"That'll do, Skinner--that'll do! You're an honorary member of the
I-told-you-so Club and I'm thoroughly disgusted with you. Rid me of
this man--immediately. If I ever get another telegram from the
scoundrel I shall hold you personally responsible."

Forthwith Mr. Skinner acted. He went up to the office of the United
States District Attorney and swore out a Federal warrant for the
arrest of Matthew Peasley on a charge of mutiny and insubordination,
assault and battery on the high seas, and everything else he could
think of. The authorities promptly wired north to send a United States
marshal down to Grays Harbor to arrest the culprit; and the following
afternoon, when Cappy Ricks got back to his office after luncheon and
picked up the paper, the very first thing his glance rested on was the
headline:

MATE CHARGED WITH MUTINY!

Mutiny and sundry other crimes on the high seas are out of the
ordinary; hence the United Press correspondent at Hoquiam had
considered the story of Matt Peasley's arrest worthy of dissemination
over the Pacific Coast.

Cappy Ricks read it, the principal item of interest in it being a
purported interview with Matt Peasley, who, in choice newspaperese,
had entered a vigorous denial of the charge. The story concluded with
the statement that Peasley was a native of Thomaston, Maine, where he
had always borne a most excellent reputation for steadiness and
sobriety.