ming, just in time
to catch the impact of the wheat sack and its jingling contents.

"How come?"

Then he twisted away from there and groaned a groan in which rumbled
the anguished accents of horror. In the dim light he saw Mr.
Skooglund's face festooned completely by floundering salmon. Fear froze
him.

"Salmon wid a man's face. I sho' is crazy."

Then to his ears from the deck of the fish wheel came the diverting
tones of a voice which he had heard before. "The fat bad actor!"

"The fat bad actor!"

He listened for a moment to reassure himself, and then the motive of
revenge was added to the other sources of inspiration which tensed the
muscles of his legs. He leaped once more for the hatch coaming. This
time he grabbed it. Silently he swung himself to the deck of the boat.
Panting with his efforts, he lay quiet in the darkness.

In the dim lantern light he saw three figures.

The fat bad actor was speaking. "Naw, sir. Sheriff, we ain't seen
nobody. We just bought this here wheel from the fellow that owned it
yesterday. What did you say them train robbers looked like?"

The Wildcat snaked himself forward toward the fat bad actor. On the way
his hand encountered the blade of an oaken oar. Thereafter for the next
twenty feet he trailed the oar after him. He came within range and
above the head of the fat bad actor lifted the heavy handle of the oar.

"Bam!"

On the instant the Sheriff leaped for the shadows. Out of the darkness
came his voice.

"Don't move! Nobody!"

"Cap'n, I don' crave to move, an' de fat boy kain't, any more dan de
dead man in de cellar."

The Sheriff's voice came out of the night clear as the cold stars. "Cut
a piece of that rope and tie this man's hands."

The Wildcat was a little slow about tying a white man's hands, but he
glanced at the blue-nosed equalizer dimly outlined in the Sheriff's
steady hand and accelerated his gestures.

"Tie up that other man layin' on the deck. Tie them two men together."

"Cap'n, yessuh. How 'bout de dead boy layin' in de boat cellar?"

The Sheriff, fearing a ruse, hesitated for only a moment.

"Drop a rope down there and crawl down where he is. Tie it under his
arms and then come back and haul him up."

"I's skeered to touch dat boy; feared he come back and follow me."

The Sheriff swung the gun at the Wildcat.

"Hurry up, before I spatter a hole through you."

"Cap'n, yessuh." The Wildcat made a line fast and threw the end of it
into