STO'B 20

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He started with the cylinder which, though it was locked, held its key in its keyhole. The lock turned smoothly, and he rolled the cylinder back to reveal an empty working surface backed by five small drawers and a cubby hole. A half-eaten piece of cake lay in the cubby-hole, no doubt where it had been thrown as the French ship had cleared for action; Philip opened one of the stern windows and tossed the cake into the Badger's wake.

The first drawer held a broken pocket watch, a bent key, a broken button and a small, rusted pen knife. These went into the wake, too. The second drawer held an English phrase book (written in French), the stub of a candle in a cheap candlestick, and a pair of reading glasses. Philip kept the book and tossed the candle and glasses. The middle drawer refused to open, and after a moment Philip realized that it was locked. In his mind's eye he saw the key he had found in the first drawer and he rushed to the window, as if he might see it bobbing in the sloop's wake, but of course he did not, and after a moment he sat down again. Perhaps the key from the cylinder would fit? No, it would not. He sat back.

The French codebook - the secret instructions on how to tell friend from foe - was unlikely to be in the drawer; the French captain had no doubt tossed it overboard at the last minute. The Badger's book was bound in lead, to insure that it would sink immediately, and Philip was obliged, under penalty of death, to toss it overboard or otherwise destroy it if the ship were in danger of being taken. No doubt the Chasseur's book was now at the bottom of the ocean. Nevertheless, the locked drawer vexed him, and he continued to fiddle with it, eventually succeeding in pulling off its knob.

"Damn," he said, staring at the knob as it lay in his hand. "Well, a fig for it, anyhow. No doubt the armorer can make a key," and he turned to the next drawer. This drawer held some loose coins and assorted lists from which most or all of the items had been crossed off. Philip separated out the coins (they would allow him to pay his lieutenant back for covering his boat fare, he reflected with satisfaction) and tossed the lists out the stern window.

The final drawer held an iron box that was pierced with several holes. A small book lay inside, along with a loose sheet of paper. The box was locked, but no small imagination was required to determine that inside that box lay the French codebook and the French captain's orders.

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