Ellis shook his head. “No, thanks, Charley,” he said; “I’ll enjoy one better tomorrow. See you then. Good night, old man.”
And he walked slowly on towards the detachment. Half an hour later he threw aside the paper that he had been reading and, yawning wearily, prepared to go to bed. Suddenly, there came to him the remembrance of some mail matter that he had brought with him from the Post, and which he had neglected to look at as yet. Mechanically he felt in his pockets. No!—it wasn’t there—must have left it in his red serge when he changed into his stable-jacket. His surmise was correct, and presently he began to tear the envelopes open, glancing carelessly through their various contents. Well, well, the General Orders for the current month, his shoeing account returned with a small mistake in it, a peremptory request—obviously dictated from the Quartermaster’s Store—anent having his Monthly Returns despatched at a somewhat earlier date than had hitherto been his habit ... nothing very important, there. What did Dudley mean? Hello! What was this? He had drawn from the last envelope a typewritten copy of a circular. He stared vaguely at the headlines of the notice, which ran:
WANTED FOR MURDER AND BURGLARY
$500 REWARD
The above amount will be paid to any one giving information that will lead to the arrest of either of the below-described men, who, on the night of August 28th, 190— in company with one—Joseph Lipinski, alias George Winters—since arrested in Seattle—shot and killed, John Hetherington, night-watchman of the Carter-Marchmont Trust Building, who surprised them in the act of robbing the safe in the Company’s offices, in New Axminster, B. C.
Description. No. 1. Henry Shapiro (alias Harvey Stone, alias Nathan Porter). Known to the Chicago police as “Harry the Mack.” Age 37; 5 ft. 11 in.; about 190 lbs.; black hair; has peculiar light gray eyes, with slight cast in the left one; complexion, swarthy; clean shaved; is of Jewish descent; nationality, American;—
Followed details of dress and general habits. Concluding:
Lipinski, in a statement that he has made, alleges that it was Shapiro who fired the shot which killed Hetherington. Was a former prison mate of Shapiro’s in Elmira Penitentiary, where the latter was serving a term of five years for safe-blowing. This man has a criminal record also, he says, in Chicago, and has served a three-year term in Joliet, Ill., on a charge of white slavery. We are endeavoring to obtain his photo, Bertillon measurements, and finger-print classification from one of these institutions.
No. 2. Herbert Wilks. Age 26; 5 ft. 8 or 9; about 165 lbs.; blue eyes; brown hair; complexion, fresh; clean shaved; nationality, Canadian; dressed in a dark-blue serge suit; gray Fedora hat, with black band round it; brown boots. This man is a former employee of the Trust Co., and was discharged by them two days previous to the date on which these crimes were committed. As far as is known, he has no record and has never been in trouble before. Has the reputation of being quite a sport. Possesses a jaunty air, drinks heavily, is a cigarette fiend, carries a cane, and is said to be fond of women. Comes from Hamilton, Ont., and is believed to have relatives there. Lipinski states that Wilks must have the bulk of the money (approximately $2,000.00) that was stolen, as he had quit them earlier, leaving the safe open, in which they only found $150.00. That they were in the act of splitting this when they were surprised by the watchman. That they separated and ran different ways immediately after the murder, being fired at by the patrolman on the beat, who had heard the shot. Has not seen either of them since, and has no idea which way they went. Had often seen Shapiro in company with a woman, whom he did not know. The greater part of the money stolen is in the shape of Bank of Commerce bills of large denominations, which they may have difficulty in changing.
Wire all information to
John Mason,
Chief Constable.
Below, ran the usual injunctions:
Members of Line, or other detachments are notified to keep a sharp look-out for these men, who may have come East.
(Signed) R. B. Bargrave, Supt.
Officer Commanding L. Divn.
For some few seconds the Sergeant sat perfectly motionless, failing at first to grasp the full significance of what he had just read, the typed characters of the circular appearing but a mere indistinct blur to his abstracted eyes. Then, slowly but surely, the conviction grew in his mind that here—here in his hand, he held, undoubtedly, the very key to the mystery that Musgrave had confided to him that night.