gie_ purposed ramming him; he had marvelled
that the filibuster should use shrapnel, after she had ranged
with shell (he did not know it was percussion shrapnel) and in
sudden panic he decided that the _Maggie_, mortally wounded,
purposed getting close enough to sink him with shell-fire if she
failed to ram him; whereupon the yellow streak came through and
he waved his arms frantically above his head in token of
surrender.

"She's hauled down her rag," shrieked Scraggs. "Be merciful, Gib.
There's men dyin' on that boat."

"Lay alongside that craft," Mr. Gibney shouted to the helmsman.
The schooner had hove to and when the _Maggie_ also hove to some
thirty yards to windward of her Mr. Gibney informed the Mexican,
in atrocious Spanish well mixed with English, that if the latter
so much as lifted his little finger he might expect to be sunk
like a dog. "Down below, everybody but the helmsman, or I'll
sweep your decks with another muzzle burst," he thundered.

The Mexican obeyed and Captain Scraggs went up in the pilot house
and laid the terribly battered _Maggie_ alongside the schooner.
The instant she touched, Mr. Gibney sprang aboard, quickly
followed by Captain Scraggs, who had relinquished the helm to his
first mate.

Suddenly Captain Scraggs shouted, "Look, Gib, for the love of the
Lord, look!" and pointed with his finger. At the head of the
little iron-railed companion way leading down into the engine
room a man was standing. He had a monkey wrench in one hand and a
greasy rag in the other.

Mr. Gibney turned and looked at the man.

"McGuffey, for a thousand," he bellowed, and ran forward with
outstretched hand. Captain Scraggs was at Gibney's heels, and
between them they came very nearly dislocating Bartholomew
McGuffey's arm.

"McGuffey, my _dear_ boy," said Captain Scraggs. "Whatever are
you a-doin' on this heathen warship?"

"Me!" ejaculated Mr. McGuffey, with his old-time deliberation.
"Why, I'm the chief engineer of this craft. I had a good job,
too, but I guess it's all off now, and the Mexican Government'll
fire me. Say, who chucked that buckshot down into my engine
room?"

"Admiral Gibney did it," said Scraggs. "The old _Maggie's_
alongside and me and Gib's filibusters. Bear a hand, Mac, and
help us clap the hatches on our prisoners."

"Thank God," said Mr. Gibney piously, "I didn't kill you. Come to
look into the matter, I didn't kill anybody, though I see half a
dozen Mexicans around decks