DIABLO LUCK
Busy days followed for Kenneth Gregory, and with the loyal support of
Jack McCoy, much was accomplished.
The Legonia Fish Cannery wakened from its long sleep and took on new
life. From the receiving floor to the warehouse everything had been
carefully overhauled and put into first-class shape. Necessary repairs
and alterations had been made. Supplies and material were on hand. A
nucleus of skilled labor had been carefully selected by McCoy and
brought to train the service men who came to Legonia on every incoming
train.
The sleepy little fishing village viewed the vanguard of the ex-soldiers
with sullen indifference. Silvanus Rock had told them not to worry their
heads over the "efforts of an impractical dreamer to turn the town
upside down." And who knew, if Rock didn't? As the days went by,
however, and the invasion became more noticeable, the alien element of
the fishing colony began to experience a feeling of sharp resentment
against the new owner of the Legonia cannery and his wild scheme. But
again the foremost citizen had come to the fore and quieted their
fears, turning them into open contempt and ridicule by his words:
"What can he do with a bunch of crippled rag-a-muffins? Look at them for
yourselves. There's hardly a whole man among them. I give him a month to
go to the wall. It's the old saying of a 'fool and his money.'"
The opening of the new cannery presented every appearance of proving the
truth of Rock's prophecy and caused the aliens to laugh openly.
"How can they run without fish?" sneered Mascola as he checked the catch
of the incoming boats. "They haven't had enough in a week to pay them to
keep up steam."
Ten days after the opening Gregory was asking Jack McCoy the same
question.
"I tell you, Mac, something has to be done. The Lang boats are falling
down on the job. You'll admit we haven't had a paying run since we
started and expenses are climbing."
McCoy nodded. "I know it," he agreed. "But Dick has had hard luck. None
of the boats have brought in much lately. The fish have taken out to
sea. Then Mascola's men have been causing a lot of trouble."
"That's just it," Gregory interrupted. "The girl's tackled too big a
job. I was afraid of it all the time. She's all right, Jack. I'm not
saying a word against her. But she was foolish to get on her
'high-horse' and turn down my proposition. It's a man's job to get all
the fish we're going to need. Not a woman's. Of course I know she's
doing her best," he went on. "But we can't go on this way. If she can't
make good on her contract we'll have to take it out of her hands. I'm
only going to give her a few more days."
"Then what?" McCoy questioned.
"Then we'll run things ourselves. I've been figuring on it for three or
four days. That's why I'm having all our boats put in shape."
"How will you man them?" asked McCoy quickly.
"I've arranged for that too. The last time I was in the city I lined up
a bunch of ex-navy men. They are fair sailors and have had some
experience in handling launches and small boats. I'm going to bring them
down here the same as I figured at first. If the girl wants to help me
with her men, all right. If not, we'll go it alone. It's a ground-hog
case. We've got to get the fish."
"I wish Dick wasn't so darned independent," observed McCoy. "If it was
anybody else, they'd jump at your offer."
"That's the trouble," Gregory admitted. "She's a woman and she's mighty
hard to talk out of an idea she sets her mind on. If I was dealing with
a man I'd have come to a show-down long before this. As it is, I'm going
to see her this afternoon and try to get down to brass tacks."
A screech of the steam whistle interrupted further speech and the two
men jumped to their feet and hurried out on the floor of the cannery at
the signal to resume work.
"Only have enough to run about an hour," McCoy answered in response to
Gregory's question concerning the supply of fish on hand. And as he
noticed the frown on his employer's face, he supplemented: "We've had
enough the last few days to break the crew in anyway."
"That's something, but it isn't good enough," Gregory answered. "You're
fixed right now to handle three times what we're getting. And I'm paying
for it. I'm not worrying about things in here, Mac. Everything is going
fine."
He paused suddenly and his face glowed with enthusiasm as he walked
nearer the cutting-bench.
"Look at the way those poor blind fellows are taking to their job, Mac,"
he whispered. "They can't tell black from white but watch them work.
They'll be doing as much in a week as a man with two good eyes. How are
you coming, Dorgan?"
He addressed a cutter working at the nearest bench. The blind man turned
quickly.
"Fine, Capt. It's getting easier all the time. 'Twon't be long before
I'll be making real wages at this job."
They passed from the blind cutters and came to the capping machine where
a man with an artificial leg was being instructed in soldering the cans.
Again Gregory's eyes expressed his satisfaction.
"That's fine, Carlson," he commended. "You're getting on fine."
The man at the machine nodded. "Nothing much to it," he answered
cheerfully. "Got kind of tired standing at first. But I don't notice it
much now."
Kenneth Gregory strove to express his appreciation of McCoy's work as
they came to one of the empty warehouses, but the manager refused to
take the credit.
"It was your idea," he said, "you paid me to carry it out. At first I
didn't think much of it. But now I believe it's going to work. The men
are tickled to death. I never had a crew that tried so hard to learn or
picked it up so quickly. I can handle an average run with them right now
and they've only been working broken hours for a week."
Gregory turned quickly to McCoy and said earnestly: "It's a big idea,
Mac. It will work. It's got to work. It's getting bigger all the time.
And I'll be damned if I'm going to have a girl hang me up by falling
down on her job."
He shut his lips tight as he drew a blue-print from his pocket and
spread it out on an empty case.
"Now I want to go over these plans for making a bunk-house out of this
building. The boys can't get a decent place to stay in the town. The
contractor will be here in half an hour. After I've closed with him I'm
going down to the Lang dock and see the girl."
* * * * *
Dickie Lang paced the docks in nervous expectancy while she checked in
her returning fleet and conferred with one of her fishing captains.
"I'll tell you, Tom, we've got to get them. I'm under contract to supply
Mr. Gregory with fish and I can't fall down like this. Look here."
Shoving a tally-sheet before his eyes, she pointed to the totals. "Not
enough there to last him half a day. He's beginning to eat them up.
We've got to get more."
"But if they ain't runnin', what you going to do?"
"Go after them," she snapped. "Mascola's getting fish. He's going out to
sea for them. He brought in a good haul yesterday from Diablo. That's
why I sent the big boats over there with the _Petrel_ scouting ahead."
The fisherman shook his head dubiously.
"You're takin' a tall chance," he said slowly. "Things happen out Diablo
way. Your dad never could make it stick out there. He lost a heap around
that devil-island. That's why he give up fishin' out there."
"He didn't give it up," the girl flashed, "any more than I'm going to
give it up. Diablo's got your goats, and you know it. There's always
fish around the island and I'll bet you two to one when the fleet comes
back they'll have them to burn."
Turning with disgust, Dickie walked to the end of the dock and sought to
pierce the shifting curtain of mist which hung about the inlet. It came
to her suddenly that in her anger at Gregory's proposal, she had made a
big promise. Moreover she had entered into a contract which she was
finding more difficult to fulfill than she had imagined. Perhaps she was
a fool not to have taken up the cannery-owner's proposition. At least it
was worth considering. By accepting his terms all the worry would have
been shifted to him and she would have been able to play safe. In a year
she would have been out of debt. With her boats paid for, she could
afford to be independent. Now, she was going further behind each day.
Worse than that, she was falling down on her contract.
* * * * *
Finishing his business with the contractor a half-hour before closing
time, Gregory hurried down to the Lang wharf.
He found the girl busied with her tally-sheets and stepped behind a row
of fish-boxes and waited. From his position he could see the neighboring
dock where a number of alien fishermen were at work mending nets. Apart
from the others was the huge figure of a red-shirted man standing
motionless, scowling in the direction of the Lang wharf. As he looked
closer, he became conscious of the fact that he had seen the red-shirted
giant before.
Boisterous laughter floated across the intervening strip of water and a
scarlet sleeve flashed as the big man shook his fist threateningly at
the rival dock.
"They are kidding the Russian about losing the _Roma_ and getting canned
by the boss," explained a fisherman who was passing by. "Boris is sorer
than a boiled owl at being run on the rocks by a girl."
Gregory watched the excited foreigner in silence. A man like that could
cause a lot of trouble. Suddenly he heard the sound of low voices on the
other side of the lane of fish-boxes.
"What's that got to do with it? We've got to live as well as she has. We
ain't gettin' enough I tell you, and you know it. What's the use of
bein' a damn fool?"
The words died away in a low mumble as the men passed on. Gregory
emerged from his cover and looked after the two fishermen. Then he
noticed the girl had finished her calculations and hurried toward her.
"I suppose you want to know what I have," she anticipated. "Well, I
haven't much yet. If you stay round a little while though I'll show you
a real haul. I'm expecting my boats back at any minute from El Diablo."
Gregory scarcely knew how to begin the interview. The girl was clearly
unreasonable and flared up at the slightest intimation that she was
unable to manage her own business. And yet it was perfectly clear that
she could not.
"Fish is what we're needing right now," he said with blunt emphasis.
"We're ready to go. McCoy has a good crew and he can handle them fast. A
whole lot faster than we've been getting them," he added.
She interrupted as he knew she would.
"Well, I'm doing my level darnedest," she retorted. "If I wasn't I guess
I wouldn't have risked my best boats at Diablo in a fog." As Gregory
said nothing in the way of argument, she challenged: "Do you think you
could do any better?"
"Yes," he answered without any hesitation, "I think I could. That is if
you would help me. I think if we would pull together on this proposition
we could do a whole lot. Right now you are threatened with labor
trouble."
"You don't know what you're talking about. My men are loyal to me and
always have been. They'll stick from start to finish."
Gregory related the conversation he had overheard a few minutes before.
As he finished, he noted that a worried expression crept to the girl's
eyes, though she said:
"What's that amount to? There are always some who are dissatisfied and
try to cause trouble. I'm well rid of a bunch like that anyway. There
are not many of them."
It was on Gregory's tongue to broach his proposal when he saw the girl
looking eagerly past him into the wall of fog. Through the veil he
caught the dim outline of an approaching fishing-boat.
"Here comes the _Curlew_ back from Diablo. Before you say anything more
wait until you see what luck they've had. If I don't miss my guess we'll
have fish enough for you now all right."
Together they walked down the steep gangway to the swaying float.
"If I can't get them at Diablo, I can't get them anywhere," exclaimed
Dickie Lang. Then she shouted to the captain of the _Curlew_: "What
luck, Jones?"
From the gray void of fog a deep voice floated back:
"Diablo luck. Never got nothin' and the _Petrel_ was smashed to hell."