ad waited patiently; but now, with a brutal snarl, it surged
forward. McGlynn, a pleasant smile on his face, swung slowly about.

"Keep your line, boys! Keep your line!" he boomed. "There's no trouble!
It's only a little Englishman who don't know our ways yet."

Inside the building the postal force, white and scared yet over the
menacing growl of the beast they had so nearly roused, hastened to
resume their tasks. I heard later that the last man in line reached the
window only at three o'clock in the morning. Also that next day McGlynn
was summoned by Geary, then postmaster, to account for his share in the
row; and that in the end Geary apologized and was graciously forgiven by
McGlynn! I can well believe it.

We found Yank and Talbot still at the edge of the hotel veranda.

"Look here, Tal!" said Johnny at once. "How are you going to finish all
this business you've scared up, and get off to the mines within a
reasonable time? We ought to start pretty soon."

"Mines?" echoed Talbot, "I'm not going to the mines! I wouldn't leave
all this for a million mines. No: Yank and I have been talking it over.
You boys will have to attend to the mining end of this business. I'll
pay Frank's share and take a quarter of the profits, and Frank can pay
me in addition half his profits. In return for the work I don't do, I'll
put aside two hundred and twenty dollars and use it in my business here,
and all of us will share in the profits I make from that amount. How
does that strike you?"

"I don't like to lose you out of this," said Johnny disappointedly.

"Nor I," said I.

"And I hate to lose the adventure, boys," agreed Talbot earnestly. "But,
honestly, I can't leave this place now even if I want to; and I
certainly don't want to."

I turned in that night with the feeling that I had passed a very
interesting day.

CHAPTER XIII

UP-RIVER

Two days later Yank, Johnny, and I embarked aboard a small bluff-bowed
sailboat, waved our farewells to Talbot standing on the shore, and laid
our course to cross the blue bay behind an island called Alcatraz. Our
boatman was a short, swarthy man, with curly hair and gold rings in his
ears. He handled his boat well, but spoke not at all. After a dozen
attempts to get something more than monosyllables out of him, we gave it
up, and settled ourselves to the solid enjoyment of a new adventure.

The breeze was strong, and drove even our rather clumsy craft at
considerable speed. The