Phoenix tribune., 1922-07-01
CHAPTER XIII.

Neils Halvorsen often wondered
what had become of the Maggie and
Captain Scraggs. Mr.. Gibney and Bar
tholomew McGuffey he knew had
turned their sun-tanned faces toward
deep water some years before Captain
Scraggs and the Maggie disappeared
from the environs of San Francisco
bay, and Neils Halvorsen was wise
enough to waste no time wondering
what had become of them. These two
WORTHLESS might be anywhere, and
every conceivable thing under the sun
might have happened to them; hence,
in his idle moments, Neils Halvorsen
did not disturb his gray matter spec
ulating on their whereabouts and their
then condition of servitude
But the continued absence of Cap
tain Scraggs from his old haunts Gre
ated quite a little gossip along the
waterfront, and in the course of time
rumors of his demise by sundry and
devious routes came to the ears of
Neils Halvorsen
Hence "The Squarehead" was puz-
zled. In fact, to such an extent was
Neils puzzled, that one perfectly calm,
clear night, while beating down San
Pablo hay in his bay scow, the Willie
and Annie, he so far forgot himself
and his own affairs as to concentrate
all his attention on the problem of the
of Hrnfa 90
So engrossed was Neils in this vain
speculation that he neglected to OBJ
serve toward the rules of the ocean
highways that nicely of attention
which is highly requisite, even in the
skipper of bay scOw, If the fulsome
title of captain is to be retained for
any definite period. AS a result, Neils
became confused regarding the exact
number of blasts from the siren of a
river steamer desiring to pass him to
port. Consequently the Willie and
Annie received such severe butting
from the river steamer in question as
to cause her to careen and fill. Being
unfortunately, loaded with gravel on
this particular trip, she subsided in
continently to the bottom of San Pablo
bay, while Neils and his crew of two
men sought refuge on a plank.
Without attempting to go further
into the details of the misfortunes of
Neils Halvorsen, be it known that the
destruction of the Willie and Annie
proved to be such a severe shock to
Neils reputation as safe and sane
bay scOw skipper that he was ulti-
mately forced to seek other and more
virgin fields. With the fragments of
his meager fortune, the ambitious
Swede purchased course in local
nautical school from which he duly
managed to emerge with sufficient
courage to appear before the United
States local inspectors of hulls and
boilers and take his examination for
a second mates certificate. To his un-
utterable surprise the license was
granted; whereupOn he shipped as
quartermaster on the steamer Ala
media, running to Honolulu, and what
with the lesson taught him in the loss
of the Willie and Annie and the ex-
acting duties of his office aboard the
liner, he forgot that he had ever
known Captain Scraggs
Judge of Neils Halvorsen's surprise,
therefore, upon the occasion of his
first trip to Honolulu when he saw
something which brought the whole
matter back to mind. They were
standing in toward Diamond head and
the Alameda lay hove to taking on the
pilot. II was early morning and the
purple miss hung over the entrance
to the harbor Neils Halvorsen stood
at the gangway enjoying the sunrise
over the Punch-bowl, and glancing
longingly toward the vivid green of
the hills beyond the city, when he was
aware of put" put" put" to
starboard of the Alameda. Neils
turned at the sound just in time to