A Charm of Powerful Trouble (A Harry Reese Mystery Book 4) by Robert Bruce Stewart Page B

had dinner and got on the same car he did, then changed cars when he did. The second car took us over the bridge back to Brooklyn, and at a ferry dock he got off and walked down past a big factory to the river. There were all sorts of boats here and he approached one of the canal boats. He called over to the cabin something we couldn’t make out, and a woman emerged. He handed her a piece of paper and she took it into the cabin, then returned and motioned him to come aboard. By then we were very close and Emmie recognized the woman. ‘That’s Captain Stanton,’ she said.”
    “Who’s Captain Stanton?”
    “I asked her that and she said it was too long a story. She wanted to board immediately, but I dissuaded her. She agreed we would come home and fetch you. Then we heard another man approach Captain Stanton’s boat. He was a seaman of some sort. He called out for the captain and told her she should be ready to leave at 6 a.m.
    “We got back to the apartment about two and waited for you to get home. About half past three, Emmie said she couldn’t afford to wait any longer. I suggested we call the police, but she said the police would be of no use. Then she went in and packed a bag. I was to explain to you that she was going to take a berth on Captain Stanton’s boat. She told me that the captain did a business transporting Chinamen who’ve been smuggled in from Canada.”
    Then she smiled and added, “It’s just like King Brady, isn’t it?”
    “King Brady?”
    “The dime-novel hero who seems to be in a perennial battle with the highbinders. My cook, Anna, has me read her every issue.”
    “A little too much like that. Are you sure you weren’t reading one as you fell asleep?”
    “It all happened just as I told you, Harry. Emmie could be in grave danger.”
    “Well, if she is, it’s her own fault. Did you see the name of the boat?”
    “The Sophie Arnould .”
    “Do you remember where it was docked?”
    “I think so. But it will be gone now.”
    “Let’s hope they were delayed.”
    After dressing hurriedly we took a cab up to Williamsburg, then walked along the riverfront behind the sugar refineries.
    “It was here.” She pointed to an empty berth.
    I went over to a sloop where some men were loading barrels of sugar and spoke to the fellow watching—and no doubt in charge.
    “Wasn’t the Sophie Arnould berthed here?” I asked.
    “Joining a tow this morning. Behind the Captain Shandy .”
    “Where’s that take place?”
    “Out on the river here. But they’ll be headed up the Hudson by now.”
    “How long’s it take for them to reach Albany?”
    “Oh, two days. Give or take.”
    “I don’t suppose they stop anywhere along the way?”
    “Not usually. She was loaded full with sugar.”
    “Going where?”
    “Oh, up the canal.”
    “Buffalo?”
    “Could be. She came down with lumber for the piano factory, might be from Tonawanda.”
    “The Steinway factory?”
    “That’s right.”
    I thanked him and we headed off to catch a car for home.
    “One thing I forgot to mention, Harry.”
    “What’s that?”
    “When Emmie and I left here earlier, we saw two Chinamen who seemed to also be watching the Sophie Arnould .”
    “Did you recognize them from earlier?”
    “We didn’t see them that well. They rushed off when they realized we were looking their way.” Then she added, “Tonawanda is just across the river from Canada, Harry.”
    “Yes, and the Steinway factory is just a half mile from the farm. If they’re smuggling Chinamen, it would be a convenient way of getting them into New York.”
    “What should we do now?”
    “I’m not sure. I guess head up the river and intercept them.”
    Back at the apartment, I took out a map and determined the mid-point on the Hudson between New York and Albany.
    “If we wait in Poughkeepsie, the tow should pass early tomorrow morning,” I told Aunt Nell. “All we have to do is take a train up there and hire a boat.”
    “That sounds