The chief gave place to him. Keighley ordered: “Down yuh go, now.”
Cripps and “Shine,” at one angle of the hatch, and Moore and his
pipeman, diagonally opposite, commanded the deck below with two solid
streams that drove the animals into shelter among the cages, while
Keighley and his squad, with axes and ladder straps, went down to
fasten their six-inch line and cut an opening for the pipe in the
hatch. The smoke blew up in a thick belch as the men stripped off the
tarpaulin. “That’ll keep Mr. Bear busy,” the chief said.
“Mr. Doherty, too,” “Shine” volunteered.
The chief looked at him. “Who’s this Doherty anyway?”
“Shine” kept his eyes on the pipe. “He’s the mut that got us all in
trouble the time o’ the fire on that other Dutch boat.”
“I thought the ‘Jiggers’ were at the bottom of that,” the chief said,
with a pretended innocence.
“They blamed it on us. They blamed ev’rythin’ on us--because some o’
the fat heads higher up used th’ association in their damn con games.”
The chief scowled at this reference to the conspiracy that had ousted
him. “You’re a ‘Jigger,’ are you?”
“That’s what I am,” “Shine” admitted, with bravado. “I’m a ‘Jigger’ all
right, but I ain’t a back-sticker, any more’n half the other fullahs
I know--an’ they didn’t ask us before they put up their deal with the
Commissioner, if yuh want to know.”
The chief’s dignity would not let him discuss such matters with a
man in the ranks. He said, “Shut off your nozzles there, now. You’re
putting too much water on that deck”--and walked away without further
remark.
“Shine” said, under his voice, to Cripps: “That’ll hold _him_ fer a
while.”
Cripps replied, with a convincing oath, “It’s true, too.”
A hole had been cut in the hatch below, and a denser smoke rose from
it. There was nothing to do now but wait for the six-inch line to drown
out the smolder; and Cripps and “Shine” waited, standing with their
pipe.
“Watch that ladder,” “Shine” whispered. “Doherty’ll be tryin’ to make
his sneak while its thick up here.”
A moment later, he yelled suddenly: “Yah!” And dropping his pipe, he
ran to fling himself on Doherty as the ex-fireman leaped out of the
smoke. They rolled together on the deck.
“Hold that man,” the chief ordered, as the crew tore the fighting
“Shine” from his enemy. They lifted Doherty to his feet and backed him
against the winch. “The police’ll want him for interfering with firemen
in the discharge of their duties.” He turned to the four “Jiggers.” “I
want you men to appear in court against him, understand?... That’ll do
_you_,” he said to “Shine.” “Go back to your place.”
“Shine” went back to his place, licking his lips, with a venomous grin.
The rest of the fire was merely an affair of “standing fast” while the
six-inch line flooded the hold; and in half an hour “the job” was
done. The German first officer and his men took charge of Doherty and
agreed to turn him over to the police as soon as their boat tied up to
the pier; and to them was left the work, too, of returning the wild
animals to their cages. The firemen were free to pick up their lines
and return to the _Hudson_, chaffing “Shine.”
“That’s all right,” he swaggered. “I’m a li’n-tamer, all right, all
right.”
“Yuh’re not much on polar bears,” they told him.
He retorted delicately, “Yuh can’t train a brute that’s got no sense.
Polar bears are like youse guys. They’re holler in the cocoa.”
“It was _you_ that did the hollerin’.”
“I was callin’ you fullahs on. I seen yuh was a-scared to come.”
“The hell yuh say! Conlin in the lion’s den. Y’ought to set up a show
down on Coney.”
“Shine” winced at that thrust. “Never mind,” he said, with a curse. “I
done fer Doherty!”
Cripps drew him aside. “Are yuh goin’ t’ appear against Doherty?”
“Well, _am_ I!” he cried. “Watch me! I wish t’ell it was a murder case,
that’s all! An’ if you an’ Moore won’t stan’ by me, yuh can go--”
“That’s all right,” Cripps put in hastily. “We’ll stan’ by yuh,
‘Shine’.”
“Yuh _better_!” “Shine” said.
The other men kept discreetly silent, and the boat turned back for the
run down the river.