rear of a large yard, and before them loomed
a brick building, which Nick figured must be a courthouse; and after a
moment they made a half circuit around, and came to a stop between two
buildings of brick, one of them being that one already mentioned.

The night was dark now, for the moon had gone down, and there were no
street lamps in that village evidently; or, if there were, they were not
burned on nights when there was supposed to be a moon.

But there was light enough for Nick to discover that they were close to
the main street of the village; he could see the store windows on the
opposite side; and it suddenly came to him that the building that was
next to them--the second one--was a bank, and that they were about to
rob it.

He knew now what was expected of him; and again he determined to see the
thing through to the end.

It was not to prevent one robbery that he was engaged; but to prevent
many. It was not to apprehend the participants in a minor job like this
one promised to be, but to capture the head that directed many such
robberies, and so stop them altogether.

And still no word--not even a whisper--was spoken between the men. They
worked on in utter silence, as if their plans had been thoroughly
conned until they were learned absolutely by heart.

Nor did they pause in the yard next to the bank. There was scarcely a
halt there; but they passed to the rear of the building, and followed
one another over the high fence that was there, to the rear of the bank
building.

Keeping themselves well in the shadows, they crept forward silently to a
rear door of the building, and here Handsome paused for a moment, and
put down a canvas bag that he had been carrying all the way; and now he
whispered in Nick's ear:

"There are the tools, Dago. Let's see what kind of a cracksman you are."

Nick did not need a second bidding. Having determined upon his course,
he did not hesitate, but he seized the bag, pulled open the mouth of it,
and, having selected such tools as he wanted, he applied himself to the
task that had been set for him.

A professional burglar of long experience could not have gotten that
huge oak door open more quickly and silently than Nick Carter did, and
Handsome gave him an approving pat on the shoulder.

He was the first to enter the bank, Nick following, and the others
coming behind them; and presently, after forcing another door, they
stood crouching inside the bank itself.

A dim