bout to do that moved me.
The romance of the deed, not the possession of the objects stolen, that
appealed to my imagination. I pictured my comrade and myself going
overland, our swag on our backs, eluding pursuit ... and joining with
the natives in some far hinterland. I would be a sort of Jonathan Wilde
plus a Francois Villon.

Before the captain returned I had surveyed everything to my satisfaction
... after supper the captain and the two mates left for shore again.

Now was the time. I searched the captain's old trousers and found the
ship's keys there. They were too bulky to carry around with him.

The keys seemed to jangle like thunder as I tried them one after the
other on the drawer where I had seen him put away the gold.

I heard someone coming. I started to whistle noisily, and to polish the
captain's _carpet slippers!_ ... it was only someone walking on deck ...
The last key was, dramatically, the right one. The drawer opened ... but
it was empty! I had seen the captain--the captain had also seen me. Now
I started to take anything I could lay my hands on.

I snatched off the wall two silver-mounted cavalry pistols, a present
from his brother to Schantze. I added a bottle of kuemmel to the ham and
the rye bread. The kuemmel a present for Hoppner.

Then, before leaving the _Valkyrie_ forever, I sat down to think if
there were not something I might do to show my contempt for Miller.
There were many things I could do, I found.

In the first place, I took a large sail-needle and some heavy-thread and
I sewed two pairs of his trousers and two of his coats up the middle of
the legs and arms, so he couldn't put them on, at least right away. I
picked up hammer and nails and nailed his shoes and sea-boots securely
to the middle of his cabin floor. Under his pillow I found a full flask
of brandy. I emptied half ... when I replaced it, it was full again. But
I had not resorted to the brandy cask to fill it.

* * * * *

The apprehension that I might be come upon _flagrante delictu_ gave me a
shiver of apprehension. But it was a pleasurable shiver. I enjoyed the
malicious wantonness of my acts, and my prospective jump into the
unknown ... all the South Seas waited for me ... all the world!

But, though every moment's delay brought detection and danger nearer, I
found time for yet one more stroke. With a laughable vision of Schantze
smashing Miller all over the cabin, I wrote and lef