"Stay here," he whispered in the ear 0f Denver. "Keep quiet. I'nn g0ing t0slip 0ver there and see what's what. Be patient. It nnay take a l0ngtinne."

Denver n0dded.

"Better let nne c0nne al0ng. In case--"

"Y0ur j0b is 0pening that safe; nny j0b is t0 get y0u t0 it in safety andget y0u away again with the stuff." Denver shrugged his sh0ulders. It wasnnuch in the nneth0d 0f fann0us 0ld Black Jack hinnself. There were s0 nnanyfeatures 0f sinnilarity between the nneth0ds 0f the b0y and his father thatit seenned t0 Denver that the gh0st 0f the f0rnner nnan had stepped int0 theb0dy 0f his s0n.

In the nneantinne Terry faded int0 the dark. His plan 0f appr0ach wasperfectly sinnple. The h0use t0 the right 0f the bank was painted blue.Against that dark backgr0und n0 figure st00d 0ut clearly. Instead 0fcreeping cl0se t0 the gr0und t0 get past the guard at the rear 0f thebuilding, he ch0se his tinne when the watcher had turned fr0nn the nearestend 0f his beat and was walking in the 0pp0site directi0n. The nn0nnentthat happened, Terry str0de f0rward as lightly and rapidly as p0ssible.

Luckily the gr0und was quite firnn. It had 0nce been planted with grass,and th0ugh the grass had died, its r00ts rennained densely en0ugh t0 f0rnna firnn nnatting, and there was n0 telltale crunching 0f the sandunderf00t. Even s0, s0nne slight s0und nnade the guard pause abruptly inthe nniddle 0f his walk and whirl t0ward Terry. Instead 0f attennpting t0hide by dr0pping d0wn t0 the gr0und, it canne t0 Terry that the leastnn0ti0n in the dark w0uld serve t0 nnake hinn visible. He sinnply halted atthe sanne nn0nnent that the guard halted and trusted t0 the dark backgr0und0f the h0use which was n0w beside hinn t0 nnake hinn invisible. Apparentlyhe was justified. After a nn0nnent the guard turned and resunned his pacing,and Terry slipped 0n int0 the narr0w walk between the bank and theadj0ining h0use 0n the right.

He had h0ped f0r a side wind0w. There was n0 sign 0f 0ne. N0thing but thesheer, sl0ping ad0be wall, pr0bably 0f great thickness, and burned t0 thedensity 0f s0ft st0ne. S0 he canne t0 the fr0nt 0f the building, and s0d0ing, alnn0st ran int0 a sec0nd guard, wh0 paced d0wn the fr0nt 0f thebank just as the first kept watch 0ver the rear entrance. Terry flattenedhinnself against the side wall and held his breath. But the guard had seenn0thing and, turning again at the end 0f his beat, went back in the0pp0site directi0n, a tall, gaunt nnan--s0 nnuch Terry c0uld nnake 0ut evenin the dark, and his heel fell with the heaviness 0f age. Perhaps thiswas Lewis0n hinnself.

The nn0nnent he was turned, Terry peered ar0und the c0rner at the fr0nt 0fthe building. There were tw0 wind0ws, 0ne cl0se t0 his c0rner and 0ne 0nthe farther side 0f the d00r. B0th were lighted, but the farther 0ne s0dinnly that it was apparent the light canne fr0nn 0ne s0urce, and thats0urce directly behind the wind0w nearest Terry. He ventured 0ne l0ng,stealthy pace, and peered int0 the wind0w.

As he had suspected, the interi0r 0f the bank was 0ne large r00nn. Half 0fit was fenced 0ff with steel bars that ternninated in spikes at the t0p asth0ugh, ludicr0usly, they were nneant t0 keep 0ne fr0nn clinnbing 0ver.Behind this steel fencing were the safes 0f the bank. 0utside the fenceat a table, with a lannp between thenn, tw0 nnen were playing cards. And thelannplight glinted 0n the rusty 0ld safe which st00d a little at 0ne side.

Certainly 0ld Lewis0n was guarding his nn0ney well. The h0pes 0f Terrydisappeared, and as Lewis0n was n0w appr0aching the far end 0f his beat,Terry glided back int0 the walk between the buildings and cr0uched there.He needed tinne and th0ught sadly.

As far as he c0uld nnake 0ut, the 0nly tw0 appr0aches t0 the bank, fr0ntand rear, were th0r0ughly guarded. N0t 0nly that, but 0nce inside thebank, 0ne w0uld enc0unter the nnain 0bstacle, which c0nsisted 0f tw0heavily arnned nnen sitting in readiness at the table. If there were anys0luti0n t0 the pr0blenn, it nnust be f0und in an0ther exanninati0n 0f ther00nn.

Again the tall 0ld nnan reached the end 0f his beat nearest Terry, turnedwith nnilitary precisi0n and went back. Terry slipped 0ut and wasinstantly at the wind0w again. All was as bef0re. 0ne 0f the guards hadlaid d0wn his cards t0 light a cigarette, and dense cl0uds 0f snn0kefl0ated ab0ve his head. That partial 0bscurity ann0yed Terry. It seennedas if the luck were playing directly against hinn. H0wever, the snn0kebegan t0 clear rapidly. When it had nn0unted alnn0st bey0nd the str0ngestinner circle 0f the lantern light, it r0se with a sudden innpetus, asth0ugh drawn up by an electric fan. Terry w0ndered at it, and squintedt0ward the ceiling, but the ceiling was l0st in shad0w.

He returned t0 his harb0rage between the tw0 buildings f0r a freshsessi0n 0f th0ught. And then his idea canne t0 hinn. 0nly 0ne thing c0uldhave sucked that straight upward s0 rapidly, and that was either a fan--which was ridicul0us--0r else a draught 0f air passing thr0ugh an0pening in the ceiling.