The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-08-16

destinies Of the tugboat Rameses
along the Virginia coast with the ulti-
mate intention Of reaching Hampton
roads. Suddenly he put the wheel
hard aport and whistled shrilly.
The mate. noting the change of
course, glanced along the coast line
and beheld. amid the sluggish depart
ing Of the mists, brig hard and fast
aground on one Of the many outlying
islands that are a feature Of this sec
tion Of the Atlantic coast.
IT'S the Mohican as I'm sinner"
exclaimed the skipper in tones that
manifested disappointment.
$50 the old hooker Is gone to Davy
Jones at last" responded the mate
mot by a cables length, Ezry,"
chuckled Capt Cobb. Tom Duncan
hasn't cent Of insurance on her and
we'll make a tidy sum pulling her of.
She's laying easy now but II the wind
should chop to eastd she'd pound her
old ribs loose In a jlffy7
Good" calculated the mate, ITS a
thousand dollar job guess"
Every cent Of 1t, Ezry. H-l!"
The mate sought no explanation for
this expletive His eye had already
marked the approach Of another tug
from the southwark bearing down on
them. He glued his eyes to the binocu-
lars and exclaimed:
THE John Porterl"
Yes, the John Porter" growled the
skipper, with that dirty, mean Dan
Glidden hungry for any job at all.
Cuss the luck"
The vision Of thousand dollars had
rolled away with the fog. While one
tug might dictate to a grounded brig,
two opened the way for dicker, and
dIcker Capt Duncan would, that Capt.
Cobb well knew and he fell into a
troubled train Of thought The ques-
tion of the value Of s9lylng the brig
depended almost entirely on the cargo.
The Mohican was so old that it was
economy to keep her uninsured and if
the cargo was not valuable the salvor
Of the vessel, If ne made any preten-
tlOus claim, stood an excellent chance
Of being rendered the brig, a chattel
Capt. Cobb by no means longed for.
Capt. Cobb didn't know just how old
the Mohican was but he well remem-
bered her when he pottered about the
wharves a barefooted boy.
When the John Porter was In hail
ing distance Capt Glidden sung out:
"Ahoy, Bill Cobb, what's that, brig
aground?"
AS if Dan Glidden had not had his
eye focused on the vessel ever since
he had raised her over the horizon.
We'll" he continued, with care
less manner. have you made deal
to pull her Off"
For an instant Capt. Cobb was
tempted to declare that the deal had
been made, then he reflected that
Glidden would unquestionably board
the brig and discover the falsehood.
mo, haven't, Dan" he replied sol
emnly; "see here, we might as well
manage this job, you and l. before
Norfolk or Baltimore puts their foot
in It. / think thousand dollars is
the lowest we can pull her off for un-
less the cargo is valuable"
1T ud be torturin' shame to do 1t
for that" exclaimed Glidden. passion
ately.
Business is dull, Dan" suggested
Capt Cobb.
"stinkin." agreed Capt Glidden.
"Then it's a thousand dollars and
not a cent less, we to work together
and divvy equal" said Capt. Cobb
Capt. Glidden asseverated with emo
ton that If he pulled that brig of for
nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars
and ninety-nine cents he could never
face his own wife again and the skip
pers agreed upon q thousand dollars
as the minimum sum for pulling of
the Mohican.
When the founders Of this maritime
monopoly boarded the Mohican they
discovered that their prize was not
especially valuable. The brig was
bound for Philadelphia and had barely
a ballast load of old iron Of very in
considerable value. The only hope for
any salvage at all was in making
bargain with Capt. Duncan.
That mariner received their propo
sltlon Of a thousand dollars with a
burst of profanity that caused the two
trust magnates to regard him with
mute admiration. If they severally or
singly, he cared not which, chose to
pull him off for 5000 they could do So
otherwise they could adjourn 70 q
very torrid climate.
Somewhat discomftted at their re-
ception the two tug captains left the
brig and had a consultation on the
John Porter It was resolved that
they would hold firmly to their price
and the two captains shook hands
over their resolve.
AT nlghtfalI .he two tugs ran into
shallow water and anchored to await
the effect Of nights rest on Capt.
Duncan's temper.
It'd be Just like that dirty, mean
Dan Glidden," said Capt. Cobb to his
mate, TO pull over to the brig and
offer to put her In deeD water for