Gangway! Read Free Page A

he even have sixteen dollars and fifty cents?
        He watched the gangplanks sliding upward over there at the boat while he fumbled in his pockets. A ten-dollar eagle. A five-dollar half eagle.
        He dug. He dug fast now because he had sudden thoughts of the telegram that would go out to Twill if Gabe didn't show up in San Francisco. He dug through every pocket and, counting the dime in his left trouser cuff, he had seventeen dollars and five cents.
        "There you are," Gabe said at last, dumping a double handful of coins onto the counter.
        "And there you are," the clerk said. "Have a great trip."
        That just had to be sarcastic. Clutching his ticket Gabe peered at the clerk's face, but saw only a guileless smile as the man closed the board shutters over his window.
        And a lot of shouting was taking place over at the riverboat. Gabe saw only one gangplank still connecting ship to pier, and he made a run for it, waving the ticket and shouting, "Hi! Hi!"
        The scenery was moving. Hills were going by. There was open water between Gabe and the nearest land. And the water was moving and the boat was moving.
        Slowly, like a statue toppling off a pedestal, Gabe bent over the rail.
        

CHAPTER TWO
        
        She came walking happily along the deck, smiling in the sunshine. It was good to be sailing the Sacramento River once again. I really ought to do it more often, she thought. A change of air, a couple of days in the sun-it could do wonders for a girl's complexion.
        She turned into the saloon lounge and cast her eye over the crowd. Pilgrims, most of them. The crowd was denser in the men's bar, but she wasn't allowed in there of course. In the saloon lounge ladies in stays and heavy dresses sat fanning themselves against the heat. Fools-but they'd learn.
        She went out again to take a turn on deck; she hadn't explored the port side yet. She knew she was drawing stares from the gentlemen passengers but she didn't acknowledge any of them although she knew how-the droop of an eyelash, the loss of a handkerchief. Today she was not interested in romance.
        Toward the bow she turned past the lifeboat and suddenly a huge tough loomed, blocking her way.
        "Sorry, Miss. You can't go up no further."
        The rifle was large in his fists. His eyes were sizing her up in appreciation.
        She blinked at him. "But I always ride up front. I love to ride up front."
        "Sorry, Miss. Everybody stays back of this line today."
        "Oh," she said. "Another gold shipment."
        "Yes, Miss."
        "They're such a bore."
        She felt the guard's eyes on her when she turned away. She glanced up and saw the Captain on the Texas deck. He was watching her, too. It made her smile a little and it put a little extra bounce in her step.
        She went through the forward corridor to the starboard side. A few gentlemen stood at the rail. She saw a thin young fellow in an Eastern suit, alone. His face was loose and grey and filled with alarm and unease. His shoes looked a bit worn, and he was clutching a cloth cap in one trembling hand. He looked as if he'd come from way back East somewhere, maybe from as far as St. Louis or Indianapolis. From the condition he was in it appeared he'd had a rough trip.
        He might be worth checking out, she thought, but first there were the two prosperous merchants talking business by the davits. She headed sedately in their direction.
        

CHAPTER THREE
        
        Gabe clung to the heaving, pitching deck of the boat while it tied up at the dock of Pittsburg.
        Pittsburg, he observed without believing. Maybe five buildings and a pier. If you counted a tack shed as a building.
        He clutched a passing nautical type by the sleeve. "How long will we be tied up here?"
        "Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."
        Gabe rushed to the gangplank and staggered down to the little