“Ihaveit。”hebrokeout，andranondeck。“Here，boys！”hecried，“wedidn’tcomehereontheeleventh；wecameinhereontheeveningofthesixth，andlayhereeversincebecalmed。Assoonasyou’vedonewiththesechests。”headded，“youcanturntoandrolloutbeefandwaterbreakers；it’lllookmoreshipshape——likeasifweweregettingreadyfortheboatvoyage。”
Andhewasbackagaininamoment，cookingthenewlog。
Goddedaal’swasthencarefullydestroyed，andahuntbeganfortheship’spapers。Ofalltheagoniesofthatbreathlessmorning，thiswasperhapsthemostpoignant。Hereandtherethetwomensearched，cursing，cannoningtogether，streamingwithheat，freezingwithterror。Newswasbawleddowntothemthattheshipwasindeedaman-of-war，thatshewascloseup，thatshewasloweringaboat；andstilltheysoughtinvain。Bywhataccidenttheymissedtheironboxwiththemoneyandaccounts，ishardtofancy；buttheydid。AndthevitaldocumentswerefoundatlastinthepocketofTrent’sshore-goingcoat，wherehehadleftthemwhenlasthecameonboard。
Wickssmiledforthefirsttimethatmorning。“Nonetoosoon。”
saidhe。“Andnowforit！Taketheseothersforme；I’mafraidI’llgetthemmixedifIkeepboth。”