ase coward at
the best, and submitted without a murmur to the outrages that were
perpetrated in his presence. Instead of acting like a man, he stood
tamely by and allowed a woman to be cruelly beaten, the bank robbed, and
the robbers to walk off unmolested and unharmed.

There was another matter which seemed impossible of accomplishment.
Pearson had stated that while in the vault he had removed the screws
from the lock upon the door with the aid of a ten-cent piece. This idea
seemed to be utterly incredible, and prompted by his doubts, William
attempted the same feat upon the lock on his office door. After several
efforts, in which he exerted his strength to the utmost, he was obliged
to desist. The screws utterly defied the efforts to move them, while the
coin was bent and twisted out of all shape, by the pressure that it was
subjected to.

While he was thus engaged with his thoughts upon this perplexing
problem, he was informed that two gentlemen from Geneva desired to speak
with him. Signifying his readiness to receive them, two well-dressed
gentlemen entered and announced their business.

One of these men was a Mr. Perry, a director of the Geneva bank, and his
companion was a Mr. Bartman, a merchant in Newtonsville, a little town
situated but a few miles distant from Geneva.

"Mr. Bartman," said Mr. Perry, addressing my son, "has some information
to communicate, which I think is important enough to deserve serious
consideration, and I have brought him to you."

Mr. Bartman's information proved to be of very decided importance. He
stated that he was a merchant, doing business in Newtonsville, and that
he was in the habit of purchasing his goods from various traveling
salesmen who represented Chicago houses. Among this number was a young
man named Newton Edwards, who was in the employ of a large commission
house, located on South Water Street, in the city of Chicago. He had
known Edwards for some years, and had frequently dealt with him during
that period. During the forenoon of the day on which the robbery
occurred, he saw Newton Edwards in Newtonsville, but that instead of
attempting to sell his goods, that gentleman was apparently seeking to
avoid observation. He met him upon the street and familiarly accosted
him, but Edwards received his salutations coldly, and did not engage in
any conversation. Mr. Bartman thought nothing of this at the time, but
in the afternoon, having business in Geneva, he drove over t