too, otherwise old Scraggsy wouldn't have flew into such a rage
when I blocked him. My imagination may be a bit off the course at
times, Bart, but in general, if there's a dead whale floatin'
around the ship I can smell it."

"What do you make out o' that fat Chinaman cruisin' down the
bulkhead in an express wagon an' another Chinaman settin' up on
the bridge with him?" McGuffey demanded. "Seems to me they're
comin', bows on, for the _Maggie_."

"They tell me to deduct somethin', Bart. Wait a minute till we
see if they're comin' aboard. If they are----"

"They're goin' to make a landin', Gib."

"--then I deduct that this body-snatchin' Scraggs----"

"They're boardin' us, Gib."

"--has arranged with yon fat Chinaman to relieve us o' the
unwelcome presence of his defunct friends. _He's gone an' hunted
up the relatives an' made 'em come across_--that's what he's
done. The dirty, low, schemin' granddaddy of all the foxes in
Christendom! Wasn't I the numbskull not to think of it myself?"

"'Tain't too late to mend your ways, Gib. I don't see Scraggs
nowhere," Mr. McGuffey suggested promptly. "All that remains for
me an' you to do, Gib, is to imagine the price, collect the
money, an' declare a dividend. Quick, Gib! What'll we ask him?"