Half an hour later, the two men got out of Mish's hired car, carrying a suitcase each and walked up the narrow path that led to Maisky's bungalow. A light showed through the curtains, and the door opened immediately when Mish thumbed the bell push.
Maisky waved them in.
'I hope everything so far is well,' Maisky said as he led the way into the small, shabbily furnished sitting- room. Jack Perry was already there, lounging in the only comfortable chair in the room, a cigar burning evenly between his teeth. He nodded indifferently as the two men came in.
Maisky went over to a table on which stood a bottle of Scotch, glasses and a container of ice.
'Chandler is still to come,' he said, 'but we can start without him.'
He made two drinks after Wash had shaken his head. Mish dropped his large body into a chair that creaked under his weight. He accepted the drink, then watched Maisky hand the other drink to Perry.
'I will ask you to try on your uniforms,' Maisky said. 'I think they will fit. I have taken trouble with them. Then we will go through the whole plan.'
A ping on the doorbell made him break off. He went to the front door and returned with Chandler, a suitcase in hand.
Chandler came into the room, nodded to the other men, set down the suitcase and accepted a drink. Watching him, Maisky realised he had been with a woman. The relaxed, satiated expression on the handsome face was enough to tell Maisky this. It didn't worry him. He was confident enough in Chandler to know that he wouldn't talk, even to a woman.
'There is one thing that is important,' Maisky said, sitting on the edge of the table, 'which I forgot to mention last night. When Jess and Wash get into the vault, they will find the money is packaged in five, ten, twenty, one-hundred and five-hundred-dollar bills. You two will take only the five-hundred-dollar bills. There isn't a great deal of space in the carton and we want as much money as we can get. But you must also take as many five-dollar bills as you can carry in your pockets. On this money we will have to live for three or even six weeks. I am still not sure that the five-hundred-dollar bills aren't marked. So while the heat is on, we must only spend the five-dollar bills . . . understand?'
'Marked?' This from Mish. 'You think they would mark their big bills?'
'I don't know. I doubt it, but we mustn't take any chances. Until the heat has cooled off, we will not spend one single five-hundreddollar bill.'
The four men nodded.
'Well, you all know the plan and you have had time to think it over. Have you any suggestions?' Maisky looked around, his head slightly on one side, his eyes probing.
'This cylinder of gas,' Mish said. 'I could fix a gimmick so that the gas was released when they open the carton. Would that help?'
'And what would happen to them? The gas operates in ten seconds.' Maisky sounded a little impatient. 'They must have their gas masks on before the gas is released.'
Mish scratched his thick nose and shrugged.
'Yeah . . . well, it was an idea.'
Chandler said, 'Suppose we work through the whole plan? The timing has got to be exact. Why does Mish have to put the air conditioner on the blink?'
'If the temperature is too low, the gas isn't efficient. It will work, of course, but not so fast. It is essential that the room isn't cold.'
'About the timing . . . aren't we cutting it fine if Mish starts operating at two-thirty?'
'That is right.' Maisky slid off the table, went to a drawer and took out a sheet of paper, 'I have revised the schedule. It's all here. You will each be given a copy. But before we go into that, I want you all to try on your uniforms.'
Ten minutes later, Chandler, Perry and Wash had on the I.B.M. service uniforms and found no fault with them. Mish was wearing the Paradise City's Electricity Co's uniform.
'Yes, they will do very well,' Maisky said after a careful inspection. 'Now, I will show you the truck.'
'Just a second,' Chandler said. 'How did you get hold of these uniforms?'
Maisky regarded him, his gentle smile in evidence.
'You are very curious, my friend. I have many contacts. A tailor who owes me a lot was happy to make them . . . you need not worry. He won't talk.'
'Who cares?' Mish said enthusiastically, regarding himself in the mirror on the wall. 'They are great.'
'Yes . . . the fit is good,' Maisky said. 'Now let me show you the truck.'
He led them through the kitchen and into the double garage where a small truck was parked beside his Buick. On each of its sides was a bold painted sign: red letters against a white background. It read:
I.B.M. THE BEST CALCULATORS IN THE WORLD. WE DELIVER AND SERVICE AROUND THE CLOCK.
'You did this?' Mish asked, staring in obvious admiration.
'Yes . . . I think I can say there isn't much I can't turn my hand to,' Maisky said, obviously pleased. 'I have installed a gimmick on the dashboard so that with a lift of a lever, these signs can be jettisoned. We must not forget that once the robbery has been discovered, the truck will be red hot and we must get rid of these signs.' He opened the double doors at the rear of the truck. Inside there was a long bench seat. 'There will be room enough for you all to ride in the truck, except, of course, Mish, who will arrive and get away in his own car. There is also an arrangement by which I can change the number plates by another gimmick. The plates swivel over and new ones take their place.' He demonstrated the changing of the plates while the four men watched, then with the air of a salesman, he said, 'I have found a safe place, a mile from the Casino, where we will dump the truck. I will have my car there.' He looked at Chandler, 'I will ask you to follow me in your car tomorrow morning so that you can drive me back, after I have left my car. The sooner we get rid of the truck after we have the money, the better.' He
