 Why did the tear gas that the police were using on Mr. Higgins not work to run him out of the house?
There was Mr. Featherhall at his desk, refusing to okay a personal check from a perfect stranger. There was Mrs. Elizabeth Clayhorn, depositing her husband's pay check in their joint checking account, and with her was her ten-year-old son Edward (Eddie) Clayhorn, Junior. There was Charlie Casale, getting ten dollars dimes, six dollars nickels and four dollars pennies for his father in the grocery store down the street. There was Mrs. Dolly Daniels, withdrawing money from her savings account again. One of the others took the pistol away from Mister Anderson, the guard, and said to him in a low voice, "Think about retirement, my friend." The third one, who carried a black satchel like a doctor's bag, walked quickly around behind the teller's counter and started filling it with money. The man who had first spoken herded the tellers, Mr. Featherhall and the customers all over against the back wall, while the second man stayed next to Mr. Anderson and the door. Meanwhile, Mr. Anderson went scooting out the front door and running down the street toward the police station in the next block, shouting, "Help! The man with the satchel came running around from behind the counter, and the man by the door tried to keep Miss English from scratching his eyes out. She fell unconscious to the floor, and all three of them ran out of the bank to the car out front, in which sat a very nervous-looking fourth man, gunning the engine. Everyone except Miss English ran out after the bandits, to watch. Two police cars came driving down the block and a half from the precinct house to the bank, and the car with the four robbers in it lurched away from the curb and drove straight down the street toward the police station. The police cars and the getaway car passed one another, with everybody shooting like the ships in pirate movies. There was so much confusion that it looked as though the bank robbers were going to get away after all. The police cars were aiming the wrong way and, as they'd come down with sirens wailing, there was a clear path behind them. Then, after the getaway car had gone more than two blocks, it suddenly started jouncing around. And all the police went running down there to clap handcuffs on the robbers when they crawled dazedly out of their car. "Well," said Pauling, "it was a stolen car. "What I can't figure out," said Stevenson, "is exactly what made those tires do that.
 The windows were either broken or open and he was able to throw them back out.
 He was unaffected by the gas because of his deranged mindset.  The windows were either broken or open and he was able to throw them back out.  Higgins was too preoccupied by the burns on his hands to care about the tear gas.  Higgins was hanging out the windows shooting and was able to breathe fresh air.