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07 - Dealings of Captain Sharkey and Other Stories of Pirates by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Dealings of Captain Sharkey and Other Stories of Pirates

0:02
Speaker 1: Part two, Tails of blue water, the striped chest. What
0:07
Speaker 1: do you make of her? Allardice, I asked. My second
0:10
Speaker 1: mate was standing beside me on the poop with his short,
0:12
Speaker 1: thick legs a stretch, for the gale had left considerable
0:15
Speaker 1: swell behind it, and our two quarter boats had nearly
0:17
Speaker 1: touched the water. With every roll, he steaded his glass
0:21
Speaker 1: against the mizzen drouds, and he looked long and hard
0:23
Speaker 1: at this disconsolate stranger every time she came rearing up
0:26
Speaker 1: the crest of the roller and hung balanced for a
0:28
Speaker 1: few seconds before swooping down on the other side. She
0:31
Speaker 1: lay so low in the water that I could only
0:33
Speaker 1: catch an occasional glimpse of a pea green line of bulwark.
0:36
Speaker 1: She was a brig, but her main mast had been
0:38
Speaker 1: snapped short off, some ten feet above the deck, and
0:41
Speaker 1: no effort seemed to have been made to cut away
0:42
Speaker 1: the wreckage, which floated sails and yards like a broken
0:45
Speaker 1: wing of a wounded gull upon the water beside her.
0:49
Speaker 1: The fore mast was still standing, but the foretopsail was
0:51
Speaker 1: flying loose, and the head sails were streaming out in
0:54
Speaker 1: long white pennons in front of her. Never have I
0:56
Speaker 1: seen a vessel which appeared to have gone through rougher handling.
1:00
Speaker 1: But we could not be surprised at that, for there
1:02
Speaker 1: have been times during the last three days when it
1:03
Speaker 1: was a question whether our own bark whatevers he land again.
1:06
Speaker 1: For thirty six hours we had kept her nose to it,
1:09
Speaker 1: and if the Mary Sinclair had not been as good
1:10
Speaker 1: a sea boat as ever left the Clyde, we could
1:12
Speaker 1: not have gone through. And yet here we were at
1:14
Speaker 1: the end of it, with a loss only of our
1:16
Speaker 1: gig and a part of our starboard bulwark. It did
1:18
Speaker 1: not astonish us, however, when the smother had cleared away,
1:21
Speaker 1: to find that others had been less lucky, and that
1:23
Speaker 1: this mutilated brig, staggering upon a blue sea and under
1:27
Speaker 1: a cloudless sky, had been left like a blinded man
1:29
Speaker 1: after a lightning flash. To tell the terror which it passed. Allardyce,
1:34
Speaker 1: who was a slow, methodical scotchman, stared long and hard
1:37
Speaker 1: at the little craft, while our seamen lined the bulwark
1:40
Speaker 1: or clustered upon the four shrouds to have a view
1:42
Speaker 1: of the stranger in latitude twenty degrees and longitude ten degrees,
1:46
Speaker 1: which were about our bearings. One becomes a little curious
1:49
Speaker 1: as to whom one meets. For one has left the
1:51
Speaker 1: main lines of the Atlantic commerce to the north. For
1:54
Speaker 1: ten days, we have been sailing over a solitary sea.
1:57
Speaker 1: She stare looked im thinking, said the second maid. I
2:00
Speaker 1: had come to the same conclusion, for I could see
2:02
Speaker 1: no signs of life upon her deck, and there was
2:04
Speaker 1: no answer to the friendly wavings from our seamen. The
2:06
Speaker 1: crewmen had probably deserted her under the impression that she
2:09
Speaker 1: was about to found her She can't last long, continued
2:12
Speaker 1: Allerdyce in his measured way. She may put her nose
2:14
Speaker 1: down on her tail up any minute. The water's lipping
2:16
Speaker 1: up to the edge of her rail. What's her flag,
2:19
Speaker 1: I asked, I'm trying to make out. It's got all
2:22
Speaker 1: twisted and tangled with the halliards. Yes, I forgot it
2:24
Speaker 1: now clear enough. It's the Brazilian flag, but it's wrong
2:27
Speaker 1: side up. She had hoisted a signal to distress then,
2:30
Speaker 1: before her people abandoned her. Perhaps they had only just gone.
2:34
Speaker 1: I took the mate's glass and looked round over the
2:35
Speaker 1: tumultuous face of the deep blue Atlantic, still veined and starve,
2:38
Speaker 1: with the white lines and spoutings of foam. But nowhere
2:42
Speaker 1: could I see anything human beyond ourselves. There may be
2:45
Speaker 1: men living aboard, said I there may be salvage, muttered
2:48
Speaker 1: the second mate. Then we will run down upon her
2:51
Speaker 1: least side and lie to We were not more than
2:54
Speaker 1: a hundred yards from her when we swung our four
2:56
Speaker 1: deck back, and there we were the bark in the brig,
2:59
Speaker 1: ducking a bound like two clowns at a dance drop.
3:02
Speaker 1: One of the quarterboats said, I take four men, mister Allardis,
3:05
Speaker 1: and see what you can learn of her. But just
3:07
Speaker 1: at that moment my first officer, mister Armstrong, came on deck,
3:10
Speaker 1: for seven bells had struck, and it was but a
3:12
Speaker 1: few minutes off his watch. It would interest me to
3:15
Speaker 1: go myself to this abandoned vessel and see what there
3:17
Speaker 1: might be a board of her. So with a word
3:19
Speaker 1: to Armstrong, I swung myself over the side, slipped down
3:22
Speaker 1: the falls, and took my place in the sheets of
3:24
Speaker 1: the boat. It was but a little distance, but it
3:26
Speaker 1: took some time to traverse, and so heavy was the
3:28
Speaker 1: roll that often when we were in the trough of
3:30
Speaker 1: the sea, we could not see either the bark which
3:32
Speaker 1: we had left or the brig which we were approaching.
3:35
Speaker 1: The sinking sun did not penetrate down there, and it
3:38
Speaker 1: was cold and dark in the hollows of the waves.
3:40
Speaker 1: But each passing billow head us up into the warmth
3:42
Speaker 1: and the sunshine once more. At each of these moments,
3:45
Speaker 1: as we hung upon the white capped bridge between the
3:47
Speaker 1: two dark valleys, I caught a glimpse of the long
3:50
Speaker 1: pea green line and the nodding foremasts of the brig,
3:52
Speaker 1: and I steered so us to come round by her stern,
3:54
Speaker 1: so that we might determine which was the best way
3:56
Speaker 1: of boarding her. As we passed her, we saw the
3:59
Speaker 1: name Nosa Signora de Vittoria painted across her dripping counter
4:04
Speaker 1: the weather side, Sir, said the second mate stand by
4:07
Speaker 1: with the boat hook carpenter. An instant later, who had
4:09
Speaker 1: jumped from the bolwarters, which were hardly higher than our boat,
4:12
Speaker 1: and found ourselves upon the deck of the abandoned vessel,
4:15
Speaker 1: our first thought was to provide for our own safety
4:17
Speaker 1: in case, as seemed very probable, the vessel should settle
4:20
Speaker 1: down beneath our feet. With this object, two of our
4:23
Speaker 1: men held out to the painter of the boat and
4:25
Speaker 1: fended her off from the vessel's side, so thought she
4:26
Speaker 1: might be ready in case we had to make a
4:28
Speaker 1: hurried retreat. The carpenter was sent to find out how
4:30
Speaker 1: much water there was and whether it was still gaining,
4:33
Speaker 1: while the other seamen, Alerdice, and myself made a rapid
4:36
Speaker 1: inspection of the vessel and our cargo. The deck was
4:38
Speaker 1: littered with wreckage and with hen coops in which the
4:41
Speaker 1: dead birds were washing about. The boats were gone, with
4:44
Speaker 1: the exception of one, the bottom of which had been stove,
4:47
Speaker 1: and it was certain that the crew had abandoned the vessel.
4:49
Speaker 1: The cabin was in a deck house, one side of
4:51
Speaker 1: which had been beaten in by a heavy sea. Alardyce
4:54
Speaker 1: and I entered it and found the captain's table as
4:56
Speaker 1: he had left it, his books and papers, all Spanish
4:59
Speaker 1: and portrait scattered over it, with piles of cigarette ash everywhere.
5:03
Speaker 1: I looked about for the log, but could not find it.
5:06
Speaker 1: As likely as not he never kept one, said Allardise,
5:09
Speaker 1: things are pretty slack aboard a South American trader, and
5:11
Speaker 1: they don't do more than they can't to help. If
5:13
Speaker 1: there was one, they must have been taken away with
5:15
Speaker 1: him in the boat. I should take a look at
5:17
Speaker 1: these books and papers, said I ask the carpenter how
5:19
Speaker 1: much time we have. The support was reassuring. The vessel
5:23
Speaker 1: was full of water, but some of the cargo was buoyant,
5:25
Speaker 1: and there was no immediate danger of her sinking. Probably
5:28
Speaker 1: she would never sing, but would drift about as one
5:29
Speaker 1: of those terrible unmarked reefs which have sent so many
5:32
Speaker 1: stout vessels to the bottom. In that case, there's no
5:35
Speaker 1: danger in your going below, mister Allardyce said, I see
5:38
Speaker 1: what you can make of her, and find out how
5:39
Speaker 1: much of her Carlo may be saved. I'll look through
5:41
Speaker 1: the papers while you're gone. The bills of lading and
5:44
Speaker 1: some notes and letters which lay upon his desk suffice
5:46
Speaker 1: to inform me. At the Brazilian brig Nossa Signora de
5:49
Speaker 1: Vittoria had cleared from the Bohea a month before, the
5:52
Speaker 1: name of the captain was to shera, but there was
5:54
Speaker 1: no record as to the number of the crew. She
5:57
Speaker 1: was bound for London, and the glance at the bills
5:59
Speaker 1: of lading was sufficient to show me that they were
6:00
Speaker 1: not lucky to profit much in the way of salvage.
6:03
Speaker 1: Her cargo consisted of nuts, ginger and wood, the latter
6:06
Speaker 1: in the shape of great logs of valuable tropical growths.
6:09
Speaker 1: It was these, no doubt, which have prevented the ill
6:11
Speaker 1: fated vessel from going to the bottom. But they were
6:13
Speaker 1: of such a size as to make it impossible for
6:15
Speaker 1: us to extract them. Besides these, there were a few
6:19
Speaker 1: fancy goods, such as a number of ornamental birds from
6:21
Speaker 1: millinery purposes, and one hundred cases of preserved fruits. And
6:25
Speaker 1: then as I turned over the pages, I came upon
6:27
Speaker 1: a short note in English which arrested my attention. It
6:30
Speaker 1: is requested, said the note, that the various old Spanish
6:32
Speaker 1: and Indian curiosities which came out of the Santarum collection,
6:36
Speaker 1: which are consigned to prought Foot and Newman, of Oxford Street, London,
6:39
Speaker 1: should be put in some place where it be no
6:41
Speaker 1: danger of these very valuable and unique articles being injured
6:44
Speaker 1: or tampered with. This applies most particularly to the treasure
6:47
Speaker 1: chest of Don Ramirez de Lyra, which on no account
6:49
Speaker 1: must be placed where anyone can get it. The treasure
6:53
Speaker 1: chest of Don Ramirez unique and valuable articles. Here was
6:56
Speaker 1: the chance of salvage. After all I had risen to
6:59
Speaker 1: my feet with the paper in my hand. When the
7:00
Speaker 1: Scotch mate appeared in the doorway, I'm thinking all is
7:03
Speaker 1: in quite as it should be aboard the ship, sir,
7:04
Speaker 1: said he He was a hard faced man, and yet
7:07
Speaker 1: I could see that he had been startled. What's the matter?
7:11
Speaker 1: Murder's the matter, sir? There's a man here with his
7:13
Speaker 1: brains being out killed in the storm. Said I maybe so, sir,
7:18
Speaker 1: but I'll be surprised if you think so after you've
7:19
Speaker 1: seen him. Where is he? Then this way, sir, here
7:23
Speaker 1: in the main deckhouse. There appeared to have been no
7:25
Speaker 1: accommodation below in the brig for there was the after
7:28
Speaker 1: house for the captain, another by the main hatchway by
7:30
Speaker 1: the cook's galley attached to it, and a therred in
7:32
Speaker 1: the forecastle for the men. It was to this middle
7:35
Speaker 1: one that the mate led me as you entered. The
7:37
Speaker 1: galley with his litter of tumble pots and dishes. Was
7:39
Speaker 1: upon the right, and upon the left was a small
7:41
Speaker 1: room with two bunks for the officers. Then beyond there
7:45
Speaker 1: was a place about twelve feet square, which was littered
7:47
Speaker 1: with flags and spare canvas. All around the walls were
7:50
Speaker 1: a number of packets done up in coarse cloth and
7:53
Speaker 1: carefully lashed to the woodwork. At the other end was
7:55
Speaker 1: a great box striped red and white, though the red
7:58
Speaker 1: was so faded and the white was so dirty that
8:00
Speaker 1: it was only where the light fell directly upon it
8:02
Speaker 1: that one could see the coloring. The box was, by
8:05
Speaker 1: subsequent measurement four feet three inches in length, three feet
8:08
Speaker 1: two inches in height three feet across, considerably larger than
8:12
Speaker 1: a semen's chest. But it was not that a box
8:15
Speaker 1: that my eyes or my thoughts were turned as I
8:16
Speaker 1: entered the storeroom. On the floor, lying across the litter
8:20
Speaker 1: of bunting, there was stretched of a small dark man
8:22
Speaker 1: with a short curling beard. He lay as far as
8:25
Speaker 1: it was possible from the box, with his feet towards
8:27
Speaker 1: it and his head away. A crimson patch was printed
8:30
Speaker 1: upon the white canvas on which his head was resting,
8:32
Speaker 1: and little red ribbons wreathed themselves around the swarthing neck
8:35
Speaker 1: and trailed away on the floor. There was no sign
8:38
Speaker 1: of a wound that I could see, and his face
8:39
Speaker 1: was as placid as that of a sleeping child. It
8:42
Speaker 1: was only when I stooped that I could perceive his injury,
8:45
Speaker 1: and then I turned away with an exclamation of horror.
8:47
Speaker 1: He had been pole axed, apparently by some person standing
8:50
Speaker 1: behind him a frightful blow. It smashed in the top
8:53
Speaker 1: of his head and penetrated deeply into his brain. His
8:56
Speaker 1: face might well be placid, for death must have been
8:58
Speaker 1: absolutely instantaneous. Position of the wound showed that he can
9:01
Speaker 1: never have seen the person who had inflicted it. Is
9:03
Speaker 1: that foul play or accident? Captain Barclay asked the second mate, demurely,
9:08
Speaker 1: you're quite right, mister Allerdyse. The man has been murdered,
9:11
Speaker 1: struck down from above by a sharp and heavy weapon.
9:14
Speaker 1: But who was he and why did they murder him?
9:16
Speaker 1: He was a common seaman, sirs to the meat. You
9:18
Speaker 1: can see that if you look at his fingers. He
9:20
Speaker 1: turned out his pockets as he spoke, and brought to
9:22
Speaker 1: light a pack of cards, some tarred string, and a
9:24
Speaker 1: bundle of Brazilian tobacco. Hello, look at this, said he.
9:28
Speaker 1: It was a large open knife with a stiff spring blade,
9:31
Speaker 1: which he had picked up from the floor. The steel
9:34
Speaker 1: was shining him bright so that we would not associate
9:36
Speaker 1: it with the crime, And yet the dead man had
9:38
Speaker 1: apparently held it in his hand when he was struck down,
9:40
Speaker 1: for it still lay within his grasp. It looks to me, Sir,
9:43
Speaker 1: as if he knew he was in danger and kept
9:45
Speaker 1: his knife handy, said the mate. However, we can't help
9:48
Speaker 1: the poor beggar. Now I can't make out these things
9:50
Speaker 1: that are lashed to the wall. They seemed to be
9:52
Speaker 1: idols and weapons and curios of some sort done up
9:54
Speaker 1: an old sacking. That's right, said I. They are the
9:58
Speaker 1: only things of value that we are liking you to
9:59
Speaker 1: get from the car. Held the bark and tell them
10:01
Speaker 1: to send the other corner boat to help us get
10:03
Speaker 1: all the stuff aboard. While he was away, I examined
10:06
Speaker 1: this curious plunder which had come into our possession. The
10:09
Speaker 1: curiosities were so wrapped up that I could only form
10:11
Speaker 1: a general idea as to their nature. But the stripe
10:14
Speaker 1: box stood in a good light where I could thoroughly
10:16
Speaker 1: examine it. On the lid, which was clamped in cornered
10:19
Speaker 1: with metalwork, there was a graved a complex coat of arms,
10:21
Speaker 1: and beneath it was a line of Spanish which I
10:23
Speaker 1: was able to decipher his meaning. The treasure chest of
10:25
Speaker 1: Don Ramirez Delira, Knight of the Order of Saint James,
10:29
Speaker 1: Governor and Captain General of Terra Firma and of the
10:32
Speaker 1: Province of Verracas. In one corner was the date sixteen
10:35
Speaker 1: o six. On the other was a large white label
10:38
Speaker 1: upon which was written in English, you were earnestly requested,
10:41
Speaker 1: upon no account to open this box the same morning
10:44
Speaker 1: was repeated underneath in Spanish. As to the lock, it
10:47
Speaker 1: was a very complex and heavy one of engraved steel,
10:49
Speaker 1: with a Latin motto, which was above the scene's comprehension.
10:53
Speaker 1: By the time I had finished this examination of the
10:55
Speaker 1: peculiar box, the other quarter boat, with mister Armstrong, the
10:58
Speaker 1: first officer, had come alongside, and we began to carry
11:01
Speaker 1: out and place in her the various curiosities which appeared
11:04
Speaker 1: to be the only objects with removing from the derelict ship.
11:07
Speaker 1: When she was full, I sent her back to the
11:09
Speaker 1: barque and an alardise and I, with the carpenter and
11:11
Speaker 1: one seaman, shifted the strike box, which was the only
11:14
Speaker 1: thing left to our boat, and lowered it over balancing
11:16
Speaker 1: upon the two middle forts, for it was so heavy
11:19
Speaker 1: that it would have given the boat a dangerous tilt.
11:20
Speaker 1: They placed it on either end. As to the dead man.
11:23
Speaker 1: We left him where we found him. The mate had
11:26
Speaker 1: a theory that at the moment of the desertion of
11:27
Speaker 1: the ship this fellow had started plundering, and that the captain,
11:30
Speaker 1: in an attempt to preserve discipline, had struck him down
11:32
Speaker 1: with the hatchet or some other heavy weapon. It seemed
11:35
Speaker 1: more probable than any other explanation, yet did not entirely
11:38
Speaker 1: satisfy me either. But the ocean is full of mysteries.
11:41
Speaker 1: We were content to leave the fate of the dead
11:43
Speaker 1: seamen of the Brazilian brig to be added to that
11:45
Speaker 1: long list which every sailor can recall. The heavy box
11:49
Speaker 1: was slung up by ropes to the deck of the
11:50
Speaker 1: Mary Sinclair and was carried by four seamen into the cabin,
11:54
Speaker 1: where between the table and the afterlockers there was just
11:57
Speaker 1: space for it to stand. There it remained during supper,
12:00
Speaker 1: and after that meal the mates remained with me and
12:02
Speaker 1: discussed over a glass of groggy event of the day.
12:05
Speaker 1: Mister Armstrong was a long, thin vulture let man, an
12:08
Speaker 1: excellent seaman, but famous for his nearness and cupidity. Our
12:12
Speaker 1: treasure trove had excited him greatly, and already had begun
12:15
Speaker 1: with listening eyes to recond upon how much it might
12:17
Speaker 1: be worth for each of us when the shares of
12:19
Speaker 1: the salwage need to be divided. If the paper says
12:22
Speaker 1: that they were unique, mister Barkley, and they may be
12:23
Speaker 1: worth anything that you'd like to name, you wouldn't believe
12:26
Speaker 1: the sums that the rich collectors give. A thousand pounds
12:29
Speaker 1: is nothing to them. We'll have something to show for
12:31
Speaker 1: our voyage, or I am mistaken. I don't think that,
12:34
Speaker 1: said I. As far as I can see, there are
12:36
Speaker 1: not very different from any other South American curios. Well, sir,
12:39
Speaker 1: I've traded there for fourteen voyages, and I've never seen
12:42
Speaker 1: anything like that chest before. That's worth a pile of
12:45
Speaker 1: money just as it stands. But it's so heavy that
12:47
Speaker 1: surely there must be something valuable inside it. Don't you
12:49
Speaker 1: think we ought to open it and see? If you
12:51
Speaker 1: break it open, you will spoil it as levely as not,
12:53
Speaker 1: said the second mate. Armstrong squatted down in front of it,
12:56
Speaker 1: with his head on one side and his long, thin
12:58
Speaker 1: nose within a few inches of the lay. The wood
13:01
Speaker 1: is oak, said he, and then has shrunk a little
13:03
Speaker 1: with age. If I had a chisel or a strong
13:05
Speaker 1: blaated knife, I could force the lock back without doing
13:07
Speaker 1: any damage at all. Mention of a strong plaintand knife
13:10
Speaker 1: made me think of the dead semen upon the brig.
13:12
Speaker 1: I wonder if he could have been on the job
13:14
Speaker 1: when someone came to interfere with him. Said I. I
13:16
Speaker 1: don't know about that, sir, but I'm perfectly certain that
13:18
Speaker 1: I could open the box. There's a screw driver here
13:21
Speaker 1: in the locker. Just hold the lamp allard ice, and
13:23
Speaker 1: I'll have a dun a brace of shakes. Wait a bit,
13:26
Speaker 1: said I, for already, with eyes which gleamed with curiosity
13:29
Speaker 1: and with avarice, he was stooping over the lid. I
13:32
Speaker 1: don't see that there's any hurry over this matter. You've
13:34
Speaker 1: read that card which warns us not to open it.
13:37
Speaker 1: It may mean anything or it may mean nothing, But
13:40
Speaker 1: somehow I feel inclined to obey it. After all, whenever
13:43
Speaker 1: is in, it will keep, and if it is valuable,
13:45
Speaker 1: it will be worth as much if it is open
13:47
Speaker 1: in the owner's offices as in the cabin of the
13:49
Speaker 1: Mary Sinclair. The first officer seemed bitterly disappointed at my decision. Surely, sir,
13:54
Speaker 1: you were not superstitious about it, said he, with a
13:56
Speaker 1: slight sneer upon his thin lips. If he gets out
13:59
Speaker 1: of our hands and we won't see for ourselves what
14:00
Speaker 1: is inside, we may be done out of our rights. Besides,
14:04
Speaker 1: that's enough, mister Armstrong, said I abruptly. You may have
14:06
Speaker 1: every confidence that you will get your rights, but I
14:09
Speaker 1: will not have that box opened tonight. Why the label
14:12
Speaker 1: itself shows the box have been examined by Europeans, allardis added,
14:16
Speaker 1: because a box of the treasure box is no reason
14:18
Speaker 1: that it has treasure inside it. Now a good many
14:21
Speaker 1: folk have had to peep into it the days of
14:23
Speaker 1: the old governor of Terra Farma. Armstrong threw the screw
14:26
Speaker 1: dribber down upon a table and shrugged his shoulders. Just
14:29
Speaker 1: as you like, said he. For the rest of the evening,
14:31
Speaker 1: although we spoke upon many subjects, I noticed that his
14:33
Speaker 1: eyes were continually coming round with the same expression of
14:36
Speaker 1: curiosity and greed to the old striped box. And now
14:40
Speaker 1: I come to the portion of the story which fills
14:42
Speaker 1: me even now with a shuddering horror when I think
14:44
Speaker 1: of it. The main cabin had the rooms of the
14:46
Speaker 1: officers around it, but mine was the furthest away from
14:49
Speaker 1: it at the end of the little passage which led
14:51
Speaker 1: to the companion. No regular watch was kept by me,
14:54
Speaker 1: except in cases of emergency, and the three mates divided
14:57
Speaker 1: the watches among them. Armstrong the middle watch, which ends
15:01
Speaker 1: at four in the morning, and he's a relieved by Allardyce.
15:04
Speaker 1: For my part, I have always been one of the
15:06
Speaker 1: soundness of sleepers, and it is rare for anything less
15:08
Speaker 1: than the hand upon my shoulder to arouse me. And
15:11
Speaker 1: yet I was aroused that night, or rather in the
15:13
Speaker 1: early gray of the morning. It was just past four
15:16
Speaker 1: by my chronometer, when something caused me to sit up
15:18
Speaker 1: in my berth, wide awake, and with every nerve tingling.
15:21
Speaker 1: There was a sound of some sort a crash, with
15:23
Speaker 1: a human cry at the end of it, which still
15:25
Speaker 1: jarred upon my ears. I sat listening, but all was
15:28
Speaker 1: now silent. And yet it cannot have been imagination that
15:31
Speaker 1: hideous cry, for the echo that still rang in my head,
15:34
Speaker 1: and it seemed to have come from someplace quite close
15:36
Speaker 1: to me. I sprang from my bunk and pulled on
15:39
Speaker 1: some clothes. I made my way into the cabin. At
15:42
Speaker 1: first I saw nothing unusual there in the cold gray light.
15:45
Speaker 1: I made out the red cloth table, the six rotating chairs,
15:48
Speaker 1: the walnut lockers, the swinging barometer, and there at the
15:51
Speaker 1: end the big striped chest. I was turning away with
15:54
Speaker 1: the intention of going upon deck and asking the second
15:56
Speaker 1: maid if he had heard anything, when my eyes fell
15:58
Speaker 1: suddenly about something with projected from under the table. It
16:01
Speaker 1: was the leg of a man, a leg with a
16:03
Speaker 1: long seaboot upon it. I stooped, and there was a
16:06
Speaker 1: figure sprawling upon its face, his arms thrown forward and
16:09
Speaker 1: his body twisted. One glance told me it was Armstrong,
16:13
Speaker 1: the first officer, and the second that he was a
16:15
Speaker 1: dead man. For a few moments I stood gasping. Then
16:18
Speaker 1: I rushed onto the deck, called Alertice to my assistance,
16:20
Speaker 1: and came back with him to the cabin. Together we
16:23
Speaker 1: pulled the unfortunate fellow from under the table. As we
16:26
Speaker 1: looked at his dripping head, the exchange glances, and I
16:29
Speaker 1: do not know which was the pailer of the two.
16:31
Speaker 1: The same as the Spanish sailor said I, the very same, God,
16:35
Speaker 1: preserve us. It's that infernal chest. Look at Armstrong's hand.
16:40
Speaker 1: He held up the mate's right hand, and there was
16:41
Speaker 1: a screwdriver, which he had wished to use the night
16:43
Speaker 1: before he spent at the chest. Sir, he knew that
16:47
Speaker 1: I was on deck and he was asleep. He knelt
16:49
Speaker 1: down in front of it. He pushed the lock back
16:51
Speaker 1: with that tool, and something happened to him, and he
16:53
Speaker 1: cried out so that you heard him. Alartized. I whispered
16:57
Speaker 1: what could have happened to him? Second may put his
17:00
Speaker 1: hand upon my sleeve and drew me into his cabin.
17:03
Speaker 1: We can talk here, sir, and we don't know who
17:05
Speaker 1: may be listening, goes in there? What are you suppose
17:08
Speaker 1: is in that box? Captain Barclay, I give you my word,
17:11
Speaker 1: our guys, I have no idea well, I can only
17:14
Speaker 1: find one theory which will fit all the facts. Look
17:17
Speaker 1: at the size of the box, Look at all the
17:18
Speaker 1: carving and metal work which may conceal any number of holes.
17:22
Speaker 1: Look at the weight of it. It took four men
17:23
Speaker 1: to carry on the top of that. I remember that
17:26
Speaker 1: two men have tried to open it, and both of
17:27
Speaker 1: them to their end through it. Now, sir, what can
17:30
Speaker 1: it mean except one thing? You mean there's a man
17:33
Speaker 1: in it? Of course, there's a man in it. You
17:36
Speaker 1: know how it is with these South American states, Sir.
17:38
Speaker 1: A man can be president one week and hunted like
17:40
Speaker 1: a dog the next. They are forever flying for their lives.
17:44
Speaker 1: My idea is there's some fellow in hiding there who
17:46
Speaker 1: is armed and desperate, and who will fight to the
17:48
Speaker 1: death before he's taken. But his food and drink. It's
17:52
Speaker 1: a roomy chest, sir, and he may have some provision
17:53
Speaker 1: stowed away. As to his drink. He had a friend
17:56
Speaker 1: among the crew upon the brig who saw that he
17:58
Speaker 1: had what he needed. You think then, that the label
18:01
Speaker 1: asking people not to open the box was simply written
18:03
Speaker 1: in his interest. Yes, sir, that's my idea. Have you
18:07
Speaker 1: any other way of explaining the facts. I had to
18:09
Speaker 1: confess that I had not. The question is what are
18:12
Speaker 1: we to do? I asked. The man's a dangerous ruffian
18:16
Speaker 1: who sticks at nothing. I'm thinking it wouldn't be bad
18:18
Speaker 1: to put a roper on the chest and tow it
18:19
Speaker 1: alongside for half an hour. Then we can open it
18:22
Speaker 1: at our ease. Or if we had just tied the
18:24
Speaker 1: box up and kept him from getting any water, maybe
18:26
Speaker 1: that would do as well. Or the carpenter can put
18:28
Speaker 1: a coat of varnish over it and stop all the blowholes. Come,
18:32
Speaker 1: Allardise said I angrily. You don't seriously mean to say
18:34
Speaker 1: that the whole ship's company are going to be terrorized
18:36
Speaker 1: by a single man in the box. If he's there,
18:39
Speaker 1: I'll engage to fetch him out. I went to my
18:41
Speaker 1: room and came back from my revolver in my hand. Now,
18:43
Speaker 1: Allardiz said, I do you open the lock, and I'll
18:46
Speaker 1: stand on guard. For God's sake, Think what you're doing, Sir,
18:49
Speaker 1: cried to mate. Two men have lost their lives over it,
18:52
Speaker 1: and the blood of wine is not yet dry upon
18:53
Speaker 1: the carpet. The more reason why we should revenge him. Well, Sir,
18:57
Speaker 1: at least let me call a carpenter or better than two,
19:00
Speaker 1: and he's a good stout man. He went off in
19:03
Speaker 1: search of him, and I was left alone with the
19:05
Speaker 1: striped chest in the cabin. I don't think that I'm
19:07
Speaker 1: a nervous man, but I kept the table between me
19:09
Speaker 1: and this solid old relic of Spanish main. In the
19:13
Speaker 1: growing light of the morning, the red and white striping
19:15
Speaker 1: was beginning to appear, and the curious scrolls and wreaths
19:18
Speaker 1: of metal and carving which showed the loving pains which
19:20
Speaker 1: cunning craftsman had expended upon it. Presently, the carpenter and
19:24
Speaker 1: the mate came back together, the former with a hammer
19:26
Speaker 1: in his hand. It's a bad business, this, sir, said,
19:29
Speaker 1: he shaking his head as he looked at the body
19:31
Speaker 1: of the mate. And you think there's someone hiding in
19:33
Speaker 1: the box. There's no doubt about it, said Allardyce, picking
19:36
Speaker 1: up the screwdriver and setting his jaw like a man
19:38
Speaker 1: who needed to brace his courage. I'll drive the lock
19:41
Speaker 1: back if you both stand by. If he rises, let
19:44
Speaker 1: him have it on the head with your hammer. Carpenter,
19:46
Speaker 1: shoot at once, sir, if he raises his hand. Now
19:49
Speaker 1: he had knelt down in front of the striped chest
19:51
Speaker 1: and passed the blight of the tool under the lid.
19:53
Speaker 1: With a sharp snick, the lock flew back. Stand by,
19:56
Speaker 1: yelled the mate, and with a heave he threw open
19:58
Speaker 1: the massive top of the box. As it swung up,
20:01
Speaker 1: we all three sprang back, eye with my pistol leveled,
20:04
Speaker 1: and the carpenter with a hammer above his head. Then,
20:07
Speaker 1: as nothing happened, we took a step forward and peeped in.
20:10
Speaker 1: The box was empty. Not quite empty either, for in
20:14
Speaker 1: one corner was lying an old yellow candlestick, elaborately engraved,
20:17
Speaker 1: which appeared to be as old as the box itself.
20:20
Speaker 1: Its rich yellow tone and artistic shape was suggested that
20:22
Speaker 1: it was an object of value. For the rest there
20:25
Speaker 1: was nothing more weighty or valuable than dust in the
20:28
Speaker 1: old striped treasure chests. Well, I'm blessed, cried Allerdyse, staring
20:32
Speaker 1: blankly into it. Where does the weight come in? Then
20:36
Speaker 1: look at the thickness of the size, and look at
20:37
Speaker 1: the lid, Why it's five inches through? And see that
20:40
Speaker 1: great metal spring across him. That's for holding the lid up,
20:43
Speaker 1: said the mate. You see it won't lean back. What's
20:46
Speaker 1: that German printhy on the inside? It means that it
20:50
Speaker 1: was made by Johann Rostein of Augsburg in sixteen o six,
20:54
Speaker 1: and a solid bit of work too. But it doesn't
20:56
Speaker 1: throw much land on what has passed? Does it? Captain Barclay,
20:59
Speaker 1: The candlestick look like gold, which to have something for
21:01
Speaker 1: our troubles. After all, he leaned forward to grasp it,
21:04
Speaker 1: And from that moment I have never doubted as to
21:06
Speaker 1: the reality of inspiration, for on the instant I caught
21:09
Speaker 1: him by the collar I pulled him straight again. It
21:11
Speaker 1: may have been some story of Middle Ages which had
21:13
Speaker 1: come back to my mind, or it may have just
21:15
Speaker 1: been my eye that caught some red which was not
21:17
Speaker 1: that of rust upon the upper part of the lock.
21:19
Speaker 1: But to him and to me, it will always seem
21:21
Speaker 1: an inspiration. So prompt and sudden was my action. There's
21:25
Speaker 1: devilry here, said I give me the crooked stick from
21:27
Speaker 1: the corner. It was ordinary walking cane with a hooked top.
21:31
Speaker 1: I passed it over the candlestick and gave it a pole.
21:34
Speaker 1: With a flash. A row of polished steel fans shut
21:36
Speaker 1: out from above the upper lip, and the great striped
21:38
Speaker 1: chest snapped at us like a wild animal. Klang came
21:42
Speaker 1: the huge leg into his place, and the glasses on
21:44
Speaker 1: the swinging rack sang and twinkled with the chock. The
21:48
Speaker 1: mate sat down on the edge of the table and
21:49
Speaker 1: shivered like a frightened horse. You see if my life,
21:52
Speaker 1: Captain Barclay said he. So this was a secret of
21:56
Speaker 1: the striped treasure chest of old Don Ramier's Delira, and
21:58
Speaker 1: this was how he preserved it. Ill gotten gains from
22:00
Speaker 1: the Terra Firma and the province of Aracus be the thief,
22:04
Speaker 1: ever so cunning, he could not tell that golden candlestick
22:06
Speaker 1: from the other articles of value, and the instant that
22:09
Speaker 1: he laid hand upon it, a terrible spring was unloosed,
22:11
Speaker 1: and a murderous seal spikes were driven into his brain,
22:14
Speaker 1: while the shock of the blow sent the victim backwards
22:16
Speaker 1: and unable the chest to automatically close itself. How many,
22:19
Speaker 1: I wondered, had fallen victim to the ingenuity of the
22:22
Speaker 1: mechanic of Augsburg. And as I thought of the possible
22:25
Speaker 1: history of that grim striped chest, my resolution was very
22:27
Speaker 1: quickly taken. Carpenter, bring three men and carry this on deck.
22:32
Speaker 1: Go and throw it overboard, sir, Yes, mister allerdys. I'm
22:36
Speaker 1: not superstitious as a rule, but there's some things which
22:38
Speaker 1: are more than a siller can be called upon the stand.
22:41
Speaker 1: No wonder that brig made heavy weather Captain Barclay with
22:43
Speaker 1: such a thing on board. The glasses dropping fast, Sir,
22:47
Speaker 1: were only just in time, so we did not even
22:50
Speaker 1: wait for the three sailors. But we carried it out
22:52
Speaker 1: the mate, the carpenter, and I, and we pushed it
22:54
Speaker 1: with our own hands over the bulwarks. There was a
22:57
Speaker 1: white spout of water, and it was gone. There the
23:00
Speaker 1: striped chest, a thousand fathoms deep. And if, as they say,
23:03
Speaker 1: the sea will someday be dry land, I grieve for
23:05
Speaker 1: the man who finds that old box and tries to
23:07
Speaker 1: penetrate into his secret. End of Chapter seven.