Middletown transcript., 1921-12-10

wouldn't haVe had the money to lend
II 1t hadn't cen for me. allow I'm in
suited. when you use the said money
to give ala M comfort to my enemy.
I'm through
McGuffey, smothered in guilt, felt
nevertheless that he had to stand by
his guns, SO to speak. "Stay through,
If you feel like It," he retorted. "Where
dye get that chatter? Amt I free,
white, an twenty-one year old?"
Mr.. Gibney was really hurt. "You
poor boob" he murmured. Its the
Old game o. settin' beggar on horse
back an SEEM him ride to the devil.
or slippip' gold ring in pigs nose.
An l figured you was my friend!'
Well, amt II"
"Fooey! Fooey! Don't talk to me.
You'd sell out your own mother"
Glib, you tryin' to pick fight with
me?"
mo, but I would If / thought 1
wouldn't git footrace instead" Glib
ney .rejoined scathingly. "Cripes
what a double-crossin' been handed !!
Honest. Bart, when it comes to that
sort O. work Scraggs is in his infancy.
You sure take the cake"
Il amt got the heart to clout you
an make you eat them words" Mr..
McGuffey declared, sorrowfully.
You mean you amt got the CUTS"
Mr.. Gibney corrected him. Bart, I
got your number. Goodbye"
Mr.. McGuffey had a wild impulse to
cast himself upon the Gibney neck
and weep, but his honor forbade any
such weakness. So he invited Mr..
Gibney to betake himself to a region
several degrees hotter than the Mag
gie's engine room; then, because he
feared to linger and develop senti-
mental weakness, he turned his back
abruptly and descended to the said
engine room.
On his part, Adelbert P. Gibney en-
tered the cabin and glared long and
menacingly at Captain Scraggs. "Tn
have my time," he growled presently.
"Give it to me an give it quick"
The very intonation of his voice
warned Scraggs that the present was
not time for argument or trifing.
Silently he paid Mr.. Gibney the money
| due him; in equal silence the navi-
| eating officer went to the pilot house,
unscrewed his framed certificate from
the wall. packed it with his few be-
longings. and departed for Scab John
ny's boarding house.
Hello" Scab Johnny saluted him at
his entrance. "Quit the Maggie?"
Mr.. Gibney nodded.
"Want a trip to the dark blue?"
LEAD me to it." mumbled Mr.. Glib
| ney.
It'll cost you twenty dollars, Glib.
| Chief mate on the Rose Of Sharon,
bound for the Galapagos islands seal
ing"
'I'll take it, Johnny" Mr.. Gibney
threw over twenty-dollar bill, went
to his 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
later they towed out with the tide.
Poor McGuffey 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 McGuffey and Gibney
| had quarreled and he had the poor
Judgment to ask McGuffey the cause Of
the row. Instantly, McGuffey informed
him that that was none Of his dad
fetched business-and the incident was
closed.
The three months that followed were
the most narrowing of McGuffey's life.
Captain Scraggs knew his engineer
would not resign while he, Scraggs.
owed him three hundred dollars;
wherefore he was not too particular
to put q bride on his tongue when
things appeared to 90 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 McGuffey fell due and the engineer
demanded payment. Scraggs de-
INJURED, pleading poverty, but Mr.. Nc
Guffey assumed such threatening at
titude that reluctantly Scraggs paid
him a hundred and fifty dollars on ac-
count, and McGuffey extended the bal
ance one year-and quit.
"See that you got that hundred and
fifty an the interest in your jeans
the next time we meet" he warned
Scraggs as he went oversize.
Time passed. For month the Mag
gle piled regularly between Bodega
bay and 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, whereupon the Maggie turned her
blunt nose riverward and for q brief
period essayed some towing and gener-
al freighting on the Sacramento and
San Joaquin. It was Improbable,
however, and at last Captain Scraggs
was forced to lay his darling little
Maggie up and take lob as chief
officer Of the ferry steamer Encinal,
plying between San Francisco and Oak
land. In the meantime. Mr.. McGuf-
few. after two barren months ION the
beach," landed job as second assist
ant on q Standard Oil tanker running
| - +ha xUost coast while thrifty NpiIs
Halyorsen invested the savings of ten