dorable grimace of disapproval.

"Since Matt Peasley has been master of that tug I see him only when his
owners cannot find something more important for him to do. Why do you
pop that question at me so suddenly? Did you want to see him about
something?"

"No. I saw him yesterday forenoon, and we went into a clinch and fought
each other all over my private office. Matt got the decision. I thought
he might have called you up to discuss with you his plans for the
future. When he left me yesterday he was on his way back to the office
of the Red Stack Tugboat Company to tell the port captain he could stick
some other skipper on the tug Sea Fox."

Florence clapped her hands ecstatically. "Oh, goody, goody!" she cried.

"Well, it might be worse."

"Why is he resigning? To go to work for you, as I wanted him to do six
months ago?"

"Well, I'll tell you, Florry," Cappy began. "I know you're going to be
disappointed, but the fact of the matter is we've just got to let
that boy paddle his own canoe--though, to hear him talk, he's going to
operate his own line of steamers! Matt doesn't think in canoes when
the subject of the merchant marine is up for discussion any more than I
think in cent pieces when I'm wrestling with a banker for a loan. He has
resigned from the tug Sea Fox to go into business for himself!"

"But how can he? He hasn't any money, you silly man!"

"Oh, yes, he has. I gave him twenty thousand dollars yesterday. He had
that much credit on the Blue Star books from his share of the recharter
of the steamer Unicorn nearly two years ago."

"But I thought you weren't going to give him any of that money,"
Florence protested.

"I thought so, too," Cappy answered dryly; "but the scoundrel put up
a low-down job on me and pried the twenty thousand loose," and Cappy
proceeded to relate to Florry the sad tale of the salvage of the
Retriever.

Florence was gifted with the same lovable sense of humor that
distinguished her father; and, somewhat to his annoyance, she laughed
long and heartily at this tale of how her fiance had vanquished him.

"And then what?" she queried with childish insouciance.

"Why, then he made friends with Skinner and, to my complete amazement,
surrendered without firing a shot. He said he'd be my port captain now;
whereas six months ago he said it was against his religion to work for
a relative, and that he wanted to go into business for himself. And only
the day before he'd reiterated th