IN OPEN DAYLIGHT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 54, 28 October 1912, Page 6

IN OPEN DAYLIGHT.

WALKED OFF WITH CASH-BOX, IMPUDENT THEFT IN THE CITY. One of the most daring thefts yet perpetrated throughout the course of the/ series of money-snatching episodes that have been inflicted during the past month on Auckland residents, occuncd on Thursday morning at Watson s Buildings, in Wellesley street, when a thief, in open daylight, quietly walked away with a cashbox from the rooms of Mr H. G. Fountain, dentist. At about half-past ton the young lady attendant at the rooms was balancing her accounts m tie dressing room, having besi le her at the table the open cash box. A screen and the door hid the table from observation from the corridor. The young day had occasion' to go to one of the other rooms of the office suite, and round a corner in the corridor she met a man waiting. In answer to the usual question as to whether he wanted to see anyone, he replied; “I’m just waiting for my friend who is with the dentist.” The young lady went on, and a moment or two later she returned to the dressing room, when she met another man just coming out the door of the room. She questioned his right to be there, and he replied that he wanted to see the dentist. She asked him to wait in the waiting room, and he complied, but she observed him immediately after join the other man in the corridor and go off with him. At that time she missed the cash-box from the dressing room table. An inquiry in the operating room elicited that Mr Fountain had not removed it, and the lady exclaimed: “Then a man has run off with it.” Mr Fountain dashed for the stairs (the rooms are on the first floor), and as he went down, met a man coming up, who said that two men were running up Wellesley street. The pursuer went on and saw three men walk briskly up Wellesley street and turn into Lome street. He was quickly on their heels, but troubled a good deal about how to act, because he had not seen the men at his rooms and was afraid that he might implicate some innocent citizens. He, however, walked on, and came on the three in conference round the corner. He gave them a j good close look as he passed, and going on to the next corner, kept a quiet watch on them. Two of the men went on and up Rutland street, while the third went back quietly to Queen street. Mi- Fountain could detect no bulge about the men’s clothing such as would detray the concealment of a cash-box, but he noticed that the third man wore a particularly loose-fitting suit. The two that wont up Rutland street appeared to throw something away. Mr Fountain followed up, and could sec nothing that had been jettisoned, but when he returned later with a detective a notebook and a purse were found. Neither of these things had any connection Avith the stolen cash-box. The amount of money in the box when it Avas taken was very small, as it had been cleared the previous afternoon, and business for the day had barely commenced Avhen the theft occurred.