“I’ll take care of them,” declared Hiram Mallory.
Maddox crept over to the trapdoor and slid it open. He peered into the darkness below; hissed and received a response from Garry Elvers.
“O.K.?” whispered Bob.
“O.K.,” came the reply.
“Hoist up those suitcases.”
THE bags came up. Garry returned to his post. Maddox closed the trap. The suitcases were opened. The work went on.
Briggs, usually taciturn, grunted with satisfaction as he began to count off a handful of thousand-dollar bills. Maddox rejoined the workers.
“Eighty grand in each pile,” declared Moose Shargin, in a pleased growl. “Pretty close to half a million bucks.”
Moose began to place the various piles in the suitcases. He stopped to note which one belonged to Hiram Mallory. He put two portions in that one. He laughed as the gold coins jingled.
“Those yeller boys sound nice,” was his comment. “But I’m glad there aren’t too many of them. They weigh too much.”