se
two crates o' ginseng, but when they see we're determined to have
'em an' ain't interested in nothin' else, they lets 'em go to us.
McGuffey, my _dear_ boy, whatever are you a-doin' there--standin'
around with your teeth in your mouth? Skip down into th' engine
room and bring up a hammer an' a col' chisel. We'll open her up
an' inspect th' swag."

Upon McGuffey's return, Mr. Gibney took charge. He drove the
chisel under the lid of the nearest crate, and prepared to pry it
loose. Suddenly he paused. A thought had occurred to him.

"Gentlemen," he said (McGuffey nodded his head approvingly),
"this world is full o' sorrers an' disappointments, an' it may
well be that these two cases don't contain even so much as a
smell o' ginseng after all. It may be that they are really
Oriental goods. What I want distinctly understood is this: no
matter what's inside, we share equally in the profits, even if
they turn out to be losses. That's understood an' agreed to,
ain't it?"

Captain Scraggs and McGuffey indicated that it was.

"There's a element o' mystery about these two boxes," continued
Mr. Gibney, "that fascinates me. They sets my imagination
a-workin' an' joggles up all my sportin' instincts. Now, just to
make it interestin' an' add a spice t' th' grand openin', I'm
willin' to bet again my own best judgment an' lay you even money,
Scraggsy, that it ain't ginseng but Oriental goods."

"I'll go you five dollars, just f'r ducks," responded Captain
Scraggs heartily. "McGuffey to hold the stakes an' decide the
bet."

"Done," replied Mr. Gibney. The money was placed in McGuffey's
hands, and a moment later, with a mighty effort, Mr. Gibney pried
off the lid of the crate. Captain Scraggs had his head inside the
box a fifth of a second later.

"Sealed zinc box inside," he announced. "Get a can opener, Gib,
my boy."

"Ginseng, for a thousand," mourned Mr. Gibney. "Scraggsy, you're
five dollars of my money to the good. Ginseng always comes packed
in air-tight boxes."

He produced a can opener from the cabin locker and fell to his
work on a corner of the hermetically sealed box. As he drove in
the point of the can opener, he paused, hammer in hand, and gazed
solemnly at Scraggs and McGuffey.

"Gentlemen" (again McGuffey nodded approvingly), "do you know
what a vacuum is?"

"I know," replied the imperturbable McGuffey. "A vacuum is an
empty hole that ain't got nothin' in it."

"Correct," said Mr. Gibney. "My head is