his own an' have folks call him 'Captain Gibney.' Now that he's
gone an' done it, I say he's entitled to it. But the fact of the
whole thing is, Gib's the natural leader of the expedition or
whatever it's goin' to be, and he can't have his peace of mind
wrecked and his plans disturbed a-chasin' sailors around the deck
of the _Maggie II_. Gib is sorter what the feller calls the power
behind the throne. He's too big a figger for the grade of
captain. Therefore, I move you, gentlemen, that Adelbert P.
Gibney be, and he is hereby nominated and appointed to the grade
of commodore, in full command and supervision of all of the
property of the syndicate. And I also move that Phineas Scraggs
be appointed chief navigatin' officer of this packet, to retain
his title of captain, and to be obeyed and respected as such by
every man aboard with the exception of me and Gib. The present
mate'll do the navigatin' while Scraggsy's learnin' the deep sea
stuff."

"Second the motion," said Captain Scraggs briskly. "McGuffey,
your argument does you a heap of credit. It's--it's--dog my cats,
McGuffey, it's masterly. It shows a keen appreciation of an old
skipper's feelin's, and if the move is agreeable to Gib, I'm
willin' to hail him as commodore and fight to maintain his
office. I--I dunno, Gib, what I'd do if I didn't have a mate to
order around."

"Gentlemen," said Mr. Gibney, beaming, "the motion's carried
unanimous. Captain--chief--your fins. Dook me. I'm honoured by
the handshake. Now, regarding that crew you brought down from San
Francisco on the old _Maggie_, Scraggs, they're a likely lot and
will come in handy if times is as lively in Colombia as I figger