I concluded that it would be the safest way for me to obey, and I entered the state-room. He closed the door behind me, and I heard the bolt of the lock spring upon me. I was a prisoner, and Ben Waterford intended that I should remain where I was till the bark was in blue water. In a short time I heard the voice of the captain, giving orders on the quarter-deck to get the vessel under way. I had nothing to do but bewail my sad fate.
The state-room belonged to the chief mate. On a desk in the corner was a volume lettered "Log-book." On the floor was Ben Waterford's trunk, and I was almost sure I had seen it on board of the steamer on the Ohio. I stooped down to look at it, in order to satisfy myself, for I had nothing else to do. The key was in the key-hole. This was certainly a great oversight on the part of the mate. He could not have intended to leave his trunk open while I was a prisoner in his room; but villains are always making blunders and mistakes.
I am willing to acknowledge that it is not right to retaliate for an injury; but I at once decided to explore the trunk of Mr. Ben Waterford. I did not intend to do so from motives of revenge, but simply in the interests of justice, and with the hope that I might find my lost money. I had been trying for years to be a Christian young man. I had been in earnest, and every day I had read the New Testament, and endeavored to follow its precepts and principles. I honestly believe, if I could have performed a good service to the new mate, I should not have hesitated to do it.
I opened the trunk, and lifted up the various articles which it contained. Among other things, I found several bags of money—gold, I concluded by the weight of them. I untied the strings of several of them, and found that they contained English sovereigns and Spanish doubloons. They were not mine, and I restored them. If I had known then to what use they were to be applied, I should have felt justified in throwing them all into the sea. I concluded that Waterford had exchanged the money he had obtained by forgery in St. Louis for this gold. I tied up each bag as I found it, and put it back in its place. While I was thus engaged, I heard the creaking of the rigging, and the bark had careened over so that I understood she was now going to sea.
But I had not examined all the bags, and I continued my investigation. Among them I found a quantity of coin tied up in a white linen handkerchief. I removed the string, and was pleased to find that the money consisted of American gold. I had counted my own coin times enough to know exactly of what it consisted. There were sixty twenty-dollar pieces and thirty ten-dollar pieces. It did not take me long to count them, and the number corresponded to my own. I was satisfied that this money was mine, though of course I could not identify all the pieces. I should not have been willing to swear to any one of them, though some had a very familiar look.
I claimed this gold, and being my own judge and jury, my claim was allowed. It was possible that it was not mine; but the probabilities were all in my favor. I decided to take possession, though it occurred to me that I might as well take possession of the vessel, since I was in the power of my enemy, and he could take it from me at his own pleasure. I proceeded to tie up the handkerchief as I had found it, when upon one corner of it I found the initials "P. F." These letters certainly belonged to me, whether the gold did or not. They had been worked in the linen by Mrs. Greenough, my excellent St. Louis landlady. It was the counterpart of the others in my wardrobe; and it was perfectly evident that Mr. Ben Waterford had stolen the handkerchief from my trunk when he opened it to take out the gold. I had not missed the handkerchief, but I identified it to my own satisfaction. I thought that a less partial judge and jury would have given me the verdict on this evidence, added to that I had before obtained.
I put the gold into my coat pocket, hoping that my wits would enable me to retain it through the vicissitudes which were before me. I had recovered my money, but I cannot say that I felt much better than before. It was like the yellow dross upon the desert island; I had no opportunity to use it; but I felt that I was in better condition to escape whenever an occasion should be presented. I put everything in the trunk just as I had found it, except the portion that belonged to me. I locked it, and then, having unscrewed the bull's eye, I opened it, and dropped the key overboard.
By this time the bark was pitching in the billows, and I concluded that we must soon be in "blue water." It grew dark in the state-room; but at last the door opened, and the mate summoned me to appear on deck.