Old Specie, the Treasury Detective; or, The Harbor Lights of New York — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

OLD SPECIE. meet He always looked for disappointments, and many of them, while undertaking a case of this nature, and the success which came in the end was always the sweeter because of the trouble he had been re- quired to pass through. When he left the store on South street and saun- tered along, his mind was full of the game. He had not recognized the man with the red eyes, but his sharp glance had discovered at least one give-away point about him. From his rolling gait he was undoubtedly a sailor, or had been in the past. | Hence it stood to reason that he would be found in some qaurters where the dark-faced sons of the salt water congregated. These places were well known to him. Old Specie was acquainted in New York. He had been born here, and nearly forty years ago used to run with the machine, being a member of the volunteer fire department. Much of his business had been done in the great American metropolis. He had unearthed more than one tremendous scheme here, whereby a band of unscrupulous men hoped to defraud the government in some cunning way. Now that it was necessary for him to visit some of these salior dens, he had not the least hesitation about doing it. 3 Night was the time for that. Then the places would be filled with a lively, rol- licking company, some good-natured, others vicious. His countrified appearance made him an object of interest for bunco men. =| Gomicbooks.¢o