Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1898 — COMPOSED OF CIGARS. [ARTICLE]

COMPOSED OF CIGARS.

■ Queer Rat’s Nest Found In a San Fran, ctsco Police Station. For several months the officers stationed at one of the San Francisco police stations have been suspicious of each other. Cigars left in their private { lockers disappeared with annoying reg- ! ularity and the men regarded each | jother as thieves, says an exchange of ! that city. One of the men, who claims to be a detective, set himself about catching the thief, but to no avail. He put loaded cigars in' ms locker. They disappeared, but no explosions were heard around the place. Then he placed private marks on the cigars and watched every man who was seen with a cigar in his mouth. He even bought curiously j i twisted cigars and they were stolen, 1 but no one was seen to take them. All this time the lieutenant had been j suffering with malaria or some other , influence of a depressing nature. A few j days ago he determined to make some ! changes in the arrangement of things ; in the station looking to better sanitary 1 conditions, as well as more light and ! room. The row of much-pilfered lockers was torn away and the floor pulled ! up. Behind some boards that had been nailed against the wall, leaving a space in the corner as large as a bushel basket, was found a rat’s nest composed entirely of cigars. There were several hundred of them and among the number were several of the marked ones. The cigars were mostly broken and chewed to pieces, but they seemed to form a very cozy nest.