Mast of Dope

Customs Inspector John Sterling, whose duty it is to comb for drugs all ships arriving in Manhattan from the Orient, paused beside the British motor-freighter Raby Castle last week and sniffed. "Opium!" said he, and set about with his crew of 40 to find it. They went down to the base of the forward mast, deep in the hold. There, surrounded by impassive Chinese the Inspector tapped the steel mast, found it hollow. "Bring a drill!" said he. Out of this hole in the hollow mast he soon extracted tins of opium worth $150,000 at $25 an ounce. Owners of the ship, James Chambers Ltd. of Liverpool are liable to fines equal to the dope's value, if they cannot prove ignorance of the smuggle.

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