" I thought it unwise to
risk a reply. So I kept in the dark waiting for my chance. During
the voyage nothing had occurred to arouse the suspicions of Herr
Schmidt and he began to relax his vigilance after the ship was four
days out. But I was careful not to take the slightest advantage of
his ease at this point. I would wait until the ship was almost in
port; then make my play.
To prepare for this I had days ago begun to cultivate the acquaintance
of one of the baggage men. This man at once attracted me by his
shifty eyes and unhealthy red complexion. It hag often been a Secret
Service precept with me: "Give me a hard drinker or a man who is fast
and I'll land him nine times out of ten." Well, the baggage master
was no exception. I decided to ply him with liquor to make his tongue
run away. I made it my business to see that this particular baggage
man was in an incompetent state afternoon and night. One night as he
was chin-chucking a stewardess with whom he was infatuated, this
red-faced gentleman said:
"Well, Doctor, we're going to get married, the little lady and I.
We're going to set up in business. Do you know of any small hotel
that we could bug cheap?"
At this I was all attention; I had been waiting for some lead of this
sort.
"Ho, friend," I said; "ready to buy a hotel eh? There must be plenty
of gold in your job."
The lout winked heavily.
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