The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-11-03

his fires, and came up on deck, wip | ing his anxious face with a fearfuly Scraggs and Ne6ls Halvorsen came crawling aft over the deckload and
 when they reached the lear space l around the pilot house Captain Sraggs threw his brown derby on the
 deck and leaped upon it until, his
 rage abating ultimately, no power on
 could possibly have rehabilitated it
 and rendered it fit for further wear,
 even by Captain Scraggs. This petu
 liant practice of jumping on his hat anything annoyed him particularly
 and was always infallible evidence 1 that a simple declarative sentence had stuck in his throat.
 Well, old whiIling derfish." MT.
 Gtbney demanded calmly when
 Scraggs paused for lack of breath
 to- continue his dance, what about hot"
 ''McGuffey's fred." Captain scraggs | screeched.
 pot" MT. Gibney soothed. "This ain't no time for fghtin'. Thinkin am actin is all that saves the Maggie
 But Captain scraggs was beyond | reason. ''McGuffey's fired! McGuf- fey's f1red!' he reiterated. 'pThe dirty rotten wharf rat! Call yourself an ". ''As an engineer you're bowling success. at shoemakin', you slob. TI fix your clock for yCu, my hearty. I'll have your ticket took away from you an that's no Chdnaman's dream. nuther."
 Its all my fault runnin' by dead reckonin'," the honest Gtbney pro- tested. Mae ain't to fault. The got the wrong signal"
 Its his business to see to it that hes got an engine room telegraph
 You dog!' McGuffey roarer and sprang at the skipper. who 1eaped ntmbly up the little ladder to the pared to kick MT. McGuffey in the face should that worthy venture up after him. ''I can't persuade you to git me nothin that ought to have. scraps an copper wire and pieces O. string. Pm throught''
 Y ou're night-you're through be- cause you're f1redi" Scraggs shrieked in insane rage. "Get off my ship, you maritime imposter, or I'll take a pis- tol to you. Overheard with you, you greasy addlepated bounderi You're rotten, understand Rotten, Rotten! Rotten!"
 You owe me eight dollars an six bits; scraggs," MT. McGuffey remind ship"
 Captain Scraggs was beyond reason so he tossed the money down to the engineer. Now g1t,' he command
 Without further ado. Mr. McGuffey stalited across the deckload to the he pelted the engineer with potatoes, | cabbage heads and onions, the vege- tables descending about the honest McGufey in Q veritable barrage. Even in the darkness several of these mis- Siles took effect
 Upon reaching the very apex of the i and hurled promise into the dark | ness: '1f we ever meet again, | Scraggs, I'll make Mrs. Scraggs a wid- ow. Paste that in your hat-when |
 The Maggie was resting easily on | the beach with the broken water | from the long lazy combers surging | we'll up above her water line. At | engineer, who stood, peering shore | ward and listening intently, oblivious to the stray missiles which whizzed | past. Presently, from out of the | fog, he heard a grinding, metallic | sound and through a sudden rift in | the fog. caught brief glimpse of blue flame with sparks radiating l faintly from it
 That seitle,d matters for Bartholo- | mew McGuffey. The metallic sound | was the protest from the wheels of a |
  curve; the blue flame was an electric | manifestation due to the internlit- | tent contact of her trolley with the wire, wet with fog. McGuffey knew he poised a moment her bow; | as a. wave swept past him, he leape6 overboard. scI,am bled ashore, made | his way up the beach to the great highway which Hanks the shore line between the Cliff house and 1ngle- | side, sought a roadhouse, and warm | whiskey neat. Then. feeling quite | content with himself, even in his wet | garments. he boarded a city-bound | trolley car and departed for the | warmth and hospitality of Scah | Johnn's sailor boarding house in Ore- | gon street
 Captain scraggs sat down on the half-empty crate of vegetables and | commenced to weep bitterIy-half be- cause of rage and half because he | regarded himself a pauper. Already | the waterfront in search of a job.
 NO use boo-booin' over split milk. scraggsy." Always philosophical. the author of the owners woe sought "Dont add your salt tears to saltier sea until you're certain you're a total loss an no insurance. I got you into tla.s and I suppose it's up to me mence operations" sufting the action to the word, MT. GJbney grasped the whistle cord and strange, sad, snee1ing, wheezy moan resembling the expiring protest of. a lusty pig and gradually increasing into 0 long drawn but respectable whiatIe re- warded his efforts. For once, he could afford to be prodigal with the steam, and while it lasted there could be no nlistaking the fact that there was steamer .n dire distress
 The weird call fo- help brought Scraggs around to a fuller realization of the enornity of the disaster which had overtaken him. In his agony he forgot to curse his navigating officer for the latter's stubbornness In re- fusing to turn back when the fog threatened. He clutched MT. Gibney by the right arm thereby interrupt ing for an instant the dismal outburst from the Ma ggie's siren.
 "Gib," he moaned. I'm a ruined man. How're we ever to get the old sweeth cart off whole? Answer me