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Chapter 6
The Public Finance of Sports: Who Benefits and How?

◼ Outline
Introduction

Learning Objectives

6.1 How Teams Benefit From New Facilities

Facilities, Attendance, and Profits

6.2 How Fans Benefit From a New Facility

The Size and Shape of Baseball and Football Stadiums
The Size and Shape of Basketball and Hockey Arenas
Do New Facilities Create Better Teams?
Teams as Public Goods

6.3 How Cities Benefit from Teams, Facilities, and Events

Positive and Negative Externalities
Facilities, Spending and Tax Revenue
Direct Benefits
Multiplier Effects
Studies of Economic Impact
Interest Groups and Public Choice
Location, Location, Location
The Impact of Special Events

Biographical Sketch: Al Davis

Summary

◼ Teaching Tips and Additional Examples

Chapters 6 and 7 have been completely reorganized and in some instances expanded on since the previous
edition. There is still a shift of the general focus from industrial organization to public finance, but the
way the material is presented has changed greatly. Chapter 6 focuses on the Benefits of publicly financed
stadia while Chapter 7 focuses on the Costs. Much of the material has been moved from one chapter to
the next so it may be worth your time to give these two chapters some thought as how you prefer to
present the material if you are used to previous editions.

The opening discussion about the benefits of a stadium on attendance is a nice application of the concept
of diminishing returns. Asking the class to illustrate this on a graph with “time” on the “x” axis and “%∆
in attendance” on the “y” axis can help illustrate this concept. What to focus on is that the short run
benefits diminish as time goes by. You could also split up MLB, NHL, and the NBA into separate lines
on the same graph (with MLB having he largest impact as explained in the text).

Taken from the previous edition’s Chapter 7 (and expanded on) is a nice discussion on externalities.
Taking the time to think about both the positive externalities and the negative externalities can provide
insight as to why this topic at times is difficult to quantify. Furthermore this section provides an
opportunity to remind the students that this is how market failures can sometimes occur.

One way to begin dialogue is to ask what they think about stadium financing before they read the chapter.
Most students that are sports fans will be predisposed toward awarding generous public funding to
franchises that seek it. Even casual fans should be able to cite the most widely used macroeconomic tool
in the course, that of the Multiplier effect. By engaging in a discussion and thinking about how the
Marginal Propensity to Consume can change (and the issue of leakage and opportunity cost of those
funds) you steer them into a discussion as an economist views them.

When discussing form and function, both a discussion of the new “retro feel” venues and some history will
prove very useful. If you have an interactive classroom, log on to www.Ballparks.com, or the official sites
of teams and their venues, to show the different shapes and sizes of a cross section of buildings from
different eras. If your school is in or near a major league city with a venue that many students have
visited, include it in your virtual tour or arrange a real visit.

◼ Additional Sources
1. Although now somewhat dated, the classic text on the public finance of sports is Sports, Jobs and
Taxes, (Brookings Institution Press, 1997), a collection of essays edited by Andrew Zimbalist and
Roger Noll. This book is notable for its numerous case studies and is among the most highly cited
works in the field.

2. Tim Chapin has an online paper, “An Assessment of the Microarea Impacts of Sports Stadia,” that
looks at neighborhood effects of facilities. You can find it at: http://www.asu.edu/caed/
proceedings99/CHAPIN/CHAPIN.HTM

3. Troy Soos’s Murder at Fenway Park, the first of the Mickey Rawlings mysteries, is a fun, non-
academic look at the issue. Richard North Patterson’s Dark Lady twists a tale of murder and
corruption around local politics and the construction of a new Major League Baseball stadium
in the fictional metropolis of Steeltown.

4. A large number of academic papers have addressed the economic impact of stadiums, franchises and
events including numerous works by Brad Humphreys and Dennis Coates and Robert Baade and
Victor Matheson. While many of their papers are quite technical, most have introductory sections
that clearly address why sports boosters’ claims of economic windfalls are overblown, that are quite
accessible to lower-level undergraduate classes.

5. A number of outstanding Web sites devoted to ballparks, past, present, and future can be found
online. I believe the best is http://www.ballparks.com.
◼ Solutions to Back-of-Chapter Problems

6.1 Why is the multiplier effect for the Los Angeles Lakers likely to be greater than the multiplier effects
for the Sacramento Kings when both are teams in the NBA?
Answer: Los Angeles is much larger than Sacramento, so people are more likely to live and shop
in Los Angeles than Sacramento. As a result, the leakages from Los Angeles are much
smaller than the leakages from Sacramento, and the multiplier is larger.

6.2 Why are the negative externalities associated with the newly opened Barclays Centre in Brooklyn
likely to be greater than the negative externalities associated with the Staples Center in Los Angeles,
which opened in 1999?

Answer: This main cause of the difference in the negative externalities is time. The newly
opened Barclays Centre will have more negative externalities since it is newer while the negative
externalities associated with Staples Center have diminished since 1999. In addition the population
around these stadia is probably more densely populated in Brooklyn than Los Angeles. Brooklyn
has a population density of approximately 35,000/square mile, while LA has a density of
approximately 7,500/square mile. This increase in density in Brooklyn will increase the magnitude
of the negative externalities.

6.3 If a majority of people do not want a stadium built, how can building it lead to an improvement in
social well-being?

Answer: The minority that prefers the stadium may have such a strong preference while the
majority that prefers no stadium has a weaker preference. The net effect is a positive influence. This
is illustrated by the process known as logrolling. In addition there may be positive externalities
associated with the project, and investments in local infrastructure that bring added benefit to the
city.

6.4 While football and baseball teams have gone from multipurpose to football- and baseball-only
facilities, basketball and hockey continue to share arenas. Why?
Answer: Basketball and hockey still typically share arenas because unlike football and baseball,
they utilize surfaces that are similar in shape and size. Although a basketball court is
slightly smaller than the ice surface, both sports can be accommodated in a single
building without seriously compromising the views of fans in either case. As shown in
Figures 6.5 and 6.6, baseball and football are poor complements as stadium partners.
6.5 If the marginal propensity to consume in a municipality is 0.8, what is the value of the simple
multiplier? If a new stadium that adds $30 million in new consumption expenditures is built, what
is the impact on the economy based on this multiplier? Suppose the Marginal Propensity to Import
is 0.3, what happens to the multiplier and to the impact on the economy?
Answer: The simple multiplier 1/(1 MPC). In this case, with MPC 0.8, the multiplier is 5.
An initial expenditure of $30 million would have a final impact of $150 million. If we
assume an open economy and introduce the MPI such that the MPI=0.3 we recalculate
the multiplier as 1/(1-MPC+MPI) which leads to a multiplier of 2. An initial
expenditure of $30 million now has a final impact of only $60 million.

6.6 How does your answer change if city residents spend 60 cents of every additional dollar on goods
made in other cities or countries?

Answer: In this case we would reinterpreted our Marginal Propensity to Import as 0.6. This
changes our multiplier to 1/(1-MPC+MPI) = 1/(1-.8+.6) = 1.25. Now the final impact is (30m)(1.25)
= $37.5 million.

6.7 Why does the fact that the NFL does not have a franchise in Los Angeles give its teams greater
leverage with their host cities than teams in the other sports have?
Answer: Los Angeles has the second largest fan base and second largest media market. The
potential profit from the Los Angeles market gives NFL franchises a more lucrative
alternative market for franchises that are thinking of moving. Since teams can make a
credible threat to move to L.A., this, in turn, gives the NFL teams much more
bargaining power with their home cities than teams in other leagues have. In MLB and
the NHL, due to recent (over-)expansion, there are few remaining cities that could host a
team, therefore when teams threaten to leave, cities can often call their bluff. This is one
reason MLB attempted to contract two teams back in the early 2000s. Further evidence
of the value of an open market to the NFL comes from the last expansion of the league.
The NFL had two lucrative offers of $600 million each from Houston and L.A. during
the last expansion. The league easily could have accepted both offers and expanded by
two teams but decided that the value to the league of an open market in L.A. exceeded
the value of an immediate $600 million paycheck.

6.8 If a new baseball stadium has only a very short-term impact on a team’s attendance, why do MLB
teams still pursue them?
Answer: While attendance falls back to previous levels after a few years, the teams still have the
potential to increase their profits because of new revenue sources. New stadiums have
had far more luxury boxes than the stadiums they have replaced. In addition, teams
generally get a larger percentage of the revenue from luxury boxes and other sources of
venue revenue, such as parking or concessions. Next, the tickets themselves are
generally more expensive in the new facilities. Finally, if the overwhelming majority of
the stadium is paid for by taxpayers, even a short-term increase in ticket sales is worth
the very small outlay that some teams must provide.
6.9 Why would a Super Bowl played in Detroit probably have more of an impact than a Super Bowl
played in Miami, even if both were to draw the same amount of fans? Why would a Super Bowl at
Ford Field in Detroit have more of an impact on Detroit than a regular season Detroit Lions game
that draws the same number of fans?

Answer: A Super Bowl in Miami would displace many business travelers and vacationers who
would have gone to Miami even if there were no Super Bowl. This reduces the
economic impact of the Super Bowl on Miami’s economy. Because far fewer people go
to Detroit in January, the net impact of a Super Bowl is much larger for Detroit than for
Miami. Even if a Super Bowl drew no more people to Detroit than a regular season
game at
Ford Field, far more people who go to the Super Bowl are from outside the Detroit area
than is true for a typical Lions game. The out-of-towners are likely to stay at area hotels
for several days. In addition, the money they spend in Detroit is new expenditure for the
local economy, while a portion of the money that local fans spend would have been
spent locally even if they did not go to the game. The net impact on the Detroit economy
is thus much larger for a Super Bowl than for a regular season game.
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"Phew! but it's low, an' dropping too," replied Bill, squinting into the
face of a small aneroid which they had saved from the Ocmulgee.
"Can you see under the squall?"
"No, it's black now, clear round the horizon."
"Wind seems to me to be increasing," commented Jack, feeling its
strength with his face.
"It's just like the start of that blow we had in the Moonbeam off
Rarotonga," called Loyola.
"That's bad!" commented the former. "I think, Bill, you'd better rig up
a sea-anchor for us to ride to. What do you say, Lolie?"
The woman flushed with pleasure at Jack asking her opinion, and
her eyes, shining with suppressed excitement, aroused in her by this
struggle with the elements, beamed fearlessly into the heart of the
storm.
"It's going to blow very hard, I'm sure of it," she answered; "but you
know best, Jack."
Thereupon they wasted no time in acting on the rover's idea. Three
oars were lashed together triangle-wise with a tarpaulin spread
between them. This was weighted by the small boat-kedge. Then,
with their strongest line attached, this contrivance was lifted over the
bows and the line paid out as the boat drifted down to leeward. This
had the effect of holding the boat's head up to windward, and caused
her to ride easier.
There was nothing more to be done but sit still and hope that the
gallant craft would succeed in weathering out the storm.
Leaving the post that she had held so well, Loyola seated herself
beside Jack in the bottom of the boat, where they were protected in
some degree from the howling wind.
Jack made her don a long oilskin coat to keep out the wind and rain,
as, slightly clad as they all were, the wetting caused a feeling of cold.
Now that the strain and excitement of the first strenuous fight were
over the woman felt somewhat limp and disheartened; but the
presence of her lover by her side, blind and helpless though he was,
proved a great comfort to her.
Shyly she sneaked her hand into his. He closed his fingers upon it
reassuringly and whispered in her ear,
"I'm very proud of you, Lolie, steering through that squall."
Such was the noise of the wind that, though the castaways sat
shoulder to shoulder with their backs to the gale, Jack, farthest aft,
could only hear Loyola speaking next to him by putting his ear close
to her mouth.
On the other side of Loyola sat Jim, the baler in his hand; whilst next
to him Broncho and Bill Benson exchanged remarks, Tari being in his
favourite place up in the bows.
"She rides well," muttered the bosun's mate, "an' if this kick-up don't
stir up the mud too much, we'll see another dawnin' in this old low-
degree turnip after all."
"You allows as how these perverse elements ain't goin' to get our
scalps then," drawled the cowpuncher. "The deal comes a bit florid to
me. The amount of agua we-alls contrives to gather at one time I
regyards as liable to have baleful effects."
"An' my idees were about the same gauge. It's the gal who pulls us
through the shindy. She's a bit o' dossy goods, wi' enuff nerve an'
savvy to make an' ordinary josser pipe low an' subdued."
"You're shore right a whole corralful. I feels plumb useless an' no
account when that 'ere squall rounds up on us, an' I near cuts loose
a howl; but when I sees how she's playin' the game so ca'm an'
easy, I cinches up my paltry feelin's an' whirls into the play with
renewed sperit."
"Poor ole Jack, too," observed Bill. "That blindness o' his cuts him to
the quick for sure. I watches 'im balin' with the blood runnin' from his
lips where he's bitin' of 'em. 'E's an old bird, is Jack Derringer; keeps
a stiff upper lip an' don' show much, but that blood lets out how
fretted 'e is an' gouged up in 'is innards."
Broncho nodded in silence, for Jack's misfortune hit his old bunkie
too hard for him to feel inclined to talk about it.
Suddenly a vessel was descried to windward, flying down upon them
under a close-reefed topsail, flinging the surges to right and left of
her and dipping to her cat-heads at each dive.
As she lifted her stern her deck could be plainly seen, crowded with
men, who crouched under her bulwarks in glistening groups. Her low
black hull battled in a field of raging foam, and her long topmasts
swung madly across the heavens as she rolled.
She was evidently an Island schooner.
"Jack, it's the Black Adder," cried Loyola nervously, after one glance
at the nearing vessel.
"Is she close?" inquired the rolling-stone.
"We'd be standin' by water-tight doors in the Dido," declared Bill.
"Near enough to throw the shorthorn steerin' with a thirty-foot rope,"
put in Broncho.
As the schooner surged by, her crew manned the rail, staring wild-
eyed at the whaleboat.
Aft by the helmsman stood a long, thin man with a scraggy beard,
and so near was the flying schooner that the movement of his jaws
could be seen as he chewed steadily.
Suddenly he bent forward, and shading his eyes with one hand,
gazed fixedly at the castaways.
"It's Dago Charlie!" gasped Loyola, with a horror in her eyes.
"By God, he's seen us!" yelled the bosun's mate wildly.
Sure enough the man began brandishing his arms in furious
gesticulations, and a deep roar reached the whaleboat from the
combined lungs of the stranger's crew.
"Bah! You swabs! We don't care that for you!" roared Bill Benson
savagely, standing up and snapping his fingers.
"Thar's squaws among 'em," exclaimed Broncho with surprise.
"Island girls," muttered Jack.
The schooner had hardly got a quarter of a mile to leeward when she
put her helm down and hove-to with a tarpaulin in the rigging.
"Goin' to lie by us till it moderates," said Bill. "Now he's spotted us he
won't let us go if 'e can 'elp it. 'E knows it's the gallows for 'im if we
gets clear, and 'e'll stand by to pounce on us. 'E'll get what he ain't
lookin' for if 'e comes protrudin' here."
"What for of a play would it be if we-alls sends some lead after him,
as a sorter hint to move on?" inquired Broncho.
"Wouldn't do!" pronounced Jack. "We'd get it all back with interest. If
it moderates at all to-night we'll put the horizon between us."
"I'm jest pining to shoot him up some," declared Broncho
bloodthirstily.
"Let 'im begin the action," said Bill grimly. "We'll finish it!"
Loyola said nothing, but cowered closer to Jack with big, anxious
eyes.
"We'll give him the slip, Lolie, don't you fear," cried the rover heartily.
Slowly the hours passed. The gale continued to blow with unabated
vigour, but the whaleboat rode it like a duck.
The castaways sat silent for the most part, and watched the
schooner down to leeward with various emotions.
Jack, handicapped by his blindness, lay back with closed eyes, deep
in thought.
Loyola, next to him, sat silent and troubled; whilst Broncho and the
bosun's mate tried to converse, but gave it up after a few efforts.
Jim, with the baler in his hand, busied himself with keeping the boat
free of water, for though she took no green water aboard, sprays and
spindrift flew over in a continuous shower-bath.
As evening came on they ate their slight, unpalatable meal and
struggled with damp matches to light their pipes in the screaming
wind. Then, as the darkness deepened, they all sat silently
expectant, waiting for the return of Jack's bewitched eyesight.
The rover sat up and sniffed round, turning his head slowly through
the points of the compass with straining eyes.
They watched him, fascinated by this queer freak of fortune, Loyola
in an agony of anxiety, the others curiously, but quietly confident.
Then, as the stars began to peep forth through the rushing clouds,
they saw his eyes suddenly brighten.
"I can see again!" he murmured, almost below his breath; though
they did not catch the words, all recognised that change in his face.
"Thank God!" burst forth Loyola half brokenly, for it was her great
terror that some day perhaps his eyesight might fail to return with the
nightfall.
A wave of intense relief rushed over the castaways, and as if some
great weight had been lifted from their spirits, they commenced to
talk, or rather shout, cheerfully.
The mere fact that their leader, if only for a few hours, was once
more restored to his usual self, gave renewed confidence to all.
With a swift, winning smile, Loyola tenderly grasped the rover's hand
and hugged it.
"So glad! so glad!" she cried joyfully.
"It's full moon to-night, Jack!" said Broncho casually, as if it were of
no importance, though he knew full well how anxiously he, nay, all
hands were looking forward to its advent as a slight chance of
release for Jack from his horrible affliction.
"I know," replied the rolling-stone very quietly; then more brightly,
"Now, let's have a look round. Ah! There's the schooner—rather too
close, I'm thinking. How far do you make it, Bill?"
"'Bout 'alf a mile."
"About that, I think," agreed Jack; then he turned and looked keenly
to windward.
"This dust-up will be over before dawn," he declared. "Let's see. The
moon rises about eleven; the sky is getting clearer every minute. But
that marooning hound needn't hug himself about that; he'll have to
catch us first and fight us afterwards, and if he gives me half a
chance to draw a bead on him before daylight, I'll put him out of
action for ever, and think no more of it than stamping on a
cockroach."
"That's bizness, Jack, that's the tactics! Kill the bloomin' swine an'
all's serene. One of us ought to be able to 'it the bull's eye," asserted
Bill keenly.
"Why, chucks!" exclaimed Broncho, "it's a cert if he comes mouchin'
'round he's due to get creased a whole lot. That yappin' wolf'll find it
a heap fatiguin', chasin' round ropin' after this outfit. I allow he's
some fretted now he pastured you-alls on the island so headlong an'
thoughtless. That play o' his is goin' to make him sweat blood."

FOOTNOTES:
[14] Nickname for the cooper.
 CHAPTER XI
"A SEA FIGHT UNDER THE STARS"
By midnight both wind and sea had dropped considerably. At one
bell the castaways saw the schooner's fore-topmast staysail rise
slowly as her crew manned the halliards, and a second later her
mainsail raised its head.
Jack gave a quick look round, and then said sharply,
"In with that sea-anchor, boys; it's time we were flitting."
In a moment the inaction on the whaleboat turned to a keen, nervous
energy.
Hand over hand the oars were hauled alongside, and the sea-anchor
got in over the bows; then away they went to windward.
The boat lay over to it, heavily pressed under a close-reefed lugsail,
wallowing, splashing, crashing into the seas.
Jack, at the steering-oar, sailed her a "clean full," whilst the rest of
the castaways baled furiously.
All of a sudden a puff of white smoke flew away from the side of the
schooner, and the faint report of a gun reached them.
"A snot from his twelve-pounder amidships," said Jack calmly.
The ball screamed past overhead, and plumped into the sea a long
way off to windward.
"It'll be wild shooting in this jump of a sea," observed Bill.
"Shall I bring my pop-gun into action?" drawled Broncho almost
indifferently, as he fingered his Winchester.
"Yes, let him have it; he's not going to drop lead over us without
getting some back," returned the rover fiercely.
"Jump it into him, Broncho," cried the bluejacket eagerly.
"That I shorely will without any ondue delays," replied the
cowpuncher, and taking a rapid sight he fired.
"It ain't easy shootin' in this here turmoil," he muttered, watching to
see the effect of his shot. "Now he's scatterin' it loose," he went on,
as a whole volley blazed from the schooner.
"Twelve-pounder again and rifle-fire," commented the man-of-war's
man, as the bullets screamed overhead. "That vigorous josser will
have to lower his sights a bit if he aims to do us any damage."
"I allow that shot makes him chew his mane; he's gettin' some acrid.
He reckoned he was goin' to bluff us sports quick an' easy," muttered
Broncho, pumping another cartridge into his gun.
"Now, my frenzied hold-up!" he cried derisively, and fired again.
"Get into the firing-line, Bill," broke in their leader sharply.
The bosun's mate needed no second bidding, but seized his gun
eagerly.
"'Ere's 'santy' to you, Mister Dago Charlie," he cried out, and he
pulled the trigger.
"Here she comes again!" yelled Jim, poking his head over the
gunwale in his excitement.
As the schooner fired, all the castaways, with the exception of Jack
steering, bobbed down in the bottom of the boat, as the latter cried:
"Lie low everybody," at the same time pushing Loyola down on to the
floorboards.
This time there was a dull thud aft.
"Hulled, by God!" burst out the bluejacket.
"Torn my only pair of dungarees," said Jack coolly. "Rifle bullet clean
through us."
"Not hurt, Jack?" asked Loyola piteously, her voice trembling.
"No fear, Lolie; just a graze, that's all."
"Chance shot!" remarked Bill. "What range is you sightin' at,
Broncho?"
"Six hundred."
"Better make it five," advised Jack. "She's closed up on us a bit, but
the sea and wind are moderating every minute. Tari, come and take
the steering-oar. We'll bring all our battery to bear."
Whereupon the Kanaka changed places with Jack.
Seeing that he had utterly failed in his attempt to make the
whaleboat heave-to, the marooner now ceased firing for a spell; but
having put his hand in the fire, it was now too late to draw it out. It
was his life against theirs now, and he crowded sail in pursuit with
desperate purpose.
But the three riflemen in the whaleboat continued to pump lead in his
direction, hoping by a lucky shot to cool his ardour sufficiently to
make him sheer off.
Presently the schooner's maingaff dropped its peak.
"Halliards shot away!" exclaimed the rolling-stone.
Jim burst into a cheer.
"Easy, sonny, easy," said Bill gravely. "It's too early yet to begin
shouting."
The Black Adder soon had her mainpeak hoisted again, but the
whaleboat's success was too much for the pirate's temper.
Her helm was put up, and as she fell off her whole side burst into
flame. The water was cut up all round the whaleboat by the shower
of lead. It flew over the castaways, whining and humming through
the air, and the boat quivered under the shock of three hits.
"Gee whiskers! Shrapnel!" exclaimed Bill concernedly.
"Slugs and pot-legs," agreed Jack, shaking off some blood which
was running down his hand. "Any one hurt?" he continued.
"Why, you are, Jack!" cried Loyola in great distress.
"Only a scratch on the arm," remarked the former carelessly.
"Let me bind it up."
"No time now, Lolie. Well-aimed broadside that; 'bout four hundred,
isn't it, Bill?"
"Aye."
"Plug those shot-holes if you can, Jim," went on the rover in a most
unconcerned voice.
He knew that things were looking serious, but the last thing he
wished to do was to show the boat's crew that he thought so.
"He shore cuts loose some lead that time," muttered Broncho. "The
kyards is comin' some swift. Thar's nothin' tender about that 'ere
maverick; he's plumb wolf from away back."
"More cartridges here, powder-monkey," laughed Bill cheerily to the
boy.
Jim reached over to the bag, but Loyola was quicker, and held out
her two small hands with all they could hold in front of the bluejacket.
"Thank you, mum; I 'opes as 'ow you didn't think I wos a-callin' of you
a powder-monkey," said Bill, reddening.
"Why, don't you think I make a very good one?" smiled the intrepid
woman; then excitedly, as the schooner's deck showed, "There's
Dago Charlie! There he is, standing right forrard!"
All three rifles rang out.
The man sprang backwards and was hidden behind the bulwarks,
but soon reappeared brandishing a furious fist.
What with the difficulty of accurate shooting at night and in the rough
sea, neither side seemed to be doing much damage.
Jack, Broncho, and Bill Benson concentrated all their energies in the
endeavour to pick off the schooner's captain, who exposed himself
carelessly as he watched the whaleboat keenly through his
binoculars.
"That 'ere dago is a heap too obvious on the scenery; if this boat
would quit pitchin' so lively, we'd stop his sin-encrusted play some
rapid," observed Broncho, as he took a long, careful aim.
"Two hours to daylight," muttered Jack, reloading. "I'd like to see him
sheer off before dawn."
"So should I," said Loyola softly.
The woman was behaving with rare courage, and took no more heed
of the flying lead than an old campaigner.
She and Jim had managed to plug all the shot-holes, and now that
the sea was smoother they were able to take a spell at the baling.
"Lolie, you're a brick. Pluckiest little woman I've ever met," declared
the rolling-stone fervently, as he knelt beside her.
"Have we any chance, Jack?" she asked sadly.
"Why, of course! You don't want to give in, do you, dearie? I should
think you had seen about enough of the Black Adder."
"Me? I'd rather die than fall into the hands of Dago Charlie!" she
cried vehemently.
"I thought so," observed Jack, with a keen look of approval in his
eyes; and then went on almost gaily, "Then it's a fight to the finish,
isn't that so, boys? We won't give her up, will we? No surrender to
Dago Charlie for us?"
"Give her up? I'm a blasted grabby if we does any such thing,"
grunted Bill scornfully.
"I should smile," drawled Broncho. "What kinder skunks do you-alls
think we is? I don't drop out o' this deal till my lamp goes out or that
pesterin' snake yonder pulls his freight."
"We're never goin' to give you up to that fiend, mum," chimed in Jim,
with a ferocious frown of valour on his face.
"Why," whispered the bluejacket under his breath to Jack, "the dago
mighty near marooned us without 'er; an' if 'e got us now, it'd be over
the side for us, and worse for 'er. 'E'll run no more chaunces like last
time."
"You're right, Bill," agreed the rover; "that's my opinion."
The wind had now dropped to no more than a strong breeze and
was veering into the north, and no longer coming in gusts.
The whaleboat sailed well, but was steadily being overhauled by the
schooner, which, however, was some way to leeward.
The Black Adder now ceased firing, content with the knowledge that,
barring accidents, she was sure of her prey.
But for the man at the wheel, none of her crew showed above the
bulwarks, and after the castaways had wasted several rounds in a
vain attempt to hit the helmsman, Jack laid down his gun in disgust
and said,
"Let's cease firing and wait till he's a bit closer. It's no use throwing
away ammunition like this."
"I agrees," assented Broncho. "As the kyards lay we-alls is simply
wastin' chips. We'll hold our hand some."
"It's the perishin' day he's waitin' for," grumbled Bill, putting aside his
smoking rifle and coolly filling his pipe. "He'll just keep station till sun-
up, an' then the oratorio'll begin to play again."
The pursuer and pursued now raced along broadside to broadside,
less than three cables' lengths separating them.
The Black Adder, though she was pinched up in the wind all she
would bear, would not look up as close as the whaleboat, though she
went faster through the water.
Jack's arm was now attended to and skilfully bound up by Loyola. A
bullet had simply grooved through the flesh—not much more than a
graze, but sufficient to cause a good deal of bleeding.
Jack, whilst his hurt was being doctored, thought hard. If something
were not done soon, Dago Charlie's obstinate perseverance would
prevail.
"We'll worry him yet," began the rover.
"Shore, an' euchre him too," said Broncho confidently.
"The wind's light enough now to help us," went on Jack. "Let's try
some short tacking. We can go about three times to his one."
"That's good tactics, sure enough," commented Bill.
"Splendid!" cried Loyola. "Let's start at once."
"Right-oh! Ready about there, Tari. Bill, you ship an oar and help her
round. We three will manage the lugsail."
The castaways had the boat round smartly, and away they went on
the port tack, heading north-east.
The Black Adder was completely taken by surprise, and lost some
valuable minutes before she followed suit and put her helm down.
Compared with the whaleboat, the schooner was a long time coming
round.
Anxiously the boat's crew watched her as she rounded to with
flapping head-sails, bowing her glistening black hull to the long swell
with slow, dignified movements; then, as she felt the wind on the
other tack, she lay over and came smoking after them, a frothing
streak of white rolling away from her sharp stem.
She made a perfect picture for an artist as she cut through the
gleaming path of the moon, carved out in a hard, clean outline of jet;
and, forgetting her peril, Loyola could not help exclaiming upon the
beauty of the scene.
"Just look at her! What other work of man can approach a sailing-
ship for perfect grace and——"
"Ready about!" broke in Jack, with a queer smile and a muttered,
"Sorry to interrupt you, Lolie," and round came the whaleboat again.
This time the schooner was prepared, and as she swung in stays
she sent a ball from her twelve-pounder skipping after the chase.
The castaways saw the shot splash, and then with a whirr it
ricochetted over their heads and plunged into the sea beyond them.
"Good shootin', and that ain't no josh!" commented Bill Benson.
"You're shore right, son," agreed Broncho. "That shot comes plenty
close. This here Dago Charlie slings his scrap-iron too free an' easy:
an' though we disdains these fam'liarities o' his, I shore regrets we-
alls can't corral his game none. His scatterin' loose this-away is
a'most liable to make a Montana sheriff apprehensife an' gun-shy."
"He ain't hit us yet," spoke up little Jim bravely.
"If he does he'll let sunshine through us, like as if we was a plate-
glass winder," declared the cowboy.
Again the whaleboat tacked, and before the schooner got round, Tari
swung her up once more on to the original tack.
Confused by the rapid manœuvres of the whaleboat, the marooner
hesitated a moment too long whilst head to wind, and then
starboarded his helm in an attempt to fall off on to the port tack
again. But he was too late; the schooner had not enough way on her
to respond to her tiller, and in a moment she was all aback.
"My God! she's missed stays!" yelled the rover joyfully. "What luck!
What all-fired luck!"
"Shall we-alls burn some more powder on him?" proposed Broncho
eagerly. "I regyards this here as a speshul o'casion."
"I think we'd better hold on a bit, Broncho. The ammunition's none
too plentiful, and we'll want every cartridge presently," declared their
cautious leader.
"An' you thinks a show-down is some handy, Jack?" inquired the
cowboy.
"Well, the wind's dropping fast; that's all in our favour."
"Perhaps he'll tire of this and sheer off before daybreak," broke in
Loyola wistfully.
"I allow he's too mean-strain an Injun to break away afore he's rattled
us some consid'rable more; but don't you fear, missy, we euchres
him some way on the final deal," declared Broncho cheerfully.
"You bet! The time's comin' when we'll wag our tails an' send 'im
navigatin' over the horizon quicker'n if a hornet's stung 'im," chimed
in Bill heartily.
Thus with hopeful talk did each hide a sinking heart.
Taking her hand in his, Jack looked long and lovingly into Loyola's
eyes.
"Whatever happens, dear, you and I will not be parted—that I swear,"
he whispered.
"Dear Jack," she answered fondly, and smiled back at him with a
brave spirit.
"If it comes to the worst, we'll board and carry the wretched
schooner," he went on valiantly. "Three white men, not to speak of
you, Jim, and Tari, ought to be able to settle the mixed rabble on that
pirate. Never fear, Lolie, we'll pull through somehow."
Fainter and fainter grew the wind as the dawn approached. Still the
whaleboat doubled before the persevering schooner like a hard-
pressed hare, and by well-timed manœuvring the castaways
continued to hold their own, though the marooner hung out every
flying kite that would draw.
Presently, with the magic quickness of the tropics, the dawn spread
gloriously over the east and dimmed the brightness of the stars.
In the whaleboat a fresh anxiety showed itself on every face as the
light of day grew swiftly.
Then, as Jack passed his hand wearily across his eyes and slowly
shook his head, a groan of distress broke out amongst the
castaways.
"It's gone," whispered the rover hoarsely; then, groping clumsily
about, he slowly sank down in the bottom of the boat and sat there
miserably, with bent head and closed eyes.
A fierce oath burst from little Jim's lips, an oath such as he had not
used since the first days on the Higgins, and it started a flood of
lurid, blood-curdling blasphemy from the over-tried cowpuncher,
whose swearing vocabulary Bill Benson ably succeeded in providing
with new words.
This fiery avalanche of oaths fell unheard by the small ears of
Loyola, who, crouching by Jack's side, stared at the rover with dry,
piteous eyes, whilst Tari, inscrutably silent as usual, steered on with
twitching lips.
In the midst of it all, the sail flapped, then filled, then flapped again;
the last of the wind had gone, and the whaleboat lay rolling on a
long, glassy swell, which already the sun was covering with glittering
sparks, like a mass of diamonds on the Pacific's wonderful blue.
The swearing ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and nothing
broke the silence in the whaleboat for some moments except the
dreary flapping of the lugsail.
Then Jack lifted his head and spoke:
"It's a flat calm, eh, boys?"
"A Paddy's hurricane clear down to the horizon," returned the
bosun's mate.
"The schooner's in it?"
"Aye, an' kotched it first. She's over three cables' lengths away now,
an' slewin' round without steerage way."
"By Jove, then, boys, we'll beat them yet," declared Jack excitedly.
"Out with the oars and let's put the horizon between us as soon as
we can. I can't see, but hang me if I won't show Dago Charlie I can
row."
His words put fresh life into the castaways.
"You hits it, this time, old son, for shore," burst out the cowboy. "This
hand shall be played with renewed sperit, an' that on-tamed wild-
cat's goin' to be out-held, or I'm a sheepman."
 CHAPTER XII
"THE PLUCK OF WOMAN"
Swiftly the sail was gathered in and the mast lowered, amidst a
rattle of eager words. Only Loyola remained silent and downcast, for
this blindness which attacked Jack so curiously with every sunrise hit
her harder than any peril caused by the marooner's actions.
But Jack's keen ears noted her silence and realised its cause. Still
seated as he was beside her, he felt clumsily for her hand; then,
finding it, pressed it firmly, whispering,
"Cheer up, Lolie; my eyesight'll be all right directly I can get the
correct treatment. Meanwhile, we'll just go on our way to Papeete
and leave Mr. Dago Charlie standing."
"I'm trying to be brave, I'm trying to be brave," murmured the woman
brokenly. "Only, only——"
"I know, dearie, I know," he broke in gently. "I know how it hurts you
—yes, more than it does me, far more; but it'll all come right
presently, don't you fear."
"But it does seem so hard, so very, very hard; and I was hoping so
much——"
"Put not your trust in the moon," he laughed cheerfully; then went on,
"You must steer, Lolie, as we want Tari to row."
The fact of being of some use seemed to hearten her considerably,
and with a brighter face she took the steering-oar from the Kanaka.
"You stroke us, Jack," proposed Benson.
"'Xcuse me, boys, if my play with an oar is some wantin' in skill,"
observed the cowpuncher. "My eddication's been some neglected in
rowin', an' I'm shore a tenderfoot at the game a whole lot."
Then away they went, Jack setting a steady stroke and Broncho at
the bow oar pulling all he knew, but splashing freely with the
clumsiness of a novice.
"I shore wishes this here were a paddle," he grunted. "I savvys
paddles, but rowin' this-away comes plumb strange to me."
"Shoo, man, you're doin' fine! Reg'lar Varsity h'oar, I calls yer; fit for a
captain's gig," declared Bill.
Jim, much against his wish, had been placed in reserve.
The whaleboat pulled easily over the long swell, and though worn to
a degree, the castaways dipped their oars with the energy of
desperation.
The blind stroke, drawing upon his wonderful reserve of strength,
made the stout ash bend with his efforts, the man-of-war's man ably
backing him up; whilst Tari, the indefatigable, pulled with the easy,
untiring swing of the South Sea whale-hunter.
The moisture glistened on their stern-set, resolute faces as the sun
beat down upon them with an eye-wearying glare.
The water rippled cheerily from the bends of the keen-lined boat, and
swirled astern hissing and bubbling, whilst the ploughing oars
churned up the calm depths of blue into a creamy yeast, leaving
behind them at each stroke a miniature whirlpool, which seemed to
move hastily away from the cruel blades, slicing their way so steadily
through the transparency of the Pacific, and blurring its face as they
drove the whaleboat onward.
An enthusiasm in this desperate race raised the watching boy's
spirits to a gay fearlessness, and he burst forth into a well-known
snatch:
"An' it's drill, ye tarriers, drill!
For it's work all day, without sugar in ye tay,
An' it's drill, ye tarriers, drill!"
"That's the style, Jim!" jerked the blind stroke approvingly. "Let it rip!
That's the medicine!"
"Shore!" gasped Broncho.
"An' here comes the dago diggin' out after us," cried Bill. "They're
pipin' fust an' second cutters away aboard the pirateer."
The Black Adder had lowered two boats full of men, which now came
dancing over the swell in chase of the whaleboat, for all the world
like two bustling centipedes.
"Jim serve out a cocoanut per man. Easy all, boys. Let's get our wind
and a little refreshment, then we'll soon show 'em what we can do,"
said Jack, lying on his oar.
"That's the ticket! We'll stoke up an' revive ourselves before the final
'eat," declared Bill. "For it's a case of brace up an' get a wiggle on if
we're goin' to stop that dago swab from bussneckin' round us."
"I'd shore like to put the hobbles on the rancorous hold-up," growled
Broncho, as he sucked his cocoanut. "I feels kind o' gore-thirsty an'
bulgin' with animosity this maunin'. I hungers for a show-down with
them two boats. A long range duel makes me peevish a whole lot.
My mood ain't in the saddle that-away, I wants to get clos't to my
work. I jest itches to get my claws on to that 'ere maroonin'
desperado and jolt him up some. I reckon he'd be some scarce o'
tail-feathers when I'm through with him."
"Our game will be to draw the boats as far away from the schooner
as we can," put in Jack; "and then, if the worst comes to the worst,
we must fight 'em off. No, Broncho, no hand-to-hand rough-and-
tumble if we can avoid it. Remember Loyola's a woman, though
she's got a man's name and a man's nerve."
"It shore gets clean stampeded out o' my mind," muttered the
cowpuncher.
"Then I'm blind and useless," went on Jack. "That leaves three men
and a boy to tackle two boat-loads of cutthroats. No, no, our rifles
are our only chance."
"Aye, Jack's right," agreed the bosun's mate. "We must revolute
clear o' them jossers some'ow. We don't want it to come to fixin'
bayonets to 'old 'em off."
Their small refreshment finished, the castaways took to their oars
again with renewed vigour; but despite their desperate efforts, the
schooner's boats began slowly to close upon them.
The cowboy, unaccustomed to rowing, with all his grit, was fast tiring
out, and his oar began to cleave the water in uncertain jerks; he
wasted his strength at the wrong moment, and began to find a
difficulty in keeping time.
Jack still pulled an easy, mechanical stroke, putting a steady,
unchanging power into his work, whilst Tari seemed almost as fresh
as at the start; but Bill Benson, with the moisture pouring off his face,
though pulling with strength and determination, was beginning to
breathe heavily, and the strain upon him showed in the haggard look
of his eyes.
Matters were looking very serious for the whaleboat's crew, and in
that raging calm there was no hope of a helping sail appearing in
sight.
Jim was sent to Broncho's thwart to help him, and everything not
absolutely necessary thrown overboard to lighten the whaleboat; but
still the dago gained upon them, until, as the sun neared the
meridian, the schooner was almost hull down, whilst the boats were
within a cable's length and a half of their quarry.
Loyola, with the rifles by her side, stood swaying gracefully to the
swell as she held the boat's head on its course.
She made a lovely picture, standing there so straight and fearless,
her little sun-browned hands grasping the steering-oar and the big
slouch hat shading her dauntless eyes from the glare of the tropical
sun.
From time to time she spoke to the toiling men with bright words of
encouragement, which always brought a renewed strength to their
aching muscles and produced a look of fierce determination in their
tired eyes.
Then for a spell she would fall silent, and lose herself in her thoughts
as she looked at the blind stroke, until her soul crept out of her sad
eyes in a soft glow of infinite tenderness.