Kjellin followed and Matt preceded him to his stateroom,
where the captain paid him the few dollars he had coming to him.
"Sign clear," he ordered, and Matt took an indelible pencil and
stooped over the skipper's desk to sign the pay roll. As he
straightened up the captain's powerful left forearm came round Matt's
left shoulder and under his chin, tilting his head backward, while the
Finn's left knee ground into the small of his back. He was held as in
a vise, helpless, and Kjellin spoke:
"Ven I get fresh young faler like you, an' he quit me cold, I lick him
after I pay him off."
"I see," Matt replied calmly. "That makes it a plain case of assault
and battery, whereas if you lick him before you pay him off, he can
sue your owners. You're a fine, smart squarehead!"
"You bet!" Kjellin answered, and struck him a stunning blow behind the
ear. Matt, realizing his inability to wriggle out of the captain's
grasp, kicked backward with his right foot and caught the Finn
squarely on the right shin, splintering the bone. The captain cried
out with the pain of it and released the pressure on Matt's chin,
whereupon the latter whirled, picked the Finn up bodily, and threw him
through the stateroom door out onto the deck, where he struck the pipe
railing and rebounded.
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