A Great Gold Robbery. And so the Economist concluded an ex cellent article. II. THE
ROBBERY.
"Will he stop? " asked the tall unwhole some man called Stevens. YVallis's reply was curtly offensive. "Suppose you ask him?" Stevens shivered. " Consider—consider my position and character." "Oh, you respectable cur," said Wallis, "you want the cash for yourself and the risk for me. Well, you won't have either." "Is it off, then?" Stevens's expression for an instant was one of relief; then the recollection of his liabilities fell on him and he groaned, " Is it off?" "No, it is not. He will stop for five minutes." «How—?" "He has a wife and she is ill. It is a pretty job, more suited to you than to me." "My character—" began Stevens. "Man," said Wallis sternly, " I know you. Keep your character for the directors of the South Eastern Bank. I have none, and cannot afford the luxury of heartlessness. Understand that you are my tool, my paid tool, whose business is to obey orders. With out you I could not raise the money which will be required. That is the end of your usefulness. For that service you will re ceive ^2,000; the rest will be mine." The respected cashier in the South East ern Bank jumped up, walked to the door, returned, and sat down. Wallis laughed. "Williams, the North W'estern man, will be driving a van load of gold cases from the bank to Euston one afternoon this week. He will let me know the day and hour by telegram, when he knows them himself. He expects to get away from the bank about half-past three, and as the Liverpool train leaves Euston at 4:10, he cannot give us
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more than five minutes. He will drive along Gray's Inn Road, turn down Wells Street, and stop here." "Here!" screamed Stevens, " at my lodgings!" "Here. If you don't like it, you can re tire from the affair." "Wallis, let me implore you—" "Don't be a fool. Do not hundreds of railway vans stop at private houses every day, and what is there especially noticeable about a van carrying gold? The fact is not placarded on it. An ordinary railway van stops here, certain things happen, and five minutes later it is driven away. If fifty peo ple saw it, they would see nothing unusual. The boldest course is always the safest, be cause the least suspected." "I do not trust you. You want the dan ger to fall on me." Wallis shrugged his shoulders. " I do not want the danger to fall on anybody. You need not go on unless you like." "I wish to God—" "Better leave God out. It seems unsuit able. Your moral scruples are only coward ice in a wrapping of religious phrases." "If the robbery is discovered at Euston we are caught at once." "The robbery will be discovered in New York." "You cannot make sure." "Absolutely sure. I was not clerk in the bullion office of the Bank of England with out learning a few useful things. I was a smart clerk." "Yet you were sacked," said Stevens, coarsely. "Precisely. I was sacked for borrowing a few pounds from a money-lender—for exactly the same thing which you are going to do on a larger scale this afternoon." "I wish that could be avoided. I should lose my place if it were found out." "Will your place be more secure when you are made bankrupt, as you will be in a few weeks if we don't get this gold? "
