y piped. "Not another peep out of you,
sir! Not another word of discussion about this matter under any
circumstances! I don't want to talk about it further--understand? It's
driving me insane. Now, then, Skinner, tell me: If the man Peasley
should decline to recognize McBride's authority, what course would you
advise pursuing?"

"I do not think he will be that arbitrary, Mr. Ricks. In the first
place--"

"Skinner, please do not argue with me. The man Peasley would do
anything--"

"Well, in that event, McBride can call in the civil authorities of Cape
Town, to remove Peasley by force from the ship."

"Skinner, you'll drive me to drink! I ask you, has a British official
any authority over an American vessel lying in the roadstead? Will a
foreign official dare to set foot on an American deck when an American
skipper orders him not to do so?"

"I am not a sea lawyer," Mr. Skinner retorted, "I do not know."

"The Retriever will have discharged her cargo weeks before McBride
arrives. Then suppose Peasley takes a notion to warp his vessel outside
the three-mile limit. What authority has McBride got then?"

"I repeat, I am not a sea lawyer, Mr. Ricks."

"Don't equivocate with me, Skinner! Let's argue this question calmly,
coolly and deliberately. Don't lose your temper. Now then. Peasley said
he'd throw his successor overboard, didn't he?"

"Oh, merely a threat, Mr. Ricks."

"Skinner, you're a fine, wise manager! A threat, eh?" Cappy laughed--a
short, scornful laugh. "Huh! Threat! Joke!"

"You do not think it is a threat?"

"No, sir. It's a promise. McBride is a splendid little man and game to
the core; but no good, game little man will ever stay on a deck if a
good, game big man takes a notion to throw him overboard, and the man
Peasley is both big and game, otherwise he would not defy us. Why,
Skinner, that fellow wouldn't pause at anything. Hasn't he spent over
a hundred dollars arguing with us by cable? Why, he's a desperate
character! Also, he would not threaten to throw his successor overboard
if he didn't know that he was fully capable of so doing. Paste that
in your hat, Skinner. It isn't done." Skinner inclined his head
respectfully. Cappy continued: "What I should have done was to have sent
a good, game, big man--"

He paused, and his glance met Skinner's wonderingly as a bright idea
leaped into his cunning brain and crystallized into definite purpose. He
sprang up, waved his skinny old arms, and kick