On this he was now
gazing, not with the triumph that instantly inflamed my
own bosom, but with a somewhat foolish appearance of
surprise.
"By George, we have it now!" I cried, and would have
shaken hands with my companion; but he did not see, or
would not accept, the salutation.
"Let's see what's in it first," he remarked dryly. And
he adjusted the box upon its side, and with some blows
of an axe burst the lock open. I threw myself beside
him, as he replaced the box on its bottom and removed
the lid. I cannot tell what I expected; a million's
worth of diamonds might perhaps have pleased me; my
cheeks burned, my heart throbbed to bursting; and lo!
there was disclosed but a trayful of papers, neatly
taped, and a cheque-book of the customary pattern. I
made a snatch at the tray to see what was beneath, but
the captain's hand fell on mine, heavy and hard.
"Now, boss!" he cried, not unkindly, "is this to be run
shipshape? or is it a Dutch grab-racket?"
And he proceeded to untie and run over the contents of
the papers, with a serious face and what seemed an
ostentation of delay.
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