The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-04-26

|
was suspicious. Hes got his lines
fast somewhere-you can bank on
that" was his comment. "Whi]e we
was away he rugged up some kind or
Il deal, Bart. 1t stands to reason 1t
was mighty profitable deal. too.
My imagination may be bit or the
course at times, Bart. but in general,
if there's a dead whale floatin' around
the ship I can smell it,"
what do you make out o that fat
Chinaman crusn' 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 minute till we see If
| they're comm aboard. If they are
They're goin' to make landin',
Glib"
then I deduct that this body
snatchin' Scraggs-"
"They're boardin' u.s. 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
tendon! I'll fish around. an see what
figger 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.
What'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 boX?" he Queried.
1--WE have" doomed McGuffey, IAN
beautiful specimens they be-"
"No 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' dom, John. Five hundred
dollars an not penny less. Put up
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.
II 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'll 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
curry revealed that he had departed
in an express wagon. Consumed with
misgivings Of disaster, Scraggs re-
turned to the Maggie rs. 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: ITO
show you what funny world this is,
while me an Barts 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,
which he commenced figuring on the
white oiIcloth table cover. eve paid
twenty dollars for them two derelicts
an Il dollar tOwage. That's twenty
one dollars, an third O. twenty-one
is seven, an seven dollars from twen-
! ty-five leaves eighteen dollars comm
to you. Here's your eighteen dollars.
Scraggsy, you lucky old vagabond-all
clear profit on a neat days work, no
expense, no investment, no back-break-
in interest charges or overhead, an
sold out at your own figger"
Captain Scraggs' face was a study
in conflicting emotions as he raked in
the eighteen dollars. 'Thanks, Glib"
he said frigidly.
"Me an Gibbs goin' ashore for lunch
at the Marigold cafe" McGuffey nm
nounced presently, In order to break
the horrible silence that followed
Scraggsy's crushing defeat. I'm will
in to spend some O. my profits on the
deal an blow you to lunch with
small bottle O. Dago Red thrown in.
How about 1t, ScraggsT'
I'm on" Scraggs sought to throw
off his gloom and appear sprightly.
"What'd you peddle them two cadavers
for, Gib?"
Mr.. Gibney grinned broadly, but did
not answer. In effect, his grin in
Ia =