The substitute whom Carrots had promised now entered the case, in the person of a man who called himself Aucher, but who was in reality a special agent of the Department of Justice. Aucher was not introduced to Ruroede, the now active German, and so, when he began his operations, he confronted the very difficult task of making his own connections with a naturally suspicious person.
Carrots had been dealing with Ruroede after Wedell’s disappearance; and, by the time he was ready to quit, Ruroede had told him that “everything was off for the present,” but that if he would drop around again to his office about January 7, 1915, he might make use of him. Aucher, now on the case, did not wait for that date, but on December 18th called on Ruroede at his office at room 204 of the Maritime Building, at No. 8 Bridge Street, across the way from the Customs House.
In this plainly furnished office Aucher appeared in the guise of a Bowery tough. He succeeded admirably in this rôle—so well, indeed, that Ruroede afterward declared that he “succeeded wonderfully in impressing upon my mind that he was a gangman, and I had visions of slung shots, pistol shots, and holdups” when he saw him. Aucher opened the conversation by announcing:
“I’m a friend of Carrots.”
“That’s interesting,” was Ruroede’s only acknowledgment.
“He’s the guy that’s getting them passports for you,” went on Aucher, “and all I wants to know is, did you give him any cush?”
“What do you mean?” asked Ruroede.
“Nix on that!” Aucher exclaimed. “You know what I mean. Did you give that fellow any money?”
To which Ruroede replied: “I don’t see why I should tell you if I did.”