dominant of spirit as he was strong of body, and because of this he
was widely known by another name, that of "The King of the Greeks."
The fishing population was largely composed of Greeks, and they
looked up to him and obeyed him as their chief. And as their
chief, he fought their fights for them, saw that they were
protected, saved them from the law when they fell into its
clutches, and made them stand by one another and himself in time of
trouble.

In the old days, the fish patrol had attempted his capture many
disastrous times and had finally given it over, so that when the
word was out that he was coming to Benicia, I was most anxious to
see him. But I did not have to hunt him up. In his usual bold
way, the first thing he did on arriving was to hunt us up. Charley
Le Grant and I at the time were under a patrol-man named Carmintel,
and the three of us were on the Reindeer, preparing for a trip,
when Big Alec stepped aboard. Carmintel evidently knew him, for
they shook hands in recognition. Big Alec took no notice of
Charley or me.

"I've come down to fish sturgeon a couple of months," he said to
Carmintel.

His eyes flashed with challenge as he spoke, and we noticed the
patrolman's eyes drop before him.

"That's all right, Alec," Carmintel said in a low voice. "I'll not
bother you. Come on into the cabin, and we'll talk things over,"
he added.