The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-11-21
CContinued from Saturday,

l under the schooners bow. and threw water over her forecastle head. MT. | Gibney smiled, spat overheard ane. Edras Einhsa eoniaenty nffe spearin m fish GaPra in bath tub,' he declared. He bent over the fuse setter. ''Corrector three zero" he intoned, -four eight hun dred.' He thrust a cartridge in the | fuse setter, twisted it, slammed it in the gun, and fired again. "Over," he growled.
 Something whined over the Mag, a mile beyond her.
 "Dubs," jeered MT. Gibney. and sighted again. This time his scrap nel burst neatly on the schooner. All most simultaneously a shell dropped | into the sacked coal on the forecastle head of the Maggie and enveloped her in a black pail of smoke and coal dust. Captain Scraggs screamed.
 '"Tit for tat" the philosophical Gibney reminded him. We can't expect to get away with everything, Scraggsy, old lliddo." The words the Maggie's nuainmast and about ten feet of her ancient railing were trail- ing alongside. MT. Gibny whistled softly through his teeth and success fully sprayed the Mexican again. "It breaks my heart to ruin that crafts s canvas he declared and let her have | it once more.
 Captain Scra ggs walled, ian I only rebuilt it a week ago." Three more shots from the long gun missed them. but the fourth carried away the cab in, leaving the wreck of the pilot house, with the helmsman unscathed, sticking up like a, sore thumb.
 Turn her around and head straight ] for them.' the gallant Gibney roar ed "She's smaller target comin' bows on. We're broadside to her
 "Gib, Mill you ever sink that | Tor foir ocrera
 Don't want to sink her." the su- percargo retorted. Shes a nice lit tie schooner. I'd rather capture l her. Maybe we can use her in our business, Scraggsy," and he continued to shower the enemy with high burst | ing shrapnel. When the two ves- | sels were less than two miles apart the one-pounders came into action. It was pretty shooting and the wicked little shells ripped through the old Maggie like buckshot through roll of butter. MT. Gibney slid flat on the deck beside his gun and Captain Scraggs sprawled beside him.
 "A feller," Mir. Gibney announced .fhas. got to take a beatin' while look in' for an openin' to put over the
 knockout blow. If the old Maggie
 holds together till we're within ca ble length O that schooner an we
 I'll make them skunl<s sing soft an
 1ow''
 'How?" Captain Scraggs chatter with muzzle bursts" MT. Gibne, ! replied. ''I'll set my fuse at zero am at point-blanE range I'll Just rake . everything off that schooner's decks , Guess I'll get half a dozen cartridge set an ready for the big scene. LII : with you. Admiral Scraggs. an holt
 the fuse setter ready"
 s I'm agin' war" Scra ggs quavered 3 Rats! It's invigoratin', Scraggsy i ,ir1'x xTyitI n r = Scraggsy, unless you happen to ge r killed Then its like cholera Yo1 s can cure every case except the frs one
 s They had come inside the minimum f range of the Mexican's long gun now so that only the one-pounders con y tinued to peck at the Maggie. E;vi t dently the Mexican was as eager t l get to close quarters as MT. Gibnel d for he held steadily on his course. ,, Well, it's time to put over the bi e stuff MT. Gibney remarked presently 8 Heres hopin' they don't pot me wit
 rifle fire while I'm eXtendin' my com S plimentS.'
 t As the first muzzle burst ralled tn d Mexican Captain Scraggs saw ths t most of the terrible blast of lead Ina [, gone too high. Neverth eleSs, it wa e effective, for to a man the crews o one-pounders deserted their posts an d tumbled below; seeing which the il j. dividua1 in command lost his nerv y He was satisfied now that the infern 'e Maggie purposed ramming him; I n had marveled that the filibust'
 should use shrapnel, after she ha st ranged with shell Che did not kno e it was percussion shrapneD and ic sudden panic he decided that tf S. Maggie, mortally wounded, purpose - getting close enough to sink hi
 with shell-fire if she failed to ra
 him; whereupon the yellow stree q came through and he waved h et o arms frantically above his head S token of surrender
 Ie Shes hauled down her rag g ,r shrieked Scraggs. Be mercifl '. Glib. There's men dytn' on tn 'e boat.'
 E Hay alongside that craft" NJ
 Gibney shouted to the helmsman IT
 schooner had hove to and when u
 yards to windward of her MT. Gibn
 informed the Mexican in atrocio
 Spanish we'll mixed with Englis
 that if the latter so much as lift
 his little finger he might expect to
 sunk like a dog. Down below, e
 erybody but the helmsman. or
 sweep your decks with another mu
 gle burst he thundered.
 The Mexican obeyed and Capta - Scraggs went up in the pilot hou
 and laid the terribly battered Mags m she touched. Mir. Gfbney spral pc aboard, quickly followed by Capta d. Scraggs, who had relinquished u lo helm to his first mate.
 
 n- Look, Glib, for the love of the LOT Id look!' and pointed with his f1nge s. At the head of the little iron-rail
 compa nion-way leading down into u
 engine room a man was standing. I
 had Q monkey wrench in one hal ar and a greasy rag in the other. ld MT. Gibney turned and looked at u ve ssA1oCuffev for a thousand he he ne lowed, and ran forward with ou O. stretched hand. Captain Scraggs w ny at Gibney's heels. and between the
 they came very nearly dislocatil Earth olo1nw MceGpffey's arm. ''McGuffey, my dear boy, sa D Captain Scraggs, "Whatever are " g a-doin' on this heather battleship Mel" ejaculated MT. McGuffe , | with his old-time deliberation. ''Wh |, I'm the chief engineer of this craft. i had a good job, too. but I guess il = all off now, and the Mexican goverl e mentn fire me. Say, who chuckt = that buckshot down into my engh 'e ] room ?''