“He did not know about them. That is he did not know of what the valuables consisted. The gold and papers were put in a safe, and only Blowitz and myself had the combination. The safe was placed in the captain’s cabin, and he was instructed to deliver it, unopened, to a certain man. When they deserted the ship in such a hurry I do not believe they took the safe with them. It must be somewhere on board. We’ll search for it.”
The cabin was rather large, and contained a number of lockers and other places that might serve as a hiding place for the safe. The boys and Mr. De Vere made a careful hunt. While they were in the midst of it a sudden noise startled them.
“What was that?” asked Bob.
“The cabin door slid shut,” answered Jerry, who had seen what happened. “I’ll open it.”
“Here’s the safe!” suddenly called Mr. De Vere, as he opened a small locker, in an out-of-the-way corner. “Help me get it out, boys, and we’ll open it.”
The closed door was forgotten, and the three lads, at their employer’s suggestion, fastened a rope about the safe and pulled it out. It rolled on small wheels.
“Sorry I can’t help you much,” spoke Mr. De Vere, “but this arm of mine prevents me.”
“Oh, we can manage it all right,” declared Jerry, and after a while, they succeeded in wheeling the safe out into the middle of the cabin.
“There is some other stuff in the locker,” announced Bob, as he peered within. “It looks like those small boxes Mr. Blowitz shipped from Cresville.”
“That’s what they are,” added Jerry, taking a look. “Now we have a chance to see what is in them.”