At first he thought himself alone in the place.
It was only when he passed through the door in the double wall, on the approach of the men from upstairs, that he realized that the gang had left a watchman there.
While Gilmore and Geary were talking on one side of the wall, the watchman and Chick were fighting desperately on the other side.
If Gilmore had remained in the cellar, Chick would certainly have been discovered.
As it was, the four men, after the arrival of Parks and Nixon, coolly planned the burglary on Forty-third Street, and then left the cellar.
Chick knew that his chief would follow anyone leaving the place that night, and that he would be likely to have something to say about the affair on the South Side.
He fairly ached to be with him.
He did not like the idea of being shut up in the damp cellar all night, and then having to fight his way out in the morning.
He reasoned in this way:
“I have found out all I can about the place.