Frank looked at it.
“Do you believe this is the particular case?” he asked.
“It is hardly likely that there is any other,” replied the explorer.
“True, but——”
“What?”
“It has been a long time exposed to destructive agents. Perhaps the papers inside are consumed.”
Stanhope had thought of this. There was a light of anxiety in his eyes, but he said:
“We will hope for the best. Let us know our fate.”
The hermetical sealing of the case was yet intact, and rendered doubly so by rust.
It was quite impossible to open it without destroying the case itself. But Stanhope did not hesitate to do this.