The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

112 go openly and pay deposit money for a private railway car to New York, to start the following morning, though he had not the slightest intention of going East. This done, he strolled out to the water-front. He could discover no sign of his being shadowed, but it was by a very devious route that he at last arrived at a small restaurant near the custom house. Almost on his heels there entered a - big, grizzled man of seagoing appear- ance. The place was fairly full, and Saville, after a quick glance around, se- lected a table rather apart from the others in a recess, and the burly mariner, with apparent aimlessness, drifted in the same direction and dropped into a chair oppo- site Saville, who, without taking any notice of his table-companion, ordered lunch. The man opposite him did the same. Then, when the waiter had gone the eyes of the two men met. “All goes well, Andrew,” said Saville in a low tone, picking up a newspaper. Any one observing the pair would have said they were holding no communication whatever. “That’s good, sir,” replied Andrew Trail with relief in his tone. “The stuff will be ready for you at seven this evening. You will be at the corner of Kearney and Commercial Streets precisely at that hour for our first meeting. Each time I will give you the next rendezvous. You will take everything I give you straight on board the Benmore, returning with the empty bag each time—you un- derstand?” Savillé said all this in a low tone with- out looking up from his paper. “Perfectly, sir—here’s the waiter.” They said no more to each other until the man had gone, then, over their food, it was easy to resume. “Four, or at the most five, journeys ought to do it,” said Saville. “I take it that the Benmore is ready?” “Down to the last nut in the engines, sir. Schwartz has done well. We are cleared, and can start at any moment.” “Good. I leave by the South Pacific THE ARGOSY. immediately after we finish to-night. You will cast off as early in the morning as is convenient and make south, awaiting me off Point Gorda, where 1 hope to arrive about dawn of the day after to-morrow. Keep a sharp lookout. I shall be in the boat, of course.” Andrew Trail nodded. “T’ll not miss you, sir, if you are there.” “Tf I am not there I shall be either dead or in the penitentiary,” said Saville grim- ly, but the older man frowned. “You will win out, sir,” he observed. “T don’t see how anything can go wrong now.” | Saville shrugged his shoulders. “One never knows,” said he. ““Now how about the Frenchman?” ‘“‘Foularde?”’ Saville knit his brows in his turn. ““Yes—but no names.” “‘He is on board in the seventh heaven of delight.” “Doesn’t he ask questions?” “Scores,” responded Trail, “or rather he did before I put a stop to it. I gave him to understand that if he meant to be curi- ous he would lose his chance of that job you promised him. He has been mute h since.” “And all the more curious, no doubt,” commented Saville musingly. “I dislike the idea of having the fellow with us at all, but he is a clever engineer, it seems, and a clever engineer is the very man I want. But being no fool, he ought to know which side his bread is buttered. He lies low, of course?” Andrew Trail’s weatherbeaten face re- laxed slightly. “Hasn’t ventured to put his nose outside his cabin, so Schwartz tells me. He’s got no notion of seeing the inside of the cooler.” “Gun-play, wasn’t it?” “Stabbing,” replied Trail, with Anglo- Saxon contempt for Latin methods. “Jab- bed his knife into a man in one of those South Side dives.” ‘““ Ah! You have taken away his carver?” “T believe Schwartz did. But he won’t COL! Elooolks (C@