the available gold, silver and bank-notes, placed them
in the satchel and prepared to leave the place.

Before doing so, however, they dragged the helpless bodies of the young
man and woman into the despoiled vault, and laying them upon the floor,
they deliberately closed the doors and locked them in.

Not a word had been spoken during this entire proceeding, and now, in
silence, the two men picked up the satchel, and with an appearance of
unconcern upon their faces, passed out of the bank and stood upon the
sidewalk.

The streets were filled with men and women hurrying from their work. The
sun was shining brightly in the heavens, and into this throng of human
beings, all intent upon their own affairs, these bold burglars
recklessly plunged, and made their way safely out of the village.

How long the two persons remained in the bank it is impossible to tell;
Miss Patton in a death-like swoon, and Mr. Pearson, in the vain
endeavor to extricate himself from the bonds which held him. At length,
however, the young man succeeded in freeing himself, and as he did so,
the young lady also recovered her consciousness. Calling loudly for
help, and beating upon the iron door of their prison, they indulged in
the futile hope that some one would hear their cries and come to their
rescue.

At last, however, Mr. Pearson succeeded in unscrewing the bolts from the
lock upon the inside of the doors of the vault, and in a few minutes
thereafter, he leaped out, and dashing through a window, gave the alarm
upon the street. The news spread far and wide, and within an hour after
the robbery had taken place, the town was alive with an excited
populace, and numerous parties were scouring the country in all
directions in eager search of the fugitives. All to no avail, however,
the desperate burglars were not discovered, and the crest-fallen bank
officers contemplated their ruin with sorrowful faces, and with
throbbing hearts.

Meanwhile, Miss Patton had been carefully removed to her home, her
injuries had been attended to, and surrounded by sympathetic friends,
who ministered to her wants, she was slowly recovering from the effects
of the severe trial of the afternoon.

An examination of the vault revealed the fact that the robbers had
succeeded in obtaining about twenty thousand dollars in gold, silver and
currency--all the available funds of the bank, and the loss of which
would seriously impair their standing, and which would be keen