. This gentleman has now kindly given me
permission to quote from his letter those passages which may be of
interest to readers of the 'Twinkling of an Eye':

It appears that the cash-drawer of the hardware store, in which small
change was habitually left over night for use in the morning before the
banks open, was robbed three nights running, although only a few
dollars were taken at a time. "The large vault, in which are kept the
firm's papers, had not been tampered with, and the work was evidently
that of some petty thief. The night-watchman was a trusted employee,
and my father did not wish to accuse him unjustly. And, besides, he did
not wish to warn the thief. So nothing was said to the watchman. The
nights on which the till had been tapped were Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday. Father goes down to the store every Sunday morning for about
half an hour to open the mail, and it was then that he discovered the
Saturday night theft. Directly after Sunday dinner, father went down to
see an electrical friend of his, who executed a plan which my father
had devised. The cash-drawer was situated in one corner of the office
(quite a large one), in which both the wholesale and retail business is
transacted. He placed a large detective camera in the corner opposite
the till, and beside it, and a little behind, a quantity of flash-light
powder in a receptacle. This powder was connected by electric wires
with the till in such a manner, that when the drawer was opened the
circuit would be completed and the powder ignited. Everything worked to
perfection. The office is always left dark at night, so the shutter of
the camera could be left open without spoiling the film. The camera was
in place Sunday evening, but the thief stayed away. It was set again on
Monday night, and that time we got him. A small wire was attached to a
weight near the camera extending to the till. As the thief started to
open the drawer the weight made a slight noise. He glanced in the
direction of the noise, started, pulled the weight a little farther,
and we had his picture. Detectives had already been working on the
case, and the thief was identified and arrested on the strength of the
portrait. When he was informed that we had his picture, he made a full
confession. He said that when the flash-light went off he nearly
fainted from fright."

* * * * *

After this experience I am tempted to give up all hope that I c