“Three of yuh set on that trunk,” he ordered. After they were perched together on a sample trunk, he went over to the through safe and proceeded to set his explosives. He had the light behind him; so they were unable to see just how he prepared the charge. It was ready inside of twenty seconds.
“Get behind those trunks,” he said, and they lost no time.
On the wall near him hung the messenger’s sawed-off shotgun, and he took it off the wall, pumped out the cartridges, and tossed the gun aside, before he lighted the short fuse and stepped farther back against the wall.
The car jarred heavily from the explosion, and a gust of smoke billowed toward the open doorway. Before the three men dared lift their heads, the bandit was squatting at the wrecked safe, facing them, as he looted it of package and canvas sack. He stuffed the packages in his pocket and inside his shirt, while the three men choked in the fumes of nitroglycerine.
Then the bandit got quickly to his feet and stepped to the doorway. For a moment he looked back at the three men before he dropped to the ground.
“Can you beat that?” choked the messenger. “The nerve of the devil!” He choked from the smoke, stooped quickly and swept up his revolver. Running to the door of the car, he leaned out.
From out in the darkness came a streak of flame and a bullet struck the opposite side of the doorway. As fast as he could pull the trigger the messenger sent six shots into the darkness.
But there was no reply from the bandit. It was a full minute before any of them would dare to venture to the open doorway. But everything was serene.
“How much was in the safe?” asked the engineer.
“I don’t know—plenty. Let’s go.”