Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1921-10-27

GIVING NSNsthtN louI ucllS- -tilt NlrH"l
aboard the Maggie for full speed
astern. At the second jerk the wire
broke. but not until two bells had
sounded in the engine room-the signal
for full speed ahead. The efficient
McGuffey promptly kicked her wide
open, and the Fates decreed that,
having done so, Mr.. McGuffey should
forthwith climb the ladder and thrust
his head out on deck for a breath OF
fresh air. Instantly chorus of
shrieks up on the fo'castle head at
tracted his attention 70 such degree
that nc failed to hear the engine room
bowler as Mr.. Gibney blew frantlcally
into IT,
Presently, out Of the hubbub for
ward, Mr.. McGuffey heard Captain
Scraggs wall frantlcally: "Stop her !
For the love of heaven, stop her" In
st0ptly the engineer dropped back into
the engine room and set the Maggie
full speed astern; then he grasped the
bowler and held it TO his ear.
"Stop herr" he heard Gibney shrek.
"Why in blazes don't you stop her?'
"She's set astern, Glib. Shell ease
up in n minute"
you know itw Gibney answered
ignifcantly.
The Maggie climbed lazlly TO the
crest Of long oily roller, slid reck-
lcssly down the other side and took
the following sen over her ta0'rail
She still had some head on. but very
little-not quite sufficient TO give her
decent Storage way rs Mr. Ghney
discovered when. having at length com.
municated his desires TO McGuiIcya
he spun the wheel frantically In a be-
lated effort TO swing the Maggie's dirty
nose out to sea.
Nothing doin'," he snarled. "She'n
have to come 10 a complete stop before
she begins to walk backward and get
steerage way on again. She'll bump
as sure as death an taxes"
She did-with a crack that shook
the rigging and caused Il TO rattle like
buckshots in a pan. A terrible cry
such q cry, indeed. as might burst
from the lips Of Il mother seeing her
only child run down by the limited
burst from poor Captain Scraggs. My
ship, Ny ship!" he howled. "My
darling little Maggie! They've ! "a
you. they've killed YOU The dirty
lubbersr
The succeeding wave lifted the Mag
gle of the beach, carried her in some
fifty feet further, and deposited her
gently on the sand. She heeled over
10 port little and rested there as IL
she was very, very weary, nor could
all the threshing Of her screw in re-
verse haul her off again. The surf,
dashing in under her fantail. had more
power than McGuffey's engines. and.
foot by foot the Maggie proceeded 70
dig herself in. Mr.. Gihney listened
for five minutes 10 the uproar that
rose from the bowels Of the little
steamer before he whstled up Mr.
McGuffey.
xiii her, XIII her" he ordered.
"Your wheel Will bite into the sand
first thing you know, and tear the
stern off her. You're shakin' the old
girl TO pieces"
McGuffey killed his engine, banked
his fires, and came up on deck, wiping
his anxious face with a fearfully, filthy
sweat rag. At the same time Scraggs
and Neils Halvorsen came crawling
aft over the dcckload and when they
reached the clear space around the
pilot house, Captain Scraggs threw his
brown derby on the deck and leaped
upon IL until, his rage abating ulti-
mately, no power on earth, IT. the air
or under the sea, could possibly have
rehablitated ii and rendered It fit for
further wear, even by Captain Scraggs.
This petulant practice of jumping on
his hat was a habit with Scraggs
whenever anything annoyed him par
ticularly and was always infallible evil
dence that simple decarative SEN
tence had stuck in his throat.
"Well, old whirling dervish," Mr..
Gibney demanded calmly when Scraggs
paused for lack Of breath to continue
his dance, "what about It? We're up
Salt Greek without a paddle; the devil
to pay and no pitch hot"
"McGuffey's fred" Captain Scraggs
screeched.
"Come, come. Scraggsy, old tarpot,"
Mr.. Gibney. soothed. This amt no
time for fightin Thinkin' an actin
is all that saves the Maggie now"
But Captain Scraggs was beyond
reason. "McGuffoys fred McGuf-
fey's fred :" he reiterated. "The dirty
rotten wharf rat Calf yourself m
engineer?" he continued wtherlngly.
"As On engineer you're a bowling sue
cess at shoemakln', you slob. I'll fix
your clock for you, my hearty. III
have your ticket took away from you,
an that's no Chinaman's dream,
nuther."
ats all. my fault runnin' by dead
reckOnin'," the honest Gibney pro
tested. Mac amt TO fault The en-
CINE room telegraph busted an he cot
the wrong signal"
Its his business 20 see 10 IT that
he's got an engine room telegraph that
won't bust"
"You dog!" McGuffey roared and
snrauc nj the skinner. who leaped