RID CLOUD, NEBRASKA, CHIEF Pi .,' It 9 W- J. (! i I 6 if ?' C vr I The cAuthor of Copyright, by Petu B. Krnc VHEREIN-MR. GIBNEY PUTS ONE OVER. ftynopsU. Captain t'hlncas P. Bcrafrgn hao grown up around the clocks of Sun "Francisco, and from mens boy on a river teamer, risen to t ho ownership of the steamer Maggie Since each annual In pectlon promised to he tho lust of the old wealhorbeaten vessel, BcragKs naturally has some dlfllculty In securing a crew. When the ntory opens, Ailclhert I. Olhnty, likable, but erratic, a man whom noetxly but ScraRRs would hire, In the skipper. Nells Halvorson, n solemn Swede, consti tutes the forcnnlle hands, and Hart Mc Ouffsy, a wastrel of the Qlbncy type, reigns In the engine room. CHAPTER II Continued. 2 She did with u crock Unit shook the rigging nnd cnusod It to rattle like buckshots In n pun. A terrible cry such n cry, Indeed, ns might burst from the lips of n mother seeing her only child run down by the Limited hurst from poor Cnptnln Scruggs. "My rtilpl My shlpl" he liowled. "My dnrllng little Moggie! They've kllJed you, they've killed you! The dirty lubbers 1" The succeeding wove lifted the Mng (tie ofl' the bench, curried her In some fifty feet further, mid deposited her gently on the sand. She heeled over to port a little nnd rested there ns If alio wns very, very weary, nor could all the threshing of her screw In re verse hntil her off again. The surf, dashing In under her fantall, had more power tlinn McOuffey's engines, nnd, foot by foot, the Maggie proceeded to dig herself In. Mr. Glbney listened for five minutes to the uproar thnt rose from tho boweJs of the little steamer before he whistled up Mr. McGuffcy. "Kill her. kill her." ho ordered. "Your wheel will bite Into the sand first thing you know, and tenr the stem off her. You're shnkln' the old girl to pieces." McGufToy killed his engine, banked his tires, and came up on deck, wiping hln anxious face with n fearfully filthy swent rag. At the snme time Scraggs and Nells Ilulvorsen came crawling aft over the deeklnnd and when they renched the clear space around the pilot house. Captain Scrnggs threw his brown derby on the deck and leaped upon It until, his rage abating ulti mately, no power on earth In the air. or tinder the sea. could possibly have rehabilitated It nnd rendered It fit for further wear, even by Cnptnln Scrnggs. .This petulant practice of Jumping on his hat wns a habit with Scraggs whenever anything annoyed him par ticularly and wns always Infallible evi dence thnt a simple declnratlye sen tence hnd stuck In his throat. "Well, old whirling dervish," Mr. Glbney denmndnl calmly when Scraggs paused for lack of breath to continue bis dance, "what about It? We're up Halt Creek without n paddle; the devil to pay and no pitch hot." "McGuffcy's tired 1" Captain Scrnggs screeched. "Come, come, Scrnggsy, old tnrpot," Mr. Glbney soothed. "This nln't no time for flghtin'. Tlilnkln an' nctln' U all that saves the Maggie now." I Jut Captain Scrnggs was beyond reason. "McGuffey's fired I McOuf fey's fired I" be reiterated. "The dirty rotten wharf rati Call yourself an engineer?" he continued wltherlngly. "As nn engineer you're n howling suc cess at shoemnkln', you slob. I'll fix your clock for you, my hearty. I'll have your ticket took away from you, an' thnt's no Chinaman's dream, nuther." "It'B nil my fault runnln' by dead reckonln'," the honest Glbney pro tested. "Mac ain't to fault. The en gine room telegraph busted nn' be got the wrong slgnnl." 4 ".It's his business to see to It that he'ti got nn engine room telegraph that won't bust " "You dog!" McOuffey roared and sprang nt the skipper, who leaped nimbly up the little ladder to the top of the pilot house nnd stood prepared to kick Mr, McOuffey In the face should that worthy venture up after him. "I enn't persuade you to git me nothln' thnt I ought to have. I'm tired workln' with Junk an' scraps nn cop per wire and pieces o' string. I'm through !" "You're right you're through, be causo you're tired 1" Scraggs shrieked In Insane rnge. "Oct off my ship, you maritime Impostor, or I'll tnke a pistol to you. Overboard with you, you grensy, nddlepated bounder I You're rotten, understand? ltottcn! Rotten! Rotten I" "You owe me eight dollars nn' six bits, Scraggs," Mr. McOuffey reminded his owner on I inly. "Chuck down the pondulleks an' I'll get off your ship." Captain Scraggs was beyond reason, so no tossed the money down to the engineer. ""Vow git," he commanded. Without further ndo, Mr. McOuffey started across the deeklnnd to the fo'custle head. Scraggs could not see him but ho could hear him so he pelted the engineer with potatoes, cab bage heads nnd onions, the vegetables descending about the honest McGuflfcy In a verltnblo bnrrnge. Even In the darkness several of these missiles took effect. Upon renewing the very apex of the Maggie's bow, Mr. McOuffey turned and hurled a promise Into the dark Qreett y PETER "WEBSTERMAN'S MAN," ness: "If we ever meet ngnln, Scraggs, I'll make Mrs. Scraggs a wld ow. Paste that in your hut when you get u new one." The Maggie was resting cnslly on the beach, with the broken water from the Jong lazy combers surging well up above her witter line. At most, six feet of water uwulted the-engineer, who stood, peering shoreward und lis tening Intently, oblivious to the stray missiles which whizzed past. Present ly, from out of the fog, he heard n grinding, metallic sound and through it sudden rift In the fog caught a brief glimpse of blue tlame with sparks radiating fnlntly from It. That settled matters for Bnrllinlo mew McOulTey. The metallic sound was the protest from the wheels of a Cliff house trolley car rounding u curve; the IJue Maine wns nn electric manifestation due to the Intermittent contact of her trolley with the wire, wet with fog. McOuffey knew the exnet position of I he Maggie now, so ho polled a moment on bur bow; as a wave swept past him, he leaped overboard, scrambled ashore, made his way up tho beach to the great highway which flunks the shore line between the CHIT house nnd Ingleslde, sought a madhouse, and warmed his Interior with four lingers of whisky neat. Then, feeling quite content with himself, even In his wet garments, he boarded u city-bound trolley enr and departctl for the wurmlh nnd hospital ity of Scab Johnny's sailor boarding house In Oregon street. Cnptnln Scrnggs sat down on the half-emptied crate of vegetables nnd commenced to weep bitterly bulf be cnuse of rnge nnd half because be re garded himself a pauper. Already he bad a vision of himself scouring the waterfront In search of n Job. "No use boo-hooln' over split milk, Scraggsy." Always philosophical, the uuthor of the owner's woe sought to carry tho disaster off lightly. "Don't add your salt tears to n saltier sea until you're certain you're n total loss an' no Insurance. I got you Into this and I suppose It's up to me to get you off, so I guess I'll commence opera tions." Suiting the netlnn to tho word. Mr. Glbney grnsped the whistle cord and a strange, sail, sneezing, wheezy moan resembling the expiring protest of a lusty pig and gradually Increasing Into n long-drawn but respectable whistle rewarded bis efforts. For oncu, he could afford to be prodigal with the steam, and while It lasted l here could Ik; no mlstnklng the fact that here wan n steamer In dire dis tress. The weird call for help brought Scruggs around to a fuller realization of the enormity of the disaster which had overtaken him. In his agony he forgot to curse his navigating officer for the hitter's stubbornness In refusing to turn back when the fog threatened. He clutched Mr. Glbney by the right arm, thereby Interrupting for nn In stant the dlsmul outburst from the Maggie's siren. "Gib," he moaned. "I'm n ruined man. llow'ru we ever to get the old "Hoyre We to Get My Maaglo Off the Beach?" sweetheart off whole? Answer mo that, Gib. Answer me, I say. How're we to got my Maggie off the beach?" Mr. Glbneyjshook himself loose from that frantic grip- and continued his pull on the whistle until the Maggie, taking a fulse note, quuvered, moaned, spat steam u minute und subsided with whut might bo termed a nuutlcul sob. "Now, seo what you've done?" he bawled. "You've made mo bust tho whistle." "Answer my question, Gib." "We'll never get her off If you don't quit tutert'erln' an' give me time to think. I'll admit there ain't much of a chance, because It's dead low water now nn' Just us soon as the tide la at the Mood she'll drive further up the beach an' fall npart." "Perhaps McOuffey will have heart Pea Pirates B. KYNE "THE VALLEY OF THE GIANTS," Etc. enough to telephone into the city for a tug." " 'Tuln't scarcely probable, Scraggsy. You abused him vile an' threw a lot of fodder at him." "I wish I'd been took with paralysis first,',' Scraggs walled bitterly. "You'd best Jump ashore, Gib, un' 'phone In. We're Just below the Cliff house and you ciin run up to one o' them beach resorts an' 'phone lu to the Red Stack Tug Boat company." "'Twouldn't be ethics for me, tho registered mnster o' the Maggie, to desert the ship, Scraggsy, old stick-In-the-mud. What's the matter with got tin' your own shanks wet?" "I dnssen't, Gib. I've hnd n touch of chills np' fever ever Hlnce I used to run mate up the Snn Jonquln sloughs. Hero's n nickel to drop In the telephone slot, Gib. There's u good follow." "Scraggsy, you're deludln' yourself. Show me n tugboat skipper that would come out here on n night like this to pick up the S. S. Maggie, two decks an' no bottom nn loaded with garden truck, an' I'll wag my enrs nn' look at the back o' my neck. She ain't worth It." "Ain't worth It! Why, mnn, I paid fifteen hundred bard cash dollars for her." "Fourteen hundred nn' ninety-nine dollars an' nlncty-nlnc cents too much. They seen you comln'. However, grant In' for the sake of nrgyment that she's worth the tow, the next question them towbont sklppers'll nsk Is: 'Who's goln' to pay the bill?' It'll be. two hundred nn' tlfty dollars at tho lowest Mgger, nn' If you got thnt much credit with the towbont compnny you're some high flnuncler. Ain't that logic?" "I'm nfrnld," Scrnggs replied sadly, "It Is. Still, they'd have n lien on the Maggie " "Steamer ahoy!" came a voice from the beach. "Mnn with n megnphone," Mr. Glb ney cried. "Ahoy! Ahoy, there 1" "Who are you un' what's the trou ble?" Cnptnln Scraggs took It upon him self to answer: "Amerlcnn steamer Mng" Mr. Glbney sprang upon him tlgcr- ishly, placed a homy, tobacco-smelling palm neross Scruggs' mouth nnd effec tively smothered nil further sound. "American steamer Ynnkee Prince," ho bnwled like n veritable null of Hashan, "of Roston, Hong Kong to Frisco, with n general cargo of sandal wood, rice nn' silk. Where're we nt?" ".Tust outside the Gate. ' Half n mile o' the Cliff house." "Telephone In for n tug. We're In nice shape, restln easy, but our rud der's gone an' the after web o the crank shaft busted. Telephone In, my mnn, nn' I'll make It up to you when wo get n safe uneliornge. Who are you?" "Llndstrom, of the Oolden Gate Life Saving station." "I'll not forget you, Llndstrom. My owners are Ynukees, but they're sports." "All right, I'll telephone. On my wny '" "God speed you," murmured Mr. Glbney, nnd relensed his hold on Cap tain Scrnggs, who Instantly threw his arms nround the navigating officer's burly neck. "I forgive you, Adolbert," be crooned. "I forgive you freely. By the tall of tho Great Sacred Bull, you're u marvel. She's an all night fog or I'm a Chlnamnn, and If It only stays thick enough " "It'll hold." aibuoy retorted dogged ly. "It's a tule fog. They nlwnys hold. Quit huggln' mc. Your breath's bad." Captnln Scrnggs, hurled forcibly bnckwnrd, bumped Into the pilot house, but lost none of his enthusiasm. "You're a jewel," he declared. "Oh, man, what a head! Whntever made you think of tho Ynnkee Prince?" "Because," Mr. Glbney answered calmly, "there ain't no such ship, this land of ours belli' a free republic where princes don't go. Still, It's n nice nume, Scraggs, old tarpot more particular since I thought It up In a hurry. Kb, whnt?" "Hnlvorsen," cried Cnptnln Scrnggs. The lono deckhand emerged from n hole In the freight forward whither ho had retreated to escape the vegeta ble barrage put over by Captain Scrnggs when McOuffey loft the ship. "Aye, nye, sir," he boomed. "All hnnds below to the galley 1" Scrnggs shouted. "While we're wait In' for this here towbont I'll brew n scuttle o' grog to celebrate tho dis covery o' real sen-fnrln' talent. Gib, my dear boy, I'm proud of you. No matter what happens, I'll never have no other nnvlgntln' otllcer." "Don't crow till you're out o' the wood3," the ustute Glbney warned him. CHAPTER III. In the offlco of the Red Stnck Tug Bont company Captnln Dan Hicks, master of the tug Aphrodite; Captnln Jack Flaherty, master of tho Bodega, nnd Tlcrnnn, the assistant superin tendent on night watch, sat around a hot little box stove engaged In that occupation so dear to the maritime heart, to-wlt: spinning sew yams. The telephone rnng nnd Tlernnn an swered. Hicks nnd Flaherty hitched forward in their chairs to listen. "Hello. . . . Yes, Red Stnck ottlce. . . . Stcnmer Yunkee Prince. . , . Whnt's that? . . . silk and rice? . . . Half a mile below the Cliff house, Kb? . . . Sure, I'll send u tug right awny, Llndstrom." Tlernnn hung up nnd faced the two skippers. "Gentlemen," he unnounced, "here's n chance for a little salvage money tonight. Tho Amerlcun steam er Yankee Prince Is ashore half u mile below the Cliff house. She's u big trntnp with n valuable cargo from Hong Kong, with the rudder gone nnd her crank shaft busted." "It's high wnter at twelve thirty seven," Jack Flnherty pleaded. "You'd better send me, Tlernnn. The Bodega has more power than the Aphrodite." This was the truth nnd Dan Hicks knew it, but he was not to be beaten out of his share of the salvage by such flimsy urgument. "Jack," he pleaded, "don't be u hog nil the time. The Ynnkee Prince Is nn eight thousand-ton vessel nnd It's a two-tug Job. Better send us both, Tlernnn, und play safe. Chances are our competitors have three tugs on the way right now." "What a wonderful Imagination you bnve, Dan. Eight thousand tons! You're crnzy, man. She's thirteen hundred net register nnd I know it be cause I Mas In Newport News when they launched her, and I went out with her skipper on the trlnl trip. She's n long, narrow-gutted craft, with en gines aft, like n lake steamer." "We'll piny safe," Tlernnn decided. "Go to It both of you, nnd may the best man win. She'll belong to you. Jack, If she's thirteen hundred net nnd you get your line nboard flrst. If she's ns big us Dan says alio Is, you'll be cqunl pnrtuers " But he wns talking to himself. Down the docks Illcks nnd Flnherty were racing for the respective com mands, each shouting to his night wntchnmn to pipe all hnnds on deck. Fortunately, n goodly bend of stenm was up In each tug's boilers; becnuse of tho fog and the liability to colli sions nnd consequent hnsty summons, one engineer on ench tug wns on duty. Out through the Gate they nosed their wny, heaving 'the lead continu ously, mnde n wide detour nround Mile rock nnd the Seal rocks, swung n mile to the south of the position of the Mnggle, nnd then enme cautiously up the coast, whistling continuously to ncqunlnt the Ynnkee Prince with their presence In the neighborhood. In anticipation of the necessity for replying to this welcome sound, Cap tain Scraggs nnd Mr. Glbney hnd, for the past two hours, busied themselves getting up nnother bend of steam In the Maggie's hollers, repairing the whistle nnd splicing tho wires of tho engine room telegraph. Like tho wise men they were, however, they declined to sound the Maggie's siren until the tugs were quite close. Even then, Mr. Glbney shuddered, but needs must when the devil drives, so he pulled the whistle cord and wns rewarded with n weird, mournful grunt, dying nwny Into a gnsp. "Sounds like she has tho pip," Jack Flaherty remarked to his mate. "Must have tnken on some of thnt dirty Aslntlc water," Dan Illcks solllo qulzed, "nnd now her tubes have gone to glory." Immediately both tugs kicked abend under a dead slow bell, guided by a series of toots ns brief as Mr. Glbney could make them, nnd presently both tug lookouts reported breukers duad ahead. Dan Illcks sent a mau forward to heave the lead under the nose of the Aphrodite, which was edging In gin gerly toward the voice. He had a searchlight, but lie did not attempt to use It, knowing full well that In such n fog It would be of no nvall. Guided, therefore, by the bellowlngs of Mr. Glbney, reinforced by the shrill yips of Captain Scraggs, the tug crept in closer und closer, nnd when It seemed that they must be within n hundred feet of tho surf, Dnn Illcks trained his Lyle gun in tho direction of Mr. Glbney's voice und shot a heav ing line Into the fog. Almost simultaneous with the report of the gun enme a shriek of pnln from Captain Scrnggs. Straight and true the wet, heavy knotted end of the heaving line came. In over the Mnggle's quarter nnd struck him In the mouth. In tho darkness he stnggered bnck from the stinging blow, clutched wild ly nt the ulr, slipped and rolled over among the vegetables with the pre cious rope clasped to his breast. "I got It," he sputtered, "I got It, Gib." "Snfe, O!" Mr. Glbney bnwled. "Pay out your hawser." They met It tit the tnffrall as It came up out of the breukers, wet but welcome. "Pass It nround tho main mast, Scraggy," Mr. Glbney cautioned. "If we make fast to tho towln bits, tho flrst Jerk'll pull the anchor bolts up through the deck." When the hawser hnd been made fast to the mainmast, tho lentberu lungs of Mr. Glbney made due an nouncement of the fact to tho ex pectant Captain Hicks. "As soon aa you feel you'vo got a grip on her," ha yelled, "Just hold her steady so she won't drive further up the betfcJi when I get my anchor up. She'll come nut like a looso tooth at the top of the vflood." The Aphrodite forged slowly ahead, taking In the slack of the hawser. Twenty minutes Inter, after much backing and swearing and heaving of lines the Bodegn's hnwser wns also put bonrd the Maggie. Mr. Glbney Judged It would be snfe now to fasten this line to the towing bits. Suddenly Captnln Scrnggs remem bered there was no one on duty In tho Maggie's engine room. With n half sob, lie slid down the grensy Indder, iuv. s j fv.ii siw iuiiiiui: uvnjin iiiiu v.vwi-1' niOIiPO1 btwwnllftrr In mn vlfji n cinl. V --"".v jj -i nipt in win tt nn t-- lessness that bordered on Insanity. When the Indicator showed eighty pounds of steam he enme up on deck aud discovered Mr. Glbney walking solemnly round und round the little capstan up forward. It was creaking und groaning dismally. Captain Scrnggs thrust his engine room torch above bis head to light the scene and gazed upon his nuvlgntlng olllcer In blank amazement. "What foolishness Is this. Gib?" he demanded. "Are you clean datTy, do In' n barn dunce nround thnt rusty capstan, mnkln' n noise tit to frighten the tish?" "Not much," came the laconic re ply. "I'm n smart man. I'm raisin' both anchors." "Well, nil I got to remnrk Is that It takes a smart man to raise both an chors when we only got one anchor "The American Steamer Yankee Prlnco Is Ashore Half a Mile Celow the Cliff House." to our blessed name. An' with thnt anchor safe on the fo'castle heail, 1. for one, can't see no sense In raisin' It." "You tarnation Jackass!" slgheil Glbney. "You forget who we nre. Do you s'posc the steamer Yankee Prince can lay on the beach all night with both anchors out, an' then be got ready to tow off In three shakes of 11 lamb's tall? It takes noise to get up two anchors so I'm mnkln' nil tile noise I can. Got any steam?" "nighty pounds," Scraggs confessed. Having 1'or the moment forgotten his Identity, he wns confused In the pies ence of tho superior Intelligence of his navlgutlng otllcer. "ltun aft, then, Scrnggs, nn turn that cargo winch over to beat the band until I teJl you to stop. With the drum runnln' free she'll mnke noise enough for n winch three times her size, but you might give the necosMiry yells to make It more llfel!;e." Cuptaln Scrnggs tied to the winch. At the end of live minutes, Mr. tillmcy nppeured and bitile him desist. Then, turning his Improvised megnphone sen ward he ndddressed tin imnglnury mute: "Mr. Thompson, have you got your port anchor up?" Scrnggs took the cue Immediately. "All clenr forward, sir," he piped. "Send tho bosun for'd nn' henve tho lead. Mr. Thompson." "Very well, sir." Here Tho Squarehead, who had been enjoying the unique situation Immense ly, decided to tnke a bund. Presently, In sing-song cadence, he was reporting the depth of water alongside. Do Hicks and Flaherty col loct? Watch for next wcak's doings. (TO i!U CONTINUKU.) Joko Was on Whistler. Whistler, the grent American artist, was dining with Sir Henry Irving. Two of his earliest pictures were 011 the wall and he remarked Jokingly ut the beginning of dinner that ho could study them from tho point of view of his riper yenrs. Though ho spoke with a smile, ho did Indeed look nt them a great deal. Suddenly ho ex clnlmed. "Irving, look whnt you've done!" "Whnt?" nsked Irving. "Why, theso pictures, both of them, nro up side down, nnd you've never noticed It even." "Well," snld Irving, "surely I can be excused. It's taken the man who painted them over an hour to dis cover It." Another One Heard From. The Dlrmlnghnm Age-IIcrnld rcpiirl that nn Alnbamu man has 11 cano ti match every suit. We have n cane, ton Arkansas Gazette. Chick that Cold and Qtt Rid f that Couoh. It Is dsrgoroua to let them run A tome ItXSHTB OI uirocv uvt nmiivo icuuu . upon iw uxwi OUS mora" kc4tjs.pj1.off. 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