“You’re telling me! We’ve got to have them; we don’t dare use them — and that calls for some fast double-talk in a pinch. The next hazard is the halo; the halo was a mistake, boss.”
“Why do you say that?”
“O. K., it impresses the superstitious. But the bigshot PanAsians are no more superstitious than you are. Take the Hand — I wore it in his presence. He wasn’t impressed; it was my great good luck that he apparently regarded it as nothing important, just a gadget to impress my followers. But suppose he had really thought about it and decided to find out how I did it?”
“Maybe,” said Ardmore, “we had better omit the halo effect in the next city we penetrate.”
“Too late. Our official designation here is ‘holy men who wear halos.’
It’s our trademark.”
“So? Jeff, I think you’ve done a wonderfully good job of covering up.”
“There is one more hazard. It’s a slow one, a time bomb.”
“Eh?”
“Money. We’ve got too much money. That’s a suspicious circumstance.”
“But you had to have money to operate.”
“How well I know it. It has been the only thing that enabled us to get away with it so far. These people are even more corruptible than Americans, Chief; with us it is a frowned-upon dereliction; with them it’s an essential part of their culture. A good thing, too — we now have the respected position of the goose that lays the golden eggs.”
“But why do you call it a time bomb? Why is it a hazard at all?”
“Remember what happened to the goose in the story? Some day some smart laddie is going to wonder where the goose gets all that gold and take him apart to find out. In the meantime all the recipients of our cumshaw are closing their eyes to the suspicious circumstances and getting as much as they can while the getting is good. I’m betting that each one will keep his mouth shut about his take, as long as he can get away with it. I doubt if the Hand knows that we seem to have an unlimited supply of American gold coins. But some day he will find out; that’s the time bomb element. Unless he can be bribed, too — in a polite way, of course
— he will start some very embarrassing investigations. Somewhere up the line we’ll run into an official more interested in knowing the facts than in sticking out his palm. Before that day rolls around we had better be set to move!”
“Hmm…I suppose so. Well, Jeff, do the best you can and get us some ‘priest’ recruits up here as fast as you can. If we had one hundred dependable men, as talented in handling people as you are, we could set ‘D’ Day a month from now. But it may take years and, as you say, events may trip us up before we can move.”
“You can see why I have trouble finding ‘priest’ recruits? Loyalty isn’t enough; a special aptitude for kidding the public is necessary. I learned it as a hobo. Alec really hasn’t got it; he’s too honest.
However I may have one recruit now — a chap named Johnson.”
“Yes? What about him?”
“He used to be a real estate salesman and he has a very convincing manner. The PanAsians put him out of business, of course, and he’s anxious to avoid the labor camps. I’ve been feeling him out.”
“Well, if you think he’ll do, send him up. Perhaps I can look him over there.”
“Huh?
“I’ve been thinking while I listened. Jeff, I don’t know enough about the field situation; I’ve got to come see for myself. If I am going to direct this show, I’ve got to understand it. I can’t do it from a hole in the ground; I’m falling out of touch.”
“I thought that was settled a long time ago, boss.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you going to leave Calhoun as acting C. O. ?”
Ardmore remained silent for several moments, then said, “Damn you, jet”
“Well, are you?”
“Oh, very well! Let’s drop the matter!”
“Don’t get sore, boss. I’ve been trying to give you the whole picture; that’s why I’ve talked so long. “