Williams news., 1922-06-23

| "O-oO-oh I'' Captain Scraggs groaned
 and his grOan was that of a SeaSick
 passenger. When he could look up
 again his face was ghastly with mis-
 cry.
 "Gib," he pleaded sadly, "you got
 us where the hair is short. Don't fn-
 yoke the law an make us handle that
 codfish, Gibl It ain't right. Gimme
 leave to tow that barge-anythfng to
 keep your freight off the Victor. an | we'll pull 1t up river for you"
 Be good feller, Glib. You usen'ter
 be hard an spiteful like that" urged
 McGuffey.
 ''Ill tow the barge free" walled
 Scraggs.
 MT. Gibney sat calmly down on the | Stringer and lit cigar. Nature had | blessed him with a strong constitu- | tion amtdships and the contiguity of his tainted fortune bothered him but | little. He squinted over the tip of the
 cigar at Captain Scraggs. You're just the same old Scraggsy you was in the green-pea trade. All you need Is ring in yer nose, ScraggSy, to make you a human hog.
 Here you goes to work an soaks me dollar ton when you'd be tickled to death to do the job for half O. that, an then you got the gall to stand there appealfn' to my friendship So you'll tow the barge up free, eh? We'll just to make the transaction legal, I'll give you a dollar for the job an let you have the barge. Skip to it. Scraggsy, an' draw up a new bill, guaranteein' to tow the barge for one dollar. Then gimme back $499.OO an I'll hand you back this receipted freight bill"
 Captain ScraggS darted into his cab in, dashed off the necessary document, and returning to the deck, presented it, together with the requisite refund, to MT. Gibney, who, in the meantime, had come aboard.
 "Whatever are you a-gofn' to do with this awful codf1sh, Gfb?" he de handed.
 MT. Gibney cooked his hat over one ear and blew a cloud of smoke in the slippers face.
 "Well, boys, I'll tell you. Salted codfish that's been under water a long | time gets most O the salt took out of | it, an even at sea, if it's left long | enough, it'll get so darned ripe that | it's what you might call offensive But | it makes good fertilizer. There ain't | nothfn' in the world to equal codfish, | medium ripe, for fertilizer. I've rigged | up OedI WILL u OrcndrQ that's layin' out a couple O thousand i acres O young trees up in the delta lands O the Sacramento. I've sold 'em the lot. after first buyin' 1t from the owners O the schooner for hundred dollars. Every time these orchard fel- lers dig hole to plant a young fruit tree they aim to heave a codfish in the bottom O the hole first, for fertilizer There was upward O two hundred thousand codfish in that schooner an I've sold 'em for five cents each, de livered at Dunnigan's landin'. I fig ger on cleanin' up about seven thou sand net on the deal. I thought me an Neils was stuck at first, but I got my workin-"
 Captain Scraggs sank Imply Into arms and the two stared lt the doughty commodore.
 "Hit in the face with a fortune an 1idn't know it," gasped poor McGuffey. Glib, Pm sure glad you got out whole 1n that deal"
 "Thanks to lack O imagination in you an Scraggsy I'm about two hun 1red an fifty dollars ahead O my estimate now on account O the free ;ow O that barge. Me an Neils cer- tainly makes a nice little split on account O this here codfish deaI.'' :
 ''Gib," chattered Scraggs, whats he matter with reorganizin' the syn I Heater"
 Be good feIler, Adelbert," pleaded McGuffey.
 MT. Gibney was never so vulnerable IS when one he really loved called Jim by his Christian name. He drew I ln arm across the shoulders of Me Suffey and Scraggs, while Neils Hal l ,orsen stood by, his yellow fangs flashing with pleasure under his wal i us muStache.
 ''ScraggsyI Macl Your dnsI We'll I the syndicate, an the min lte me an Neils finds ourselves with bill O sale for a one-quarter= inter- I st in the Victor, based on the actual | I ost price, we'll tow this here barge" (
 An split the profits on the cod S sh ?" Scraggs queried eagerly. '
 Certainly not. Me an Nels splits ! hat ffty-fifty. A quarter O them | 'rofits is too high a price to pay for f our friendship, Scraggsy, old deceit s ul. Remember, I made that profit | t fter you an Mac had pulled out O t he syndicate"
 That's logic," McGuffey declared. t ''It's highway robbery" Scraggs c narled. "I won't sell no quarter in S crest to you or The Squarehead, Gib lot on them terms"
 'Then youTl load them codfish board, or pay demurrage on that arge for every day they hang around; s