fellows have been bringing opium into this port for months from Central America, and we can’t touch them. Yet we are absolutely certain they are doing it. I just got another letter this morning from the commandant of this district, urging me to increase my vigilance.”
“Who are the fellows that bring in the opium, and how do they do it?” asked Henry.
“The most notorious outfit is the steamer Orient, that plies between New York and Panama.”
“How do you know she brings in opium?” asked Henry.
“Well, we don’t really know it. We know the stuff gets in, and we know it comes from Panama by ship. The captain of the Orient has a shady reputation and associates with men known to be dope handlers. He never loses any of his crew, and that is suspicious in itself.”
“I don’t understand,” said Henry.
“Oh, sailors go from boat to boat. They are a roving lot, and it is seldom that a ship’s master can keep the same crew any length of time. But there’s something so attractive about service on the Orient that men seldom leave her. It isn’t because of the high tone of life aboard, either, for they’re a rummy lot on that ship. We figure they are all in on the opium business, and that the captain lets them share in the profits. That’s