Bats in the Wall; or, The Mystery of Trinity Church-yard

are you doing at the door of the Web

he seized Frank Mansfield by the coat-collar and jerked him violen

of the three policemen were to

of a dark lantern upon the pale and frightened cou

I am the assistant cashier. I came here with my friend, De

stroke, but

ook laughed

is Cutts?" he a

nto the bank and found that the vault had been blown open,

e, coolly, at the same time pulling Frank toward the

s des

the two young fellows who held

es of Trinity Church, the old burial ground about

in him as the full meaning of his perilous

-Cutts and his

w that he had been caught almos

"you might just as well own up and tell the truth.

sfield. I'm assistant

y attempting to conceal his iden

"and I'm a little behind time, I see. But you don

know what

one of you, the other make for the church-yard wall. Schneider, you come with me. We'll soon see what's been going on in here

oke, and without a word of warning snap

efore him into the hall. "You say this bank has been

s tools, the books and papers scattered upon the floor around, were quite answer

surveyed the

too late, it seems

youthful prisoner, he gaz

de a clean job of it here, yo

red at hi

and of Edna Callister afte

as he

hould

rning voice of that mother who

willing to violate the confidence and trust reposed in

perceived that his only hope lay in silence and a strict adhes

s reason for so doing, he determined to keep

detective, "why

ing to say. I've t

statement that you ca

d

hat re

eady told

ll was right a

es

your bu

e evening together, and happened to be pas

dded to wr

availed any man

for the boy if he had confessed h

as we see them now?" continued the

es

y a key to t

cashier and mys

ou give th

th the keys, and embracing the opportunity to search the boy thoroughly at the same time, bu

ively, and turning, tried t

em fitted

ve appeared

outh before him meditatively as he spoke. "I don't know what to make of this. Eit

testify, if you will take the trouble to ask. The janitor of this building knows me. Were it only daylight, I could prove my

others here besides

spread the counte

s a fat

for Ed Wilson and Jim Morrow, who were nothing more or less than two very fast young clerks in a neighb

from the keen eyes of the detective, now fixed upon

fellows with us," he answer

were

tances o

heir n

n and

seem to have disappeared

oomily. "I'm sure I don't und

matter over, if you will allow me to offer my advice, and make up your mind to tell the trut

d been a silent witness to the scene, "take this young man to t

. Hook," repli

k by the arm and led him through

, church-yard and wall, everything within rang

er, with a strong German accent, as he moved heavily down the sloping sidewalk toward

o wish to measure the length of his Teutonic

y aid of the hand-rail separating the sidewalk from the sunken areas before the basement shops with which this bloc

ed Frank, shortly. "Lead on, I sh

said the policeman, pushing the boy before him

way on through the snow, Officer S

reet, he turned to the right and moved slowly along the wal

right the wall itself, the iron railing still surmounting it,

to be seen mo

for as great a distanc

ll, when, proceeding apparently from the clustered

e sometimes heard to make just at nightf

Officer Schneider, coming to a sudd

illness of the night a little ahead of th

had now checked their steps c

der moved a few steps in advance of the boy, and raising his head, tried to peer in among the clustered vines,

going on up dere. Dis is not de first time nor de second I hear do

mystery of the officer's own,

to the present occasion

ll

s Officer Sc

shower all the German imprecations know

essary to reach out and touch him, had during that one moment in which he had raised his head to

prints anywhere to be seen upon the smooth surface of the street, save

his w

zen steps through the snow in the brief space of time during which the polic