'
'Agreed, of course,' said Racksole.
Mr Hazell entered. He was a young man of about thirty, dressed in
blue serge, with a pale, keen face, a brown moustache and a rather
handsome brown beard.
'Mr Hazell,' said the high official, 'let me introduce you to Mr
Theodore Racksole - you will doubtless be familiar with his name.
Mr Hazell,' he went on to Racksole, 'is one of our outdoor staff -
what we call an examining officer. Just now he is doing night duty.
He has a boat on the river and a couple of men, and the right to
board and examine any craft whatever. What Mr Hazell and his
crew don't know about the Thames between here and Gravesend
isn't knowledge.'
'Glad to meet you, sir,' said Racksole simply, and they shook
hands.
Racksole observed with satisfaction that Mr Hazell was entirely at
his ease.
'Now, Hazell,' the high official continued, 'Mr Racksole wants you
to help in a little private expedition on the river to-night. I will
give you a night's leave. I sent for you partly because I thought you
would enjoy the affair and partly because I think I can rely on you
to regard it as entirely unofficial and not to talk about it. You
understand? I dare say you will have no cause to regret having
obliged Mr Racksole.'
'I think I grasp the situation,' said Hazell, with a slight smile.
'And, by the way,' added the high official, 'although the business is
unofficial, it might be well if you wore your official overcoat.
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