Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1922-01-12

lOItNtIs nope, uu IRON HOW Oh Inc
motto of us three should be:
"All for one and one for all
United we stand, divided we rail-"
This earnest little speech, which
came straight from the honest McGuf-
fey's heart, brought the tears TO the.
commodOres eyes. Under the inspira-
tion Of McGuffey's unselish words the
glasses were refilled and all three
pledged their friendship anew. AS for
Captain Scraggs, ne was naturally OF
n cold and selfish disposition, and Nc
Guifey's toast appealed more to his
brain than to his heart. Had he known
what was TO happen to him in the
days TO come and what that simple
little motto was 10 mean in his par
tlcular case, it is doubtful if he would
have tossed off his liquor as gaily as
he did.
There's one thing more that we
mustn't neglect" warned Mr.. Gibney
before the meeting broke up. "We've
got To run this little vessel into some
dog-hole where there's a nice beach
and smooth water, and change her
name. l notice that her old name
Reina Maria is screwed into her bows
and across her stern in raised gilt let
ters. contrary to law and custom.
Wen snip 'em off, sandpaper every
spot where there's letter, and re-
paint it; after which we'll rig up
stagin' over her bow and stern and
cut her new name, Maggie H. right
into her plankin Nobodyll ever sus-
pect her names been changed. | no
tice that the official letters and num-
bers cut into her main beam is F-C-P
--9957. I'll change the + to +. and the
G TO O, and the L to II. A handy man
with a wood chisel can do lots of
things. He can change those mines to
Fights, the five to a six, and the seven
To n nine I've seen it done before
TheT we'll rig foretopmast and q
spinnaker boom on her, and bend a
fiSherman's Staysail Nothing like II
when you're sailing little off the
wind. Scraggs. YOU have the papers
Of the old Maggie, and we all have
our licenses regular enough. Dig up
the old papers, Screggsy. and I'll doctor
'em up to fit the Maggie III. AS for
our armament, wei dismount the
guns and stow EN- away in the hold
until we get 4 wn on the Colombian
coast, and VII le we're lying in Pan
anna repainf, the holes where my
shots went through her. and putin
new plaeks in her decks where the
old plankv has been scored by shrap-
mel, thoss paraqueets will think we're
as peace iul as chipmunks. Better look
over Your supplies, McGuffey, and see
if the res any paint aboard. I'd just
as gcf give the old girl a different
dress before we drop anchor In Pan
anna
Glib" said Captain Scraggs, earnest
~, I'll keel-haul aud shull-drag the
man that says you amt got q great
head"
"By the lord,' supplemented McGuf-
fey, you have"
The commodore smiled and tapped
his frontal bone with his forefinger.
Imagination, my lads. Imagination
he said, and reached for the last of the
punch.
Exactly three weeks from the date of
the naval battle which took place off
the Coronado islands, and whereby Mr..
/ Gibney became commodore and man
aging owner of the erstwhile Mexican
coast patrol schooner Reina Maria, that
vessel sailed out of the harbor of Pan
anna completely rejuvenated. Not a
scar on her shapely lines gave evil
dence of the sanguinary engagement
through which she had passed.
Mr.. Gibney had her painted creamy
white with a dark blue waterline. She
had had her bottom cleaned and
scraped and the copper sheathing over