A WATCH ON A DIAMOND SMUGGLER
Relieved of the last shadow of suspicion, and with the confidence of
his superior made plainer every day, Willie applied himself with
increased energy to his tasks. Again it was fortunate for Willie
that there were no other boys in the office. His feeling during the
first few days after the arrest of Tom Smith was one of exultation,
of almost irrepressible joy. He wanted to shout and whistle and
express his feelings in noise and physical action. But there was no
one to share his feelings with him. The office force consisted
wholly of grown men, mostly of staid and sober habits. Of necessity,
Willie had to repress his spirits in some way. The only outlet
appeared to be in work. So Willie worked harder than ever.
Perhaps it was fortunate for him that the office force was so
crowded with work. There were innumerable tasks that rightfully
belonged to the office boy. Willie had to run errands, carry papers,
make trips to the Appraisers’ Stores, send wireless messages for his
Chief, meet visitors at the gate, and do many other things, in the
course of his regular work. But Willie was quick in his movements,
and still quicker in thought. He was continually studying how to
save time, and as a result he saved time. So, despite all the
regular tasks that fell to his lot, he was able to do some that
could by no possibility have been considered part of an office boy’s
work.
At high school he had studied bookkeeping and some kinds of clerical
work, and now he found this training of the greatest use. He
volunteered to do such clerical work as he had time to do. At first,
the hard pressed clerks permitted him to do a few unimportant tasks.
Then, finding that he did these correctly and with perfect
comprehension of the work, they trusted him with more important
jobs. Before many weeks had gone by, Willie had added to his own
tasks considerable clerical work.
To be sure, the amount of such work he could do was not huge, yet
the assistance he gave relieved the clerks greatly. For all this
extra work Willie received not a cent. But he was richly paid, none
the less. He won the friendship and good-will of every man in the
office, his employer began to prize him highly, and Willie himself
gained immensely in knowledge of the work of the department. He was
laying by a store of knowledge that would some day be of the
greatest use to him. In short, he was doing just what a little tree
does when it makes roots, or what masons do before the carpenters
start to erect a building. He was making a foundation, and making a
good one.
Willie never lost sight of his main object, however. He was aiming
at no clerical job, though he gladly did clerical work. Often this
work gave him an insight into the work he wanted to do, as had been
the case when Mr. King explained to him about the ad valorem tax on
luxuries, or when Sheridan explained to him about the duties on wool
and the methods of handling wool. All such knowledge helped Willie
to comprehend the problems before him and to fathom the actions of
people.
Indeed, Willie was learning more about human nature every day. The
theft of Mr. King’s papers and the arrest of Tom Smith had jolted
Willie into a keen consciousness of some phases of life about which
he had previously thought little. Now he realized, not only that
many people are dishonest, but that they are desperately wicked, and
that to cover up their evil deeds they will not hesitate even to
commit murder. Day by day he heard more about the desperate chances
men took along the Canadian and Mexican borders to smuggle in opium
and rum; for the customs forces maintained armed guards, with
powerful armored cars, along those borders. And many a running fight
in the dark resulted, with more than one man injured or killed. And
closer at home he knew that the rum runners who were bringing liquor
surreptitiously into New York were equally dangerous and desperate.
More and more frequently Willie was called upon to take small
seizures to the seizure room. This was not dangerous, yet Willie had
to keep his mind on his business, for if he lost or was robbed of
any of these articles, he would again fall under suspicion of being
a thief himself. One experience of that sort was enough for Willie.
So he learned to keep his mind absolutely on what he was doing. Thus
he became very useful to the special agents when they had to convey
valuables, like seized jewels, and Willie was detailed to go with
them. For this happened more and more frequently.
As time passed, too, Mr. King began to use Willie for little jobs of
shadowing. Often it was possible for Willie to trail a person, where
a grown man could hardly have escaped observation and discovery. And
every experience of this sort made Willie more observant, more
comprehending, more resourceful, and so better fitted to make the
most of the opportunities that sooner or later would come to him.
Although Willie still had few friends in New York, he was far from
being lonely. Long ago he had arranged with his friends in Central
City for wireless communications. Almost every day between half-past
twelve and one o’clock he had a brief chat with some member of the
Wireless Patrol. Willie regretted that he could not have his
wireless at his boarding-place, so he could use it at night. Yet he
knew that was really an idle wish, for he did not himself possess a
battery sufficiently powerful to carry messages to Central City, nor
had he yet funds enough to buy such a battery. So the present
arrangement was a good one. He could talk to his friends at noon,
while they were home from school and he was free. And his outfit was
of great use to Mr. King. More and more the Special Agent made use
of it, and Willie sent despatches for him almost daily.
Week succeeded week. When Roy or Mr. Reynolds was in port, Willie
had companionship during the evenings. More than once Mr. King took
Willie to his own home. He had a nephew of about Willie’s age, with
whom he made him acquainted, and gradually Willie’s circle of
acquaintanceship widened. Moreover, he found where the nearest
branch of the public library was. Here he could obtain almost any
ordinary book that had been published. When the librarian found how
keen he was to read and study, she willingly got from other branches
or from the main library the books Willie wanted but could not find
on her own shelves. So time passed faster than Willie ever dreamed
could be possible.
One day Mr. King rang the buzzer. As Willie stepped into the Chief’s
office he saw that the Special Agent sat at his desk with a deep
frown on his face. Before him lay a cablegram that Willie had
brought to him some days previously.
“Willie,” said Mr. King, “we have reason to believe that a gang of
smugglers has been getting diamonds into the country without paying
the duty. We’ve watched them closely, but we have not been able to
break up the smuggling. This cablegram says that one of their agents
has sailed for America on the Majestic and that——”
“Is his name Simonski?” asked Willie.
The Special Agent turned and looked at Willie keenly. He was
continually being surprised at Willie’s knowledge.
“It is,” he said, “but how did you know it?”
“I caught a wireless message the first night I was in New York,”
said Willie, “and it said to watch for Simonski with diamonds. I
remembered the name.”
“But you had no wireless outfit then—at least, it wasn’t set up.”
“I was listening in with my friend Roy Mercer in the wireless cabin
of the Lycoming. He told me what the message likely meant.”
“Well, you’ve got a good memory. That’s sure. This fellow’s name is
Simonski, and it’s the same Simonski that wireless was about. He
makes several trips abroad a year, and we feel sure that he buys
precious stones, but so far we have not been able to get him. We’ve
searched him to the hide, too. We’ve had his baggage examined
surreptitiously and our most expert searchers have not found
anything dutiable. The regular uniformed customs inspectors know all
about him. They have already been instructed to examine him closely.
But I want to have him under observation by secret agents, too. All
my agents are on special assignments and I don’t want to call any of
them in. I was expecting to send Easterly up to meet this ship, but
a very pressing case came up this morning and I had to send him
away. There isn’t a soul I can send who has had any experience in
this sort of work except yourself. Do you think you could help any?”
“Do you mean it?” cried Willie, his eyes shining. “Do you want me to
act as a special agent and watch Simonski?”
“I can’t say I want you to,” laughed Mr. King. “I really want
Easterly to. But it’s you or nobody. You’ve done some pretty good
work since you came to New York, but you won’t be dealing with any
rough wool smugglers this time. This fellow is a slick article. If
he’s smuggling, as we believe he is, he’s the slickest article we
have had to deal with in months. I expect it will not do the least
bit of good to send you to the pier, yet it is you or nobody. Do you
want to go?”
“Do I?” cried Willie. “Just give me the chance and see.”
“Very well, then, you meet the Majestic. Go down to Quarantine with
the inspectors and board the boat. I’ll give you a letter to the
proper authorities. You can be a cabin boy, and in that way may get
a good chance to observe this fellow Simonski. Don’t pay any
attention to anything else. This diamond smuggling has got to be
broken up. I won’t be a bit disappointed if you don’t learn a thing.
But if you should find out something, it will be a great achievement
for you. I’ll write that note for you at once.”