deck. Then the Centipede's brutal face appeared in the
companionway, and he descended into the cabin, followed by the
Porpoise. Before they could seat themselves on a bunk, another skiff
came alongside, and another, and another, till the whole fleet was
represented by the gathering in the cabin.

"Where'd you swipe the old tub?" asked a squat and hairy man, with
cruel eyes and Mexican features.

"Didn't swipe it," Nicholas answered, meeting them on their own ground
and encouraging the idea that we had stolen the _Coal Tar Maggie_.
"And if we did, what of it?"

"Well, I don't admire your taste, that's all," sneered he of the
Mexican features. "I'd rot on the beach first before I'd take a tub
that couldn't get out of its own way."

"How were we to know till we tried her?" Nicholas asked, so innocently
as to cause a laugh. "And how do you get the oysters?" he hurried on.
"We want a load of them; that's what we came for, a load of oysters."

"What d'ye want 'em for?" demanded the Porpoise.

"Oh, to give away to our friends, of course," Nicholas retorted.
"That's what you do with yours, I suppose."

This started another laugh, and as our visitors grew more genial we
could see that they had not the slightest suspicion of our identity or
purpose.

"Didn't I see you on the dock in Oakland the other day?" the Centipede
asked suddenly of me.

"Yep," I answered boldly, taking the bull by the horns. "I was
watching you fellows and figuring out whether we'd go oystering or
not. It's a pretty good business, I calculate, and so we're going in
for it. That is," I hastened to add, "if you fellows don't mind."

"I'll tell you one thing, which ain't two things," he replied, "and
that is you'll have to hump yerself an' get a better boat. We won't
stand to be disgraced by any such box as this. Understand?"

"Sure," I said. "Soon as we sell some oysters we'll outfit in style."

"And if you show yerself square an' the right sort," he went on, "why,
you kin run with us. But if you don't" (here his voice became stern
and menacing), "why, it'll be the sickest day of yer life.
Understand?"

"Sure," I said.

After that and more warning and advice of similar nature, the
conversation became general, and we learned that the beds were to be
raided that very night. As they got into their boats, after an hour's
stay, we were invited to join them in the raid with the assurance of
"the more the merrier."

"Did you notice that short, Me