"Got them? Of course not, how could I?" replied the paymaster. "There
they are...."

His voice trailed off into nothingness as he looked at the empty
counter.

"I must have dropped them," said Winston as he turned. He glanced back
at the rear rack where his main stock of currency was piled. He stood
paralyzed for a moment and then reached under the counter and pushed a
button.

The bank resounded instantly to the clangor of gongs and huge steel
grills shot into place with a clang, sealing all doors and preventing
anyone from entering or leaving the bank. The guards sprang to their
stations with drawn weapons and from the inner offices the bank
officials came swarming out. The cashier, followed by two men, hurried
to the paying teller's cage.

"What is it, Mr. Winston?" he cried.

"I've been robbed!" gasped the teller.

"Who by? How?" demanded the cashier.

"I--I don't know, sir," stammered the teller. "I was counting out Mr.
Trier's payroll, and after I had stacked the twenties I turned to get
the tens. When I turned back the twenties were gone."

"Where had they gone?" asked the cashier.

"I don't know, sir. Mr. Trier was as surprised as I was, and then I
turned back, thinking that I had knocked them off the counter, and I saw
at a glance that there was a big hole in my back racks. You can see
yourself, sir."

The cashier turned to the paymaster.

"Is this a practical joke, Mr. Trier?" he demanded sharply.

"Of course not," replied the paymaster. "Winston's grill was closed. It
still is. Granted that I might have reached the twenties he had piled
up, how could I have gone through a grill and taken the rest of the
missing money without his seeing me? The money disappeared almost
instantly. It was there a moment before, for I noticed when Winston
took the twenties from his rack that it was full."

"But someone must have taken it," said the bewildered cashier. "Money
doesn't walk off of its own accord or vanish into thin air--"

A bell interrupted his speech.

"There are the police," he said with an air of relief. "I'll let them
in."

* * * * *

The smaller of the two men who had followed the cashier from his office
when the alarm had sounded stepped forward and spoke quietly. His
voice was low and well pitched yet it carried a note of authority and
power that held his auditors' attention while he spoke. The voice
harmonized with the man. The most noticeable point a