, 1921-12-31


tconrrued from Last Week.
Mr.. Gfbney sat csrmiy down on the
stringsr and Lit a cigar. Nature had
blessed him with q strong oorrtitu
ton nmidshtps and the contiguity OF
his tainted fortune bothered him but
little He sQuinted osxr tina tip of the
cigar at Captain Scragss.
You're Just the same old scraggsy
o was In tho Ereen-pea trade. All
you need II n ring in yer nose
Scrnggxy. TO make o a human hog.
Here you goes to work an soaks me
n dollar n ton when you'd be tickled
TO death to do the job for half o. that
an then yoa got tho gall to stand
there appealin' TO my friendship So
youu tow the barge I'D free. Ell? Wen.
! Just to make the transaction legal, III
give you q dollar for the job an let
you have the barge Skip to II,
scraggry. IN draw I'D n new bill,
guaranteoin' to tow the barge for one
dollar. Then gimme back s4s9. 900 an
III hand you hack this redefpted
freight bill"
Captain ScragEs darted into his cab
In. dashed OF h necessary document.
and returning to the deck. presented
It. together with the requisite refund.
to Nj. Gibney. who. In he meantime.
had come aboard
''whatever are you n-goin' to do
with this awful Goldfish. Chr be de-
manded-
Mr.. Gibney cooked his hat over one
ear and blew a cloud Of smoke in the
shippers face.
well. boys. IN tall you. Sailed
goldfish that's been under water a long
time gets most o. the salt took out of
IL, an even at sea. II it's leis lcng
enough, tn get so darned ripe tina
its what you might call offensive. But
Il makes good fertilizer. There amt
nothin' In the world to equal Goldfish
medium ripe. for fertilizer. I've rigged
up a deal with q orchard comp'ny
that's layin' oct q couple o thousand
acres o. young trees UP In he delta
lands O. tho Sacramento- I've sold EN-
the lot. after first buyin' 1t from the
owners o. the schooner for o hundred
dollars. Every time these orchard fei.
lers dig a hole to plant q young fruit
tree they aim to heave a Goldfish In the
bottom o. the hole first. for fertilizer.
There was upward o. two hundred
thousand Goldfish in that schooner an
I'ye sold EN- for five cents each. de-
livered at Dunningan's landin'. / fig
ger or cleanin' up about seven thou
sand net on the deal. 1 though me an
Nells was stuck at first. but / got my
Imagination workin-"
Captain Scraggs sank Imply into
McGuffcy's arms and the two stared
at the doughty commodore.
slit in the face with a fortune an
didn't know it," gasped poor McGuffey.
.Gib, I'm sure glad you got out whole
on that deal"
.eThanixs to q lack o. imagination In
you an Scraggsy I'm about two hun
dred an fifty dollars ahead O. my
entimate now. on account o. the free
tow o. that barge. Me an Neils GER
tainly makes a nice little split on
account o. this here Goldfish deal"
"Gib, {" chartered Scraggs. Whats
the matter with r~eorganizin' the syn
dicate?"
"Be a good Teller. A~delbert."
pleaded McGuffey.
Mr.. Gibney was never 90 vulnerable
as when n he really loved called
him by his Christian name. he drew
an arm across the shoulders of Nc
Guffey n Scraggs. while Neils Hal
vorsen stood by. his yellow fangs
flashing with pleasure under his wal
rus mustache.
"ScraggsyI Maci Your finsl Wen
reorganize the syndicate. an the min
ute mo an Neils finds ourselves with
q bill o. sale for a one-quarter inter
est In the Victor. based on the actual
cost price. wen tow this here barge
"An' split the profits on the cod
fish7'' Scraggs queried eagerly.
"Certainly not Me an Neils splits
that fifty-fifty. A quarter o. them
profits is too high a price to a Tor
your friendship. Scraggsy. old decit-
full. Remember, I made hat profit
after you an Mac had pulled out o
the syndicate"
-That's logic" McGuffey declared.
TITS highway robbery" Scraggs
snarled. 1T won't sell no quarter In
terest to you or The S~quarehead. Glib
Not on them terms"
Then you'll load them goldfish
aboard, or pay demurrage on that
barge for every day they hang around;
II the board of health condemns
'em an chucks 'em overheard III sue
you an Mac for my lest profits. git
a Judgment agin o an take over
the Victor to satisfy the Judgment"
You're q sea lawyer. Glib" 6crasgs
rstorted sarcastically.
You dc what Glib says" McGuffey
ordered threateningly. Remember, I
got q half interest in any judgment he
gifts agin us-an'whats more, I OBJ
to them Goldfish clutterin' up my
half interest"
.syou h,,Ilted ms on the old Marie"