the
assistance of McGuffey, hauled the work boat up on deck.

CHAPTER XIII

"Now," Mr. Gibney inquired, approaching the skipper of the
_Chesapeake_, "what'll you give me an' Mac, sir, to sail you in?
Has it dawned on you, sir, that if I hadn't had sense enough to
cockbill that anchor again you'd be on the beach this minute?"

"One thousand dollars," the skipper answered weakly.

"You refused to let us do it for a hundred. Now it'll cost you
two thousand, an' I'm lettin' you off cheap at that. Of course,
you can take a chance an' wait until word o' your predicament
sifts into San Francisco an' a tug comes out for you, but in the
meantime the wind may increase an' with the tide at the flood how
do you know your anchor won't drag an' pile you up on them rocks
to leeward?"

"I'll pay two thousand, Mr. Gibney."

Without further ado, Mr. Gibney went to the master's cabin, wrote
out an agreement, carried the skipper aft and got his signature
to the contract. Then he tucked the skipper into bed and came
dashing out on deck. The wind was from the northwest and luckily
the foreyard was braced to starboard while the mainyard was
braced to port, so his problem was a simple one.

"Come here till I introduce you to the jib halyards," he bawled
to McGuffey, and they went forward. Under Gibney's direction, the
jib halyards were taken through the leading blocks to the winch
head; McGuffey manned the winch and the jib was hauled up.
"St-eady-y-y! 'Vast heavin'," cried Mr. Gibney. "Now then, we'll
cast off them jib halyards an' make 'em fast.... Right-O.... Now
stand by to brace the foreyard. Bart, for the love o' heaven,
help me with this foreyard brace."

With the aid of the winch, they braced the foreyard; then
McGuffey ran aft and took the wheel while Mr. Gibney scuttled
forward, eased up the compressor on the windlass, and permitted
the anchor chain to pay out rapidly. With the hammer, he knocked
out the pin at the forty-five fathom shackle and leaving the
anchor to go by the board, for it worried him no longer, the bark
_Chesapeake_ moved gently off on a west-sou'-west course that
would keep her three points off the land. She had sufficient head
sail on now to hold her up.

Mr. Gibney fell upon the main to'gallan'-s'l leads like a demon,
carried them through the leading block to the winch head, turned
over the winch and sheeted home the main-to'-gallan'-s'l. The
_Chesapeake_ gathered speed and Mr. Gibney went