explain," interrupted the chemist, "tb: I have grouped the quartz, feldspar and mica f gether without giving the respective portions of eac because it is evident that the combination represen granite." "I understand." said Jennie, "the walls and ro were of granite." "I would further add." continued the chomh "that I have never seen gold so finely divided '>' this Is." "Have you the gold and other Ingredients sen rated?" "Yes. madame." " '?• "I shall take them with me, If you please." The chemist shortly after brought her the cor ponents in little glass vials, labeled. "Have you any idea, Herr Feltz, what exploshl would reduce gold to such fine powder as this?" "I have only a theoretical knowledge of explosive'^ and I know of nothing that would produce such re sults as we have here. Perhaps Prof. Carl Setgfri< could give you some information on that point. TV science of detonation has been his life study, and X stands head and shoulders above his fellows' in th * department." =-'■_■" "Can you give me his address?" ~ > The chemist Wrote the address on a sheet of pap/ and handed it to the young woman. "Do you happen to know whether Prof. Seigfrte or his assistants have been called in during this inv<* tlgatlon?" VQ) "What investigation, madame?" "The Investigation of the recent terrible exnl.v eion." l y "I have heard of no explosion." replied the chen Ist. evidently bewildered. Then Jennie remembere that while the particulars of the disaster- in -tb treasury were known to the rest of the world n knowledge of the catastrophe had got abroad in V enna. -; ;- J "The professor," continued the chemist, notlcin Jennie's hesitation, "is not a very practical man. -in- Is deeply learned and has made some great disco* erles In pure science, but he has done little townr applying his knowledge to any everyday, useful pur