d landed you after
a six months' cruise doped or drunk, with two cents in your pocket and
an affidavit up his sleeve that you'd tried to fire his ship," said
Harman. "I know the swab."

Ginnell said nothing for a moment in answer to this soft impeachment,
he was cutting himself a chew of tobacco; then at last he spoke:

"I don't want no certifikit of character from either the pair of you,"
said he. "You've boned me ship and you've blacked me eye and you've
near stove me ribs in sittin' on me chest and houldin' me revolver in
me face; what I wants to know is your game. Where's your profits to
come from on this job?"

"I'll tell you," replied Blood. "There's a hooker called the
_Yan-Shan_ piled on the rocks down the coast and we're going to leave
our cards on her--savvy?"

"Oh, Lord!" said Ginnell.

"What's the matter now?" asked Harman.

"What's the matter, d'you say?" cried Ginnell. "Why, it's the
_Yan-Shan_ I was after meself."

Blood stared at the owner of the _Heart of Ireland_ for a moment, then
he broke into a roar of laughter.

"You don't mean to say you bought the wreck?" he asked.

"Not me," replied Ginnell. "Sure, where d'you think I'd be findin' the
money to buy wrecks with? I had news that mornin' she was lyin' there
derelick, and I was just slippin' down the coast to have a look at her
when you two spoiled me lay by takin' me ship."

It was now that Harman began to laugh.

"Well, if that don't beat all," said he. "And maybe, since you were so
keen on havin' a look at her, you've brought wreckin' tools with you in
case they might come in handy?"

"That's as may be," replied Ginnell. "What you have got to worry about
isn't wreckin' tools, but how to get rid of the boodle if it's there.
Twenty thousand dollars, that's the figure."

"So you know of the dollars?" said Blood.

"Sure, what do you take me for?" asked Ginnell. "D'you think I'd have
bothered about the job only for the dollars? What's the use of general
cargo to the like of me? Now what I'm thinkin' is this, you want a
fence to help you to get rid of the stuff. Supposin' you find it, how
are you to cart this stuff ashore and bank it? You'll be had, sure,
but not if I'm at your back. Now, gents, I'm willin' to wipe out all
differences and help in the salvin' on shares, and I'll make it easy
for you. You'll each take seven thousand and I'll take the balance,
and I won't charge nuthin' for the loan you've took of the _Hea