Had Mr. Gibney been less interested in his past or Mr. McGuffey
less interested in the recital of that past they would have seen
Scraggs.
The owner of the _Maggie_ shook his fist in impotent rage at
their retreating backs. "You think you've suffered before," he
snarled. "But I'll make you suffer some more, you big brute. I'll
hurt you worse than if I caved in your head with a belayin' pin.
I'll break your heart, that's what I'll do to you. You wait."
In the course of an hour Gibney and McGuffey returned, and
Scraggs met them as they leaped down on to the deck of the
_Maggie_. "Gentlemen," he remarked--"an' at that I'm givin' you
two all the best of it, even if you two have got a quit-claim
deed that you ain't pirates--I wish to announce that if you two
have come aboard my ship for the puppose o' havin' a little fun
at my expense, I'm a-goin' to call the police an' have you
arrested for disturbin' the peace. On the other hand an' futher,
if your mission's a peaceful one, you're welcome aboard the
_Maggie_. I may have a temper an' say things that sounds mighty
harsh when I'm het up, but in my calmer moments my natural
inclination is to be a sport.
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