In order to get at the small
boat, therefore, it would be necessary to shift this load off the
house, and the question that now confronted Scraggs and his crew
was to find a spot that would accommodate the part of the
deckload thus shifted!
When Captain Scraggs had completed his hornpipe on his hat he
threw an appealing glance at his new mate. "We'll jettison what
freight proves an embarrassment," this astute individual advised.
"The farmers that own it will soak you a couple o' hundred
dollars for the loss, but what's that with thousands in sight
waitin' to be picked up?"
"Hear that, Gib? Hear that, you swab?"
"I heard it. Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"A nice, brisk little nor'west trade wind that's only blowin'
about thirty mile an hour. The _Maggie_ ain't got power enough to
tow the bark agin that wind. You'll haul her ahead two feet an',
in spite o' you, she'll slip back twenty-five inches."
"That trade wind dies down after sunset," the devilish new mate
informed him.
"Quite true. But in the meantime you're burning coal loafin'
around here, an' before you get the bark inside you'll be plumb
out o' coal," Mr. McGuffey reminded them.
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