During the summer one or two other agents took up the matter
cursorily, but made no discoveries. In the meantime Mr. Furay was
kept too busily occupied with a succession of important cases in
Nebraska to give much thought to the outlying territory of Dakota.
At length, in September, he went carefully over the papers that had
accumulated during his late prolonged absences, and soon knew
exactly where to look for the chap who had so long plundered the
public with impunity.

For some time Chicago had been closing registered package envelopes
with wax, which, on this route at least, effectually secured them
against molestation. Imitating the example, Camden, Dakota, began
to do the same; but, having no seal suitable for the purpose,
improvised a substitute by using the flat surface of a rasp.

Camden placed the wax near each end of the envelope, which
materially interfered with the game of the thief, because it was
just here that he operated. Evidently piqued that a rural
postmaster should presume to outwit him, he studied hard to devise
some means for opening these particular packages without leaving
such traces of his handiwork as would attract the notice of other
officials through whose hands they might subsequently pass. The
effort was crowned with a measurable degree of success, for Mr.
Furay, at the general overhauling referred to, was the first to
discover that the seal had been tampered with.

As it was necessary to break one of the seals, the object of the
robber was to restore it as nearly as possible to its original
appearance; and to effect this he used a dampened thimble, rolling
it over the wax while the latter was hot. There was but one