his opinion that the
fortune-telling lady probably knew her business and that their
fortune really lay at sea. The derelict was at sea. How else,
then, could the prophecy be interpreted?

"Well, this steamer _Victor_ ain't exactly travelling overland,"
McGuffey suggested. He had a secret hankering to mess around some
real engines again, and gave it as his opinion that fortune was
more likely to lurk in a solid stern-wheel steamer with good
engines and boilers than in a battered hulk at sea. Captain
Scraggs agreed with him most heartily and a tie vote resulted,
Mr. Gibney inclining toward the derelict.

"What're we goin' to do about it, Gib?" Captain Scraggs demanded.

"When in doubt, Scraggsy, old tarpot, always play trumps. In
order to make no mistake, right after breakfast you an' McGuffey
go down to Jackson Street wharf an' interview this man Coakley
about his steamer _Victor_. You been goin' to sea long enough to
know a good hull when you see it, an' if we can't trust Mac to
know a good set of inner works we'd better dissolve the
syndicate. If you two think she's a bargain, buy her in for the
syndicate. As for me an' Neils, we'll go down to the Front an'
charter a tug an' chase out after that there derelict before the
revenue cutter gets her an' blows her out o' the path o' commerce
with a stick o' dynamite."

Forthwith Mr. Gibney and Neils, after snatching a hasty
breakfast, departed for the waterfront, where they chartered a
tug for three days and put to sea. At about ten o'clock Captain
Scraggs and McGuffey strolled leisurely down to Jackson Street
wharf to inspect the _Victor_. By noon they had completed a most
satisfactory inspection of the steamer's hull and boilers, and
bought her in for seven thousand dollars. Captain Scraggs was
delighted. He said she was worth ten thousand. Already he had
decided that heavy and profitable freights awaited the syndicate
along the Sacramento River, where the farmers and orchardists had
been for years the victims of a monopoly and a gentlemen's
agreement between the two steamboat lines that plied between
Sacramento, Stockton, and San Francisco.

On the afternoon of the third day Mr. Gibney and Neils Halvorsen
returned from sea. They were unutterably weary and hollow-eyed
for lack of sleep.

"Well, I suppose you two suckers found that derelict," challenged
McGuffey.

"Yep. Found her an' got a line aboard an' towed her in, an' it
was a tough job. She's layin' over