“That’s vexing,” said Lord Edward, “for if papers are inside, they’ll be in a pretty state!”
“If your Lordship would simply break off the neck, I think we might easily withdraw the papers,” suggested John Mangles.
“Try it, Edward, try it,” said Lady Helena.
The bottle was broken. There were pieces of paper inside.
Chapter II. The Three Documents
All that could be discovered, however, on these pieces of paper was a few words here and there, the remainder of the lines. Lord Glenarvan examined them attentively for a few minutes, turning them over on all sides, holding them up to the light, and trying to decipher, while the others looked on with anxious eyes. At last he said: “There are three distinct documents here, apparently copies of the same document in three different languages. Here is one in English, one in French, and one in German.”
“But can you make any sense out of them?” asked Lady Helena.
“That’s hard to say, my dear Helena, the words are quite incomplete.”
“Perhaps the one may supplement the other,” suggested Major McNabbs.
“Very likely they will,” said the captain.
“That’s what we will do,” rejoined Lord Glenarvan; “but let us proceed methodically. Here is the English document first.”
All that remained of it was the following:
“There’s not much to be made out of that,” said the Major, looking disappointed.
“No, but it is good English anyhow,” returned the captain.
“There’s no doubt of it,” said Glenarvan. “The words SINK, ALAND, LOST are entire; SKIPP is evidently part of the word SKIPPER, and that’s what they call ship captains often in England. There seems a Mr. Gr. mentioned, and that most likely is the captain of the shipwrecked vessel.”
“Well, come, we have made out a good deal already,” said Lady Helena.
“Yes, but unfortunately there are whole lines wanting[15],” said the Major, “and we have neither the name of the ship nor the place where it was shipwrecked.”
“We’ll get that by and by[16],” said Edward.
“Oh, yes; there is no doubt of it,” replied the Major, who always echoed his neighbor’s opinion. “But how?”
“By comparing one document with the other.”
“Let us try them,” said his wife.
The second piece of paper was even more destroyed than the first; only a few scattered words remained here and there.
It ran as follows: