Phoenix tribune., 1922-02-11

save time an trouble an money by
diggin' up five hundred dollars"
Gin Seng said he would go back to
Chinatown and consult with his COM
pany. For reasons of his own he was
badly frightened.
Scarce had he departed before the
watchful eye of Captain Scraggs OBJ
served Mr.. Gibney and McGuffey in
the offing, a block away. When they
came aboard they found Captain
Scraggs on top of the house, seated on
an upturned fire bucket, smoking PEN
siyely and gazing across the bay with
an assumption Of lamblike innocence
on his fox face.
He soon departed, but Mr.. Gibney
was suspicious. Hes got his lines
fast somewhere-you can bank oD
that" was his comment. while we
was away he rigged up some kind Of
a deal, Bart. 1t stands to reason it
was a mighty profitable deal. too.
My imagination may be bit off the
course at times, Bart but in general,
if there's a dead whale floatin' around
the ship 1 can smell it."
''What do you make out O that fat
Chinaman cruisin' down the bulkhead
in an express wagon an another China
man settin' up on the bridge with
him?" McGuffey demanded. "Seems
to me they're comm, bows on, for the
Maggie"
"They tell me to deduct somethin',
Bart. Wait a minute till we see If
they're comm aboard. If they are"
They're goin' to make landin',
Glib"
then 1 deduct that this body
snatchin' Scraggs-"
They're boardin' us, Glib"
"-has arranged with yon fat China
man to relieve us O. the unwelcome
presence, of his defunct friends. He's
gone an hunted up the relatives an
made 'em come across-that's what
he's done. The dirty, low, schemin'
granddaddy of all the foxes in Chris
tendoml I'll fish around an see what
igger Scraggs charged him." and Mr.
Gibney stepped to the rail TO meet
Gin Seng, for it was indeed he.
"Sow-see, sow-see, hun-gay," Mr..
Gibney saluted the Chinaman in a
facetious attempt to talk the latter's
language. Hello, there, John China
man. How's your liver? Captain he
allie same get tired; he no waitee.
Wha's mallah, John. Too long time
you no come. You heap lazy all time."
Gin Seng smiled his bland, inscruta-
Bile Chinese smile. You ketchum two
China boy in boxY' he queried
"We have" doomed McGuffey, IAN
beautiful specimens they be-"
mo money, no China boy" Gibney
added firmly.
Money have got. Too muchee mon
ey you wantee. No can do. Me pay
two hundred dollah. Five hundred dol
lah heap muchee. No have got"
"Nothin' doin', John. Five hundred
dollars an not a penny less. Put ur
the dough or beat it."
Gin Seng expostulated, lied, evaded
and all but wept, but Mr.. Gibney was
obdurate and eventually the China
man paid over the money and departed
with the remains of his countrymen
"I knew. he'd come through, Bart,
Mr.. Gibney declared. "They got to
ship them stiffs to China to rest along
side their ancestors or be in Dutch
with the sperrits o. the departed for.
ever after"
"Do we have to split this swag with
that dirty Scraggs?" McGuffey wanted
to know. "Seein' as how he tried to
give us the double Cross
"We'n fix Scraggsy-all ship-shape
an legal SOS he won't have no come
back"
They had not long to wait. Upon
. his arrival at Gin Seng's place of bust
ness Captain Scraggs had been in
formed that Gin Seng had gone out
twenty minutes before, and further in
quiry revealed that he had departed
in an express wagon. Consumed with
misgivings of disaster, Scraggs re-
turned to the Maggie as fast as the
cable car and his legs could carry him.
In the cabin he found Mr.. Gibney and
McGuffey playing cribbage. They laid
down their hands as Scraggs entered.
Mr. Gibney began at once: "To
show you what a funny world this is,
while me an Bart's settin' on deck
a-waitin' for you to come back, along
breezes a fat old Chinaman in an ex-
press wagon an offers to buy them two
cases of Oriental goods. He makes me
an Mac what we considers a fair
offer. Lemme see, now," he continued,
and got out stub of lead pencil with
which he commenced figuring on the
white oilcloth table cover. "We paid
twenty dollars for them two derelicts
an a dollar towage. That's twenty
one dollars, an third O. twenty-one
is seven, am seven dollars from twen-
ty-five leaves eighteen dollars comm
to you. Here's your eighteen dollars,
Scraggsy, you lucky old vagabond-a
clear profit on neat days work, no
expense, no investment, no back-break-
in interest charges or overhead, an
sold out at your own figger."