Читать книгу Radio Boys in the Flying Service; or, Held For Ransom by Mexican Bandits онлайн

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“I wish it were,” replied the president soberly, “but as a matter of fact their loot amounted to fifty thousand dollars!”

A gasp of astonishment ran round the room.

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“What?” cried Phil in dismay. “Fifty thousand dollars? Are you sure, Mr. Eldridge?”

“Only too sure,” the latter replied. “You see it is pay day for the mills with their thousands of operatives, and the money for the payrolls was being made up, so that the money was out of the vaults and within full sight and reach of the robber. The band couldn’t have selected a moment that would have been more favorable for them. In fact, it was so well timed that I am inclined to think that the scoundrels must have had some confederate in the town who was familiar with the customs and working of the bank.”

“That means then,” said Dutton, “that the thieves still have forty thousand dollars of the bank’s money.”

“Just about that,” agreed Mr. Eldridge, “and it’s a pretty heavy amount for a bank of this size to lose. Luckily it will not affect our solvency, for the bank is perfectly sound, but it makes a dent in our surplus that we don’t like to think about. Of course, we’ll offer a reward and do everything in our power to have the gang apprehended. We’ll hope for the best. In the meantime, I want to tell you again how deeply grateful I am to you all for the splendid work you did in capturing two of the robbers and recovering so large an amount of the money.”