Although Carter’s encouragement never waned, the excitement he expressed in Gershwin’s progress in drilling was nowhere near the excitement he expressed in Gershwin’s progress in lock manipulation. Likely because there was little artistry in safecracking with a drill. Once two holes were made, a scope with a light at the end of it was fed through one of them, lighting up the inside of the safe, and a long blade, usually part of a customized screwdriver, was fed through the other one, allowing the safecracker to look through the scope while using the blade to unscrew the plate covering the wheel pack and to then manipulate the wheels until the notches were aligned and the safe was unlocked.
Gershwin had rarely experienced a better feeling than the one he had just after the screwdriver had
