The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-11-03
The Green Pea Pirates
 By Peter B. Kyne
(Contihued iron, Yesterday.)

I
 (Continued from Yesterday.)
 Of all the little ships company i NeIls- Halvorsen. colloqulaliy deslg
 mated as '"The Squarehead," was tns
 in fact. his own man. Neils was
 steady, industrious. faithful. capable | and reliable; any one of Q 100 deck l hand jobs were ever open to Neils l himself, he preferred to stick by the Maggie. In his dull way it is prob
 able that he was fascinated by the
 agile intelligence of Mir. Gibney. the | and the elephantine wit and grizzly | bear courage of MT. McGuffney. Al
 any rate. he delighted in hearing | them snar1 and wrangle.
 However, to return to the Maggie 1 which we left entering the tule fog a few miles north of Pillar point: CHAPTER IT | Captain Scraggs. and The Square. l head partook first of the ham and | eggs, coffee and bread, which the skipper prepared. Scraggs then pre- pared a similar meal for MT. Gibney keep warm, and descended to the en- zine room to relieve McGuffey for dinner. Nei1s at the same time took the course from MT. Gibney and re- lieved the latter at the wheel. By this time, darkness had descend ed upon the world, and the Maggie had entered the fog: following her custom she proceeded in absolute stdence, al- though as a partial offset to the ex- treme liability to collision with other coastwise craft. due to the non-whts- ting rule aboard the Maggie. MT Gibney had laid a course half mile inside the usual steamer lanes, albs~ 1t due to his overwhe elming desire for peace he had neglected to inform his owner of this; the honest fellow pro ceeded upon the hypothesis that what nROn1a not know is not apt to trOu- b1e them.
 Captain Scraggs read the log and reported the mileage to MT Gibney, who figured with the stub of a pencil on the pilot house wall, wagged his head, and appeared satisfied. Better go for'd,' he ordered. "an' help The Squarehead on the lookout At the lee O. Point San Pedro; when I whistle we ought to catch the echo thrown back by the cliff. Listen for it."
 Promptly at 8 o'clock MT. McGuf- fey was mortified to see his steam gauge drop half a pound as the Mag gie's siren sounded. MT. Gibney stuck his ingenious head out Of the pilot house and listened, but no answering echo reached his ears. Hear any thing?" he bawled.
 ''Heard the Maggie's siren.' Captain Scraggs retorted venomously.
 MT Gibney leaped out on deck. se- lected a small head of cabbage from 2 broken crate and hurled it for ward Then he sprang back into the pilot house and strengthened the Mag gie on her course again. He leaned over the pinnacle, with the cuff of his watchcoat wiping away the moisture on the- glass: ard studied the instru- danged thing" he nuttered. Guess I'll haul her off a coupler points an try the whistle again
 He did. Still no echo. He was in- clined to believe that Captain correctly, and when at S:30 he tried the whistle again he was still without results in the way of an echo from the brought him several of a. profuse character from the perspfring Me Guffey.
 ssWe've passed Pedro,'' MT. Gibney decided. He ground his cud and nut tered ugly things to himself, for his dead reckoning had gone astrsy ana he was worried. The foe. if anything, was thicker than ever.
 Time passed. Suddenly MT. Gtbney thrilled electrically to a shriE yip from Captain Scraggs.
 What's that?'' MT. Gibney baw1ed.
 q dunno. Sounds like the surf, Gfb-''
 ''Ain't you been on this run long enough to know that the surf don't sound like nothin' else in life but breakers?" Gibney retOrted wrath fully.
 "I ain't certain, Gib''
 Instantly Gibney signaled McGuf- fey for half speed ahead.
 Breakers on the starboard bow" yelled Captain Scra ggs.
 Port bow" the Squarehead cor rected him.
 '.Oh, my great patience!" MT. Gib- ney groaned. They're on both bows an we're headed straight for the beach. Here's where we all go to %l,an, INEa. nF1lr lfI wildly al the signal wire that led to the engine room. with the intention of giving McGuffey four bells - the signal 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 that, having done so. MT. McGuffey should forthwith climb the ladder and thrust his head out on deck for a breath of fresh air Instantly chorus of shieks up on the fo-castle head attracted his attention to such a degree that he failed to hear the en- zine room how1er as Mir. Gibney blew frantically into it. ward. MT. McGuffey heard Captain Scraggs vail frantically: Stop her! For the love of heaven, stop hert" the engineer dropped back I1IO the thSAIIt IOOIli anu SSl iIlC Ma ggie full speed astern; then he grasped the howler and held it to his ear.
 stop her!" he heard Gibney sIlriek. Why in b1azes don't you stop her?'
 She's set astern. Glib. She'll ease up in a minute
 You know it!" Gbney answered 
 The Maggie clibed 1aZiiy to the crest of a long oily roller, slid reck- lessly down the other side, and took the following sea, over her taffrail. | She still had some head on, but very little-not quite sufficient to give her decent steera ge way, ats Mir. Glbney l discovered when, having at length 1 comcomVunicated his desires to Mc- Guffey, he spun the wheel frantically | in a beiated effort to swing the Mag gies dirty nose out to sea.
 Nothing doin',". he snarled. Shed have to come to 8. complete stop be- fore she begins to walk backward. She'll bump as sure as death an