“And so he knew the private call of the Secret Service,” went on Sheridan. “When I gave him the number I wanted him to call up, he knew right away that I was a Secret Service man. He delivered my message in fine shape and then came back to help me, because he found the office couldn’t do anything for me. We got the men I was after, and a lot of smuggled wool too. And while we were working on the case, this lad picked up the hint about your cotton here. So I told him he might go with me when I went to look for the cotton.” “Young man,” said Mr. Morgan, “the Coastwise Steamship Company is really greatly indebted to you, and I wish you would let me give you a little token of our appreciation.” “I couldn’t do that,” insisted Willie. “I didn’t do it for money.” “Then what did you do it for?” “I did it to help Mr. Sheridan and because I want to learn all I can about the Secret Service. I want to be a Secret Service man.” “You’re certainly qualified to be one, and I hope you land a job with the Service. Come see me if you don’t. There might be a stray job in my office by that time.” “Thank you, Mr. Morgan. I am obliged to you. But there isn’t anything else I want to do so much as to be a Secret Service man. Good-bye.” The Secret Service man, meantime, had hustled away from the pier with his prisoner as fast as he could go. He did not want to be seen by any more longshoremen than he could help. But Willie knew where he had gone, and after he had shaken hands with Mr. Morgan, he hustled down the street after his friend. He reached the police-station just as Sheridan was coming out of it. Sheridan was smiling. Willie guessed it was because he had beaten the police. “What next?” he asked. “I guess we’ll go report to the Chief on these seizures,” Sheridan said. “And I’ll do all I can to try to get you into the Service in some capacity. You have proved your worth.” “I’ll take any job I can get,” said Willie, “even to being an office boy. And I’ll be glad to get the job.” “Now you’re talking sense,” said Willie’s companion. “The way to get into any place or any job is to get in. It doesn’t matter whether you go in by the front door, or the kitchen door, or the cellar door. Once you are inside, you can go pretty much where you like. You may think that starting as an office boy in the Secret Service is like coming in through the cellar door. Maybe it is. But the point is that you are in. You can climb as fast as you have the ability to. But you can’t ever get anywhere in the Secret Service as long as you don’t belong to it—or in any other job, can you?” “No,” agreed Willie. “I’ve been dead wrong about that notion. If I can get an office boy job, I’ll be the happiest fellow in the world.” “You can get on the waiting list, and that’s sure. There may not be any vacancy at the present time. At any rate, we’ll see what happens. Come on.” CHAPTER VII WILLIE GETS HIS CHANCE