were beginning
to bear fruit.

Mascola had been beaten. Rock had been beaten. The sea itself had been
beaten by Dickie Lang and the _Richard_. All of these things had been
gone over again and again. Weak from the reaction of the continued
strain under which they had labored, the quartette of principals in the
cannery drama slouched deep in their chairs and conversation began to
lag.

Then Dickie Lang broke the silence.

"We've all forgotten to eat," she exclaimed. "If you'll all come up to
the house I know Aunt Mary will do her best for you."

Gregory, Hawkins and McCoy accepted the invitation in unison. As they
followed the girl out, Gregory observed to McCoy:

"I can't understand why Winfield & Camby faced about so suddenly. Why,
they saved our lives. Who would have thought it?"

"I would," Hawkins cut in. "Anybody would who stopped to think." He
slapped Gregory affectionately on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you, Cap,
that I'd have old Dupont eating out of your hand in less than a week?"
he challenged. "Old leather-face has an ear to the ground. He's heard
the rumble of my thunder and he wants to get to cover."

His face lighted with enthusiasm as he went on: "Just wait until the
lightning begins to play around some of these birds. Then you'll see
them scamper. I'm going to the city to-morrow to have a talk with the
C.E. and I've just got a sneaking hunch that I'm going to start
something."

CHAPTER XXVII

TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY

The days that followed the return of the victorious cannery fleet from
El Diablo were filled with sunshine for Kenneth Gregory. The effect of
Mascola's defeat was far-reaching, and, magnified by Hawkins' publicity,
gave to the Legonia Fish Cannery a place of prominence in the public
eye.

Taking immediate advantage of the growing popular interest, Winfield &
Camby entered into an extensive advertising campaign on behalf of
Gregory's product. The brands of the local firm were flaunted on the
bill-boards of a dozen western agencies. Whole states were placarded.
Newspapers featured the cooperative enterprise of the service men and
commented upon it in glowing terms. A current-news company took several
hundred feet of film illustrative of the industry and the signal victory
achieved by the Americans over the alien fishermen.

Basking in the reflected lime-light, the Service Market caught on like
"wild-fire" and taxed the fishermen to their utmost to supply the
ever-increasi