hington port for
another cargo, at noon on the following day. Accordingly, he would wire
his owners, who would immediately advertise the sailing of the vessel
from San Francisco forty hours later, the Quickstep's average running
time between San Pedro and San Francisco being about thirty-eight hours.
If the master's estimate proved correct and there were no strong head
winds to retard the vessel, she would sail within an hour or two of the
advertised time, whereas a delay of six to eight hours in the arrival
of the vessel at San Francisco might mean the loss of all the passenger
business garnered for that trip; for competition was keen, and the
ticket agents, selling on a commission of one dollar per ticket, would
switch the traffic to some other vessel sailing earlier rather than have
the tickets canceled and thus lose the commission.

When through delay or miscalculation the vessel lost passenger traffic
out of a port other than San Francisco, Mr. Skinner did not feel
discouraged. To lose passengers out of San Francisco, where the home
office of the Blue Star Navigation Company was located, however, savored
of a reflection on his efficiency, and caused him much bitter anguish.
Consequently, when Matt Peasley, with a full passenger list from Eureka
to San Francisco, wired Mr. Skinner that he would leave his loading port
at two P. M. on Wednesday, Mr. Skinner allowed him twenty-two hours
for landing his passengers from Eureka to San Francisco and taking on
another load for San Pedro, whither the Quickstep was bound on that
voyage. As a result the Quickstep was advertised to sail from San
Francisco on Thursday at two P. M., and the agents were notified
to commence selling tickets. Judge of Mr. Skinner's perturbation,
therefore, when he received the following wireless from Matt Peasley at
five o'clock on Wednesday:

Bar breaking heavily. At anchor inside. Will cross out as soon as I
judge it safe to do so.

Three hours' delay, already, with the prospects exceedingly bright for
the Quickstep's lurking inside Humboldt Bar all night! Mr. Skinner saw
his passenger traffic gone to glory for that trip, so he sent a reply to
Matt Peasley by wireless, as follows:

You are advertised to sail from here for San Pedro at two o'clock
to-morrow. Hope you will permit nothing to militate against the
preservation of that schedule. Answer.

"That's what comes of having an inexperienced man in the vessel," he
complained to the cashier