his head wisely; "and they had been able in some way to get on to a lot
of things that make us wonder like the name of the cashier and the
night-watchman. Looks mighty much like they must have had a friend
around Bloomsbury, who put them wise to those facts. Then they seemed to
have the running of the trains down pat also; for long after they had
their arrangements made they just sat down and waited until the freight
going north and passing Bloomsbury at two-eighteen was pounding up-grade
from Deering's Crossing, and making all manner of noise."

"Oh! to think of the smartness of that, would you?" burst out Andy. "I
was wondering how they could blow open the safe, and the sound of the
explosion never even be heard over at Headquarters, only half a block
away; but now I see how it could be done. Just like a fellow says he can
pull a hair out of your head, and you not feel it; and he makes out to
give you a thump on the head with his other hand at the same time, so of
course you never notice him pulling the hair."

"Just about on the same principle," said the officer, nodding; "for
when that heavy freight goes pounding past the station, it makes enough
noise to drown almost any sort of sound. The windows rattle, and we
always have to stop talking until the caboose gets past. And that was
the time they chose to explode their juice, with an absolute certainty
that no policeman's ear would hear a single thing."

"And Cadger saw it all, did he?" asked practical Frank.

"A good lot of it, by twisting his head from time to time," replied
Chief Waller. "And after the thing had been successfully done, he could
watch the two thieves gathering the swag together, and putting it in a
satchel they found in the cashier's room. Then, just at a quarter to