in basin in which he was washing his bitten
fingers. The steel hook and its leather strappings lay on the table.

"I telled Flea," said the squatter after a silence.

"Did ye tell her she was comin' to my boat tonight?" asked Lem eagerly.

"Nope; but I telled her that she weren't my gal."

"Ye cussed fool!" cried Crabbe, jumping to his feet. "Ye won't keep her
now, I bet that!"

Cronk smiled covertly.

"Aw, don't ye believe it! She be as safe stuck in that hut as if I'd
nailed her leg to the floor. Ye don't know Flea, ye don't, Lem. She
didn't come back with us 'cause she were my brat, but 'cause we was
goin' to kill Flukey and Shellington. God! how she w'iggled when I
opened the door and telled her to scoot back to Tarrytown if she wanted
to! But I didn't forgit to tell her what we'd do to them two others down
there, if she'd go. She floundered down and up like a live sucker in a
hot skillet. What a plagued fool she is!"

Lon sat back in his chair and laughed loudly.

"Ye'll play with her till ye make her desprite," snarled Lem, "and when
she be gone ye can holler the lungs out of ye, and she won't come back.
If ye'd left her to me, I'd a drubbed her till she wouldn't think of
Tarrytown. I says as how she comes to this scow tonight. Ye can't dicker
with me like ye can with that kid, Lon!"

Cronk narrowed his eyelids to slits and contemplated the scowman.

"I want to have a little fun with her afore ye git her," he said. "I
love to see her damn face go white and red, and her teeth shut tight
like a rat-trap. She won't do none of them things when you git done with
her, Lem."

Crabbe rubbed the length of his short arm with a coarse towel.

"Yep, I can make her forgit that she's got blood what'll come in her
face," chuckled he. "'Tain't no fun ownin' women, if ye can't make 'em
holler once in awhile. But ye didn't say as how she were a comin' here
tonight."

"Nope, not tonight," answered Lon; "'cause when I showed her that it
didn't make no difference 'bout her stayin' whether she were mine or
not, she just tumbled down like a hit ox. My! but it were a fine sight!"

Lem lifted the steel hook in deep reflection and caught the clasps
together.

"I'm a wonderin', Lon," he said presently, "if I'm to ever git her."

"Yep, tomorry," assured Lon.

"Honest Injun?" demanded Lem.

"Honest Injun," replied Lon. "If ye takes her tonight, she'll only cut
up like the devil. That's the worst of them damn women, they