Surely no better opportunity than
this could be given.
I stole back, silent and unobserved, listened an instant to Broussard's
steady breathing, then unlocked the Captain's door, and entered his
cabin. His wicked eyes, blazing with hate, glared at me as I
approached, and, inspired by some sudden feeling of sympathy, I bent
over, and removed the gag from his mouth. The result was an outburst
of profanity, bristling with threats, but these as instantly ceased as
I picked up the cloth again.
"It's just as you please," I said soberly. "Either lie quiet, or have
this back--it's up to you."
"Do you mean to kill me?"
"Not unless I have to, but I hold some things more valuable than your
life. Just at present I mean to look over your papers."
He must have realized I was beyond playing with, and impervious to
threats, for he lay quiet, but with glaring eyes following my every
movement, as I threw open the drawers of the desk, and began handling
their contents. For some time I discovered nothing of special
interest, only an accumulation of business letters, manifests and old
sea charts, showing that the _Sea Gull_ had been concerned in a vast
variety of enterprises. It was only after I had thus emptied the
unfastened drawers that I came upon one securely locked.
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