shed into thin
air. In the morning a dilapidated iron oil-cask was found in its
place. The safe was so large and heavy that it could not have been
moved without a large truck, special hoisting apparatus, a crew of
men, and some hours of time. The store was brightly lighted during the
entire night, and two watchmen patrolled it regularly. They report
that they saw and heard nothing unusual, and were very much amazed
when shown the oil-cask standing where the safe had been the night
before." The accounts in the various papers were substantially the
same.

Newspaper readers throughout the city and its environs were very much
intrigued. Such a thing was very exciting and mystifying; but it was
so far out of touch with their own lives that it did not affect them
very much at any time except when they were reading the paper or
discussing it in conversation. The police were the ones who were doing
the real worrying. And, when the following week two more safes
disappeared, insurance companies began to take an interest in the
matter; and everyone who had any considerable amount of valuables in
store began to feel panicky.

* * * * *

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the last of the
series, the fourth, were especially amazing. This was also a jewelry
safe. Canzoni's is a popular firm that rents a quarter of a floor in a
big department store, and does a large volume of moderate-priced
business. The receipts are stored in a heavy portable safe in a corner
of the silverware section until evening, when they are carried to the
large vault of the big store. One Saturday afternoon after a
particularly busy day, Mr. Shipley, Canzoni's manager, was watching
the hands of the clock creep toward five-thirty. He leaned on a
counter and watched the clerks putting away goods for the night; he
glanced idly toward the safe which he intended to open in a few
minutes. The doormen had already taken their stations to keep out
further customers. Then he glanced back at the safe, and it wasn't
there!

Mr. Shipley drew a deep breath. The safe disappearances he had read
about flashed through his mind. But he didn't believe it. It couldn't
be! Yet, there was the empty corner with the birch panels forming the
back of the show-windows, and no safe. In a daze, he walked over to
the corner, intending to feel about with his hands and make sure the
safe was really gone. Before he got there, there flashed in