ined castle, with
mountains in the distance. On the floor were pails and brushes,
bundles of dry colors, glue, and the various articles needed by a
scene-painter. Mr. Gubb looked behind the canvas. No loot was
concealed there. He returned to his office, discarded his disguise,
and went back to the Himmeldinger house. Seated on the front steps,
quite neglecting his work, was Greasy, and beside him sat a girl.

"This," said Greasy, "is Maggie Tiffkins. Youse ought to know her.
Mag, consider this a proper knockdown to P. Gubb, my boss."

That night the Silver Sides was attacked by the pirates on her return
from Derlingport. The next morning Mr. Gubb awaited Greasy's coming
impatiently, hoping for a new clue, but Greasy had none. He was glum.
He had had a quarrel with Maggie, and he was cross.

"Last job of work I'll ever do for Billy Getz and them Kalmucks of
his'n," he said crossly. "He's gettin' worse and worse. Them first two
scenes I painted he kicked enough about: said the forest scene looked
like a roast-beef sandwich, and asked me if the parlor scene was a
bar-room or a cow-pasture, but when I do a first-class old bum castle
and he wants to know if it's a lib'ry interior, I get hot. And so
would youse."

* * * * *

For three nights the Silver Sides, now protected by the presence of
part of the armed posse, was not disturbed, but on the fourth night
the low, black pirate craft boldly attacked the steamer, carrying on a
running fight. The pirates did not venture to board her, but the
piratical business was getting to be an unbearable nuisance to Uncle
Jerry Brooks. A dozen small craft were armed and patrolled the river.
On the fourteenth night, when the Silver Sides was up-river on her
Derlingport trip, the Jane P., the opposition steamer making the same
ports, was boldly attacked by the pirates and lost the most precious
part of her cargo. It was then determined to exterminate the pirates
at any cost.

Once only had a steamer been attacked above the town, and this seemed
to indicate that the pirates had their nest below Riverbank, and this
was the more likely as the river below town gave far greater
opportunities for hiding the pirate boat during the day. There were
several sloughs or bayous and many indentations of the shore-line,
while above the town there was none. Above the town the shores sloped
back from the river's edge, and even a skiff on the shore could be
seen from ac