"Gawd!" muttered McGuffey.

"Great grief, Gib! Can this be possible?" gasped Captain Scraggs.

For answer, Mr. Gibney 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, "I'm willin' 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 startin' now. Go as high as you think you can
in order to get the ginseng at a profitable figger, an' pay the
auctioneer 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 hand-shake all around, the three shipmates parted.

After disposing of a hearty breakfast of devilled lamb's kidneys
and coffee, Mr. Gibney invested in a 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. Gibney concluded
that it would be just as well to have him out of the way should