Riggs told him.
“All right,” nodded Bascom. “I probably couldn’t open it if I didn’t have the outer combination. But those people make their inner and outer doors on the same principle, and I can find out what the inside combination is in ten minutes, if I’ve already opened the outer gate. As for the safe inside, there isn’t a safe made before nineteen hundred that would fool me for ten minutes on the combination. I can get that by listening to the tumblers. Those old soft-iron safes were hard to break, but easy to open if you had good ears and understood the principles of combination locks.”
“Then it’s going to be a regular burglary?” asked Riggs.
“Of course it is,” snapped Barrows. “How else did you suppose we were going to work it? It’s going to be a regular burglary—but a darned sight different from the ordinary ones you read about. You can go down to the bank the morning after it’s been pulled off, and you won’t hear a word about it. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to take precautions that will delay detection for several days.”
Riggs, fascinated, seemed to want to hang around. But Barrows had sucked him dry, and had no further use for him. So Riggs had to go, still in the dark as to when the burglary was to be attempted.
“That deposit of Merriwell’s is a bit of luck,” said Barrows, turning with a smile to Bascom when they were alone. “Makes it a lot easier for us to queer his game. I know what it’s for, too. He’s made some friends of mine pretty sore by the way he’s threatened their lumber interests up in Maine. We’ll be killing two birds with one stone if we land him.”
“Oh, let up on Merriwell,” said Bascom angrily. “You’ll queer this game yet if you insist on dragging in your personal quarrels, Barrows. You ought to be content to work the plant and let it go at that. You’ll have money enough after this business to do Merriwell up without half trying. Hire some one to do it for you and keep out of it yourself. No use taking unnecessary risks.”
“I’m not going to,” said Barrows. “That’s what I roped this lad Foote in for. He’s going to pull my chestnuts out of this fire for me, though he doesn’t know it, and if he gets burned doing it, it will be his lookout, not mine.”
“I forgot about Foote,” conceded Bascom. “Still I wish you’d stick to one thing at a time. This business is delicate enough, without mixing up a lot of other things with it that don’t belong at all. You may see that when it’s too late, and be sorry you were so rash.”
“You’re as bad as Harding,” said Barrows angrily. “I’m just holding Foote in reserve if anything goes wrong with the plan. This looks like a first-class game, and a safe one. But that business at New London taught me not to leave anything to chance. That watchman worries me. If we fall down at all, it’s going to be on account of him. But I guess we can guard against that. I’ll see Foote to-night, and we’ll put it over to-morrow night. That give you time enough?”