our generous instincts as an old
friend an' former valued employee, to let bygones be bygones an'
haul us out o' the hole that threatens to make us the laughin'
stock o' the whole Pacific coast."

"Spoken like a man--I do not think. Scraggs, for once in my life
I have you where the hair is short. You find yourself up agin a
proposition that requires brains, you ain't got 'em yourself an'
at last you're forced to admit that Adelbert P. Gibney is the man
that peddles 'em. Now, you been doin' a lot o' hollerin' about me
an' Bart bein' pirates under the law an' liable to hangin' an'
imprisonment, an' that kind o' guff don't go nohow. We're willin'
to admit that mebbe we've been a little mite familiar an'
forward, bankin' on the natural leanin' of friend for friend that
you take it all for the joke it's intended to be, but when you go
to carryin' the joke too far, we got to protect ourselves.
Scraggsy, I'm willin' to dig in an' help out in a pinch, but it's
gettin' so me an' Mac can't trust you no more. We're that leery
of you we won't take your word for nothin', since you fooled him
on the new boiler an' me on the paint; consequently, we're off
you an' this salvage job unless you give us a clearance, in
writin', statin' that we are not an' never was pirates, that
we're good, law-abiding citizens an' aboard the _Maggie_ as your
guests, takin' the trip at our own risk. When you sign such a
paper, with your crew for witnesses, I'll demonstrate how that
bark can be salvaged without makin' you remove so much as a head
o' cabbage to get at your small boat. My imagination's better'n
my reputation, Scraggsy, an' I ain't workin' it for nothin!"

"Gib, my _dear_ boy. You're the most sensitive man I ever sailed
with. Can't you take a little joke?"

"Sure, I can take a little joke. It's the big ones that stick in
my craw an' stifle my friendship. Gimme a fountain pen an' a leaf
out o' the log book an' I'll draw up the affydavit for your
signature."

Scraggs complied precipitately with this request; whereupon Mr.
Gibney spread his great bulk over the chart case and with many a
twist and flip of his tongue on the up and down strokes, produced
this remarkable document:

At Sea, Off Point Montara, aboard
S.S. _Maggie_, of San Francisco.
June 4, 19--.

This is to sertify that A.P. Gibney, Esq., and Bart
McGuffey, Esq. is law-abidin' sitisens of the U.S.A. and
the constitootion thereof, and in no way pirate