George A. Birmingham

“ Is it looking to be sergeant yourself in the place of me you are, that you'd suggest the like of that?"
"All stratagems is lies," said Constable Cole soothingly. "The one I'm suggesting is no worse than another."
"Go and try her with it yourself, then," said the sergeant, "and see what you'll get out of it."
Constable Cole, pursued by the sniggering laugh of Moriarty, left the kitchen and went into the day room. ”

“ He was haunted by a terrible fear that the story might get into the newspapers.
"There's them," he said to Constable Cole, "who'd be only too glad to get a handle against the police—fellows up in Dublin writing for low papers. Believe you me, it'll be mighty unpleasant for us if you aren't able to keep your mouth shut."
Cole was no more willing than the sergeant to give information. The inquirers, baffled at the barrack, moved on to the bar of the hotel, and asked their questions there. ”

“ If you can think of no better way of getting it than that, Constable Moriarty, you may go and ask for it yourself; and you can come back here and let us have a look at you, when she smacks your face."
"We might try a stratagem with her," said Constable Cole, who had made a similar suggestion the day before. "I was reading a book one time about a man that was great on stratagems. There wasn't a thing would happen but he'd—— I'm sorry now I haven't the book by me."
"Stratagems be damned," said Sergeant Farrelly. "What stratagem would you be proposing to try? ”