Ricardo wants to arrange three 1 \mathrm{~s}, three 2 \mathrm{~s}, two 3 \mathrm{~s}, and one 4 to form nine-digit positive integers with the properties that
- when reading from left to right, there is at least one 1 before the first 2 , at least one 2 before the first 3 , and at least one 3 before the 4, and
- no digit 2 can be next to another 2.
(For example, the integer 121321234 satisfies these properties.) In total, how many such nine-digit positive integers can Ricardo make?
Answer Choices
A. 278
B. 260
C. 254
D. 272
E. 266