For some time I discovered nothing of special interest, only an accumulation of business letters, manifests and old sea charts, showing that the _Sea Gull_ had been concerned in a vast variety of enterprises.

It was only after I had thus emptied the unfastened drawers that I came upon one securely locked.

I tried key after key before discovering the right one, realizing from Henley's squirming that I must be drawing near the goal.

The first paper touched was a copy of the will, and a little further rummaging put me into possession of various documents which, I believed from a cursory glance at their contents, were of utmost value.

These I hastily transferred to my coat pocket, making sure I had the original letter descriptive of Philip Henley's death, as well as the copy of a memorandum which the half-breed had evidently drawn up for the convenience of his lawyers.