, 1921-11-19

l&kA ~ ~ AANAALA -
0ihney { o betsks himself 70 q region
several degrees hotter tran the Mag
sie's engine room; then. because be
feared Z linrr and develop a senti-
mental weakness, be turned bis back
abruptly aud descended 10 the said
engine room.
On his part, Adsibut p. GTbney en-
tered the cabin and giared long and
menncinsiy at Captain serargA I'll
have my time" he growied presently.
"Givs Il to me IN give IL quick"
The very information Of his voice
warned scrsggs that the present was
not a time for argument or tnning.
Silently he paid Mr.. GIbney the money
due him In equal silence the navi-
eating oficer went TO the pilot house,
unscrewed his framed certificate from
the wall, packed II with his few be-
lonsings. and departed for seab John
ny's boarding house.
"Hello," scah Johnny saluted him at
his entrance. "ouit the MaEgieT'
Mr.. Gibney nodded
want a trip TO the dark blusr"
Lead me TO It. mumbled Mr. Glib
ney.
"Itr cost you twenty dollars, Glib.
Chief mate on the Rose of Sharon,
bound for the Galapagos Islands seal
ing"
"rn take IT. Johnny Mr.. Gfbney
threw over q t~wenty-dollar bill, went
to bis room. packed all Of his belong
ings, paid his bill to scab Johnny, and
within the hour was aboard the
schooner Rose OF Sharon Two hours
la,sr they towed out with the tide.
Poor McGufey was stunned when
he heard the news that night from
Scab Johnny. When he retailed the
information to Scraggs next morning.
Scraggs was equally perturbed. He
guessed that MeGuffey and GIbuey
had quarreled and he had the poor
judgment to ask McGufrey the cause Of
the row. Instantly. McGurey informed
him that that vks none OF his dad
fetched business-and the Incident was
closed
The three months that followed were
the most narrowing Of McGufrg's life.
Captain Scrsggs knew his engineer
would not resign whie he, Scraggs,
owed him three hundred dollars;
wherefore he was not too particular
to put a bride on his tongue when
things appeared TO go wrong. McGuf-
fey longed to kill him, but dared not.
When. eventually, the railroad had
been extended sufficiently far down
the coast to enable the farmers TO
haul their goods to the railroad In
trucks, the Maggie automatically
went out Of the green-pea trade (;
simultaneously. Captain Scraggs' note
to McGurey fell due and the engineer
demanded payment. Scraggs de-
INJURED. pleading poverty, but Mr.. Nc
Guffey assumed such a threatening at
titude that reluctantly Scraggy paid
him a hundred and fifty dollars on ac-
count. and McGufrey extended the bal
ance n year-and guilt.
"See that you got that hundred and
fifty an the interest in your jeans
h next time we meet" he warned
Scraggs as he went oversize.
Time passed. For a month the Mag
gle piled regularly between Bodega
bay n San Francisco In an endeavor
to work up some business In farm and
dairy produce, but a gasoline schooner
cut In on the run and declared a rate
war. w~hereupon the Maggie turned her
blunt nose riverward and for a brief
period essayed some towing and gener-
al freighting on the Sacramento and
San Joaquin. It vas Improbable,
however. and ut last Captain Scraggs
was forced to lay his darling little
Maggie up and take a job as chief
l AHHqa. ~ eAA Rrrra E---l-I
plying between San Francisco and Oak
land. In the meantime. Mr.. McGuf-
fey, after two barren months ION the
beach" landed a Job as second assist
ant m q Standard OIL tanker running
to the west coast. while thrifty Neils
Halvorsen invested the savings of ten
years In a bay scow known as the VIII
lie and Annie, ~arrogated to himself
the title Of captain. and proceeded to
freight hay. grain and paving stones
from Petaluma.
Tho old Joyous days Of the green
pea trade were gone forever. and many
a night. as Captain Scragss paced
the deck Of the ferryboat. watching
the ferry tower loom into view, or the
scattered lights along the Alameda
shore, he thought longingly Of the old
Maggie. laid away. perhaps forever, and
slowly rottng In the muddy waters Of
the Sacramento. And he thought of
Mr.. Gibney. too. away of under the
tropic stars. leading the care-free life
Of a real sailor at last, and OF Bar
tholomew McGufey. imbibing ''pulque"
in the "cantina" OF some disreputabie
cafe. Captain scraggs never knew
how badly he WAS going to miss them
both until they were gone. and he had
nobody to fight with except Mrs.
scrasEs and when Mrs. scrnsgs Ito
quote Captain scrnsEs) "slipped her
cable" In her forty-third year Captain
scrnsgs felt a~insulnrfy lonesome and
in o mood TO accept eagerly any
deviltry that might offer.
Upon a night. which happened to
be scraggs' night on, and when he