The Captain put the blade of the axe in the chink of the secretary's door and wrenched it free. It opened down to form a sort of desk, and disclosed an array of cubby-holes and two small doors, both locked. These latter Kitchell smashed in with the axe-head. Then he seated himself in the swivel chair and began to rifle their contents systematically, Wilbur leaning over his shoulder.
The heat from the coal below them was almost unbearable. In the cabin the six doors kept up a continuous ear-shocking fusillade, as though half a dozen men were fighting with revolvers; from without, down the open skylight, came the sing-song talk of the Chinamen and the wash and ripple of the two vessels, now side by side. The air, foul beyond expression, tasted of brass, their heads swam and ached to bursting, but absorbed in their work they had no thought of the lapse of time nor the discomfort of their surroundings. Twice during the examination of the bark's papers, Kitchell sent Wilbur out into the cabin for the whiskey decanter in the swinging racks.
“Here's the charter papers,” said Kitchell, unfolding and spreading them out one by one; “and here's the clearing papers from Blyth in England. This yere's the insoorance, and here, this is—rot that, nothin' but the articles for the crew—no use to us.”
In a separate envelope, carefully sealed and bound, they came upon the Captain's private papers. A marriage certificate setting forth the union between Eilert Sternersen, of Fruholmen, Norway, and Sarah Moran, of some seaport town (the name was indecipherable) of the North of England. Next came a birth certificate of a daughter named Moran, dated twenty-two years back, and a bill of sale of the bark “Lady Letty,” whereby a two-thirds interest was conveyed from the previous owners (a shipbuilding firm of Christiania) to Capt. Eilert Sternersen.
“The old man was his own boss,” commented Kitchell. “Hello!” he remarked, “look here”; a yellowed photograph was in his hand the picture of a stout, fair-haired woman of about forty, wearing enormous pendant earrings in the style of the early sixties. Below was written: “S. Moran Sternersen, ob. 1867.”
“Old woman copped off,” said Kitchell, “so much the better for us; no heirs to put in their gab; an'—hold hard—steady all—here's the will, s'help me.”
The only items of importance in the will were the confirmation of the wife's death and the expressly stated bequest of “the bark known as and sailing under the name of the 'Lady Letty' to my only and beloved daughter, Moran.”
“Well,” said Wilbur.
The Captain sucked his mustache, then furiously, striking the desk with his fist:
“The bark's ours!” there was a certain ring of defiance in his voice. “Damn the will! I ain't so cock-sure about the law, but I'll make sure.”