'Good enough,' said Cain. 'Tomorrow Bill 'ull drive you north to get the XXC.'
'I'll drive mesel',' Husker said. 'I'll go on my own.'
Again there was a silence. 'Why on your own?' Cain asked softly.
'For a while I had a one-man weldin' business not a thousan' mile from Granchester. My tale is I'm startin' up again, but I owe so much money to North Western Oxygen I can't get gas as a registered user. I have to get it on the crook, see? I know where I can get it.'
'That's a good story,' said France, who thought that it was, and Husker looked almost grateful.
'Right,' said Cain. 'That's settled. Tomorrow I'll set Flo on casing a nice little tickle I have in mind. Flo and Dorrie between 'em will find out when the money goes to the bank, and when it don't. Then the Gent can take a preliminary look at the place, and we'll be ready to go. Can you get a drill, Sailor?'
'Got one,' Jolly said. 'Electric. And I've still got my catalogues. The coppers never found 'em.'
'Catalogues?'
'My safe catalogues. I've been collectin' 'em for thirty years.'
'Well, that's fine,' Cain said. 'Now then, who wants another drink? Don't all speak at once.'
5
The new XXC mob's first break-in was an evening job, because the time of year was late September and it was quite dark by eight o'clock. Half past eight was the time chosen, because it was a quiet time for both cars and pedestrians. The 'tickle' was a fairly big Co-operative store in south-east London, which was closed at six o'clock every weekday, except for early closing day. There was no watchman. It was not a modern store, and Cain was of the opinion that it would not have a modern safe.
Flo had ascertained that the manager and an assistant carried a heavy bag to a local bank every morning at eleven o'clock, and she had also noticed that when they emerged from the bank the bag seemed to be much lighter. So it was assumed that every night the best part of a day's takings were left in the store. Friday was the busiest shopping day. Friday evening was chosen for the robbery.
The Co-op had a backyard with a high gate. The gate was in a quiet alley. Across the alley, the dark glimmering windows of a big warehouse looked down into the yard. The warehouse had a watchman, but occasionally this man deserted his post and went along to a nearby inn for a couple of hours. It was assumed that he would certainly go for a drink on Friday, the beginning of the weekend and one of the best nights of the week for tavern company.
To make sure of this, Sailor Jolly was on the job as soon as it was dark. He saw the watchman leave the warehouse and go to the inn. He entered the inn and had a half-pint of mild ale, and saw the watchman settle down to a game of cribbage in the taproom, with a pint of beer at his elbow.
Jolly was waiting, watching the Co-op, when his confederates arrived in the Austin car. He gave a prearranged signal, and then followed the car as Coggan drove it into the alley. Only France got out of the car. He was wearing rubber gloves and a suit with more pockets than a poacher's, and in the pockets he carried all the equipment he was likely to need for entry, search, or escape. The one other thing he needed tonight was in the car.
Jolly arrived, and gave him a shoulder to the top of the gate. He climbed over and unbolted the gate. He and Jolly held it wide open while Coggan reversed the car in through the gateway, then they quietly bolted it.
'The jack,' France said softly to Jolly.
Cain and Husker were getting out of the car, Coggan remained in his seat. Jolly opened the boot and took out the jack without noise, because he knew exactly where it was.
All the rear windows of the Co-op, upstairs and down, were barred, and the back door was so firmly secured that it would not move at all. France inspected one of the windows. He spread one of his hands to its widest span, measuring the distance between the bars. Cain moved to stand beside him.
'Think you can do it?' he asked.
'Sure,' was the quiet reply.
Jolly arrived with the jack. Cain turned away to help Husker with his equipment. Coggan decided to get out of the car and help with this task, too. Husker had hoped to get propane instead of acetylene, but he had failed. In the modified boot of the car were a cylinder of oxygen and a shorter, broader cylinder of acetylene, together with the equipment which Husker would need.
Jolly held the jack horizontally between two bars of the window. France fitted in the handle, and began to turn it. It was stiff work, but one of the bars was weaker than the other, and it began to bend. The jack was now firm between the bars, and Jolly did not need to hold it.
'Here,' he said, as France strained. 'Let me do that. You don't know what we'll find inside. If your arms get tired you'll be all of a tremble.'
That was quite true. A man could not sound a lock with unsteady hands. France relinquished the jack, and Jolly began to turn it with a will. The weaker bar bent until it touched another bar. It was held firm there, and the stronger bar began to bend. Eventually the two bars were far enough apart for a man or a cylinder of acetylene to slip through.
Behind the bars, the window was immovable. Clearly it had not been opened for years, and could not be opened without making a lot of noise. France studied it. 'I don't like breakin' glass,' he muttered.
Now the XXC equipment was all unloaded, Cain, Husker, and Jolly now watched France, while Coggan did look-out duty. Cain held a pencil torch while France produced a strong pocket knife and started to cut and prise away the putty around the lower of the two window panes. In a few minutes the pane was held in place only by the few small nails which had been under the putty. France put away his knife and brought out some small pliers. He extracted all the nails, so that there would be no chance of any member of the party tearing his clothes and leaving a clue for the police. He pocketed the pliers and got out his knife again, and used it to prise the pane of glass gently forward until it leaned against the window bars. Then he put away the knife. Not once did he put down a tool. After use, every tool was returned to his pocket before another one was brought out.
Then began the delicate task of slanting and turning the sheet of glass until he held it nearly vertical, at right angles to the window frame. When this was done, he deftly and carefully slid it out between the bars.
'Fine, fine,' breathed Cain.
France carried the pane of glass to a corner of the yard, so that nobody would need to go near it. He leaned it against the wall and returned to the window. With his own torch in his hand he slipped through the opening, leading the way into the building and leaving Cain, Jolly, and Husker to follow with the equipment.
The first obstacle he encountered was a locked inner door, between a stock-room and the main shop. He looked at the lock closely, and found that there was a key on the other side. His gloved fingers felt along the bottom of the door, and found that there was some space between the door and the floor. Turning from the door, he let the thin beam of his light travel low around the room. On a table by the wall there was a teapot and some crockery, and a sheet of brown paper had been spread in lieu of a tablecloth. France moved the crockery to a shelf, and took the paper and slid it under the door. Then he set to work on the lock with long, fine pliers. He moved the key until he was able to push it out, and it dropped on to the brown paper with a metallic thud. He drew the paper back to his own side of the door, and the key came with it.
Burdened with equipment, the other three were now standing behind him. 'Don't any of you show a light,' he whispered as he unlocked the door. The sense of the warning became apparent as he gently pushed it open. The front, main part of the shop was bathed in light from the street. It shone on the polished counters, and on the orderly piles of canned foods on display. In the street a woman was passing, looking into the shop window as she walked along. The four men stood quite still.