pick up another mate in Cape Town, or in a pinch, could dispense with
a first mate altogether, made answer to Matt Peasley as follows:

San Francisco, Feb. 17th, 19--.

Rickstar,
Cape Town.

Peasley, you are hereby discharged. Turn over command second
mate, call consignees your wages immediately.

Bluestar.

Having dispatched this cablegram and ended it all, as it were, Mr.
Skinner next cast his cold gray glance adown the duplicate crew list
borrowed from the deputy shipping commissioner, and discovered that
the second mate shipped at San Francisco was one Christian Swenson.

"I do hope he's not a drinking man," Skinner sighed. "The Retriever
is quite a responsibility to entrust to a man we have never seen or
heard of before, but the man Swenson can scarcely be as vicious and
insubordinate as this fellow Peasley, and under the circumstances
we'll have to run the risk."

And having wotted the which, Mr. Skinner cabled Christian Swenson to
take charge of the Retriever, at master's wages, until the arrival of
his successor. Next he cabled The Harlow and Benton Company, Limited,
requesting them to pay off Matt Peasley and, if necessary, invoke the
authorities to remove him from the vessel.