The Owosso times., 1922-03-24


was hove to cable length distant,
with her crew digging under the deck
load Of vegetables for the small boat.
"lIelp yourself to belayin' pin. Bart.
an knock 'em on the heads II they
try TO come aboard" Mr.. Gibney or
dered nonchalantly.
"DO understand there is a steamer
at hand, Mr.. Gibney?" the master OF
the Chesapeake queried.
There's an excuse for one, sir. The
little vegetable freighter Maggie. She'll
never be able to tow you In, because
she amt got power enough, an II
she had power enough she amt got
coal enough. Besides, Scraggs, her
owner, Is a rotten bad article an be-
fore he'll put a rope aboard you he'll
tie you up on q contract for fgger
thatd make an angel weep. The way
your ship lies an everything, me an
McGuffey can sail her In for you al
half the price"
II can. risk my ship In the hands
OF two men," the sick captain an.
swered. "She's too valuable and so Is
her cargo. If this little steamer will
tow me in I'll gladly give her my tow
line and let the court settle the bill"
mot by a Million" Mr.. Gibney pro-
tested. BEG pardon, sir, but you don't
know this here Scraggs like ! do. I
couldn't think Of lettin' him set foot
on this deck"
"YOu couldn't think Of 1t? Well.
when did you take command Of my
ship?"
you're flotsam an jetsam. sir. an
practically In the breakers. You're
sick, an, for all l know, deiriOus. so
for the sake o. protectin' you, the
sick seaman In the fo'castle an the
owners, I'm takin' command"
The master of the Chesapeake
reached under his pillow and produced
pistol. "Out of my cabin or I'll riddle
you," he barked fecbly.
Mr.. Glbney departed without a word
Of protest and proceeded to make his
arrangements, regardless of the mas
ter's consent. AS he and McGuffey
busted themselves, laying the leading
toward the Maggie and observed Cap
tain Scraggs hurllng crates of vege-
tables overheard in an effort to get at
the small boat quickly. Hell die
when the freight claims come In" Mr..
McGuffey chOrtled. Poor oil Scrag-
gsy"
When Captain Scraggs came aboard,
Mr.. Gibney escorted him around to the
masters cabin, introduced him, and
stood by while they bargained. "The
tow will cost you five thousand, Cap
tain," Scraggs began pOmpously.
me an McGuffeyll sail you IN for
four" Gibney declared.
Three thousand" snarled Scraggs.
"Sailins cheap as dirt at two thOus-
and. AS a matter OF fact, Scraggsy,
me an Mac'll sail her In for nOthln'
just to skin you out O. the salvage"
1.-TWO thousand dollars IL my lowest
figure" Scraggs declared. '"Take 1t
cumstances, bargaining Is useless. Two
thousand Is my last bid"
The figure Scraggs named was prob
ably one fifth of what the master of
the Chesapeake knew a court would
award nevertheless he shook his head.
'It's a straight towing job. Captain,
and not salvage proposition at all.
A tug would tow me In for two hun
dred and fifty, but I'll give you five
hundred"
Remembering the vegetables he had
jettisoned, Scraggs knew he could NOT
afford to accept that price. "Tm
through" he bluffed-and his bluff
worked.
"Taken, Captain Scraggs. Write out
an agreement and I'll sign It."
With the agreement In his pocket,
Scraggs, followed by Gibney, left the
cabin. Zone hundred each to you an
Mac II you'll stay aboard the Chesa-
peake, steer her, an help the Maggie
out with what sail You Gun get OF
her." Scraggs promised.
Take a long, runnin' jump at your
self. Scraggsy, old sorrOwful. The best
me an Mac'll do Is to help you cock
bill the anchor, an that'll cost you
ten bucks for each Of us--in advance"
The artful fellow realized that Scraggs
knew nothing whatever about sailing
ship and would have to depend upon
The Squarehead for the information
he required.
"All right. Here's your money"
Scraggs replied and handed Mr.. Glib
ney twenty dollars. He and Neils
HalvOrsen then went forward. got out
the steel towing cable, and fastened
light rope to the end of 1t. The skifr
floated off the ship at the end Of the
painter, so The Squarehead hauled II
In, climbed down into the skiff, and
made the light rope fast to n thwart
then, with Captain Scraggs paying ont
the hawser, Neils bent manfully to the
oars and started TO tow the steel cable
back to the Maggie. Half way there,
the weight of the cable dragging be.
hind slowed The Squarehead up and
eventually stopped him. Exerting all
his strength he pulled and pulled, but
the sole result Of his efforts was to
aims