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Show The QROLN PEA Fss8 c- , r, "THE VALLEY L L K:,d' L Eid GIANTS," By PETER B. KYNE I Etc' I Copyright, Ify Peter B. Kyne "And are they worth a whoop after you get them?" "Twenty-five cents up," was the answer. an-swer. "You go It blind at an old horse sale, aB a rule. Perhaps you get something some-thing that's worthless, and then again you may get something that has heaps of value, and perhaps you only pay half a dollar for It. It all depends on the bidding. I once sold an old horse to a chap and he took It home and opened It up, and what d'ye suppose he found Inside?" "Lots," replied Mr. Glbney, who prided himself on being something of a veterinarian, having spent a few months of his youth around a Hvery stable. "A million dollars in Confederate greenbacks," replied the auctioneer. "Of course they didn't have any value, but just suppose they'd been U. S.?" "That's right," agreed Mr. Glbney. "I suppose the swab that owned the horse starved It until the poor animal ttggered that all's grass that's green. As th3 feller says, 'Truth In sometimes stranger than fiction.' If you throw In a saddle and bridle cheap, I might be Induced to Invest In one of your old horses, shipmate." The auctioneer glanced quickly at Mr. Glbney, but noticing that worthy's face free from guile, he burst out laughing. Fair crazy to set 'em. Now, don't It stand to reason that them fellers knows what's In them boxes, or they wouldn't give me fifty dollars to haul ship? Of course, It does. However, in order to earn tliat fifty dollars, I got to back water. It wouldn't bo playin' fair If I didn't. But that don't prevent me from puttin' two dear friends o' mine (here Mr. Glbney encircled en-circled Scraggs and McGuffey with an arm each) nest to the secret which I discovers, an' If there's money in It for old Hooky that buys me off, It stands to reason that there's money In It for us three. What's to prevent yon an' McGuffey from goin' up to this old horse sale an' blddln' In them two boxes for the use and benefit of Glbney. Scraggs an' McGuffey, all share an' share alike? You can bid as high as a hundred dollars, if necessary, neces-sary, an' still come out a thousand dollars to the good. I'm tellln' you this because I know what's in them two boxes." McGuffey was staring fascinated at Mr. Glbney. Captain Scraggs clutched his mate's arm in a frenzied clasp. "What?" they both Interrogated. "You two boys," continued Mr. Glbney Glb-ney with aggravating deliberation, "alnt what nobody would call dummies. dum-mies. You're smart men. But the trouble with both o' you boys is you the rusty chain, singing through the hawneplpe. "Snub her gently, Mac, Dob her gently, an' give her the thirty-fathom shackle to the water's edge," he warned McGuffey. The bark swung until her bows were straightened to the ebb tide and with r wild, triumphant yell Mr. Glbney clasped the honest McGulTey to his perspiring bosom. The deed was done ! It was dark, however, before they had all the sails snugged up shipshape, although In the meantime the quarantine quaran-tine launch nad hove alongside, Investigated, In-vestigated, and removed those of the crew who still lived. Shortly thereafter there-after tho coroner cume and removed the dead, after which Glbney and McGuffey Mc-Guffey hosed down the deck, located some hard tack and coffee, supped and turned in In the officers' quarters. In the morning, Scab Johnny arrived in a launch with their other clothes (Mr. Glbney having thoughtfully sent him ten dollars on account of their old board bill, together with a request for the clothes), and when tho agents of the Chesapeake scut a watchman to relieve them they went ashore and had breakfast. After breakfust, they called at the office of the agents, where they were complimented on their during seamanship and received a check for one thousand dollars each. "Well, now," McGuffey declared, after af-ter they had cashed their chocks, "See-in' "See-in' as how I've become Independently Independent-ly wealthy by following your lead, Adelbert, all I got to say is that I'm a-goln' to stick to you like a limpet to a rock. What'll we do with our money?" For the first time in his checkered career Mr. Glbney had a sane, sensible, sensi-ble, and serious thought. "Has It ever occurred to you, Mac, how much nicer It Is to have a few dollars in the bank, good clothes on your back, an' a credit cred-it with your friends? Me, all my life I been a come-easy, go-easy, come-Sunday,-God'll-send-Monday sort o' feller, until in my forty-second year I'm little better'n a beachcomber. So now, when you ask me what I'm goin' to do with my money, I'll tell you. I'm going to save it, after first paytn' up about seventy-five bucks I owe here an' there along the Front. I'm through C t REAL MONEY. Synopntfl. Captain Phlnnas P. SenitfKa has grown up around the docks of San FranclHco, and from mens boy on a river steamer, rlut-n to the ownership of the steamer MaKjjrle. Since each annual Inspection In-spection promised to be the last of tho old weatherbeaten vessel, Scraggs naturally has soma difficulty diffi-culty In securing a crew. When the story opons, Adalbert P. Glbney, Glb-ney, likable, but erratic, a man whom nobody but Scraggs would hire, la the skipper, Nells Halvor-son, Halvor-son, a solemn Swede, constitutes tho forecastle hands, and Hart McGuffey, Mc-Guffey, a wastrel of the Glbney type, reigns In the engine room. With this motley crew and his ancient an-cient vessel, Captain Scraggs Ib engaged In freighting garden truck from Ilalfmoon bay to San Francisco. The Inevitable happens; the Maggie goes ashore In a fog. A passing vessel hailing the wreck, Mr. Glbney gets word to a towing company In San Francisco that the ship ashore Is the Yankee Prince, with promise of a rich salvage Two tugs succeed in pulling the Maggie Into deep water, and she slips her tow linos and gets away in the fog. Furious at the deception decep-tion practiced on them, Captains Hicks and Flahorty, commanding tho two tugboats, ascertain the Identity of tho "Yankee Prince" and, fearing ridicule should the facts become known along the water wa-ter front, determine on personal vengeance. Their hostile visit to the Maggie results in Captain Sc raggl promising to get a now boiler and make needod repairs to the steamer. Scraggs refuses to fulfill his promises and Glbnoy and McGuffey "strike." With marvelous marvel-ous luck, Scraggs ships a fresh crew. At the end of a few days of wild conviviality Glbney and MeQuffoy are stranded and seek their old positions on the Maggie. They are hostllely received, but remain. re-main. On their way to Sa-n Francisco Fran-cisco they sight a derelict and Glbney Glb-ney and McGuffey swim to It. The derelict proves to be the Chesapeake, Chesa-peake, richly laden, its entire crew stricken with scurvy. Scraggs attempts at-tempts to tow her In, but the Maggie Mag-gie is unequal to tho task and Glbney Glb-ney and McGuffey, alone, undertake under-take to sail the ship to San Francisco. Fran-cisco. i; iQ CHAPTER VI. Continued. G The shin lnv in the wind, shivering. "If you can forgive him. I can, Gib." "Well, he's certainly cleaned himself him-self handsome, Bart. Telephone for a messenger boy," and Mr. Glbney sat down and wrote : "Scraggsy, old fanciful, we're square. Forget it and come to breakfast with us at seven tomorrow at the Marigold cafe. I'll order deviled lam kidneys for three. It's alright with Bart also. "Yours, "Gib." This note, delivered to Captain Scraggs by the messenger boy, lifted the gloom from the latter miserable soul and sent him home with a light heart to Mrs. Scraggs. At the Marigold Mari-gold cafe next morning he was almost touched to observe that both Glbney and McGuffey showed up arrayed in dungarees, wherefore Scraggs knew his late enemies purposed proceeding to the Maggie immediately after breakfast and working in the engine room all day Sunday. Such action, when he knew both gentlemen to be the possessors pos-sessors of wealth far beyond the dreams of avarice, bordered so closely close-ly on the miraculous that Scraggs made a mental resolve to play fair in the future at least as fair as the limits of his cross-grained nature would permit. per-mit. He was so cheerful and happy that McGuffey, taking advantage of the situation, argued him into some minor repairs to the engine. About nine o'clock, as Mr. Glbney was on his way to the Marigold Cafe for bieakfast, he was mildly interested, inter-ested, while passing the Embarcadero warehouse, to note the presence of fully a dozen seedy-looking gentlemen of undoubted Hebraic antecedents, congregated In a circle just outside the watehouse door. There was an air of suppressed excitement about this group of Jews that aroused Mr. Gib-ney's Gib-ney's curiosity ; so he decided to cross over and investigate, being of the opinion opin-ion that possibly one of their number had fallen in a fit. He had once had an epileptic shipmate and was peculiarly pecu-liarly expert in the handling of such cases. Now, If the greater portion of Mr. GIbney's eventful career had not been spent at sea, he would have known, by the red flag that floated over the door, "My sea-faring friend," be said presently, "when we use the term 'old horse,' we use it figuratively. See all this freight stored here? Well, that's never been called for by the consignees, consign-ees, and after It's In the warehouse a year and isn't called for, we have an old horse sale and auction It off to the highest bidder. Savey?" Mr. Glbney took refuge in a lie. "Of course, I do. I was just kiddln' you, my hearty." (Here Mr. Gibney's glance rested on two long heavy sugar-pine sugar-pine boxes, or shipping cases. Their joints at all four corners were cunningly cun-ningly dove-tailed and wire-strapped.) "I was a bit interested in them two boxes, an' seein' as this is a free country, coun-try, I thought I'd just step In an' make a bid on them," and with the words, Mr. Gibney walked over and busied himself in an Inspection of the two crates In question. The fact of the matter was that so embarrassed was Mr. Glbney at the exposition of his ignorance that he desired to hide the confusion evident in his sun-tanned face. So he stooped over the crates and pretended to be exceedingly interested in them, hauling haul-ing and pushing them about and reading read-ing the address of the consignee who had failed to call for his goods. The crates were both consigned to the Gin Seng company, 714 Dupont street, San Francisco. There were several Chinese Chi-nese characters serawled on the top of each crate, together with the words, in English : "Oriental Goods." As he ceased from his fake Inspec- ain i got no mjuginrtLiim. iluuui Imagination nobody gets nowhere, unless un-less it's out th' small end o' th' horn. Maybe you boys ain't noticed It, but my imagination is all that keeps me from goin' to jail. Now, if you tp had read the address on them vm. boxes, it wouldn't 'a' meant nothin' t you. Absolutely nothin'. But with me it's different. I'm blessed with imagination imagi-nation enough to see right through them Chinaman tricks. Them two boxes Is marked 'Oriental Goods' an' consigned (here Mr. Glbney raised a grimy forefinger, and Scraggs and McGuffey Mc-Guffey eyed It very much as if they expected it to go off at any moment) them two boxes is consigned to the Gin Seng company, 714 Dupont street, San Francisco." "Well, that's up in Chinatown, all right," admitted Captain Scraggs, "but how about what's inside the two crates?" "Oriental goods, of course," said McGuffey. Mc-Guffey. "They are consigned to a Chinaman, an' besides, that's what it says on the cases, don't It, Gib? Oriental Ori-ental goods, Scraggs, is silks an' satins, rice, chop suey, punk, an' idols' an' fan tan layouts." "If there ain't Swiss cheese movements move-ments in that head block of yours, Mac, you and Scraggsy cau divide my share o' these two boxes o' ginseng root between you. Do you get it, you chuckleheaded son of a Irish potato? Gin Seng, 714 Dupont street. Ginseng a root or a herb that medicine is made out of. The dictionary says it's dtinkin' nn' raisin' h 11. Me for a savings bank, Bart." CHAPTER VII. When Captain Scraggs, after abandoning aban-doning all hope of salving the bark Chesapeake, returned to the Maggie, the little craft reminded him of nothing noth-ing so much as the ward for the incorrigible in-corrigible of an insane asylum. Due to Captain Scraggs' stupidity and the general Inefficiency of the Maggie, the new navigating officer was of the opinion opin-ion that he had been swindled out of his share of the salvage, while the new engineer, furious at having been engaged en-gaged to baby such a ruin as the Maggie's Mag-gie's boiler turned out to be, blamed Scraggs' parsimony for the loss of his share of the salvage. Therefore, both men aired with the utmost frankness their opinion of their employer. One word borrowed another until diplomatic diplomat-ic relations were severed and, in the language of the classic, they "mixed it." They were fairly well matched, and, to the credit of Captain Scraggs be it said, whenever he believed himself him-self to have a fighting chance Scruggs would fight and fight well, under the Tom-cat rules of fisticuffs. Following a bloody battle In the pilot house, he subdued the mate ; following his victory he was still war mad, so he went to the engine-room hatch and abused the engineer. As a result of the day's events, both men quit when the Maggie was tied up at Jackson street wharf and once more Captain Scraggs was helpless. In his extremity, extrem-ity, ho wished he hadn't been so hard on Mr. Gibney and McGuffey, for he realized he could uever hope to get them back until their salvage money should be speut. Mr. Gibney was here, there, everywhere. every-where. One minute he was dashing along the deck with a leading line, the next he wits laying out aloft. He ordered or-dered himself to do a thing and then, with the pent-up energy of a thousand aevlls, he did It. The years of degradation degra-dation sis navigating officer of the Maggie Mag-gie fell away from him, as he sprang, agile and half-naked, into the shrouds; it great, hairy demigod or sea-goblin tie lay out along the yards and sprang from place to place with the old exultant exul-tant thrill of youth and joy In his work. A word, a gesture, from Mr. Glbney, and McGuffey would pounce on a rope like a bull-dog. With the fore-royal set. Mr. Gibney ran back to tb.e wheel and put It hard over. There I elng no after sail set the bark swung off readily on to her course, slipping through the water at a nice eight-knot Sliced. Ten miles off the coast, Mr. Gibney hung her up In the wind aguin. braced his yards with the aid of the ninch and McGuffey, came about and headed north. At three o'clock she cleared the lightship and wore around to come in over the bar, steering east by south, half-south, for Point Bonlta. She drew the full advantage of the wind now and over the bar she came, ramping full through the Gate with her yards squared, on the last of the flood tide. As they passed Lime point, Mr. Gibney Gib-ney prepared to shorten sail and like a clarion blast his voice rung through the ship. "Clew up them royals." He lashed the wheel and they brought the clewlines clew-lines again to the winch head. The ship was falling off a little before the fore-royal was clewed up, so Mr. Sibney ran back to the wheel and put a Chinese panacea for exhaustion, an' I happen to know that it's worth five dollars a pound an' that them two crates weighs a hundred and fifty pounds each If they weighs an ounce." His auditors stared at Mr. Gibney much as might a pair of baseball fans at the hero of a home run with two strikes and the bases full. "Gawd I" muttered McGuffey. "Great grief, Gib ! Can this be possible?" pos-sible?" gasped Captain Scraggs. For answer Mr. Glbney took out his fifty-dollar bill and handed It to to McGuffey. He never trusted Captain Scraggs with anything more valuable than a pipeful of tobacco. "Scraggsy," he said solemnly, 'Tm wlllin' to back my Imagination with my cash. You an' McGuffey hurry right over to the warehouse an' butt In on the sale when they come to them two boxes. The sale Is just about startln' now. Go as high as you thlk you can In order to get the ginseng at a profitable figger, an' pay the auctioneer auc-tioneer fifty dollars down to hold the sale; that will give you boys time to rush around to dig up the balance o' the money. Tack right along now, lads, while I go down the street an get me some breakfast. I don't want Blumenthal to see me around that sale. He might get suspicious. After I eat I'll meet you here aboard th' Maggie, an' we'll divide the loot" With a fervent handshake all around, the three shipmates parted. After disposing of a hearty breakfast break-fast of devilled lamb's kidneys and coffee, Mr. Gibney Invested In a ten-cent ten-cent Sailor's Delight and strolled down to the Maggie. Neils Halvorsen, the lone deckhand, was aboard, and the moment Mr. Gibney trod the Maggie's deck once more as mate, he exercised his prerogative to order Neils ashore for the remainder of the day. Since Halvorsen was not in on the ginseng deal, Mr. Glbney concluded that It would be just as well to have him out the way should Scraggs and McGuffey jppear unexpectedly unex-pectedly with the two cases of ginseng. gin-seng. "We'll open her up and inspect in-spect the swag." (TO BE CONTINUED.) tion of the two boxes, the King of the Forty Thieves approached and surveyed sur-veyed the sailor with an even greater amount of distrust and suspicion than ever. Mr. Gibney was annoyed. He disliked being stared at, so he said: "Hello, Blumenthal, my bully boy. What's aggravatin' you?" Blumenthal (since Mr. Gibney, In the sheer riot of his Imagination elected to christen him Blumenthal, the name will probably suit him as well as any other) came close to Mr. Gibney and drew him aside. In a hoarse whisper he desired to know if Mr. Gibney attended the auction with the expectation of bidding on any of the packages offered for sale. Seeking Seek-ing to justify his presence, Mr. Gibney advised that it was his intention to bid on everything in sight ; whereupon Blumenthal proceeded to explain to Mr. Gibney how impossible it would he for him, arrayed against the Forty Thieves, to buy any article at a reasonable rea-sonable price. Further: Blumenthal desired to Inform Mr. Glbney that his (Mr. Gibney's) efforts to buy in the "old horses" would merely result in his running the prices up, for no beneficent benef-icent purpose, since it was ever the practice of the Forty Thieves to permit per-mit no man to outbid them. Perhaps Mr. Glbney would be satisfied with a fair day's profit without troubling himself him-self to hamper the Forty Thieves and interfere with their combination, and with the words, the king surreptitiously surreptitious-ly slipped Mr. Gibney a fifty-dollar greenback. Mr. Gibney's great fist closed over the treasure, he having first, by a coy glance, satisfied himself that it was really fifty dollars. He shook hands with the king. He snid: "Blumenthal, you're a smart man. 1 am quite content with this fifty to keep o your course and give you a wide berth to starboard. I'm sensible sensi-ble enough to know when I'm licked, :in' a fight without profit ain't in my lip;. I didn't make my money that way, Blumenthal. I'll cast off my lines and haul away from the dock," and suiting the action to the figure, Mr. Gibney departed. He went first to the Seaboard drug store, where he quizzed the druggist for five minutes, after which he continued con-tinued his cruise. Upon reaching the Maggie, he proceeded to relate in detail, de-tail, and with additional details sup-piled sup-piled by his own imagination, the story of his morning adventure. "Gib," Said McGuffey enviously, "you're a fool for luck." "Luck," said Mr. Gibney, beginning to expand, "is what the feller calls a relative proposition " "You're wrong, Gib," Interposed Captain Scraggs. "Relatives is unlucky un-lucky an' expensive. Take, fr Instance, In-stance, Mrs. Scraggs' mother " "I mean, you lunkhead," said Mr. Gibney, "that luck Is found where brains grow. No brain, no luck. No luck, no brains. Lemme Illustrate. A thlevln' land sn.-irk makes tne a present ' fifty doUats not to butt In on tnem two boxes I'm tellln' you shout. Him an' his gang vents them two boxes. "Hard-a-Starboard 1 Make Her Fast, Bart." that a public suction was about to take place, an- Hint -the group of Hebrew He-brew gentlemtn cojgJpted an organization organi-zation knowr-s ypfe Forty Thieves, wluse bus: :ss jW ' mitnate the bidding at all auctions, frighten off, or buy off, or outbid all competitors, and eventually gather vnJto themselves, at their own figures, aJlvgoods offered for sale. X In the center of thegroup Mr. Gibney Gib-ney noticed a tall, latrky Individual, evidently the leader, who""-was issuing instructions in a low vofce to his henchmen. This tniiivirinnl-tl'n'-h Mr. Gibney did not know it, Was the King of the Forty Thieves. As Mr. Gibney luffed into view the king eyed him with suspicion. Observing this. Mr. Gibney threw out his magnificent chest, scowled at the king, and stepped Into the warehouse for all the world as If he owned it. i An oldish man with glasses the auctioneer -war, seated on a box making mak-ing figures In a notebook. Him Mr. Gibney addressed. "What's all this here?" he Inquired, Jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the group. "It's an old horse sale." replied the auctioneer, without looking up. Mr. Gibney brightened. He glanced around for the stock In trade, hut observing ob-serving none concluded that the old horses would be led In, one at a time, through a small door In the rear of the warehouse. Like most sailors. Mr. Glbney had a passion for horseback riding, and in a spirit of adrnture he resolved to acquaint himself uirft the 'ns and outa of an old horse sale. "How mud) might a man have to give for one tf. tie critters?" he asked. her on her course again while McGuffey McGuf-fey brought the main-royal clewlines to the winch. Again Gibney made the wheel fast and helped McGuffey clew up the main-royal: again he set her on her course while McGuffey, following follow-ing Instructions, made ready to clew up the fore-to'-gallan'-s'l. They were abreast Black Point before this latter sail was clewed up. and then they smothered the lower top-s'ls ; the bark was slipping lazily through the water and McGuffey took the wheel. "Starboard a little! Steady-y-y ! Keep her as she heads," Gibney warned and cast off the Jib halyards. The jibs slid down the stays, hanging as they fell. They were well up toward Meiggs wharf now and it devolved upon up-on Mr. Gihney to bring his prize In on the quarantine ground and let go his port anchor. Fortunately, the anchor was already cock-billed. Mr. Gibney sprang to the fore-top-sail halyards and let them go and the fore-top-sail came down by the run. "Harfl-a-starnoard i Make her fast, Bart, an' come up here an' help me with the anchor. Let go the maln-top-sall halyards as you come by an' stand by the compressor on the windlass." The Chesapeake swung slowly. roadside to the first of the ebn and iVlth the wind on her port beam, Mr. Glbney knocked out the stcrpper with bis trusty hammer and away went Godless aud wholly irreclaimable as Mr. Gibney and Mr. McGuffey might have been and doubtless were, each possessed in bounteous measure the sweetest of human attributes, to-wit: a soft, kind heart and a forgiving spirit. spir-it. Creatures of impulse both, they found it absolutely impossible to nourish nour-ish a grudge against Captain Scraggs, when, upon returning to Scab Johnny's boarding house, their host hauded them a grubby note from their enemy. It was short and sweet and sounded quite sincere ; Mr. Glbney read it aloud : "On Hoard the Maggie, Saturday night. "Dear Friends: 1 am sorry. You hurt me awful with your kidden when you took the Chesapeake Chesa-peake awry frOui uie. To er is human but to forg'.v? Is tie vine. After what I done I don't expect you two to come back to work ever but for God's sake don't give me the dead face when we meat agin. Remember we been shipmates ship-mates once. "P. P. Scraggs." "Why, tbe pore ol' son of a horse thief," Mr. Glbney murmured, much moved nt .tl." profound abasement. "Of course we forgive him. It ain't manly to hold a grouch after the culprit cul-prit has paid his fair price for hi" sins. By an' large, I got a hunch. Bart, that old Scraggsy's bit! felt lesson les-son for once." |
