Nogales international., 1936-05-16

Seattle. InH dig snip NcnI Ou "AOilONV
them. NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY.
Frenchy raised his eyes, folded
his arms, unfolded them and burst
into a geyser of language which, if
lthe activity of his arms signitied
anything, was far from pious.
When the torrent subsided, Speed
,erinned. He drew from his pocket
Ave double-eagles, and dropped
them on the table There's hum
,dred dollars belongin' to me and my
pardner. Now what does / up and
do but gamble this yer hundred
he stacked the five gold pieces in
neat colunn-"that you're takln' US
north to the camp of Skagway,
Alaska"
But the fisherman began another
outburst in his native tongue.
With no sign of impatience, the
gambler pulled out hort-barreled,
triggerless As Colt, broke it open,
clicked it back and set it on the
table. !.
II don't savvy your lingo, Frenchy," :"
he said equally, "but this baby COM
prehendS ever knowed dialec' and
speaks it fluent. l plays her to cop
per my bet"
The Frenchman's eyes blazed.
Lunging sideways he reached for
the knife that was stuck in the cabin
wall But before his fingers touched
the haft, the gun roared and the
knife clattered to the floor. In a
curling haze of smoke the fisher
man backed to the companion, while
Speed carefully examined the bore
of his revolver against the light and
blew some smoke from it.
"Mebby you can translate that,
he suggested. Reckon the salt
water amt spoiled her accent none.
Though torn by the struggle and
perspiring, Frenchy made labored
Refusal "Too far" he mumbled 81
lose ze feesh'
Speed began to rake Ill the scat
tered coins, leaving out three fves
SAIl right" he said pleasantly
"There's fifteen, if you land US near
q man with boat who amt weak
in the head and knees both, Well
take some other fisherman to the
Yukon. To the golden river
And he hummed song which that
phrase recalled to him.
"Gold?" echoed Frenchy.
Sticky with it." The gambler
detached damp cigarette paper
and became engrossed in the deli
cate task of rolling a smoke.
You goin' there?"
Coin therel" Speed had look
of having been asked an outlandisf
question. Does the stiff live
Frenchy, pannin' an ounce OF sense
70 the ton, who'd work out life
term for a stake he could dig up in
week? Not even you, if you
knowed the layout Take this range
of yourn-a tough one to ride,
should reckon, with the storms and
fog, broken lines, raw fingers and
busted bones And when you cash
in, what's the hgure2 Frenchy' s
picked carcass bobbin' up and down
the dirty water of some cove, and
the Susette a smashed tubful of mud
and seaweed on a stack of rocks"
Frenchy nodded sadly.
Speed, who had been watching
Frenchy with a speculative eye
gave all the money before him {
sudden brusque shove to the center
of the table ITS yourn" he said
With an impulsive grab, the fish
erman clawed it toward him.
The gambler lit his cigarette anc
spoke to Maitland through lazy
vapor of smoke.
Unwind the verdic', Judge. l.
it legal?"
Maitland had been considering
the proposition as it took shape
The chart in the cabin was sketchy
but he had sailed broken coasts be
fore with less to go by. He likec
the feel of the boat. Anything
seemed better than turning back
The fisherman was being we'll paid
Il can't pay my share" he began
Sink me, Bud" protested the
Westerner, "if you amt as unex-
pected as parsons mule. The
money was won on your stake, and
half Of it's yourn. Also, you're the
deep-sea shark. Boats is a branch
of knowledge I'm free of, and
don't figure Frenchy for no oceanic
scout So we'll owe you for gettin
US there.
The boy pulled on his clothes and
went out to look at the St4Sette. She
proved to be strong, deep-kceled
boat with the remains of cutters
rigging, and look of having known
better things before Frenchy turned
her into a smack.
Having had to ovcrstay severa
watches, Maitland was glad when hi
found the open sea at Dixon's En-
tranc and was able to shove tht
ti'ler r;o f'rench9's unwilling hands
aid 90 btlo0
He ate a 1nullisan Speed had com