cted.

"Why, there isn't anything stronger than a cargo of green hides,
Skinner," Cappy declared thoughtfully. He clawed his whiskers a moment.
Then: "What have you got for her on the Sound, Skinner?"

"Nothing nasty, sir. We'll have to give him a regular cargo this
time--that is, unless he quits. I've got a cargo for Sydney, ready at
our own mill at Port Hadlock."

"Well, he hasn't resigned yet," Cappy declared; "so we might as well
beat him to it. Wire him, Skinner, to tow to our mill at Port Hadlock
and load for Sydney. If he believes we're willing to call this thing
a dead heat he may conclude to stick. Tell him this is a nice cargo."
Again Cappy clawed his whiskers. "Sydney, eh?" he said musingly. "That's
nice! We can send him over to Newcastle from there to pick up a cargo
of coal, and maybe he'll come home afire! If we can't hand him a stink,
Skinner, we'll put a few gray hairs in his head."

These instructions Mr. Skinner grudgingly complied with; and Matt
Peasley, with his hatches wide open and buckets of punk burning in the
hold to dispel the lingering fragrance of his recent cargo--concluding
that, on the whole, he and Mr. Murphy had come through the entire affair
very handsomely indeed--towed down to Hadlock and commenced to take on
cargo. If Cappy Ricks was willing to declare a truce then Matt Peasley
would declare one too.

Matt's peaceful acquiescence in his owner's program merely served to
arouse Cappy Ricks' abnormal curiosity. The more he thought of Matt
Peasley the greater grew his desire for a closer scrutiny. The most
amazing man in the world had been in his employ a year and a half, and
as yet they had never met; unless the Retriever should happen to be
loaded for San Francisco years might elapse before they should see each
other; and now that he had attained to his allotted three score years
and ten Cappy decided that he could no longer gamble on the future.

He summoned Mr. Skinner.

"Skinner, my dear boy," he announced with the naive simplicity that
made him so lovable. "I suppose it's very childish of me, but I have a
tremendous desire to see this extraordinary fellow Peasley."

"You can afford to satisfy your slightest whim, Mr. Ricks," he replied.
"I'll load her for San Francisco after she returns from Australia. I
daresay if he ever gets through the Golden Gate he'll call up at the
office."

"Skinner, I can't wait that long. Many things may happen. Ahem!
Harump-h-h-h! Wire the man