Thomas was a young officer full of enthusiasm who wished to bring justice and maintain order when he entered the constabulary. He had great ambitions. He was now a detective. It had only been a short time since he had been in the army but he yearned for new horizons. That is why he headed for Canada, and had obtained a position for himself at Station House number 4 in the Toronto constabulary.
Thomas was not afraid of crossing the ocean, he had already sailed a lot during the war and that had been the opposite of a pleasant trip! Within his belongings, he had carefully packed a picture of his family and bottle of whiskey. He did not know what he would find in Canada and did not want to miss this delicious drink from his country. The docks were swarming with people, the sailors were loading cargo, the families were saying goodbye, the travelers boarded and some curious were watching all this with a puzzled look. He asked his brothers not to come see him off and to take care of their sister. No crying goodbye for him! He had watched over his family enough to be able to now see a future far away from them, as they were now old enough and responsible for their own families.
Finally the boat hissed and the gateways were withdrawn. Thomas's journey was beginning, and the excitement could be seen on his face. He walked to the front of the ship in order to get a better view. The adventure could begin. He had not bought a very expensive ticket so he found himself with the less fortunate people in the lower levels of the ship. Thomas had a berth bunk bed, which he shared with an Irishman but not without difficulty. He did not like them very much and was not happy to have one in his room. That's why he spent most of his time wandering through parts of the ship available to him in order not to cross the path of his bunk-mate.
The days passed without incident, he loved to watch the sea. He had never really contemplated the sea before, as he had always lived away from it. The landscape calmed him down and allowed him to avoid talking to other passengers. Thomas had to admit he was not very talkative, except perhaps when he was drunk. However, he didn't drink a lot on board after his first attempt had made him so sick, and he had no wish to repeat the experience./span/p
One day mid-voyage, the peaceful daily lives of the passengers had been upset by the Irishman. The day was fairly quiet even though the sky was filled with clouds. Thomas was on deck as usual when his room companion hit him while running with a package in his hand. Its passage was quickly followed by a female screaming "thief, thief stop him! "Without further ado, the young man threw himself in pursuit of the Irishman and thanks to his military training he caught him quickly. In a splendid rugby tackle Thomas put him to the ground, while his package flew a few meters away. The ship's staff arrived soon after and took over. Thomas got up and dusted himself off. The young lady who owned the package arrived at the arm of a topper man. Obviously, they did not sleep in rooms with bunk bed! Irish was arrested and the commander told him he would be locked under surveillance until they arrived where he would be delivered to the constabulary. Thomas watched the situation with amusement. The topper man thanked him and the package was handed over to the girl whom he introduced as his fiancée. The latter invited Thomas to take tea to thank him. He accepted but a question was burning his lips, what did this package contain? He did not have to ask since someone came for it and asked it to be placed in a safe place. The young man deduced that it was a large sum of money or jewelry, at least of something valuable.
After drinking his tea reluctantly -he did not really like this beverage- he went back to his room where, for once, he could spend time without having to suffer presence of the Irishman. It was nice to be alone. The rest of the journey was as calm as the start and he was even asked by the captain to watch over the other passengers in exchange for a little money. Although this "service" is not stated, Thomas could use money once he landed, so he accepted without flinching and it kept him with something to do.