A RAT STORY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2044, 23 January 1889, Page 2

A RAT STORY.

» A most extraordinary instance of the deßtruotiveoesa and thieving propensity of rats has just come to light at the premise* of Mr George Me Bride (Auckland Clothing "Company), Customs- street Bast While m the osllar attached to the prenveos yesterday morning, Mr o%kea, a salesman m Mr Mcßride'a en>ploy, obB6i ved some aorapo. of paper at the mouth of a rat's h,ole, and lifting up one of the pie cea was astonished to find that it was a cheque for £21 12s. Further search revealed scraps of letters, aud one of these showed that a cheque had been sent from one of Mr Me Bride's travelling agents m »ho south. Inquiry at the post office , elioited the fact that four or five letters had been dropped into the letter box of the firm's premisep at Customs-street during the Kew Year holidays, and all these seem to have disappeared. This would be an easy achievement for the rate, as the letter 'box' is BinAply a B lit In the door through which the letters fall on to the flqor, A most rigorous search was made of the rat hole, and a collection of toru and chewed fragments of paper, mixed with used postage stamps and samples of cloth, waa unearthed, A careful examination of these showed that the acrapß consisted of five different orders for suits sent from various par/a of tbe colony. Sufficient has been deciphered to, enable the moßt of the customers to be eommufiioated with But for the timely discovery, there would probably have been considerable trouble over the missing cheque, and no end of perp'exty on, the part of thoso who had ordered clothes and who found that they oame not. Hovfever^ t'HliVa weft that ends well;" but the moral for tradesmen is to have proper letter boxes on their business premises.— " Star."