       Mr.Mays continued speaking quickly.
       "I have thought about this problem and now I  am  sure  I
  know who thief is.  I ask the thief to speak now.  All he must
  do is return the money to me and explain why he took it."
       No one in the room moved.  No one  in  the  room  turned.
  Everyone in the room stopped breathing.
       But nothing happened.
       "Very well,"  said Mr.Mays.  "I will show you that I know
  who the thief is. I am now going to give each of you a straw -
  a straw  from  a  broom.  All  the  straws are the same length
  except one.  That one is longer than the others.  I will  give
  the long straw to the thief.
       "After  I have given a straw to each person, I will leave
  the room. I want all of you to compare straws so that you will
  all know who the thief is.  Call me when you are through,  and
  we will decide what to do with the thief.
       Mr.Mays gave one straw to  each  employee  as  he  spoke,
  making sure that each straw was not seen by another.  Then  he
  left.
       The room was filled with excitement. Everyone was nervous
  as they compared  straws.  Straw  after  straw  was  the  same
  length. At last it was all over. Ruth called Mr.Mays back into
  the room.
       "Mr.Mays, something is wrong.  No one has the long straw.
  Henry has one that is a little shorter.  Otherwise,  they  are
  all the  same  length.  We're happy to tell you that no one in
  this office is guilty.
       "But  that's wrong, Ruth. Someone are guilty. You told me
  that Henry had a straw that a little shorter. So I  say  Henry
  is a thief!"
       "How can you say that, Mr. Mays?" Ruth asked.
       "Because  all the straws I gave out were the same length,
  Ruth. Henry knew he was guilty, and he thought I had given him
  the  long straw. So he broke  off a little bit of his straw to
  make it the same as the others. But in doing that, he made  it
  shorter. So it is really the short straw that caught the thief.
       "Now,  Henry,  tell  me. How did you break the straw? Did
  you bite off a little bit of it, or did you break it off  with
  your  fingenail?"  Then  Mr. Mays said, "It doesn't matter. We
  must call the police."
