"You hear him, Jack?" howled Hicks. "Wouldn't that swab Flaherty drive you to drink," Gibney complained. "Trumpin' his partner's ace just for the glory an' profit o' gettin' ahead of him?" Aloud he addressed the invisible Flaherty: "Take it or leave it, brother Flaherty." "I'll take it," Flaherty responded promptly. Twenty minutes later, after much backing and swearing and heaving of lines the _Bodega's_ hawser was finally put board the _Maggie_. Mr. Gibney judged it would be safe now to fasten this line to the towing bitts. Suddenly, Captain Scraggs remembered there was no one on duty in the _Maggie's_ engine room. With a half sob, he slid down the greasy ladder, tore open the furnace doors and commenced shovelling in coal with a recklessness that bordered on insanity. When the indicator showed eighty pounds of steam he came up on deck and discovered Mr. Gibney walking solemnly round and round the little capstan up forward. It was creaking and groaning dismally. Captain Scraggs thrust his engine room torch above his head to light the scene and gazed upon his navigating officer in blank amazement. "What foolishness is this, Gib?" he demanded. "Are you clean daffy, doin' a barn dance around that rusty capstan, makin' a noise fit to frighten the fish?" "Not much," came the laconic reply. "I'm a smart man. I'm raisin' both anchors." "Well, all I got to remark is that it takes a smart man to raise both anchors when we only got one anchor to our blessed name. An' with that anchor safe on the fo'castle head, I, for one, can't see no sense in raisin' it." "You tarnation jackass!" sighed Gibney. "You forget who we are. Do you s'pose the steamer _Yankee Prince_ can lay on the beach all night with both anchors out, an' then be got ready to tow off in three shakes of a lamb's tail? It takes noise to get up two anchors--so I'm makin' all the noise I can. Got any steam?" "Eighty pounds," Scraggs confessed. Having for the moment forgotten his identity, he was confused in the presence of the superior intelligence of his navigating officer. "Run aft, then, Scraggs, an' turn that cargo winch over to beat the band until I tell you to stop. With the drum runnin' free she'll make noise enough for a winch three times her size, but you might give the necessary yells to make it more lifelike." Captain Scraggs fled to the winch. At the end of five minutes, Mr. Gibney appeared and bade him desist. Then, turning, his improvised megaphone seaward he addressed an imaginary mate: "Mr. Thompson, have you got your port anchor up?" Scraggs took the cue immediately. "All clear forward, sir," he piped. "Send the bosun for'd an' heave the lead, Mr. Thompson." "Very well, sir." Here The Squarehead, who had been enjoying the unique situation immensely, decided to take a hand. Presently, in sing-song cadence he was reporting the depth of water alongside.