The Oklahoma miner. [volume] (Krebs, Okla.) 1912-192?, 1921-11-24
CHAPTER Il-continued.

She dd-with crack that shook
the rigging and caused it to rattle like
buckshots in a pan. A terrible cry
such cry, indeed, as might burst
from the lips of mother seeing her
only child run down by the Limited
burst from poor Captain Scraggs My
ship My shipw he howed. My
darling little Maggie They've killed
you, they've killed you! The dirty
lubbers !"
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
to port a little and rested there as If
she was very, very weary, nor could
all the threshing Of her screw in re-
verse haul her off again. The surf,
dashlng in under her fantall, had more
power than McGuffey's engines, and,
foot by foot, the Maggie proceeded to
dig herself in. Mr.. Glbney listened
for five minutes TO the uprOar that
rose from the bowels Of the little
steamer before he whistled up Mr..
McGuffey.
"Kill her, kill 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 deCkload and when they
reached the clear space around the
pilot house, Captain Scraggs threw his
brown derby on the deck and leaped
upon 1t until, his rage abating ultl-
mately, no power on earth, i'm the air,
or under the sea, could possibly have
rehablitated 1t and rendered It fit for
further wear even by Captain Scraggs.
This petulant practice Of jumping on
his hat was n habit with Scraggs
whenever anything annoyed him par
ticularly and was always infallible evi.
dence that a simple declarative sen.
tence had stuck I'm his throat.
"WeH, old whirlng dervish," Mr.
Gibney demanded calmly when Scraggs
paused for lack of breath to continue
his dance, "what about It? We're VI
Salt Creek without a paddle; the devi
to pay and no pitch hot"
"McGuffey's fired! !" Captain Scraggs
screeched.
"Come, come, Scraggsy, old tarpot,
Mr.. Gibney soothed. This amt nc
time for fghtin'. Thinkin' an actin
is all that saves the Maggie now"
But Captain Scraggs was beyOnC
reason. "McGuhey's fired McGuf
feys fired (" he reiterated. "The dirty
rotten wharf rat! Call yourself an
englneer?" he continued witherngIy
"As an engineer you're bowling sue
cess at shoemakin, you slob. I'll fs
your clock for you, my hearty II
have your ticket took away from you
an that's no Chlnaman's dream
nuther."
ITS all my fault runnin' by deaC
reCkonin'" the honest Gibney pro
tested. Mac amt to fault The en-
gine room telegraph busted an he go
the wrong signal"
ITS his business to see to It tha,
he's got an engine room telegraph tha
won't bust"
You dog" McGufrey roared an,
spranG at the skipper, who leapec
nimbly up the little ladder TO the toI
of the pilot house and stood prepared
TO kick Mr.. McGuffey in the fac
should that worthy venture up afte
him. II can't persuade you TO git M
nothin' that l ought to have I'm tire,
workin' with junk an scraps an con
per wire and pieces O. string. In
through I"
you're right-you're through. be
cause you're fired" Scraggs shrieke
in insane rage. "Get Off my ship. yo
maritime impostor, or I'll take a plsto
10 you. Overheard with you, yo
greasy, addlepated bounder Your
rotten, understand? Rotten Rotten
Rotten !"
"You owe me eight dollars an ST
bits, Scraggs," Mr.. McGuffey reminde
his owner calmly. Chuck down tn
spondulicks an I'll get Off your ship.
Captain Scraggs was beyond reason