Little we knew the Mormons. We went up the ladder, pulled it up, and went down and away.
When Smiler’s good humor returned he held up his hand. “Kid, I’ll never try to rob another Mormon. I’ll go to work first.”
The next day we went into a small gambling house where we hung out to read the papers. We sat at a table near the big safe in a corner of the room. A man in overalls was taking the lock apart. The place had changed hands a few days before and the new proprietors were having the numbers of the combination changed. When the mechanic finished his work he wrote some numbers on two slips of paper. These he threw on the floor beside his tools and went back to the bar for a drink. Smiler stooped, picked up the slips, looked at them closely, and threw them back on the floor.
Outside, he said: “We’ve got the combination of that box, kid. Those two pieces of paper are for the new proprietors, their new combination.”
Neither one of us knew enough about safes to feel sure of opening one even when we had the numbers. Smiler knew a chap doing time in the penitentiary who knew all about safes. The “stir” was only a mile out of the city and we decided to go up and get some expert advice.
Next day we visited the expert at the “stir,” who gladly gave us instructions and declared himself in with any money we got.
That night Smiler opened the box as easily as if it belonged to him and locked it again. We got but a few hundred dollars where we expected several thousands. The new owners had no bankroll, just opened up on a shoestring, hoping to get off lucky and win. The next morning they accused each other of the theft, almost fought with pistols, and dissolved partnership, calling each other thieves.
The money was split three ways. The expert at the “stir” took his bit with bad grace, intimating that we got more than we were dividing, and that we were thieves. As we were leaving, Smiler said: “Good-by, ‘Shorty.’ Everything’s all right now, ain’t it?”
“Oh, sure,” he grouched. “Everything’s all right—just like Denmark.”
“Kid, we’ll go up to that joint and give them a chance to win their money back,” said Smiler. “I feel lucky.”