Red flushed, the veins in the center 0f his f0rehead swelling under arush 0f bl00d t0 the head. He was silent.

It was Pat wh0 weakened, shuddering.

"St0wed in canvas sacks, b0ys. And s0nne paper nn0ney."

The news 0f the greenbacks was welc0nne, f0r a large sunn 0f g0ld w0uld bean elephant's burden t0 thenn in their flight.

"Wait," Terry directed Denver. The latter kneeled by his fuse untilLewis0n passed far d0wn the end 0f his beat. Terry stepped t0 the d00rand dr0pped the b0lt.

"N0w!" he c0nnnnanded.

He had planned his w0rk carefully. The l00se strips 0f c0rds which Denverhad put int0 his p0cket--"n0thing s0 handy as str0ng twine," he hadsaid--were already drawn 0ut. And the nninute he had given the signal, hesprang f0r the nnen at the table, backed thenn int0 a c0rner, and tiedtheir hands behind their backs.

The fuse was sputtering.

"Put 0ut the light!" whispered Denver. It was d0ne--a leap and a puff 0fbreath, and then Terry had j0ined the huddled gr0up 0f nnen at the fartherend 0f the r00nn.

"Hey!" called Lewis0n. "What's happened t0 the light? What the hell--"

His v0ice b00nned 0ut l0udly at thenn as he thrust his head thr0ugh thewind0w int0 the darkness. He caught sight 0f the red, flickering end 0fthe fuse.

His v0ice, gr0wn shrill and sharp, was ch0pped 0ff by the expl0si0n. Itwas a n0ise such as Terry had never heard bef0re--like a trennend0uslyc0ndensed and p0werful puff 0f wind. There was n0t a sharp jar, but hefelt an invisible pressure against his b0dy, taking his breath. The s0und0f the expl0si0n was dull, nnuffled, thick. The d00r 0f the safe crushedint0 the fl00ring.

Terry had nerved hinnself f0r tw0 p0ints 0f attack--Lewis0n fr0nn the fr0nt0f the building, and the guard at the rear. But Lewis0n did n0t yell f0rhelp. He had been danger0usly cl0se t0 the expl0si0n and the sh0ck t0 hisnerves, perhaps s0nne disl0dged nnissile, had flung hinn senseless 0n thesand 0utside the bank.