ie.

"Nothin'," replied the skipper; "that's the trouble. But the mains'l
_will_ be up afore very long if there's a rope's end handy," he added.
"We'll chase the _Black Eagle_."

They caught the _Black Eagle_ at anchor in Conch that evening. She was
deep in the water. Apparently her hold was full; there were the first
signs of a deck-load of fish to be observed. In a run ashore Archie
very soon discovered the reason of her extraordinary success. He
returned to the deck of the _Spot Cash_ in a towering rage. The clerk
of the _Black Eagle_ had put up the price of fish and cut the price of
every pound and yard of merchandise aboard his vessel. No wonder she
had loaded. No wonder the folk of the French Shore had emptied their
stages of the summer's catch. And what was the _Spot Cash_ to do?
Where was she to get _her_ fish? By selling at less than cost and
buying at more than the market price? Nothing of the sort! Topsail,
Armstrong, Grimm & Company were not going to be ruined by that sort of
folly. Topsail, Armstrong, Grimm & Company couldn't _have_ any fish.
The powerful firm of Armstrong & Company of St. John's was going to
put the poor little firm of Topsail, Armstrong, Grimm & Company out of
business--going to snuff 'em out--_had_ snuffed 'em out. The best
thing Topsail, Armstrong, Grimm & Company could do was to get to cover
and call cash trading as big a failure as had ever been made in
Newfoundland business.

"Isn't fair!" Archie complained, aboard the _Spot Cash_. "It's dirty
business, I tell you."

"Let's fire away, anyhow," said Jimmie Grimm.

"It isn't fair of dad," Archie repeated, coming as near to the point
of tears as a boy of his age well could. "It's a low trick to cut a
small trader's throat like this. They can outsail us and keep ahead of
us; and they'll undersell and overbuy us wherever we go. When they've
put us out of business, they'll go back to the old prices. It isn't
fair of dad," he burst out. "I tell you, it isn't fair!"

"Lend a hand here," said Bill. "We'll see what they do."

A pretense of hauling up the mainsail was made aboard the _Spot
Cash_. There was an immediate stir on the deck of the _Black Eagle_;
the hands were called from the forecastle.

"Look at that!" said Archie, in disgust.

Both crews laughed and gave it up.

"It isn't _like_ your dad," said Bill o' Burnt Bay. "I'll lay you
alongside the _Black Eagle_, Archie," he added, "an' you can have a
little yarn with Skippe