ople, with copper mines in
Alaska, want two boats to freight ore--and their agent came down on the
train with me. Don't you see, sir, that you have to control both boats
to get a price? If you don't that agent will play you against Hudner and
Hudner against you, until he succeeds in tying up both boats at a low
price. He wouldn't tell you he wants two boats, but he was fool enough
to tell me--"

"God bless my mildewed soul!" said Cappy excitedly, and smashed his old
fist down on his desk. "For the man to do things, give me the lad who
keeps his ears open and his mouth shut! Of course we'll charter her;
and, what's more, we'll give her business ourselves for sixty days just
to keep her off the market!"

"Then you'd better hurry and close the deal, sir," Matt warned him. "I
only arrived in town this morning; and I checked my baggage at the depot
and came up here immediately. The Seattle broker went up to his hotel.
He said he had to have a bath and a shave and some clean linen first
thing," he added scornfully: "Me, I'd swim Channel Creek at low tide in
a dress suit if I had important business on the other side."

"Matt," said Cappy gratefully, "you're a boy after my own heart. Really,
I think you ought to get something out of this if we put it through."

"Well, as I stated, I wouldn't take anything out of the Lion charter,
because it's my duty to save you when somebody has a gun at your head;
but on the Unicorn charter I thought--well, if you can recharter at
a profit I thought you might agree to split the profit with me. I'm a
skipper, you know, and this sort of thing is out of my regular line; and
besides, I'm not on your pay roll at present. I've promoted the deal, so
to speak. I supply the ship and the brains and the valuable information,
and you supply business for the ship."

"Yes; and, in spite of the hard times, I'll supply it at a profit if I
have to," Cappy declared happily. "Of course I'll split the profit with
you, Matt. As you say, this Unicorn deal is outside your regular line.
It's a private deal; and as the promoter of it you're entitled to your
legitimate profit." He rang for Mr. Skinner.

"Skinner, my boy," he said when that functionary entered, "Matt and I
are going to unload that white elephant of a Lion and get her off
our hands for four years at a fancy figure; but to do it we've got
to charter another white elephant--the Black Butte Lumber Company's
Unicorn. Here's an option Captain Peasley h