A Woman at Bay

ully soon, considering the speed at which they had been traveling-the three m

nd; and, following directions that were give

l in sections, was carried to a highway near at hand, where it was put together again, minus the iron wheels.

track, after rounding the curve, the machine was fitted with reg

what he knew of automobiles that this machine was capable of sixty miles an hour, or even more than that,

ed had he attempted to do so; but he climbed to his place when he was told, and

t time it was, and received a curt "Shut up!" b

a village, and presently ran the machine around behind a

nd now and then a curt word uttered by Handsome, who seemed

t to do; as if every move they made had been nicely pla

hoved into position directly behind Handsome, and then, in Indian file

iting with patience until the last one was

ich Nick figured must be a courthouse; and after a moment they made a half circuit around, an

e no street lamps in that village evidently; or, if there were, t

village; he could see the store windows on the opposite side; and it suddenly came to him that

him; and again he determined to

not to apprehend the participants in a minor job like this one promised to be, but

n. They worked on in utter silence, as if their plans had been

t there; but they passed to the rear of the building, and followed one an

oor of the building, and here Handsome paused for a moment, and put down a canv

go. Let's see what kind

hesitate, but he seized the bag, pulled open the mouth of it, and, having selected

that huge oak door open more quickly and silently than Nick Ca

e others coming behind them; and presently, after forcing

e screen which separated the customers' side of the rail from the clerks; and almost beneath the l

uld any one happen to pass there. Nick saw that at a glance; but nevertheless Handsome silently placed a d

p?" demanded Nick, in a whisper. "If you had

nd gave it to the detective. Nick unrolled it, and found that it was merely a piece of burlap, rather m

s, he crept forward without another word, and quickly attached the four strin

the sort of one that would never be noticed from the outside at all, unless a person stopped at the window and

others; and now there was no more question of his doing the drilling alone. Each man took his own part of t

asy task, and it is not done quickly, although expert

em also with the acids and oil; and the work went o

determined to try Nick out to the last, f

g more, Dago, a

o the blowing

ome n

aid Nick. "Lig

ut

o the blowing I'm boss

hand, Nick went to work; and, as before he worked rapidly and w

ain until there was a huge wad of it, he braced it with desks and chairs against the front of the safe; and when all that was

of perhaps a minute and a half, and then a dull, booming

they were compelled to

as hardly possible that the noise of it had roused anybody at all; but th

pted. It always means a fight, in which somebody is likely to get killed,

nor did he wish to give his companions an opportunity to kill any person who might interrupt them. It was all right from his standpoint to partici

the bags while Handsome filled

re emptied; they jimmied open the steel boxes as readily as if they had been made of softest pine-and in

e, not a soul in the village

bank; the machine was backed out; they entered it, turned on the power, and sped away through the silent streets as t

eels, and here the change was made back to a railway machine. The car was lifted in sections to the tracks, and with everything adjusted they were soon

op at the point where it had picked up Handsome and Nick at first, and here they got down, and,

ogether they picked it up, and once more started for the

to land where Nick had thrown the man into th

t, Dago. I'll te