Sentence:  "Curses throttle thee!" yelled Ahab. "Captain Mayhew, stand by now to receive it"; and taking the fatal <WSD>missive</WSD> from Starbuck's hands, he caught it in the slit of the pole, and reached it over towards the boat. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A written message; a letter, note or memo.