"
"Gib, will you ever sink that Greaser?" Captain Scraggs sobbed
hysterically.
"Don't want to sink her," the supercargo retorted. "She's a nice
little schooner. I'd rather capture her. Maybe we can use her in
our business, Scraggsy," and he continued to shower the enemy
with high bursting shrapnel. When the two vessels were less than
two miles apart the one-pounders came into action. It was pretty
shooting and the wicked little shells ripped through the old
_Maggie_ like buckshot through a roll of butter. Mr. Gibney slid
flat on the deck beside his gun and Captain Scraggs sprawled
beside him.
"A feller," Mr. Gibney announced, "has got to take a beatin'
while lookin' for an openin' to put over the knockout blow. If
the old _Maggie_ holds together till we're within a cable's
length o' that schooner an' we ain't all killed by that time, I
bet I'll make them skunks sing soft an' low."
"How?" Captain Scraggs chattered.
"With muzzle bursts," Mr. Gibney replied. "I'll set my fuse at
zero an' at point-blank range I'll just rake everything off that
schooner's decks. Guess I'll get half a dozen cartridges set an'
ready for the big scene. Up with you, Admiral Scraggs, an' hold
the fuse setter steady.
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