A band of criminals led by a southern dandy named Professor Goldthwaite rent a room from an elderly widow by pretending to be musicians looking for a rehearsal space. Their real plan is to dig a tunnel to a nearby riverboat casino and break into the vault.
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However the criminals are each incompetent in his own way and things start falling apart right away. Their inside man gets fired and another one of them loses a finger while testing explosives, and all the while they have to escape the attentions of their landlady which they do by blasting music to hide their digging and sound like they are rehearsing.
Against all odds their plan succeeds and they get the casino money, but they are discovered by their landlady. As a good Christian woman she offers them the chance to return the money, otherwise she will turn them in.
No one in the gang wants to give up the cash so they agree to kill her. But none of them want to be the one to do it, and they decide to draw lots to see who will be killer.
Best part of story, including ending:
Each criminal is funny in his own way which makes their antics fun to watch.
Best scene in story:
The Professor is very pretentious and there is a scene where he orders waffles in a very florid manner, it made me laugh.
Opinion about the main character:
He is extremely pretentious and slick, making him unlikeable.