not so ship, then the immigration authorities may deport them as
paupers or for failure to pay the head tax; and in that event they
will all be returned to the vessel that brought them here, and the
owners of the vessel will be forced to intern them and care for
them.' Under the circumstances, therefore, I concluded they would
jump at a job in an American vessel, for the reason that under
the American flag they would be reasonably safe; and even if the
_Narcissus_ should be searched by a British cruiser, she would
not dare take these Germans off her. Remember, we had a war with
England once for boarding our ships and removing seamen!"

"By the Holy Pink-Toed Prophet," said Cappy Ricks, "there's
something in that, Matt."

"There's a splendid saving in the pay roll, let me tell you," the
proud Murphy continued. "I took the matter up at once with the German
skipper and he fixed it for me, and mighty glad he was to get his
countrymen off his hands. We get all that liner's coal passers,
oilers, firemen, six deckhands and four quartermasters at the scale of
wages prevailing in Hamburg. I know what it is in marks, but I haven't
figured it out in dollars and cents, although whatever it is it's a
scandal! It almost cuts our pay roll in half."

"Do you speak German, captain?" Cappy queried excitedly.

"I do not, sir--more's the pity. But the four quartermasters speak
fair English, and I have engaged two good German-American mates who
speak German. Reardon has shipped German-American engineers and some
of his coal passers and firemen speak fair English. I've got two
Native Son Chinamen in the galley and a Cockney steward. We'll get