You wouldn't believe the sums
that the rich collectors give. A thousand pounds is nothing to them.
We'll have something to show for our voyage, or I am mistaken."
"I don't think that," said I. "As far as I can see, they are not very
different from any other South American curios."
"Well, sir, I've traded there for fourteen voyages, and I have never
seen anything like that chest before. That's worth a pile of money,
just as it stands. But it's so heavy that surely there must be
something valuable inside it. Don't you think that we ought to open it
and see?"
"If you break it open you will spoil it, as likely as not," said the
second mate.
Armstrong squatted down in front of it, with his head on one side, and
his long, thin nose within a few inches of the lock.
"The wood is oak," said he, "and it has shrunk a little with age. If I
had a chisel or a strong-bladed knife I could force the lock back
without doing any damage at all."
The mention of a strong-bladed knife made me think of the dead seaman
upon the brig.
"I wonder if he could have been on the job when someone came to
interfere with him," said I.
"I don't know about that, sir, but I am perfectly certain that I could
open the box. There's a screwdriver here in the locker. Just hold the
lamp, Allardyce, and I'll have it done in a brace of shakes.
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