ribed in a homely American word. He was
"ornery." A native of San Francisco, he had grown up around the
docks and had developed from messboy on a river steamer to master
of bay and river steamboats, although it is not of record that he
ever commanded such a craft. Despite his "ticket" there was none
so foolish as to trust him with one--a condition of affairs which
had tended to sour a disposition not naturally sweet. The
yearning to command a steamboat gradually had developed into an
obsession. Result--the "fast and commodious S.S. _Maggie_," as
the United States Marshal had had the audacity to advertise her.

In the beginning, Captain Scraggs had planned to do bay and river
towing with the _Maggie_. Alas! The first time the unfortunate
Scraggs attempted to tow a heavily laden barge up river, a light
fog had come down, necessitating the frequent blowing of the
whistle. Following the sixth long blast, Mr. McGuffey had
whistled Scraggs on the engine room howler; swearing horribly, he
had demanded to be informed why in this and that the skipper
didn't leave that dod-gasted whistle alone. It was using up his
steam faster than he could manufacture it. Thereafter, Scraggs
had used a patent foghorn, and when the honest McGuffey had once
more succeeded in conserving sufficient steam to crawl up river,
the tide had turned and the _Maggie_ could not buck the ebb.
McGuffey declared a few new tubes in the boiler would do the
trick, but on the other hand, Mr. Gibney pointed out that the old
craft was practically punk aft and a stiff tow would jerk the
tail off the old girl. In despair, therefore, Captain Scraggs had
abandoned bay and river towing and was prepared to jump overboard
and end all, when an opportunity offered for the freighting of
garden truck and dairy produce from Halfmoon Bay to San
Francisco.

But now a difficulty arose. The new run was an "outside"
one--salt water all the way. Under the ruling of the Inspectors,
the _Maggie_ would be running coastwise the instant she engaged
in the green pea and string bean trade, and Captain Scraggs's
license provided for no such contingency. His ticket entitled him
to act as master on the waters of San Francisco Bay and the
waters tributary thereto, and although Scraggs argued that the
Pacific Ocean constituted waters "tributary thereto," if _he_
understood the English language, the Inspectors were obdurate.
What if the distance was less than twenty-five miles? they
pointed o