Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, December 10, 1921, Page 9

SATURDAY, DEC. 10, 1921 . é i § : i 3° i & ' 2 g ef § i} 9 # k i FI HE i Fs i A 4 j i w= = 4 i i g & F , i : i Hi art z i i fF 3 ¥ Ese iis fi ? H iE gP A i —S— “that {t's all off but the shouting with is |} me and you, Scraggsy. This fellow ee Tabu-Tabu ts a d—d traitor, s ‘the docks the gallant com- ih modore that he would he mich s=fcr Soraggsy, old man, can you ever for- fan. | D&ck on the decks of the Maggie IL! give me for gettin’ you Into this?” to the last | Always crafty and imaginative, how- Captain Scraggs hung his head and pi 3 ae aren kd guietly to the | quivered Ike a hooked fish. front wi an excuse for getting back ” vered, to the ship. | He stepped quickly to- Pads Le Sac, eh aa al ward the little group around the out-| arp Ginn ” ey did not answer, only bon on tp Pee teres a at teaeire’ Captain Scraggs looked into his hor- ink with te RSA anh ver: | rifled eyes and read the verdict. With this motley crew pt informed | “»pie" game, Sernggsy,” was all Mr. KC Weeaeh, "Sey. oem | him of what had occurred. — so 4a x freighting jen truck | Mr, Gibney’s rage, of course, knew rh a al aay. “Don't show the no bounds, Nevertheless, aid not “1 have to simulate bia rage, £05 be wes | trom here if wo was to Yell or help? truly furtous, When he could control his emotions, he requested Taby-Tabu | ™@uired Captain Scragge hopefully. engine room. « 5 company iclaco that the king that he, Gibney, ac- “Don't yelp, for Gawd's sake,” tm- ee SERRE ES | by Captain Scaggs, would | Plored Mf. Gibney, “We got ourselves succeed tn je into into this, so let's pay the fiddler our- fort, « repair to the sehooner and then and there flay the offending Mc- ‘é Guffey within an inch of his life. Suit- ing the action to the word, Mr. Gibney called to Captain Seraggs to follow him, and started for the beach, As Captain Scragvy arose, a trifle unstendily, from hi, seat, a black hand reached around him from the rear and closed over his mouth, Now, Captain Scraggs was well versed in the rough- and-tumtie tactics of the San Fran- cisco waterfront; hence, when he felt a long pair of arms crossing over his neck from the rear, he merely and whirled ee scare over his head, In that inStant his mouth was . heart, but there was something tn Mr. faghes Rabel f ay, or og a Gibney’s unselfish that touched a » spot in his hard nature—a something help. Mr. Gibney whirled with the he never knew he possessed, "He speed and agility of 9 peather Jest tn bowed his head and two big tears stole time to dodge a blow from a war club. hi therbeaten fa His fist collided with the jaw of Tabu: | S°vm his weatherbenten face. VI—The proves t. Tichty 1 laden: tis en: Tabu, and down wen t “God bless you, Gib, my dear boy,” rT spas, phat savage ar he said brokenly, “You're a man.” wourvy, Parag cl deer Pandemonium broke loose ‘at once. At this juncture the king came up hav- | Captain Scraggs, after his single shriek and thoughtfully felt of Captain so | for help, broke from the circle of say-| Scrases in the short ribs, while Tabu- ages and fled like a frightened mire Tabu calculated the precise amount Mage sips her tow lnes selves. If we let out one yip and Mc- " Guffey hears it, he'll come ashore with his crew and tackle this outfit, even if he knows he'll get killed. And that’s just what will happen to him if he comes. Let poor Mac stay aboard, When we don't come back, he’ll know it's all off, and !f he has time to think over it he'll realize it would be foolish to try to do anything. Bat right now Mac's mad.as a wet hen, and !f we holier for help—Scraggsy, please don’t holler. Die game.” Captain Scraggs turned his terrified glance on Mr. Gibney'’s tortured face. Scraggs was certainly a coward at at the de and, fearing ridicule should Sucks, became moows slong the water hostile visit to the Maggie results repair and bint needed repelie to v. refuves to ful- {Wren wheat pes fresh erew. At i days of wild conviviality are nded and » ons on the je. They for the beach, One of the natives| °f !uscious tissue on Mr. Gibney's well- hurled a rock at him. ‘The missile took | UPholstered frame, is Scraggs in the back of the head, and\ — “Bimeby we eat white man,” sald he instantly curled up tn a heap. Tabu-Tedu cheerfully. “Scraggsy's dead,” thought the hor- Tf you eat me, you ploofy-handed ried Gibney, and sprang at the king.| DekR™,” | sapped Captain Serages, In that moment it came to Mr. Gibney | “I'l! pizen you. T've chawed tobacco to sell out denrly, and if he could dis.| al! my life, and my mea bitter ax Pose of the king, he felt that Scraggs' ; . and death would be avenged, In an instant| , Tt too funny to hear Screges the three separate, : ing with death, Mr. Gibney forgot eer on | 2@ commodore’s great arms had er, ppesring, and | closed around the king, and with. the | b!&’ own mental agony and roared with te up the: ¥ AgEle. helpless monarch in -his grizzly bear | !eughter tn Tabu-‘Tabu's face. The Meamer, “‘Bonor Lopes, Mexican ‘revoli- | grip Mr. Gibney backed up against.the| cannibal stood off a few feet and ‘makes. \fenerous, offer | nearest bungalow. A fringe of spears looked searchingty In the eommodore’s sand the old | threatened him fn front, but for the| yes. He was not used to the brand Inte commission. | momen fe nd, and-the| of W! n under ng ee) it he was safe behind, and f white man who could Jaugh und sin the | King’s body protected him. Whenever | Such circumstances, and he suspected ay 4 one of the sayages made a jab at Mr. me to | Gibney, Mr. Gibney gave the king a nigte aD ene. cael, f pot wee Won seprairictor squeeze, and the mon. capture, though the page! arch howled. ri to-e destro: “T'll squeeze him to death,” panted Mr. Gibney to Tabu-Tabu when that individual had managed to pick him- self up. “Let me go, or I'll kill’ your rm capndicate” with the eunbors | kl ‘Gintr' base of operations ‘They fait for islands, were they, plan South. Py fuable biack ‘co! with aup- Ing asho! Badly “natives; “Gibney nad taken prisoners, to be held ‘cannibal feast, : —Scraggs seeks to two associates, but ite him and mekes a Settlement with the om the Nos ay ns gece leaving Scraggs out ney resenta MoGutf- money to Scragss ra ter~ treachery of some kind, He hurried over to join the king and the two held ® hurried conversation. “As‘a result of thelr conference, a huge savage was called over and given some instruc tions, Tabu-Talhu handed him a war elub and Mr. Gi! ney, rightly conjectur- ing that this was the official execu- - tioner, bowed his head and waited for The answer was an earthenware pot | the blow. which crashed down on Mr. Gibney's It came sooner than he ted. head from @ window in the bungalow | The earth scemed to rise up and smite behind him. He sagged forward and| adgeibert P, Gibney across the face. fell on his face with the gasping king| There was a roar, as of an explosion in bis arms, in his ears, and he fell forward on his face. He had a confused notion that when he fell the post came with him. os For nearly a minute he lay there, On board the Maggie II B. McGuffey, | semi-conscious, and then something Esquire, had, just gotten {nto position} warm, dripping across his face, roused the Maxim-Vickers “pom-pom” gun on| him, He moved, and found that his top of the house, The last bolt that) feet were free, though his hands were held it in place had just been screwed | still bound to the post, which lay ex- tight when clear’ and shrill over the| tended along his back. He rolled over tons of the jungle-and across the still! md glanced up. Captain Scraggs was surface of the little bay there floated | shrieking. By degrees the bells quit to McGuffey's ears the single word: | ringing in the commodore’s ears, and “Help! . C this is what he heard Captain Scraggs McGuffey leaned against the gun,| yelling: * and for the moment he was as weak} “Oh, you McGuffey. os a child, “Gawd,” he muttered, | Irish terrier. -Soak it to " Mac. Kill “that was Scragesy end they're a-goin’| the beggars. You've got a dozen of ‘to eat him up. Ob, Gib, Gib, old man, | 'em already. Plug away, you good old why wouldn't you listen te me? Now/| hunk of Irish bacon.” they've got you, and what im blazes Mr. Gibney was now himself gnce I'm going to do to get you back, dead} more. He struggled to his feet, and or alive, I dunno.” as he did, something burst ten feet Tt was fully half an hour before poor | away and-a iittle fleecy cloud of smoke McGuffey could pull himself together, }.obscured his vision for a moment, and when he did, his grief was suver-| Then he understood. McGuffey had a seded by a fit of rage that was ter | rapid-fire gun trained on the wari, and _Fible to behold. : ‘the savages, with frightful yells, were “Step lively, you blasted scum of} fleelog. madiy.from the tte shells. the seas,” he bawled to the mate, and| Half # dozen of them lay dead and the crew gathered around the gun,| Wounded close by. esas “Hooray,” yelled Mr.-Gibney, and “Lug up a case of ammunition and we'll shell that bush until even a par-| dashed at the post which held-Oxptain, rot won't be left ‘alive init.” .| Seraggs prisoner... He.struck it.2 pow- “, ” erful blow with his shoulder snd ‘Aye, aye, sir,” responded the crew | © icraggs and the post crashed to the $e:8 oa, and eprace toes tAer a. In an instant Mr. Gibney was “I'm an old navy gunner,” said the | SToun q first mate quietly. “Ill handle the gun. With a ‘pom-pom’ gun it's just lke playing a garden bose on them, only It’s high-explosive shell instead of water, I can search out every noo! and cranny fn the coast of this islani Those guns are sighted up to 4,000 yards.” One might go on at great length and describe the triumphal entry of Com- modore Gibney and Captain Scraggs » into the capitol of Kandava; of how the king, an undersized, shriveled old savage, stuck his bushy head out the window of-his bungalow when he the procession coming; of how a min- ute Jater he advanced {nto the space ' im the center of bis wari,-where tn the f}. olden days the populace was wont t ther for its cannibal orgies " he greeted his distinguished with the most prodigious rubbing of ‘noses seen in those parts for many a day; of the feast that followed of the fowls and pigs that garnished-the festive board, not omitting the keg of ‘Three Star thoughtfully provided by Mr. Gibney. ‘Tabu-Tabu acted as interpreter and everything went swimmingly until CHAPTER XIil, Oh, you bully ashore for the feast. Mr, Gibney, him- self rather {llominated by this time, thought it might not be a bad idea, “It's a rotten shame, Scraggsy,” he said, “to think of that fool McGuffey not bein’ here .o enjoy himself. I'm goin’ to send a note out by one of 4) Tabu-Tabu's Dboys, askin’ him once mors to come ashore, or to let the first mate and one or two of the sea- men come if Mac still refuses to be avn” 27 “Good ‘iden, Gib,” sald Captain % Scraggs, bis mouth full of roast chick- “i @n and yams, So Mr. Gibney tore 8 i) shackles wii later, Cay Then Scraggs did a like service for Gibney. All the time the shells from the Mag- gie II were bursting around them every second ‘or two, and {t seemed as of coco’pali “There's thé king and Tabu-Tabu,” yelled Scraggs. “Let's round the beg- gars up.” “Sure,” responded the commodore. “We'll need ‘em for hostages if we're to get that black coral. We'll turn 'em over to McGuffey.” . * * . “Td better ease up a minute, sir,” said the mate to Mr. McGuffey, “The gun's getting fearful hot.” “Let: ber melt." raved “but keep her workin’ worth. I'M have revenge for Gib's death, or—sufferin' mackerel!" once more sat down on the cabin ventilator, He pointed dumbly to the beach, and there, pad- dling off to the Maggie IT, were two naked cannibals and two naked white men in @ canoe, Five minutes later they came alongside. McGuffey met them at the rail, and he smiled and Neked his lower lip as the trembiing monarch and his prime minister, In re- sponse to a severe application of Mr. Glbney'’s hands and feet, came flying ‘over the rall. Mr, Gibney and Captain Scraggs followed. “I'm much obliged to you, Mac,” said Mr. Gibney, striving bravely to appear jaunty, “One of your first shots came between my legs and cut the rope that held me, and'banged me and the post T was tied to all over the lot. A frag- ment of, the shell appears to have taken away part of my ear, but I guess I'll recover, We're pretty well shook up, Mac, old socks, and a jolt of whisky would be in order after you've put the irons on these two can- nibals.’ At 6:9P o'clock of the morning of the day following the frightful experi- ence of Commodore Gibney and Cap- tain Scraggs with the cannibals of Kandavu, the members of the Maggie TI syndicat ed each other across the breakfast table with appetites in no wise diminished by the exciting events of the preceding day. McGuffey surveyed his superior off- cers, cursed them bitterly, and re- marked, with tears of joy In his hon- est eyes, that “both gentlemen had evaded their just deserts when they escaped with their lives. “If it hadn't been for the mate,” said McGuffey se- verely, "I'd fer the’ penalty for your foo! Any man‘that goes to work and fra- ternizes with a cannibal ain't get no kick comin’ if he's made up Into chick- en curry with rice, The minute I bear old Scraggsy ylppin' for help, says I to myself, ‘let the beggara fight their own way out of the mess.’ But the mate comes a-runnin’ up and says he's pretty sure he can come near plantin’ a.mess of shells tn the center of the disturb- ance, even If we can't see the wari on account of the jungle. ‘It's al} off with the commodore and the skipper, any- how,’ sa, e mate, ‘so we might just as well have vengeance on their mur. derers,’ _So, of course, when he put It that way I give my consent—" - At this juncture the mate, passing around McGuffey on way to the deck, winked solemnly at Mr. Gibney. who hung his war-worn head in simu- lated shame. When the mate had left the cabin the commodore pounded with his fork on the cebin table and announced a special meeting of the aiagsie Il syndicate. first bus|ness before the meet- Ing,” said Mr. Gibney, “is to readjust the ownership in the syndicate. Me and ‘Scraggsy's had our deads together, Mac, and we've agreed that you've shot your way into a full one-third Ip- terest, instead of a quarter as hereto fore.» From now on, Mac, you're an equal: owner with me s@d.Scraggsy, and now that that matter's settled, yon can quit rippin’ it into us on the race question and suggest what's to be done in the case of Tabu-Tabu and this cannibal king that almost lured me and the davigatin’ officer to our de- struction,” “I have the villains In double trons and chained to the mainmast,” replied McGuffey, “and as a testimonial of my two savages crouching behing a clump palms. gratitude for the increased interest tn:j> the syndicate which you and Seraggs has just voted me, I wifl scheme up o fittin’ form of vengeance on them two tar babies. However, only an extraor- dinary sentence can fit such an ex- traordinary crime, so-I must have time te think !t.over. These two bucks {s mine to do what I please with add I'll take any Interference as unnelghborly and miworthy of a shipmate,” “Take ’em,” sald Captain’ Scrages vehemently, ‘For my part I only ask one thing. If you can see Your way clear, Mac, to give me the king's scalp for a tobacco pouch, I'll be obliged.” “And _1,". added the commodore, “would Uke Tabu-Tabu’s shin bone for a clartonet. Pendin' MeGuffey’s re- flections on the hamperin’ of crime in Bandavu, however, we'll turn our at- tention to the prime object of the ex- o ” if the; ust. be killed before they “Kil) “em. all,” raved MoGuifey, “kill'|: eourg. Seehn thaie ‘escape. all the blasted niggers.” _ As they tore along through the When Mr. Gibney fell under the tm-| jonzie pach Mr, Glbney'’s good right pact of the earthenware pot he was/ ere (his left was obscured) , detected Jeat out of his pocket memorandum book, scrawled a note to McGuffey, and f® handed It to Tabu-Tabu, who at once dispatched a messenger with it to the Maggie IL 3 2 * —Within"half am hour the messenger <<<“ — oreo ag ls ~— Ss) ol Ha ve — ae % Ss Pedition. We've had our little fun and it's high time we got down to business. It will be low tide at nine o'clock, so I suggest, Scraggs, that you order the mate and two seamen out In the big whaleboat, together with the divin’ ap- paratus, and we'll go after pearl oys- ters and black coral. As for you, ic, suppose you take the other boat and Tabu-Tabu and the king, and help the mate. Take a rifle along with you, and make them captives dive for pearl! oysters until they're black in the face—" , “Huh !" muttered the single-minded McGuffey. “What are they now? Sky blue?” =e “Of course,” continued the commo- dore, “If a tiger shark happens along and picks the niggers up, itain’t none of onr business. As for me and Scraggsy, we'll on deck and smoke. My head ache: d I guess Scriggsy's in a similar fix.” “Anythin’ to be agreeable,” acqui- esced McGuffey. After breakfast Commodore Gibney ordered that the vrisoners be brou=ht before him. ‘The Sook served them with breakfast, and as they ate, the soramodore reminded them that !t was only through his personal efforts and his natural disinclination to return blow for blow that they were at that moment enjoying a square meal tn- stead of swinging inthe rigging. "Tm goin to give you two yeggs a chance to reform,” concluded Mr. Gib- ney, addressing Tabu-Tabu. “If you show us where we can get @ cargo of black coral and work hard and fatth- fol heipin’ us to get {¢ aboard, tt may help you to com> a few gray hairs. I'm goin’ to take the trons off now, but re- member! At the first sign of the double-cross you're both shark meat.” On behalf of himself and the king, Tebu-Tabu promised to behave, and MeGuffey kicked them both into the small boat. The mate and two sea- men followed In another boat, tn which the alrpump and diving apparatus was carried, and Tabu-Tabu plloted them to a patch of still water just In- side the reef. The water was so clear that McGuffey was enabled to make out vast marine gardens thickly sprinkled with the’ prectous biack coral. - “Over you g0, you two amokes,” rasped McGuffey, menacing the cap- tives with his rifle. “Dive deep, my heartles, and bring up what you can find, and if a shark comes along and takes a nlp out of your hind leg, don't expect no help from B. Esquire—berause you won't get any.” For nearly two weeks the Maggie II Jay at anchor, while her crew labored dally In the gardens of the deep. Yast quantities of pearl. oysters were bronght to the surface, and these Mr. Gibney stewed personally In a great fron pot on the beach, The shell was stored away in the hold and the pearls went into a chamols pouch which never for an Instant was out of the commo dore’s possession. The coast at that point being now deserted, frequent visits ashore were made, and the crew feasted on young pig, chicken, yams and other delicacies, Cuptain Scraggs was almost delirious with joy. He an- nounced that he had not been so happy since Mrs. Scraggs “slipped her cable." At the end of two weeks Mr. Gibney decided that there was “loot” enough ashore to complete the schooner's cargo, and at a meeting of the syndi- cate held one lovely moonlight night on deck he announced his plans to Captain Scraggs and McGuffey. “Better lea’ the island alone," counseled McGuffey. “Them niggers may be a-layin’ there ten thousand strong, waltin' for a boat's crew to come prowlin’ up into the bush so they can nab 'em,” “I've thought of that, Mac,” sald the commodore a trifle cojdly, “and if I ade a sucker of myself once it don't and to reason that I'm apt to do it again. Remember, Mac, a burnt child dreads the fire. Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, we'll turn the guns loose and pepper the bush for a mile or two in evéry direction, If there's a native within range he'll have business In the next county and we won't be disturbed none.” Mr. Gibney’s program was duly put through and the capital of Kandavu looted of the trade accumulations of years. And when the hatch: ere finally battened down, the tanks re- Ailled with fresh water, and everything in readiness to leave Kandavu for the run to Honolulu, Mr. Gibney announced to the syndicate that the profits of the expedition would figure close up to hundred thousand dollars, Captain Scraggs gasped and fell limply agalnst the mainmast, ‘ “Gib, my dear boy,” he sputtered, “are you sure It atn't all a dream and that we'll wake up some day and find that we're still In the green-pea trade; that all these months we've been asleep under a cabbage leaf, communin’ witb potato bugs?” “Not for a minute,” replied the com- modore. “Why, I got a dozen matched pearls here that’s fit for a queen. Big, red, pear-shaped boys—regular bleed- In’ hearts. There's ten thousand each in them alone.” “Well, '—Ill brew some grog,” gasped Captain Scraggs, and departed forthwith to the galley. Fifteen min- utes later he returned with a kettle of his favorite nepenthe and all three MeGuffey, ‘ “Tn Weavin’ this paradise of the South and bis prime minister, Tabu-Tabdu. When these two outlaws was first cap- | tured, I informed the syndicate that I would scheme out @ punishment be- Mttin® their crime, to-wit—murcerin’ | an’ eatin’ you two Boys. It's been a big Job and It's taken some time, me not bein’ bleased with quite as Noe an | imagination as our friend, Gib. How- ever, I pride myself that hard work al- ways brings success, and I am ready to announce what disposition shall be made of these two Interestin’ spect- mens of aboriginal life. I beg to an- nounce, gentlemen, that I have !nvent- ed & punishment fittin’ the crime.” “Impossible.” said Captain Scraggs. “Shut up, Scraggs,” struck tm Com- modore Gibney. “Out with fi, Mac. What's the program?” move you, members of the syndi- eate, that the schooner Maggie II pro- seed to some barren, uninhabited Island, end that upon arrival there this savage king and his still more savage subject be taken ashore in a small boat. I also move you, gentle- men of the ayndicate, thet tnasmuch as the two aggrieved p A. P. Gibney and P. Scraggs, having in a sperrit of mercy refrained from layin’ thelr hands on sald prisoners for fear of Invalldin’ them a¢ a time when thelr services was of !mportance to the ex- | pedition, be given an opportunity to take ont thelr grudge on the persons yf sald snyages. Now, I notice that *he king !s a miserable, skimpy, sawed- vf and hammered-down old cove. By “all the rules of the prize ring he's in 's class." (Here Mr. McGuf- ed a lightning wink to the commodore. It was an appeal for Mr, Gibney'’s moral support tn the engt- neer’s scheme to put up a Job on Cap- tain Scraggs, and thus relieve the tedium of the homeward trip. Mr. Gibney instantly telegraphed his ap- srobation, and MecGuffey continued.) “T notice also that tf I was to hunt the universe over, I couldn't find a better match for Gib than Tabu-Tabu. as we are all agreed that the white race is superior to any race on earth, and {t'll do us all good to see a fine mill before leave the country, I move you, gentlemen of the syndicate, that we pull off a finish fight between Scraggsy and the king, and Gib and Tabu-Tabu. Til referee both contests and at the-conclusion of the mixup we'll leave these two murderers ma- rooned on the Island and then—" “Rats,” snapped Captain Scraggs, “That ain't no business at all, You shouldn't consider nothin’ short of capital punishment, Why, that's only & petty larceny form of—" “Quit buttip’ in on my prerogatives,” roared McGuffey. “That ain't the fin. ish by no means.” ‘What is the finish, then?” "Why, these two cannibals, bein’ left aione om the desert sland, naturally bumps up agin the old question of the survival of the fittest. They'get scrap- pin'« among themselves, and one eats the other up.” “By the toenails of Moses," mut- tered Mr. Gibney in genuine admira- tlon, “but you have got an imaginn- tion after all, Mac. The polnt ts well taken and the program will go through as outlined, Scraggs, you'll fight the king. No buckin' and grumblin’, You'll fight the king. You're outvoted two to one, the thing's been done regular, and you can’t kick. I'll fight Tabu-Tabu, se you gee you're not gettin’ any the worst of It, We'll proceed ton Island dn the Friendly group called Tuvana- tholo, It Mes right in our homeward course, and there ain't enough grub on the confounded Island to last two men a week. And I know there ain't no water there, So, now that that matter Is all settled, we will proceed to heave the anchor and scoot for home. Mac, tune up your engines and we'll get out of here a-whoopin’ and a-flyin’.” It was an elght-hundred-mile run up to Tu a-tholo, but the weather held good and the trade-winds never slack. ened, Ten days from the date of leay- ing Kandavu they hove to off the island, It was a long, low, sandy atoll, with a few coconut-palms growing in the center of it, and with the exception of a vast cotony of seabirds that ap- parently made {t their headquarters, the island was devold of |ife. The bloodthirsty McGuffey stood at tne break of the poop, and as he gazed shoreward he chuckled and rnbbed his hands together. “Great, great,” he murfmured. “I couldn't have gotten a better island !f T'd had one bullt to order." He called aft to the navigating officer: “Scrag- gsy, there’s the ring. Nothin’ else to do now but get the contestants Into It. Along in the late afternoon, when the heat of the day {s over, we'll go ashore and pull off the fight. And, by George, Scraggs, if that old king succeeds In lambastin’ you, I'll set the rascal free.” Seeing that there was no escape, Captain Scraggs decided to bluff the matter through. “Let’g go ashore and have it over with,” he said carelessly, “I'm a man of peace, but when there's fightin’ to be done, I say go to it and no tomfoolery.” “Clear away the big whaleboat with twoymen to pull us ashore,” said Mr. Gibney to the mate. Five minutes later the members of the syndicate, ac- companied by the captives, climbed | into the whaleboat and shoved off, leaving the Maggie II in charge of tha mate. “We'll be back in half an hour,” called the commodore, as they rowed away from the schooner, “Just ratch back and forth and -keep heavin’ the lead. adventurers drank to a bon voyage home, At the conclusion of the toast Mr. McGuffey set down his glass, wiped his mouth with the back of his hairy hand, and thus addressed the syndicate. n f — . <= re XQ SLY They negotiated the fringe of break. ers to the north of the island success- fully, pulled the boat up on the beach, and proteeded at once to business. Mr, Gibney explained to Tabu-Tabu what was expected of him, and Tabu-Tabu in_turn explained to. the king, It was ——— not the habit of white men, so Mr. Gibney explained, to Efll thetr prison. ers In cold blood, and he had decided to give them an opportunity to Sight thelr way out of a sad predicament with thelr naked fists. If they won, they would be taken back aboard the schooner and later dropped at ‘some Inhabited island. If they lost, they must make their home for the future on Turana-tholo. “Let ‘er go," called McGuffey, and Mr, Gibney squared off and made a bearlike pass at Tabu-Tabu. To the amazement of all present Tabu-Tabu sprang lightly backward and avoided the blow. His footwork was excellent ond McGuffey remarked as much to Captain Serages, But when Tabu Tabu put up his hands efter the most approved method of self-defense and dropped into a “crouch,” McGuffey could no longer contain himself, beggar can fight, the beggar t,” he croaked, wild with Joy. “Seraggs, old man, this'll be a rar mill, I promise you. He's heen aboard a British man-o-war and learned how to box. Steady, Gib. Upper-ent him, upper—wow !” Tabu-Tabu had stepped tm and planted a mighty right In the center of Mr, Gibney's. phystognomy, following It up with a hard left to the commo- dore’s ear. Mr, Gibney racked a mo- ment on his sturdy legs, stepped back out of range, dropped both hands, and stared. at Tabu-Tabu. “I do believe the niggerll lick you, Qib,” said McGuffey anxiously. “He's got a horrible reach and a mule kick in each mit. Close with him, or he's due for a full pardon.” “In a minute,” sald the commodore faintly. “He's so good I hate to hurt him. But I'll tnfight him to a finish.” Which Mr. Gibney forthwith pro- ceeded to do. He rushed his opponent and clinched, though not until his right eye was In mourning and a stiff jolt fp the short ribs had caused him te grunt in most ignoble fashion, But few men could withstand Mr, Gibney once he got to close quarters. Tabu- ‘Tabu wrapped bis long arms around the commodore and endeavored to smotier his blows, but Mr. Gibney would not be denied. His great fist shot upwerd from the hip and con- nected with the cannibal’s chin. Tabu- Tabu relexed his hold, Mr. Gibney fol- lowed with left and right to the head in quick succession, and McGuffey was counting the fatal ten over the fallen Warrior. Mr, Gibney grinned rather fooltsh- ly, spat, and spoke to McGuffey, soto voce: “By George, the joke aln't all on Seragesy,.” he sald. Then turning to Captain Scraggs; “Help yourself to the mustard, Scraggsy, old tarpot.” Captain Scraggs took off his hat, rolled up big sleeves, and made a dive for the royal presence, His majesty, Rocked d Moment on Hie Sturdy, Lega tacking the scientific training of his prime minister, selzed a handful of the Scraggs mane and tore at !t cruel- ly, A well-directed kick In the shins, however, caused him to Jet go, and a moment later he was flying up the beach with the angry Scraggs in full ery after him, McGuffey headed the king off and rounded bim up so Scraggs could get at him, and the lat- ter at once “dug in” Uke a terrier, After five minutes of mauling and tearing Captain Scraggs was out of breath, so he let go and stood off a few feet to size up the situation. The wicked McGuffey was lnughing immod- erately, but to Scraggs it was no laughing matter, The fact of the mat- ter was the king was dangerous and Scraggs had glutted himself with re- venge. + “1 don't want to beat an old man to death,” he gasped finally. “I'll Jet the scoundrel go. He's had enough and he won't fight. Let's mosey along back to the schooner and leave them here to amuse themselves the best way they know how.” “Right-O," said Mr. Gibney, and turned to walk down the beach to the boat. A second later a hoarse scream of rage and terror broke from his lips. “What's up?" cried MeGuffey, laughter dying out of his voice, for there was a hint of death tn Mr. Gib- ney's cry. “Marooned!” said the commodore hoarsely. “Those two sallors have pulled back to the schooner, and— there—look, Mact iz Gawd!" 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