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38 "More'n likely, lieutenant; an', if he is, I'll allow you have a tough customer to deal with," added the skipper of the Columbia, with a peculiar smile.

"Then you found him hard to deal with?"

"I did."

"Do you know if there is a Mr. Amos Bartlett still connected with the company?"

"Yes, there is; but I've got it putty straight that the Polks, father an' son,—an' the son, Nuggy, is wuss nor his dad,—are doin' their best to squeeze him out of it."

"And where is Mr. Bartlett, now?"

"In Tien-Tsin, China, or else at Shanghai."

"And how are they going to squeeze him out?"

"If you'll tell me, I'll tell you," laughed Captain Ponsberry. "I guess the Polks have a way all their own. But they'll do it, for I've heard that they have squeezed out others. Nuggy Polk is on his way now to China, to see what he can do toward ousting Bartlett out of the concern. The Polks know they have a good thing, an' I guess they want to keep it right in the family."

"You say he is on his way to China. Is he here?"