After all, there was a great deal--the notes were
of hundred-dollar denomination, and on the bottom were two
one-thousand-dollar bills! Calculated roughly, if each of the other
nine packages contained a like amount, the total must exceed a hundred
thousand.
And now Jimmie Dale began to work with feverish haste. From the leather
girdle inside his shirt came the thin metal insignia case--and a gray
seal was stuck firmly on the dial knob of the safe. This done, he tucked
away the packages of banknotes, some into his pockets and some inside
his shirt; and then quickly ransacked the interior of the safe,
flauntingly spilling the contents of drawers and pigeonholes out upon
the floor.
He stood up, and, leaving the safe door wide open, walked back across
the room to the window, unfastened the catch, and opened the window an
inch or two. The way was open now for the Magpie! The Magpie would have
no need to make any noise in forcing an entrance; he would be able to
see almost at a glance that he had been forestalled--by the Gray Seal;
and that, as far as he was concerned, the game was up. The Magpie had
his chance! If the Magpie did not take the hint and make his escape as
noiselessly as he had entered--it was his own fault! He, Jimmie Dale,
had given the Magpie his chance.
Jimmie Dale turned from the window, and made his way out of the library
to the foot of the stairs, leaving the library door open behind him.
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