“A little gray wool and a gray wig will work wonders—especially on a black man,” replied Mr. Pauling. “And remember Sam is a Conch as you call them and can naturally talk his native dialect.”
“Well, I never believed all those detective stories about men disguising themselves,” said Frank, “but I will hereafter.”
Mr. Henderson laughed heartily. “No real detective or Secret Service man uses disguises—that is false beards and wigs and make up—nowadays,” he declared. “To attempt a disguise would be to excite suspicions at once—any crook with half an eye would penetrate such makeshifts in New York; but with a colored man down here it’s different. The natives are not observant and there are few if any skillful crooks, and who would imagine for a moment that a negro was in the Service? No, boys, you must learn to believe only what you actually see.”
“Even less than that,” added Mr. Pauling. “I should say ‘believe only half that you see and nothing you hear.’”
“Then I only believe half of Sam and nothing he told us,” laughed Tom. “Did he really work for Mr. Rawlins?”
“Yes and no,” replied his father. “He met Rawlins when I did last spring and did take a part in one film—Rawlins wanted a man to tackle a shark under water and Sam volunteered; but he was not regularly employed.”
“Gosh, then Sam really has done that!” cried Frank. “Say, I hope we see a shark so he can do it for us.”
“Sam has other matters to attend to,” Mr. Pauling reminded him, “but if he has time when we reach the place we’re bound for he will no doubt gladly accommodate you and any sharks that may be about.”
Now that the boys knew the secret of the black man they decided to have some sport themselves and after securing Mr. Pauling’s and Mr. Henderson’s promises that they would not tell Sam that the boys knew that he was their former boatman, the two lads plied Sam with questions, pretending to swallow everything he said without hesitation. Then, very adroitly, they led the conversation into other channels and let out many hints that led Sam to believe they had penetrated his former disguise.
“What do you dye your hair with?” asked Frank innocently. “It used to be gray.”