A—The man was a tailor and he said to me that he wanted to talk about some business down in my cabin.
Q—Had you ever met him before?
A—No.
Halvorsen recalled that he had talked to the Chinese tailor about the price of a suit. Several tailors had boarded the Fernhill to solicit orders as soon as the ship dropped anchor. Most of the ship’s crew had placed orders for suits, but Halvorsen had decided the price was more than he could afford. It was after this that the tailor—a well-dressed man of medium height with a wart on the lobe of his left ear—whispered to Halvorsen that he would like to talk to him alone in his cabin.
Q—What did he say when he talked about this other business of smuggling?
A—He asked me if I wanted to make some money.
Q—What did you say?
A—Yes, I said.
Q—Then what did he say?
A—He said, “I can give you opium[A] if you will take the opium to San Francisco.” He said that if I would do this for him he would pay me $1,200 American.