Williams news., 1922-04-07
"The Job That Confronts Us Is to Get These Munitions Down to Oul Friends in Mexico"

~The Job That confronts Us Is to Get 1 These Munitions Down to Our Friends in Mexico"
 get these munitions down to our friends in Mexico. If we're caught sneakin' 'em into Mexico we'll spend the rest of our lives in federal peni-
 tentiary for bustin' the neutrality laws.
 All them rifles an the ammunition is
 cased an in my basement at the pres
 ent moment-and the government
 agents knows they're there. But that
 ain't troubling me. I rent the saloon
 next door an I'll cut hole through
 the wall from my cellar into the saloon
 cellar, carry 'em through the saloon
 into the backyard, an out into the
 alley half block away. I'm watched,
 but I got the watcher spotted-on1y
 he don't know it. Our only trouble
 Is a ship. How about the Maggie? ?'
 ''Td have to spend about two thous-
 and dollars on her to put her in condi-
 tion for the voyage" Scraggs replied.
 Gan do," Scab Johnny answered him
 briefly, and Senor Lopez nodded ac- quiescence. You discharge on light CT at Descanso bay about twenty miles below Ensenada. What'll it cost us?"
 'Ten thousand dollars, in addition tO hAIh up lhc uudSS1c- 11dil QOWh and half on delivery. I'm riskin' my paid for it."
 Again Senor Lopez nodded. What did he care? It wasn't his money.
 "I'll furnish you with our own crew just before you sail," Scab Johnny con- tinued. Get busy.''
 "Gimme a thousand for preliminary expenses" Scraggs demanded. After that Speed is my middle name."
 The charming Senor Lopez produced the money in crisp new bills and, per feet gentleman that he was, demanded no receipt. As a matter of fact, Scraggs would not have given him one.
 The two weeks. that followed were busy ones for Captain Scraggs. The day after his interview with Scab Johnny and Don Manuel he engaged an engineer and a deck hand and went up the Sacramento to bring the Mag gie down to San Francisco. Upon her arrival she was hauled out on the marine ways at Oakland creek, cleaned. caulked, and some new cop- per sheathing put on her bottom. She was also given a dash of black paint had her engines and boilers thorough ly overhauled and repaired. and shipped a new propeller that would add at least a knot to her speed. AL so, she had her stern rebuilt. And when everything was ready, she slipped down to the Black Diamond coal bunk CTS and took on enough fuel to car ry her to San Pedro; after which she steamed across the bay to San Francisco and tied up at Fremont street wharf.
 Q rvn f1Q in cvf- ously labeled. There were "asricul- tural implements" "cream separat- or" a "windmill," and half a dozen | sewing g-machfneS,'' in addition to a l considerable number of kegs alleged | to contain nails. Most of 1t came down | after five o'clock in the afternoon after the wharfinger had left the dock, | and as nothing but disordered brain would have suspected the steamer Mag | gie of an attempt to break the neutral ity laws, the entire cargo was gotten aboard safely and without a jot of | suspicion attaching to the vessel.
 When all was in readiness, Captain Scraggs incontinently fired" his deck hand and engineer and inducted aboard a new crew, carefully selected for their flibuster virtues by Scab Johnny him. self. Then while the new engineer got up steam, Captain Scraggs went up to Scab Johnnys office for his final in- structions and the balance of the first instalment due him.
 Briefly, his instructions were as fol- lows: Upon arrival off Point Dune on the southern California coast, he was to stand in close to Dune cove under cover of darkness and show, two | green lights on the masthead A man would come alongside presently in a small boat, and climb aboard This man would be the supercargo and the