The lookout on the power schooner _Maggie II_ had sighted Diamond
Head before Commodore Adelbert P. Gibney, Captain Phineas P.
Scraggs, and Engineer Bartholomew McGuffey were enabled to
declare, in all sincerity (or at least with as much sincerity as
one might reasonably expect from this band of roving rascals),
that they had entirely recovered from their harrowing experiences
on the desert island of Tuvana-tholo, in the Friendly group.
At the shout of "Land, ho!" Mr. McGuffey yawned, stretched
himself, and sat up in the wicker lounging chair where he had
sprawled for days with Mr. Gibney and Captain Scraggs, under the
awning on top of the house. He flexed his biceps reflectively,
while his companions, stretched at full length in their
respective chairs, watched him lazily.
"As a member o' the _Maggie_ Syndicate an' ownin' an' votin' a
quarter interest," boomed the engineer, "I hereby call a meetin'
o' the said syndicate for the purpose o' transactin' any an' all
business that may properly come before the meetin'."
"Pass the word for Neils Halvorsen," suggested Mr. Gibney. "Bless
his squarehead soul," he added.
"We got a quorum without him, an' besides this business is just
between us three."
"Meetin'll come to order." The commodore tapped the hot deck
with his bare heel twice. "Haul away, Mac."
"I move you, gentlemen, that it be the sense o' this meetin' that
B. McGuffey, Esquire, be an' he is hereby app'inted a committee
o' one to lam the everlastin' daylights out o' that sinful former
chief mate o' ourn for abandonin' the syndicate to a horrible
death on that there desert island. Do I hear a second to that
motion?"
"Second the motion," chirped Captain Scraggs.
"The motion's denied," announced Mr. Gibney firmly.
"Now, looky here, Gib, that ain't fair. Didn't you fight
Tabu-Tabu an' didn't Scraggsy fight the king o' Kandavu? I ain't
had no fightin' this entire v'yage an' I did cal'late to lick
that doggone mate."
"Mac, it can't be done nohow."
"Oh, it can't, eh? Well, I'll just bet you two boys my interest
in the syndicate----"
"It ain't that, Mac, it ain't that. Nobody's doubtin' your
natural ability to mop him up. But it ain't policy. You wasn't
sore agin them cannibal savages, was you? You made Neils go back
an' save 'em, an' it took us two days to beat up to the first
inhabited island an' drop 'em off----"
"But a cannibal's like a dumb beast, Gib. He ain't responsible.
This mate knows better. He's as fly as they make 'em."
"Ah!" Mr. Gibney levelled a horny forefinger at the engineer.
"That's where you hit the nail on the head. He's too fly, and
there's only two ways to keep him from flyin' away with us. The
first is to feed him to the sharks and the second is to treat
him like a long-lost brother. I know he ought to be hove
overboard, but I ain't got the heart to kill him in cold blood.
Consequently, we got to let the villain live, an' if you go to
beatin' him up, Mac, you'll make him sore an' he'll peach on us
when we get to Honolulu. If us three could get back to San
Francisco with clean hands, I'd say lick the beggar an' lick him
for fair. But we got to remember that this mate was one o' the
original filibuster crew o' the old _Maggie I_. The day we
tackled the Mexican navy an' took this power schooner away from
'em, we put ourselves forty fathom plumb outside the law, an'
this mate was present an' knows it. We've changed the vessel's
name an' rig, an' doctored up the old _Maggie's_ papers to suit
the _Maggie II_, an' we've give her a new dress. But at that,
it's hard to disguise a ship in a live port, an' the secret
service agents o' the Mexican government may be a-layin' for us
in San Francisco; and with this here mate agin us an' ready to
turn state's evidence, we're pirates under the law, an' it don't
take much imagination to see three pirates swingin' from the same
yard-arm. No, sir, Mac. I ain't got no wish, now that we're fixed
nice an' comfortable with the world's goods, to be hung for a
pirate in the mere shank o' my youth. Why, I ain't fifty year old
yet."
"By the tail o' the Great Sacred Bull," chattered Scraggs. "Gib's
right."
McGuffey was plainly disappointed. "I hadn't thought o' that at
all, Gib. I been cherishin' the thought o' lammin' the whey out'n
that mate, but if you say so I'll give up the idee. But if
bringin' the _Maggie II_ into home waters is invitin' death,
what in blue blazes're we goin' to do with her?"
Mr. Gibney smiled--an arch, cunning smile. "We'll give her to
that murderin' mate, free gratis."
Captain Scraggs bounded out of his chair, struck the hot deck
with his bare feet, cursed, and hopped back into the chair again.
McGuffey stared incredulously.
"Gib, my _dear_ boy," quavered Scraggs, "say that agin."
"Yes," continued the commodore placidly, "we'll just get shet o'
her peaceable like by givin' her to this mate. Don't forget,
Scraggsy, old tarpot, that this mate's been passin' himself off
for you in Honolulu, an' if there's ever an investigation, the
trail leads to the _Maggie II_. This mate's admitted being
Captain Scraggs, an' if he's found with the schooner in his
possession it'll take a heap o' evidence for him to prove that he
ain't Captain Scraggs. We'll just keep this here mate in the brig
while we're disposing of our black coral, pearl, shell, and copra
in Honolulu, an' then, when we've cleaned up, an' got our
passages booked for San Francisco----"
"But who says we're goin' back to San Francisco?" cut in
McGuffey.
"Why, where else would men with money in their pockets head for,
you oil-soaked piece of ignorance? Ain't you had enough adventure
to do you a spell?" demanded Captain Scraggs. "Me an' Gib's for
goin' back to San Francisco, so shut up. If you got any
objection, you're outvoted two to one in the syndicate."
McGuffey subsided, growling, and Mr. Gibney continued:
"When we're ready to leave Honolulu, we'll bring this mate on
deck, make him a kind Christian talk an' give him the _Maggie II_
with the compliments o' the syndicate. He'll think our sufferin's
on that island has touched us with religion an' he'll be so
tickled he'll keep his mouth shut. Then, with all three of us
safe an' out o' the mess, an' the evidence off our hands, we'll
clear out for Gawd's country an' look around for some sort of a
profitable investment."
"What you figurin' on, Gib?" demanded Captain Scraggs. "I hope
it's a steamboat. This wild adventure is all right when you get
away with it, but I like steamboatin' on the bay an' up the
river."
"Oh, nothin' particular, Scraggsy. We'll just hold the syndicate
together an' when somethin' good bobs up we'll smother it. In the
meantime, we'll continue our life o' wild adventure."
"But there ain't no wild adventures around San Francisco Bay,"
protested McGuffey.
"That shows your ignorance, Mac. Adventure lurks in every nook an'
slough an' doghole on the bay. You walk along the Embarcadero, only
reasonably drunk, an' adventure's liable to hit you a swipe in the
face like a loose rope-end bangin' around in a gale. Adventure an'
profits goes hand in hand----"
"Then why give the _Maggie II_ to this hound of a mate?" demanded
the single-minded McGuffey.
The commodore sighed. "She's a love of a boat an' it breaks my
heart to give up the only command I've ever had, but the fact is,
Mac, her possession by us is dangerous, an' we don't need her,
an' we can't sell her because her record's got blurs on it. We
can't convey a clean an' satisfactory title. Anyhow, she didn't
cost us a cent an' there ain't no real financial loss if we give
her to this mate. He'd be glad to get her if she had yellow jack
aboard, an' if he's caught with her he'll have to do the
explainin'. When you're caught with the goods in your possession,
Mac, it makes the explainin' all the harder. Besides, we're three
to one, an' if it comes to a show-down later we can outswear the
mate."
Captain Scraggs picked his snaggle teeth with the little blade of
his jack-knife and cogitated a minute.
"Well," he announced presently, "far be it from me to fly in the
face o' a felon's death. I've made a heap o' money, follerin'
Gib's advice, an' bust my bob-stay if I don't stay put on this.
Gib, it's your lead."
"Well, I'll follow suit. Gib's got all the trumps," acquiesced
the engineer. "We got plenty o' dough an' no board bills comin'
due, so we'll loaf alongshore until Gib digs up somethin' good."
Mr. Gibney smiled his approval of these sentiments. "Thank you,
boys. I ain't quite sure yet whether we'll quit the sea an' go
into the chicken business, build a fast sea-goin' launch an'
smuggle Chinamen in from Mexico, buy a stern-wheel steamer an' do
bay an' river freightin', or just live at a swell hotel an'
scheme out a fortune by our wits. But whatever I do, as the
leadin' sperrit o' this syndicate, the motto o' the syndicate
will ever be my inspiration:
"All for one an' one for all--
United we stand, divided we fall."
"How about Neils?" queried Captain Scraggs. "Do we continue to
let that ex-deckhand in on our fortunes?"
"If Neils Halvorsen had asked _you_ that question when he come to
rescue you the day you lay a-dyin' o' thirst on that desert
island, wouldn't you have said yes?"
"Sure pop."
"Then don't ask no questions that's unworthy of you," said Mr.
Gibney severely. "I don't want to see none o' them green-pea
trade ethics croppin' up in you, Scraggsy. If it wasn't for that
Swede the sea-gulls'd be pickin' our bones now. Neils Halvorsen
is included in this syndicate for good."
"Amen." This from the honest McGuffey.
"Meetin's adjourned," said Captain Scraggs icily.