t twinges from some fresh dental
work, by the way--and the bandits had taken everything in sight that
they fancied.

Ramon and Luis Rojas had proven themselves artists in this particular
line of work, and the cashier, when it was all over and the camera and
company were busily at work elsewhere, lived it in his imagination
and felt that he was at least tasting the full flavor of red-blooded
adventure without having to pay the usual price of bitterness and bodily
suffering. He was mistaken, of course--as I am going to explain. What
the cashier had taken part in was not the adventure itself but merely a
rehearsal and general preparation for the real performance.

This had been on Wednesday, just after three o'clock in the afternoon.
On Saturday forenoon the cashier was called upon the phone and asked
if a part of that robbery stuff could be retaken that day. The cashier
thrilled instantly at the thought of it. Certainly, they could retake as
much as they pleased. Lucks voice--or a voice very like Luck's--thanked
him and said that they would not need to retake the interior stuff. What
he wanted was to get the approach to the bank the entrance and going
back to the cashier. That part of the negative was under-timed, said the
voice. And would the cashier make a display of gold behind the wicket,
so that the camera could register it through the window? The cashier
thought that he could. "Just stack it up good and high," directed the
voice. "The more the better. And clear the bank--have the clerks out,
and every thing as near as possible to what it was the other day. And
you take up the same position. The scene ends where Ramon comes back and
grabs you."

"And listen! You did so well the other day that I'm going to leave this
to you, to see that they get it the same. I can't be there myself--I've
got to catch some atmosphere stuff down here in Old Town. I'm just
sending my assistant camera man and the two heavies and my scenic
artist for this retake. It won't be much--but be sure you have the bank
cleared, old man--because it would ruin the following scenes to have
extra people registered in this; see? You did such dandy work in that
struggle that I want it to stand. Boy, your work's sure going to stand
out on the screen!"

Can you blame the cashier for drinking in every word of that, and for
emptying the vault of gold and stacking it up in beautiful, high piles
where the sun shone on it through the window--and where it wo