"Nothing like tea," he was saying--"nothing like tea to pull a man
round from the drink and cock him back like a trigger."
His right hand was at his breast as he spoke. It came out swiftly,
as upon a sudden impulse. His left hand closed upon it and partly
covered it for a moment; then the two hands spread apart and
disclosed an oilskin case.
"Brooks!" he whispered hoarsely. "Brooks, look at this!"
His fingers plucked at the oilskin wrapper, uncovered it, unfolded an
inner parcel of parchment, and, trembling, spread it out on the
table.
I leaned closer, and I saw a chart of the Island of Mortallone in the
Bay of Honduras dated MDCCLXXVII. From the scale on the chart, the
island was some eight to ten miles long in the north-south direction,
and perhaps eight miles broad at the widest point. At the north end
of the island, around a promontory called Gable Point, there were
five small islands called The Keys. To the south was a wide inlet
with a ship seemingly in the act of sailing towards it.
The eastward edge of this inlet was labelled Cape Fea and just around
from this, in an easterly direction wa a small cove called Try-Again
Inlet. In the sea to the west of the island was drawn a mythical
sea-monster.
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