Williams news., 1922-03-31

white, an twenty-one year old?"
 MT. Gibney was really hurt. You poor boob," he murmured "It's the old game O. settfn' a beggar on horse back an seein' him ride to the devil, or slippin' gold ring in a pigs nose. An l figured you was my friendl"
 Well. ain't I?''
 "Fooey! Fooeyi Don't talk to me You'd sell out your own mother"
 "Gib, you tryin to pick a fight with me?'
 "No, but I would if I thought l wouldn't git a footrace instead" Gib- ney rejoined scathingly. "Cripes. what double-crossin' I been handed ! Honest, Bart, when it comes to that sort O work Scraggs is in his infancy. You sure take the cake.'
 T ain't got the heart to clout you an make you eat them words," MT. McGuffey declared, sorrowfu1ly.
 You mean you afn't got the guts,'' MT. 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 MT. Gibney to betake himself to a region several degrees hotter than the Mag gie's engine room; then, because he feared to finger and develop a 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. "I'H 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 a time for argument or tr1hing. Silently he paid MT. Gibney the money due him; in equal. silence the navi- gating 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?'
 MT. Gibney nodded.
 ; Want a trip to the dark bIue?"
 Lead me to it," mumbled MT. Gib- ney. Chief mate on the Rose of Sharon, l bound for the Galapagos islands seal ing"
 
 threw over twenty-dollar bill, went l to his room, packed all of his belong | ings, paid his bill to Scab Johnny, and 1 within the hour was aboard the 1 schooner Rose of Sharon. Two hours | later they lowed out with the tide.
 Poor McGuffey was stunned when | he heard the news that night from 1 Scab Johnny. When he retailed the 1 information to Scraggs next morning. l 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, NcGuffey 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 bridle on his tongue when things appeared to go 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; Captain Scraggs note to McGuffey fell due and the engineer demanded payment. Scraggs de pleading poverty, but MT. Nc Suffey assumed such a threatening at- ,itude that reluctantly Scraggs paid Jim hundred and fifty dollars on ac- count, and McGuffey extended the bal lnce one year-and quit.
 'See that you got that hundred and fifty an the interest in your jeans he next time we meet" he warned ScraggS as he went overSide. Time passed. For month the Mag t1 sfe piled regularly between Bodega l pay and San Francisco in an endeavor o work up some business in farm and iairy produce, but gasoline schooner ut in on the run and declared a rate var, whereupon the Maggie turned her blunt nose riverward and for a brief period essayed some towing and gener- Il freightfng on the Sacramento and San Joaquin. It was unprofitable, Z however, and at last Captain Scraggs . vas forced to lay his darling little daggie up and take job as chief 'ficer of tile ferry steamer Encfnal, living between San Francisco and Oak and- In the meantime, MT. McGuf- $
 {COntinued next week. l
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