s any good; and she may or may
not need a new whistle--I dunno. Sure, the skipper niver blew it good
an' long but the wanst; an', so help me, young man, I was lookin' at the
shteam gauge whin he shtarted that prolonged blast--an' whin he finished
the gauge had dhropped tin pounds! So up I go on the bridge to the ould
man, an' says I to him, says I: 'Clear weather or thick fog, I'm tellin'
ye to lave that whistle alone if ye expect to finish the voyage. Wan
toot out av it means a ton av coal gone to hell an' a dhrop av blood out
av the owner's heart! An' from that time on the best I iver hearrd out
av that whistle was a sick sort av a sob."

Matt laughed as Terence Reardon's natural propensity for romancing
came to the front. He thanked the chief for the latter's invaluable
information, and, with a mental resolve to have Terence Reardon
presiding over the engines of the Narcissus at no distant date, he
returned to the city.

CHAPTER XLVII. THE TAIL GOES WITH THE HIDE

The following morning Matt called upon MacCandless, the general manager
of the Oriental Steamship Company. Mr. MacCandless was a cold individual
of Scotch ancestry, with a scent for a dollar a trifle keener than most;
and Matt Peasley, young and inexperienced in business fencing, was never
more aware of his deficiencies than when he faced MacCandless across
the latter's desk. Consequently, he resolved to waste no words in vain
parley. MacCandless was still looking curiously at Matt's card when the
latter said:

"I called with reference to that big freighter of the Oriental Steamship
Company--the Narcissus. Is she for sale?"

MacCandless smiled with his lips, but his eyes wore the eternal Show-me!
look. He nodded.

"Foolish of me to ask, I know," Matt continued complacently, "since it
is a matter of common gossip that you would have been delighted to have
sold her any time these past eight years."

Since MacCandless did not deny this Matt assumed that it was true and
returned to the attack with renewed vigor.

"What do you want for her?"

"Are you acting as a broker in this matter or do you represent
principals who have asked you to interview me? In other words, before
I talk business with you I want to know that you mean business. I shall
waste no time discussing a possible trade unless you assure me that you
have a customer in sight. I am weary of brokers. I've had forty of them
after that vessel from time to time, but no business ever res