“That message broke me all up,” Matt continued sadly.  “It destroyed completely my faith in human nature and demonstrated beyond a doubt that there is no such thing in this world as fair play in business.  It’s like a waterfront fight.  You just get your man down and everything goes—­kicking, biting, gouging, knee-work!” Matt sighed dolorously and drew from his vest pocket a scrap of paper.  “Just listen to this for a message!” He continued.  “Just imagine how nice you’d feel, Mr. Ricks, if you were skippering a boat and picked up a message like this at sea: 

“’Grant, Master Steamer Tillicum:  Gave Captain Matt Peasley a letter to you yesterday ordering you to turn over command of Tillicum to him on presentation or demand.  This on his request and on his insistence, as per clause in charter party, copy of which you have.  Peasley leaves to-day for Panama on City of Para.  This will be your authority for declining to surrender the ship to him when he comes aboard there.  Stand pat!  Letter with complete instructions for your guidance follows on City of Para.

Ricks.’”

Cappy Ricks commenced tapping one foot nervously against the other, Mr. Skinner coughed perfunctorily, while Matt withered each with a rather sorrowful glance.

“Of course you can imagine the shock this gave me.  I give you my word that for as much as five seconds I didn’t know what to do; but after that I got real busy.  I swung the ship and came ramping back to San Diego harbor, slipped ashore in the small boat and found Captain Grant at the railroad station buying a ticket for San Francisco.  I had to wait and watch the ticket office for an hour before he showed up, and when he did I made him a proposition.  I told him that if he would agree to keep away from the office of the Blue Star Navigation Company you might think he was peeved at being relieved of his command so peremptorily, and hence would not attach any importance to his failure to report at the office.

“In consideration of this I gave him my word of honor that he would be restored to his command as soon as I could bring the Tillicum back from Panama, and meantime his salary would continue just the same—­in proof of which I gave him a check for two months’ pay in advance.  He said he thought it all a very queer proceeding; but, since he was no longer in command of the Tillicum, it wasn’t up to him to ask questions, and he agreed to my proposition.  However, he said he thought he ought to wire the company acknowledging receipt of their instructions with reference to surrendering his command—­and I agreed with him that he should.  ‘But,’ I said, ’why bother sending such a message, collect, ashore, when we pay a flat monthly rate to the wireless company for the plant and operator aboard the ship, no matter how many messages we send?  Give me your message to Mr. Ricks and when I get back aboard the Tillicum I’ll wireless it to him for you, and it won’t cost the ship a cent extra.’