Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER IV MCGTJFFEY killed his engine, banked his fires, and came up on deck, wiping his anxious face with a fearfully filthy sweat rag. At the same time, Scraggs and Neils Halvorsen came crawling over the deckload and when they reached the clear spj around the pilot house, Captain Scraggs threw ] brown derby on the deck and leaped upon it until, ] rage abating ultimately, no power on earth, in the a or under the sea, could possibly have rehabilitated and rendered it fit for further wear, even by Capt, ' Scraggs. This petulant practice of jumping on his 1 was a habit with Scraggs whenever anything annoy him particularly and was always infallible evider' that a simple declarative sentence had stuck in throat. "Well, old whirling dervish," Mr. Gibney demaiic calmly when Scraggs paused for lack of breath continue his dance, "what about it? We're up S Creek without a paddle; all hell to pay and no pi hot." "McGuffey's fired!" Captain Scraggs screeched "Come, come, Scraggsy, old tarpot," Mr. Gibney soothed. "This ain't no time for fightin'. Thinkin' an' actin' is all that saves the Maggie now." But Captain Scraggs was beyond reason. "McGuffey's fired! McGuffey's fired!" he reiterated. "The dirty rotten wharf rat! Call yourself an engineer?" he continued, witheringly. "As an engineer you're a howling success at shoemakin', you slob. I'll fix your clock for you, my hearty. I'll have your ticket took away from you, an' that's no Chinaman's dream, nuttier." "It's all my fault runnin' by dead reckonin'," the honest Gibney protested. "Mac ain't to fault. The engine room telegraph busted an' he got the wrong signal." "It's his business to see to it that he's got an engine room telegraph that won't bust" "You dog!" McGuffey roared and sprang at the...