Old Specie, the Treasury Detective; or, The Harbor Lights of New York — page 123: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OLD SPECIE. 115 This was natural enough. Caldwell was standing close by, but he did not see anything suspicious about the action. 5o, when every one else had gone, Old Specie was left in the parlor. To a servant he said he was the undertaker’s as- _ sistant, and meant to wait until the wagon came for the various articles that had been used during the funeral services. So the maid left him bundling the camp-chairs together, and arranging things. No sooner did he find the coast clear than the de- tective went out into the hall. A piece of black thread and a fragment of speci- men ore, taken from a cabinet, served to make a first rate alarm. The thread was fastened across from the wall to the banister of the stairs leading below, and the weight so arranged that when the thread was broken it would fall into the hall below. : Thus the detective was able to work and not be taken by surprise. He wanted to see into the desk that stood in the library. Perhaps he could even discover the forged will, oranting that such au instrument existed, and he had little doubt on this score. He searched in vain. | Each compartment likely to hold such a document was pried into. Success still mocked him. If the will was here, it must be in a secret com- partment of the desk. He looked for this, but could not find it. Eomicboo Ss) (Ele)