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Show SOUTH CACHE COURIER, HYRUM, UTAH By PETER B. KYNE Author of Webster Mans Man, The Valley of the Giants, Etc. Copyright, by Peter B. Kyne L Continued. XIV CHAPTER well-heele- d, 16 right, Mac. I guess the commodores foot slipped this time, but "All I aint squawkin yet. Not yet, cried Mr. Gibney No. Bitterly, "but soon. "I aint, nuther, Captain Scraggs assumed an air of injured virtue. Im to go through with you, Gib, at a loss, for nothin else except to convince you o the folly o makin this syndicate. I aint but Im free to confess that Id like to be consulted oncet in a while. d Thats logic, rumbled the a one-ma- n single-minde- McGuffey. roared the you two Me an Neils'U take this deal over Independent o the syndicate. Well, lets dress this here diver, retorted the cautious Scraggs, an send him Into the hold for a look around before we make up our minds. Captain Scraggs was not a man to dirty welcliers, You I aint askin commodore. to take chances with me. take chances. They moored the launch to the wreck and commenced operations. Mr. Gibney worked the air pump while the diver, ax in hand,- dropped into the murky depths of the flooded hold. He was down half an hour before he signaled to be pulled up. All hands jprang to the line to haul him back to daylight, and the Instant he popped clear of the water Mr. Gibney unburdened himself of an agonized curse. In his bands the diver held a large decayed codfish! Captain Scraggs turned a sneering glance upon the unhappy commodore while McGuffey sat down on the damp rail of the derelict and laughed until the tears coursed down his honest face. dirty little codflshln schooner, an you Captain Scraggs, the time an money o the syndicate in rotten codfish on the of a clairvoyant you aint" even been introduced to. Gib, if thats business, all I got to say is : Excuse me. Mr. Gibney seized the defunct fish from the divers hand, tore it in half, slapped Captain Scraggs with one awful fragment and hurled the other at A raved sa-s- o McGuffey. Im outer the syndicate, he raved, beside himself with anger. Here I go to work an make a fortune for a pair of short sports an pikers an you get to squealin at the first loss. I know you of old, Phlneas Scraggs, an the leopard cant change his spots. He raised his right hand to heaven. Im through for keeps. Well sell the pearls today, divvy up, an dissolve. Im through. Glad of it, growled McGuffey. Idont want no more o that codfish, an as soon as we git flghtln room Ill prove to you that no near-sailo- r can insult me an git away with it. Me an Scraggsys got some rights. You can walk on Scraggsy, Gib, but It takes a man to walk on the McGuffey family. Nothing but the lack of sea-rooprevented a battle royal. Mr. Gibney stood glaring at his late partners. His ham-like great fists were opening and closing automatically. Youre right, Mac, he said pres, m ently, endeavoring to control his an-g- er and chagrin. Well settle this ater. lake that helmet off the diver what he8 to report. ith the helmet removed the diver uGflr spoke: tWQS brass fittings. The Kadiaks house was gone and her decks completely gutted. Nothing remained but the am putated hull and the foul cargo below her battered decks. In majestic silence the commodore motioned all hands Into the launch, In silence they returned to the city, Arrived here. Mr. Gibney paid off the launch man and the diver and accompanied by his associates repaired to a prominent Jewelers shop with the pearls they had accumulated in the South seas. The entire lot was sold for thirty thousand dollars. An hour later they had adjusted their accounts, divided the fortune of the syndicate equally, and then dissolved. At parting, Mr. Gibney spoke for the first time when it had not been absolutely necessary. Put a beggar on horseback an' hell ride to the devil he said.' When you two swabs was poor you was content to let me lead you into a fortune, but now that youre you think youre business men. All right I I aint got a word to say except this Before I get through with you two beachcombers Ill hf vo all your money and youll be me for a Job, I apologize for soakin you two with that diseased codfish, an for old sakes sake we wont fight. Were still friends, but business associates no longer, for Im too big a Agger in this syndicate to stand for' any criticism on my handlin o' the joint finances, Hereafter, Scraggsy, old kiddo, you an Mac can go It alone with your sternwheel steamer. Me an The Squarehead legs It together an' takes our chances. You dont hear that poor untootered Swede makin no holler at the way Ive handled the syndicate "But, Gib, my dear boy, chattered Captain Scraggs, will you just listen to re Enough ! Too much is plenty, Lets shake hands an part friends. We just cant get along In business together, thats all. Well, Im sorry,,Gib, mumbled McGuffey, very much crestfallen, but e then you hove that fish at me an That was fortune lilttln you a belt In the face, Mac, an you was too to recognize it Remember that, both of you two. Fortune hit you in the face today an you dog-gon- self-conceit- didnt know-i- t. Id ruther die poor, Gib, wailed McGuffey. The commodore shook hands cordially and departed, followed by the faithful Neils Halvorsen. The mo ment the door closed behind them .Scraggs turned to the engineer. Mac, he said earnestly, Gibs up to somethin. Hes got that imagination o his worldn. I can tell it every time ; he gets a foggy look In his eyes. We made a mistake kiddin him today. Gibs a sensitive boy some ways an' 1 reckon we hurt his feelins without intendin it. He thrun a dead codfish at me, I love old Gib protested McGuffey. like a brother, but thats carryin things with a mighty high hand. deWell, Ill apologize to him, clared Captain Scraggs and started for the door to follow Mr. Gibney. McGuffey barred his way. You apologize without my consent an you gotta buy me out o the Victor. I wont be no engineer with a skipper that lacks backbone. Oh, very well, Mac. Captain Scraggs realized too well the value of He McGuffey In the engine room. knew he could never be happy with anybody else. "WeII complete the deal with the Victor, ship a crew, get down to business, an leave Gib to his codfish. An lets pay our bill an get d outer here. Its too for me an expensive. For two weeks Captain Scraggs and McGuffey saw no more of Mr. Gibney and Neils Halvorsen. In the meantime, they had commenced running the Victor regularly up river, soliciting business in opposition to the regular steamboat lines. While the Victor was running with light freights and con sequently at a loss, the prospect for ultimate business was very bright and Scraggs and McGuffey were not at all worried about the future. Judge at their surprise, therefore, when one morning who should appear at the door of Scraggs cabin but Mr. high-tone- Gibney. aa 1 can make out. Mornin, Gib, began Scraggs cheerboss, I spose you been rolled for your vaIue 111 this ily. nalnt a thIng a couP,e o hundred tons o money as per usual, an youre around "! ls, n,e was cuf ,Q two just ford 6 ku 'bead an her anchors car- r, . the sectin that was cut off She ain t worth the cost o towin ner in on the flats. So that & codfish has some value eered Captain Scraggs. me ,tr,!at grief Scraggsy! Dont tell UcG'UIe?- " w5jv0ti,-lt- Uac-no- ' to I the y ST)0ilab I1COdflSh P cn t ,st Gibn ,ack a sign maln mast: SUght-A- . f0r sale Apply to ney on the premises. Spe- rial rates on Friday. reply Gl,iney q,livered, but made no Portion Jftb caretu,ly examined that ,Ct abVe Water an discovered an additional Pendituro of about fifty dollars he r - over an eqral amount In thah ex-mig- ht a job as mate? ignored this veiled insult. Not yet, Scraggsy. I got about five hundred tons o freight to send up to Dunnlgans landing an I want a lump sum figger for doin the job. We parted friends an for the sake o old times I thought Id give you a chance to figger on the business. Ill be glad to. Tbanky, Gib. Wheres your freight an what does it consist of? Agricultural stuff. Its crated, an I delivet it here on the steamers deck within reach o her tackles. No heavy pieces. Two men can handle every piece easy. Turnin farmer, Gib-Thinkin about it a little, the comWhats your rate modore admitted. It aint perishable, on this freight? so get down to brass tack lookin for Mr. Gibney A dollar a ton, declared the greedy Mr. Gibney cocked Ins liat over one Scraggs, naming a figure fully forty ear and blew a cloud of smoke in the cents higher than he would have been skippers face. Five hundred dolwilling to accept. Well, boys. Ill tell you. Salted lot. lars for the codfish thats been under water a long The commodore non- time Suits me. gets most o the salt took out of chalantly handed Scraggs five hundred it, an even at sea. If Its left long Gimme a receipt," he said. dollars. enough. Itll get so darned ripe that So Captain Scraggs gave him a reits what you might call offensive. But ceipted freight bill and Mr. Gibney de- It makes good fertilizer. There aint parted. An hour later a barge was nothin in the world to equal codfish, bunted alongside the Victor and Nells medium ripe, for fertilizer. Ive rigged Halvorsen appeared te Scraggs cabin a deal with a orchard compny up to Inform him that the five hundred thats out a couple o thousand tons of freight was ready to be taken acres olayln trees up In the delta young nboard. lands o the Secramento. Ive sold em All 'right, Neils. Ill put a gang the lot, after first buyin it from the He came out on to work right off. owners o the schooner for a hundred deck, paused, tilted ills nose, and dollars. Every time these orchard felsniffed. He was still sniffing when lers a hole to plant a young fruit dig McGuffey bounced up out of the engine tree aim to heave a codfish In the they room. bottom o the hole first, for fertilizer. Who There was Holy Sailor I he shouted. upward o two hundred uncorked that atter o violets? thousand codfish In that schooner an e You squarehead, shrieked Ive sold em for five cents each, deYou been monkeyCaptain Scraggs. livered at Dunnlgans landin. I figin around that codfish again." on cleanin up about seven thouger . What smells? demanded the mate, sand net on the deal. 1 thought me an poking his nose out of his room. Neils was stuck at first, but I got my That tainted wealth I picked up at worklu Imagination sea, shouted a voice from the dock, sank limply Into Captain Scraggs and turning, Scraggs and McGuffey observed Mr. Gibney standing on a McGuffeys arms and the two stared at the doughty commodore. stringer smiling at them. Hit In the face with a fortune an Gib, my dear boy," quavered Captain Scraggs, you cant mean to say didnt know it, gasped poor McGuffey. Gib, Im sure glad you got out whole coyouve unloaded them on that deal. dfish" Thanks to a lack o Imagination In No, not yet but soon, Scraggsy, an Scraggsy Im about two hunyou old tarpot" an fifty dollars ahead o my dred Captain Scraggs was on the verge estimate now, on account o the free I of tears. Gib! My dear But, boy o tow that barge. Me an Neils cerThis freightll foul the Victor up for a month o Fridays an I just took tainly makes a nice little split on account o this here codfish deal. out a passenger license I" chattered Scraggs, whats Gib, Im sorry, Scraggsy, but business Is business. Youve took my money the matter with reorganizin the syndicate? an you got to perform." Be a good feller, Adelbert, You lied to me. You said it was McGuffey. pleaded I an stuff was It agricultural thought Mr. Gibney was never so vulnerable plows on harrers an sich Its fertilizer an if that aint agri- as when one he really loved called cultural stuff I hope my teeth may him by his Christian name. He drew Mc-drop out an roll In the ocean. An It an arm across the shoulders of aint perishable. It perished long ago. I aint deceived you. An if you dont like the scent o dead codfish on your decks, you can swab em down with Florida water for a month." Captain Scraggs mate came around the corner of the house and addressed himself to Captain Scraggs. You can give me my time, sir. I'm a steamboat mate, not a grave digger or a coroners assistant, or an undertaker, an I cant stand to handle this here freight. Mr. McGuffey tossed his silken engineers cap over to Scraggs. i Hop on that, Scraggsy. Your own hat Is ground to powder. Aint it strange, Gib, what little Imagination Scraggsys got? Hell stand there an an Scraggsy I Aint you got no pride, makin such a spectacle o yourself? We dont have to handle this freight o Gibs at all. Well Just hook onto that barge an tow it up river. You wont do nothin o the sort, Mac, because thats my barge an I to let It out o my sight. aint delivered my freight alongside Ive your steamer and prepaid the freight an its up to you to handle it, dog-gon- gosh-awf- in Gib I Mr. louve soiu sometnmg, acraggs.v, McGuffey flashed back at hh obeying a wink from Mr. Gibney. An heres a hundred dollars to bind th bargain. Balance on delivery of propel bill-o-sal- e. While Scraggs was counting th money Mr. Gibney fras writing a re ceipt In his note book. Scraggs, still furious, signed the receipt. Now, then, Scraggsy, said Mr. Gibney affably, hustle up to the enstonj blank, house, get a formal fill her In,, an hustle back agin fey your check. An see to it you dont change your mind, because it woCt do If you dont com you any good. through now I can sue you an force you to." Oh I So youre buyin my Interest eh? Well, Im lendin Mac the money, an I got a hunch hell sell the Interest to me an Neils without flggerln on profit. You're a Jarrin note In the syndicate, Scraggsy, an Ive come tc that time o life where I want peace. An there wont be no peace on the Victor unless I skipper her." Captain Scraggs departed to draw up the formal bill of sale and Mr. Glb ney, drawing The Squarehead and Me Guffey to him, favored each with a searching glance and said: "Gentlemen, did it ever occur to you that theres money In the chicken business? It had! Both McGuffey and Nells admitted It. There are few men io this world who have not, at soma period of their lives, held the sama view, albeit the majority of those who have endeavored to demonstrate that fact have subsequently changed their minds. i I thought as much, the commodore grinned. If I was to let you two out o my sight for a day youd both be flat busted the day after. So wa wont buy no farm an go In for chickens. Well sell the Victor an buy a little tradin schooner. Then well go back to the South seas an earn a legitimate livin." But whyll we sell the Victor? McGuffey demanded. Gib, shes a love of a boat. Because Ive just had a talk with the owners o the two opposition lines an they, knowin me to be chummy! with you an Scraggsy, give me the tip to tell you two that you could have your choice o two propositions a1 rate war or a sale o the Victor for ten thousand dollars. That gets you out clean an saves your original capl- tal, an It gits Scraggsy out the sama way, while nettin me an Neils five1 hundred each. A rate war would ruin us," McIn addition to sourin, Guffey agreed. until he Scraggsys disposition wouldnt be fit to live with. Gib, youre a wonder. I know It," Mr. Gibney replied. Within two hours Captain Scraggs, half interest had passed into the hands of McGuffey, and half an hour later! the Victor had passed Into the hands of the opposition lines, to be operated' for the joint profit of the latter. Later) in the day all four members of the syndicate met in the Bowhead saloon, where Mr. Gibney explained the deal to Captain Scraggs. The latter was dumfounded. Youll run without me, Gib," Scraggs declared emphatically. "Ive o the dark blue for mine.1 had I got a little stake now, so Im going to look around an invest in a , A chicken ranch, McGuffey interrupted. Bart. Howd you guess RIght-O- , it? Imagination, quoth McGuffey, taphis forehead, ping imagination, Scraggsy." Three weeks later Mr. Gibney had purchased, for account of his now abbreviated syndicate, the kind of power schooner he desired, and the inspectors gave him a ticket as master,1 With The Squarehead as mate and Mr. McGuffey as engineer and general utility man, the little schooner cleared for Pago Pago on a day when Captain Scraggs was too busy buying Incubators to come down to the dock and see them off. And for augbt the chronicler of thl tale knows to the contrary, the syndicate may be sailing In that schooner to this very day. THE END. bill-o-sa- le j . ! Thats the programme Adelbert, I crooned Mr. McGuffey, no heart? You know Interest In the Victor aint you got I got a half Captain Scraggs groaned, and his groan was that of a seasick passenger. When he could look up again his face was ghastly with misery. Gib, he pleaded sadly, you got us where the hair Is short Dont Invoke the law an make us handle that codfish, Gib I It aint right. Gimme leave to tow that barge anything to keep your freight off the Victor, an1 well pull It up river for you Be a good feller, Gib. You usenter be hard an spiteful like that, urged 1 McGuffey. Ill tow the barge free, walled Scraggs. Mr. Gibney sat calmly down on the stringer and lit a cigar. Nature had blessed him with a strong constitution amidships and the contiguity of his tainted fortune bothered him but little. He squinted over the tip of the cigar at Captain Scraggs. Youre just the same old Scraggsy trade. All you was in the green-pe- a you need is a ring in yer nose, Scraggsy, to make you a human hog. Here you goes to work an soaks me a dollar a ton when youd be tickled to death to do the job for half o that, an then you got the gall to .stand there appealin to my friendship! So youll tow, the barge up free, eh? Well, ust to make the transaction legI, Ill give you a dollar for the Job an let Skip to It, you have the baije. Scraggsy, an draw up a new bill, guaranteeln to tow the barge for one dollar. Then gimme back $499.00 an Ill hand you back this receipted freight bill. Captain Scraggs darted Into his cabin, dashed off the necessary document, and returning to the deck, presented it, together with the requisite refund, to Mr. Gibney, who, In the meantime, had come aboard. to do Whatever are you with thfs awful codfish, Gib? he tn Chattered Scrag&s, Whats the Matter With Reorganizin the Syndicate?" Gib, Guffey and Scraggs, while Neils Hal vorsen stood by, his yellow fangs flashing with pleasure under his wal- rus mustache. Scraggsy! Mac!' Your fins I Well reorganize the syndicate, an the minute me an Neils finds ourselves with intera bill o sale for a est In the Victor, based on the actual cost price, well tow this here barge An spilt the profits on the codfish? Scraggs queried eagerly. Certainly not. Me an Nells splits A quarter o them that a price to pay for Is too high profits your friendship, Scraggsy, old deceitful. Remember, I made that profit after you an Mac had pulled out o the syndicate. Thats logic, McGuffey declared. Its highway robbery," Scraggs I wont sell no quarter Insnarled. terest to you or The Squarehead, Gib. Not on them terms. Thet youll load them codfish aboard, or pay demurrage on that barge for every day they hang around ; an If the board of health condemns era an chucks em overboard Ill sue you an Mac for my lost profits, git a judgment agin you, an take over the Victor to satisfy the judgment. "Youre a sea lawyer, Gib, Scraggs retorted sarcastically. You do what Gib says, McGuffey ordered threateningly. Remember, I got a half Interest In any judgment he gits agin us an whats more, I object to them codfish clutterin up my half Interest." You bullied me on the old Maggie, Scraggs screeched, but I wont be bullied no more. If you want to tow that barge, Mac, you buy me out, lock stock and barrel. An the price for my half interest is five thousand one-quart- fifty-fift- y. self-sam- e Rheumatiz in One Reel. said his meeting the old darky on the street, how is the rheumatism these days?" Porely, sah, porely, was the do-- , ected reply!. Believe me, Marse Bix by, Ise Jest a movin picture ob pain. Boston Transcript. Well, Eph, Better Off Without It. I wish to heavens 1 could acquire an appetite. His Wife For goodness sake what do you want with an appetite? It would only give you more dyspepsia. Old Grones No Time for Publicity. Cant I get up a story about your diamonds? the actress. Not now, Ferdy, said Theyre In hock. Some of our flighty flappers seem to think that when a womans dress is above reproach it Is beneath eesitempt. |