and abused him. "Keep up your courage, Scraggsy," he called, as
Hicks and McGuffey pranced around the deck in simulated combat.
"Mac's whalin' the whey out o' Hicks an' Hicks couldn't touch him
with a buggy whip."

At the conclusion of the three minutes of horse-play, Mr.
McGuffey came to the hatch again. "Up with you, Flaherty," he
called loud enough for Captain Scraggs to hear, "up with you
before I go down after you."

Flaherty was about to possess himself of a hatchet when the face
of his confrère, Dan Hicks, appeared over McGuffey's shoulder and
grinned knowingly at him. Immediately, Flaherty hurled defiance
at his enemies and came up on deck, and once more to Captain
Scraggs came the dull sounds of apparent conflict overhead.

Suddenly a cheer broke from Mr. Gibney. "All off an' gone to
Coopertown, Scraggsy," he shouted. "Come up an' take a look at
the fallen."

Out of the shaft alley came Scraggs with a rush, tossing his
wrench aside the better to climb the ladder. He was half way up
when Mr. Gibney reached down a great hand, grasped him by the
collar, and whisked him out on deck with a single jerk. Here, to
his horror, he found himself confronted by a singularly scathless
trio who grinned triumphantly at him.

"Seein' is believin', Scraggs," Dan Hicks informed him. "That's a
lesson you taught me an' Flaherty last night, but evidently you
don't profit by experience. You're too miserable to beat up, but