A general laugh greeted this sally, and the tramp remarked sheepishly that he guessed he'd know it the next time he ran up against her. Then, waxing serious, he resumed his former topic. "We ain't got no time to waste in frivolity," he said, "and if we're to get out of this hole, the sooner we makes our plans the better, and perhaps, as I know more about this business than youse, I'll do the talking." Receiving the silent assent of the company, he continued: "I remembers in the days o' my innocent youth, before I burgled my first watch, a-playin' of a Sunday-school game, where we went out of the room, and the bloke what teached us put a quarter somewhere in plain sight, and when we come in again not[Pg 85] one on us could find it, 'cause it was just under our noses; which the same is the game I'm proposing to play." [Pg 85] "I think I see what you mean," said Banborough. "I've heard it said that the destruction of most criminals is their cleverness." "That's just what I'm a-tryin' to point out," replied the tramp. "The cops gives you the credit of allus tryin' to do the out-o'-the-way thing, so as to put 'em off the track, while if yer only acted as yer naturally would if yer hadn't done nothin' to be cotched for, yer could walk before their eyes and they'd never see yer." "That sounds all right," said Spotts. "Now what's your advice?" "To go back to New York," replied the tramp shortly. "But," objected Miss Arminster, "we can't stay in the United States." "Who said we could?" retorted the tramp. "Don't yer see, the cops'll reckon on our takin' some train along hereabouts for the North, and they'll watch all the little stations[Pg 86] on the up line, but they won't trouble 'bout the down line, 'cause they know we've left the city. So all we has to do, after we've had our dinner comfortable-like, is to take a local back to town, and catch the White Mountain Express for Montreal." [Pg 86] "Why the White Mountain Express?" asked Mrs. Mackintosh. "'Cause it's the longest route," replied the tramp, "an' they'll reckon on our takin' the shortest. Besides which, we'll cross the border in the early morning, havin' the baggage, which we ain't
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