I might have been twice as weary, yet I would not have left the deck, all was so new and interesting to methe brief commands, the shrill note of the whistle, the men bustling to their places in the glimmer of the ships lanterns. Now, Barbecue, tip us a stave, cried one voice. The old one, cried another. Aye, aye, mates, said Long John, who was standing by, with his crutch under his arm, and at once broke out in the air and words I knew so well Fifteen men on the dead mans chest And then the whole crew bore chorus Yohoho, and a bottle of rum! And at the third Ho! drove the bars before them with a will. Even at that exciting moment it carried me back to the old Admiral Benbow in a second, and I seemed to hear the voice of the captain piping in the chorus. But soon the anchor was short up; soon it was hanging dripping at the bows; soon the sails began to draw, and the land and shipping to flit by on either side; and before I could lie down to snatch an hour of slumber the Hispaniola had begun her voyage to the Isle of Treasure. I am not going to relate that voyage in detail. It was fairly prosperous. The ship proved to be a good ship, the crew were capable seamen, and the captain thoroughly understood his business. But before we came the length of Treasure Island, two or three things had happened which require to be known. Mr. Arrow, first of all, turned out even worse than the captain had feared. He had no command among the men, and people did what they pleased with him. But that was by no means the worst of it, for after a day or two at sea he began to appear on deck with hazy eye, red cheeks, stuttering tongue, and other marks of drunkenness. Time after time he was ordered below in disgrace. Sometimes he fell and cut himself; sometimes he lay all day long in his little bunk at one side of the companion; sometimes for a day or two he would be almost sober and attend to his work at least passably. In the meantime, we could never make out where he got the drink. That was the ships mystery. Watch him as we pleased, we could do nothing to solve it; and when we asked him to his face, he would only laugh if he were drunk, and if he were sober deny solemnly that he ever tasted anything but water. He was not only useless as an officer and a bad influence amongst the men, but it was plain that at this rate he must soon kill himself outright, so nobody was much surprised, nor very sorry, when one dark night, with a head sea, he disappeared entirely and was seen no more. Overboard! said the captain. Well, gentlemen, that saves the trouble of putting him in irons. But there we were, without a mate; and it was necessary, of course, to advance one of the men. The boatswain, Job Anderson, was the likeliest man aboard, and though he kept his old title, he served in a way as mate. Mr. Trelawney had followed the sea, and his knowledge made him very useful, for he often took a watch himself in easy weather. And the coxswain, Israel Hands, was a careful, wily, old, experienced seaman who could be trusted at a pinch with almost anything. He was a great confidant of Long John Silver, and so the mention of his name leads me on to speak of our ships cook, Barbecue, as the men called him. Aboard ship he carried his crutch by a lanyard round his neck, to have both hands as free as possible. It was something to see him wedge the foot of the crutch against a bulkhead, and propped against it, yielding to every movement of the ship, get on with his cooking like someone safe ashore. Still more strange was it to see him in the heaviest of weather cross the deck. He had a line or two rigged up to help him across the widest spacesLong Johns earrings, they were called; and he would hand himself from one place to another, now using the crutch, now trailing it alongside by the lanyard, as quickly as another man could walk. Yet some of the men who had sailed with him before expressed their pity to see him so reduced. Hes no common man, Barbecue, said the coxswain to me. He had good schooling in his young days and can speak like a book when so minded; and bravea lions nothing alongside of Long John! I seen him grapple four and knock their heads togetherhim unarmed. All the crew respected and even obeyed him. He had a way of talking to each and doing everybody some particular service. To me he was unweariedly kind, and always glad to see me in the galley, which he kept as clean as a new pin, the dishes hanging up burnished and his parrot in a cage in one corner. Come away, Hawkins, he would say; come and have a yarn with John. Nobody more welcome than yourself, my son. Sit you down and hear the news. Heres Capn FlintI calls my parrot Capn Flint, after the famous buccaneerheres Capn Flint predicting success to our vyage. Wasnt you, Capn? And the parrot would say, with great rapidity, Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! till you wondered that it was not out of breath, or till John threw his handkerchief over the cage. Now, that bird, he would say, is, maybe, two hundred years old, Hawkinsthey live forever mostly; and if anybodys seen more wickedness, it must be the devil himself. Shes sailed with England, the great Capn England, the pirate. Shes been at Madagascar, and at Malabar, and Surinam, and Providence, and Portobello. She was at the fishing up of the wrecked plate ships. Its there she learned Pieces of eight, and little wonder; three hundred and fifty thousand of em, Hawkins! She was at the boarding of the Viceroy of the Indies out of Goa, she was; and to look at her you would think she was a babby. But you smelt powderdidnt you, Capn? Stand by to go about, the parrot would scream. Ah, shes a handsome craft, she is, the cook would say, and give her sugar from his pocket, and then the bird would peck at the bars and swear straight on, passing belief for wickedness. There, John would add, you cant touch pitch and not be mucked, lad. Heres this poor old innocent bird o mine swearing blue fire, and none the wiser, you may lay to that. She would swear the same, in a manner of speaking, before chaplain. And John would touch his forelock with a solemn way he had that made me think he was the best of men. In the meantime, the squire and Captain Smollett were still on pretty distant terms with one another. The squire made no bones about the matter; he despised the captain. The captain, on his part, never spoke but when he was spoken to, and then sharp and short and dry, and not a word wasted. He owned, when driven into a corner, that he seemed to have been wrong about the crew, that some of them were as brisk as he wanted to see and all had behaved fairly well. As for the ship, he had taken a downright fancy to her. Shell lie a point nearer the wind than a man has a right to expect of his own married wife, sir. But, he would add, all I say is, were not home again, and I dont like the cruise. The squire, at this, would turn away and march up and down the deck, chin in air. A trifle more of that man, he would say, and I shall explode. We had some heavy weather, which only proved the qualities of the Hispaniola. Every man on board seemed well content, and they must have been hard to please if they had been otherwise, for it is my belief there was never a ships company so spoiled since Noah put to sea. Double grog was going on the least excuse; there was duff on odd days, as, for instance, if the squire heard it was any mans birthday, and always a barrel of apples standing broached in the waist for anyone to help himself that had a fancy. Never knew good come of it yet, the captain said to Dr. Livesey. Spoil forecastle hands, make devils. Thats my belief. But good did come of the apple barrel, as you shall hear, for if it had not been for that, we should have had no note of warning and might all have perished by the hand of treachery. This was how it came about. We had run up the trades to get the wind of the island we were afterI am not allowed to be more plainand now we were running down for it with a bright lookout day and night. It was about the last day of our outward voyage by the largest computation; some time that night, or at latest before noon of the morrow, we should sight the Treasure Island. We were heading S.S.W. and had a steady breeze abeam and a quiet sea. The Hispaniola rolled steadily, dipping her bowsprit now and then with a whiff of spray. All was drawing alow and aloft; everyone was in the bravest spirits because we were now so near an end of the first part of our adventure. Now, just after sundown, when all my work was over and I was on my way to my berth, it occurred to me that I should like an apple. I ran on deck. The watch was all forward looking out for the island. The man at the helm was watching the luff of the sail and whistling away gently to himself, and that was the only sound excepting the swish of the sea against the bows and around the sides of the ship. 0111m In I got bodily into the apple barrel, and found there was scarce an apple left; but sitting down there in the dark, what with the sound of the waters and the rocking movement of the ship, I had either fallen asleep or was on the point of doing so when a heavy man sat down with rather a clash close by. The barrel shook as he leaned his shoulders against it, and I was just about to jump up when the man began to speak. It was Silvers voice, and before I had heard a dozen words, I would not have shown myself for all the world, but lay there, trembling and listening, in the extreme of fear and curiosity, for from these dozen words I understood that the lives of all the honest men aboard depended upon me alone. 0114m XI What I Heard in the AppleBarrel 9114m o, not I, said Silver. Flint was capn; I was quartermaster, along of my timber leg. The same broadside I lost my leg, old Pew lost his deadlights. It was a master surgeon, him that ampytated meout of college and allLatin by the bucket, and what not; but he was hanged like a dog, and sundried like the rest, at Corso Castle. That was Roberts men, that was, and comed of changing names to their shipsRoyal Fortune and so on. Now, what a ship was christened, so let her stay, I says. So it was with the Cassandra, as brought us all safe home from Malabar, after England took the Viceroy of the Indies; so it was with the old Walrus, Flints old ship, as Ive seen amuck with the red blood and fit to sink with gold. Ah! cried another voice, that of the youngest hand on board, and evidently full of admiration. He was the flower of the flock, was Flint! Davis was a man too, by all accounts, said Silver. I never sailed along of him; first with England, then with Flint, thats my story; and now here on my own account, in a manner of speaking. I laid by nine hundred safe, from England, and two thousand after Flint. That aint bad for a man before the mastall safe in bank. Taint earning now, its saving does it, you may lay to that. Wheres all Englands men now? I dunno. Wheres Flints? Why, most on em aboard here, and glad to get the duffbeen begging before that, some on em. Old Pew, as had lost his sight, and might have thought shame, spends twelve hundred pound in a year, like a lord in Parliament. Where is he now? Well, hes dead now and under hatches; but for two year before that, shiver my timbers, the man was starving! He begged, and he stole, and he cut throats, and starved at that, by the powers! Well, it aint much use, after all, said the young seaman. Taint much use for fools, you may lay to itthat, nor nothing, cried Silver. But now, you look here youre young, you are, but youre as smart as paint. I see that when I set my eyes on you, and Ill talk to you like a man. You may imagine how I felt when I heard this abominable old rogue addressing another in the very same words of flattery as he had used to myself. I think, if I had been able, that I would have killed him through the barrel. Meantime, he ran on, little supposing he was overheard. Here it is about gentlemen of fortune. They lives rough, and they risk swinging, but they eat and drink like fightingcocks, and when a cruise is done, why, its hundreds of pounds instead of hundreds of farthings in their pockets. Now, the most goes for rum and a good fling, and to sea again in their shirts. But thats not the course I lay. I puts it all away, some here, some there, and none too much anywheres, by reason of suspicion. Im fifty, mark you; once back from this cruise, I set up gentleman in earnest. Time enough too, says you. Ah, but Ive lived easy in the meantime, never denied myself o nothing heart desires, and slep soft and ate dainty all my days but when at sea. And how did I begin? Before the mast, like you! Well, said the other, but all the other moneys gone now, aint it? You darent show face in Bristol after this. Why, where might you suppose it was? asked Silver derisively. At Bristol, in banks and places, answered his companion. It were, said the cook; it were when we weighed anchor. But my old missis has it all by now. And the Spyglass is sold, lease and goodwill and rigging; and the old girls off to meet me. I would tell you where, for I trust you, but itd make jealousy among the mates. And can you trust your missis? asked the other. Gentlemen of fortune, returned the cook, usually trusts little among themselves, and right they are, you may lay to it. But I have a way with me, I have. When a mate brings a slip on his cableone as knows me, I meanit wont be in the same world with old John. There was some that was feared of Pew, and some that was feared of Flint; but Flint his own self was feared of me. Feared he was, and proud. They was the roughest crew afloat, was Flints; the devil himself would have been feared to go to sea with them. Well now, I tell you, Im not a boasting man, and you seen yourself how easy I keep company, but when I was quartermaster, lambs wasnt the word for Flints old buccaneers. Ah, you may be sure of yourself in old Johns ship. Well, I tell you now, replied the lad, I didnt half a quarter like the job till I had this talk with you, John; but theres my hand on it now. And a brave lad you were, and smart too, answered Silver, shaking hands so heartily that all the barrel shook, and a finer figurehead for a gentleman of fortune I never clapped my eyes on. By this time I had begun to understand the meaning of their terms. By a gentleman of fortune they plainly meant neither more nor less than a common pirate, and the little scene that I had overheard was the last act in the corruption of one of the honest handsperhaps of the last one left aboard. But on this point I was soon to be relieved, for Silver giving a little whistle, a third man strolled up and sat down by the party. Dicks square, said Silver. Oh, I knowd Dick was square, returned the voice of the coxswain, Israel Hands. Hes no fool, is Dick. And he turned his quid and spat. But look here, he went on, heres what I want to know, Barbecue how long are we agoing to stand off and on like a blessed bumboat? Ive had amost enough o Capn Smollett; hes hazed me long enough, by thunder! I want to go into that cabin, I do. I want their pickles and wines, and that. Israel, said Silver, your head aint much account, nor ever was. But youre able to hear, I reckon; leastways, your ears is big enough. Now, heres what I say youll berth forward, and youll live hard, and youll speak soft, and youll keep sober till I give the word; and you may lay to that, my son. Well, I dont say no, do I? growled the coxswain. What I say is, when? Thats what I say. When! By the powers! cried Silver. Well now, if you want to know, Ill tell you when. The last moment I can manage, and thats when. Heres a firstrate seaman, Capn Smollett, sails the blessed ship for us. Heres this squire and doctor with a map and suchI dont know where it is, do I? No more do you, says you. Well then, I mean this squire and doctor shall find the stuff, and help us to get it aboard, by the powers. Then well see. If I was sure of you all, sons of double Dutchmen, Id have Capn Smollett navigate us halfway back again before I struck. Why, were all seamen aboard here, I should think, said the lad Dick. Were all forecastle hands, you mean, snapped Silver. We can steer a course, but whos to set one? Thats what all you gentlemen split on, first and last. If I had my way, Id have Capn Smollett work us back into the trades at least; then wed have no blessed miscalculations and a spoonful of water a day. But I know the sort you are. Ill finish with em at the island, as soons the blunts on board, and a pity it is. But youre never happy till youre drunk. Split my sides, Ive a sick heart to sail with the likes of you! Easy all, Long John, cried Israel. Whos acrossin of you? Why, how many tall ships, think ye, now, have I seen laid aboard? And how many brisk lads drying in the sun at Execution Dock? cried Silver. And all for this same hurry and hurry and hurry. You hear me? I seen a thing or two at sea, I have. If you would ony lay your course, and a pint to windward, you would ride in carriages, you would. But not you! I know you. Youll have your mouthful of rum tomorrow, and go hang. Everybody knowed you was a kind of a chapling, John; but theres others as could hand and steer as well as you, said Israel. They liked a bit o fun, they did. They wasnt so high and dry, nohow, but took their fling, like jolly companions every one. So? says Silver. Well, and where are they now? Pew was that sort, and he died a beggarman. Flint was, and he died of rum at Savannah. Ah, they was a sweet crew, they was! Ony, where are they? But, asked Dick, when we do lay em athwart, what are we to do with em, anyhow? Theres the man for me! cried the cook admiringly. Thats what I call business. Well, what would you think? Put em ashore like maroons? That would have been Englands way. Or cut em down like that much pork? That would have been Flints, or Billy Boness. Billy was the man for that, said Israel. Dead men dont bite, says he. Well, hes dead now hisself; he knows the long and short on it now; and if ever a rough hand come to port, it was Billy. Right you are, said Silver; rough and ready. But mark you here, Im an easy manIm quite the gentleman, says you; but this time its serious. Dooty is dooty, mates. I give my votedeath. When Im in Parlyment and riding in my coach, I dont want none of these sealawyers in the cabin acoming home, unlooked for, like the devil at prayers. Wait is what I say; but when the time comes, why, let her rip! John, cries the coxswain, youre a man! Youll say so, Israel when you see, said Silver. Only one thing I claimI claim Trelawney. Ill wring his calfs head off his body with these hands, Dick! he added, breaking off. You just jump up, like a sweet lad, and get me an apple, to wet my pipe like. You may fancy the terror I was in! I should have leaped out and run for it if I had found the strength, but my limbs and heart alike misgave me. I heard Dick begin to rise, and then someone seemingly stopped him, and the voice of Hands exclaimed, Oh, stow that! Dont you get sucking of that bilge, John. Lets have a go of the rum. Dick, said Silver, I trust you. Ive a gauge on the keg, mind. Theres the key; you fill a pannikin and bring it up. Terrified as I was, I could not help thinking to myself that this must have been how Mr. Arrow got the strong waters that destroyed him. Dick was gone but a little while, and during his absence Israel spoke straight on in the cooks ear. It was but a word or two that I could catch, and yet I gathered some important news, for besides other scraps that tended to the same purpose, this whole clause was audible Not another man of themll jine. Hence there were still faithful men on board. When Dick returned, one after another of the trio took the pannikin and drankone To luck, another with a Heres to old Flint, and Silver himself saying, in a kind of song, Heres to ourselves, and hold your luff, plenty of prizes and plenty of duff. 0117m Just then a sort of brightness fell upon me in the barrel, and looking up, I found the moon had risen and was silvering the mizzentop and shining white on the luff of the foresail; and almost at the same time the voice of the lookout shouted, Land ho! 0122m XII Council of War 9122m here was a great rush of feet across the deck. I could hear people tumbling up from the cabin and the forecastle, and slipping in an instant outside my barrel, I dived behind the foresail, made a double towards the stern, and came out upon the open deck in time to join Hunter and Dr. Livesey in the rush for the weather bow. There all hands were already congregated. A belt of fog had lifted almost simultaneously with the appearance of the moon. Away to the southwest of us we saw two low hills, about a couple of miles apart, and rising behind one of them a third and higher hill, whose peak was still buried in the fog. All three seemed sharp and conical in figure. So much I saw, almost in a dream, for I had not yet recovered from my horrid fear of a minute or two before. And then I heard the voice of Captain Smollett issuing orders. The Hispaniola was laid a couple of points nearer the wind and now sailed a course that would just clear the island on the east. And now, men, said the captain, when all was sheeted home, has any one of you ever seen that land ahead? I have, sir, said Silver. Ive watered there with a trader I was cook in. The anchorage is on the south, behind an islet, I fancy? asked the captain. Yes, sir; Skeleton Island they calls it. It were a main place for pirates once, and a hand we had on board knowed all their names for it. That hill to the norard they calls the Foremast Hill; there are three hills in a row running southardfore, main, and mizzen, sir. But the mainthats the big un, with the cloud on itthey usually calls the Spyglass, by reason of a lookout they kept when they was in the anchorage cleaning, for its there they cleaned their ships, sir, asking your pardon. I have a chart here, says Captain Smollett. See if thats the place. Long Johns eyes burned in his head as he took the chart, but by the fresh look of the paper I knew he was doomed to disappointment. This was not the map we found in Billy Boness chest, but an accurate copy, complete in all thingsnames and heights and soundingswith the single exception of the red crosses and the written notes. Sharp as must have been his annoyance, Silver had the strength of mind to hide it. Yes, sir, said he, this is the spot, to be sure, and very prettily drawed out. Who might have done that, I wonder? The pirates were too ignorant, I reckon. Aye, here it is Capt. Kidds Anchoragejust the name my shipmate called it. Theres a strong current runs along the south, and then away norard up the west coast. Right you was, sir, says he, to haul your wind and keep the weather of the island. Leastways, if such was your intention as to enter and careen, and there aint no better place for that in these waters. Thank you, my man, says Captain Smollett. Ill ask you later on to give us a help. You may go. I was surprised at the coolness with which John avowed his knowledge of the island, and I own I was halffrightened when I saw him drawing nearer to myself. He did not know, to be sure, that I had overheard his council from the apple barrel, and yet I had by this time taken such a horror of his cruelty, duplicity, and power that I could scarce conceal a shudder when he laid his hand upon my arm. Ah, says he, this here is a sweet spot, this islanda sweet spot for a lad to get ashore on. Youll bathe, and youll climb trees, and youll hunt goats, you will; and youll get aloft on them hills like a goat yourself. Why, it makes me young again. I was going to forget my timber leg, I was. Its a pleasant thing to be young and have ten toes, and you may lay to that. When you want to go a bit of exploring, you just ask old John, and hell put up a snack for you to take along. And clapping me in the friendliest way upon the shoulder, he hobbled off forward and went below. Captain Smollett, the squire, and Dr. Livesey were talking together on the quarterdeck, and anxious as I was to tell them my story, I durst not interrupt them openly. While I was still casting about in my thoughts to find some probable excuse, Dr. Livesey called me to his side. He had left his pipe below, and being a slave to tobacco, had meant that I should fetch it; but as soon as I was near enough to speak and not to be overheard, I broke immediately, Doctor, let me speak. Get the captain and squire down to the cabin, and then make some pretence to send for me. I have terrible news. The doctor changed countenance a little, but next moment he was master of himself. Thank you, Jim, said he quite loudly, that was all I wanted to know, as if he had asked me a question. And with that he turned on his heel and rejoined the other two. They spoke together for a little, and though none of them started, or raised his voice, or so much as whistled, it was plain enough that Dr. Livesey had communicated my request, for the next thing that I heard was the captain giving an order to Job Anderson, and all hands were piped on deck. My lads, said Captain Smollett, Ive a word to say to you. This land that we have sighted is the place we have been sailing for. Mr. Trelawney, being a very openhanded gentleman, as we all know, has just asked me a word or two, and as I was able to tell him that every man on board had done his duty, alow and aloft, as I never ask to see it done better, why, he and I and the doctor are going below to the cabin to drink your health and luck, and youll have grog served out for you to drink our health and luck. Ill tell you what I think of this I think it handsome. And if you think as I do, youll give a good seacheer for the gentleman that does it. The cheer followedthat was a matter of course; but it rang out so full and hearty that I confess I could hardly believe these same men were plotting for our blood. One more cheer for Capn Smollett, cried Long John when the first had subsided. 0125m And this also was given with a will. On the top of that the three gentlemen went below, and not long after, word was sent forward that Jim Hawkins was wanted in the cabin. I found them all three seated round the table, a bottle of Spanish wine and some raisins before them, and the doctor smoking away, with his wig on his lap, and that, I knew, was a sign that he was agitated. The stern window was open, for it was a warm night, and you could see the moon shining behind on the ships wake. Now, Hawkins, said the squire, you have something to say. Speak up. I did as I was bid, and as short as I could make it, told the whole details of Silvers conversation. Nobody interrupted me till I was done, nor did any one of the three of them make so much as a movement, but they kept their eyes upon my face from first to last. Jim, said Dr. Livesey, take a seat. And they made me sit down at table beside them, poured me out a glass of wine, filled my hands with raisins, and all three, one after the other, and each with a bow, drank my good health, and their service to me, for my luck and courage. Now, captain, said the squire, you were right, and I was wrong. I own myself an ass, and I await your orders. No more an ass than I, sir, returned the captain. I never heard of a crew that meant to mutiny but what showed signs before, for any man that had an eye in his head to see the mischief and take steps according. But this crew, he added, beats me. Captain, said the doctor, with your permission, thats Silver. A very remarkable man. Hed look remarkably well from a yardarm, sir, returned the captain. But this is talk; this dont lead to anything. I see three or four points, and with Mr. Trelawneys permission, Ill name them. You, sir, are the captain. It is for you to speak, says Mr. Trelawney grandly. First point, began Mr. Smollett. We must go on, because we cant turn back. If I gave the word to go about, they would rise at once. Second point, we have time before usat least until this treasures found. Third point, there are faithful hands. Now, sir, its got to come to blows sooner or later, and what I propose is to take time by the forelock, as the saying is, and come to blows some fine day when they least expect it. We can count, I take it, on your own home servants, Mr. Trelawney? As upon myself, declared the squire. Three, reckoned the captain; ourselves make seven, counting Hawkins here. Now, about the honest hands? Most likely Trelawneys own men, said the doctor; those he had picked up for himself before he lit on Silver. Nay, replied the squire. Hands was one of mine. I did think I could have trusted Hands, added the captain. And to think that theyre all Englishmen! broke out the squire. Sir, I could find it in my heart to blow the ship up. Well, gentlemen, said the captain, the best that I can say is not much. We must lay to, if you please, and keep a bright lookout. Its trying on a man, I know. It would be pleasanter to come to blows. But theres no help for it till we know our men. Lay to, and whistle for a wind, thats my view. Jim here, said the doctor, can help us more than anyone. The men are not shy with him, and Jim is a noticing lad. Hawkins, I put prodigious faith in you, added the squire. I began to feel pretty desperate at this, for I felt altogether helpless; and yet, by an odd train of circumstances, it was indeed through me that safety came. In the meantime, talk as we pleased, there were only seven out of the twentysix on whom we knew we could rely; and out of these seven one was a boy, so that the grown men on our side were six to their nineteen. 0131m PART THREEMy Shore Adventure 0133m XIII How I Began My Shore Adventure 9133m he appearance of the island when I came on deck next morning was altogether changed. Although the breeze had now utterly ceased, we had made a great deal of way during the night and were now lying becalmed about half a mile to the southeast of the low eastern coast. Greycoloured woods covered a large part of the surface. This even tint was indeed broken up by streaks of yellow sandbreak in the lower lands, and by many tall trees of the pine family, outtopping the otherssome singly, some in clumps; but the general colouring was uniform and sad. The hills ran up clear above the vegetation in spires of naked rock. All were strangely shaped, and the Spyglass, which was by three or four hundred feet the tallest on the island, was likewise the strangest in configuration, running up sheer from almost every side and then suddenly cut off at the top like a pedestal to put a statue on. The Hispaniola was rolling scuppers under in the ocean swell. The booms were tearing at the blocks, the rudder was banging to and fro, and the whole ship creaking, groaning, and jumping like a manufactory. I had to cling tight to the backstay, and the world turned giddily before my eyes, for though I was a good enough sailor when there was way on, this standing still and being rolled about like a bottle was a thing I never learned to stand without a qualm or so, above all in the morning, on an empty stomach. Perhaps it was thisperhaps it was the look of the island, with its grey, melancholy woods, and wild stone spires, and the surf that we could both see and hear foaming and thundering on the steep beachat least, although the sun shone bright and hot, and the shore birds were fishing and crying all around us, and you would have thought anyone would have been glad to get to land after being so long at sea, my heart sank, as the saying is, into my boots; and from the first look onward, I hated the very thought of Treasure Island. We had a dreary mornings work before us, for there was no sign of any wind, and the boats had to be got out and manned, and the ship warped three or four miles round the corner of the island and up the narrow passage to the haven behind Skeleton Island.


I volunteered for one of the boats, where I had, of course, no business. The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. Anderson was in command of my boat, and instead of keeping the crew in order, he grumbled as loud as the worst. Well, he said with an oath, its not forever. I thought this was a very bad sign, for up to that day the men had gone briskly and willingly about their business; but the very sight of the island had relaxed the cords of discipline. All the way in, Long John stood by the steersman and conned the ship. He knew the passage like the palm of his hand, and though the man in the chains got everywhere more water than was down in the chart, John never hesitated once. Theres a strong scour with the ebb, he said, and this here passage has been dug out, in a manner of speaking, with a spade. We brought up just where the anchor was in the chart, about a third of a mile from each shore, the mainland on one side and Skeleton Island on the other. The bottom was clean sand. The plunge of our anchor sent up clouds of birds wheeling and crying over the woods, but in less than a minute they were down again and all was once more silent. The place was entirely landlocked, buried in woods, the trees coming right down to highwater mark, the shores mostly flat, and the hilltops standing round at a distance in a sort of amphitheatre, one here, one there. Two little rivers, or rather two swamps, emptied out into this pond, as you might call it; and the foliage round that part of the shore had a kind of poisonous brightness. From the ship we could see nothing of the house or stockade, for they were quite buried among trees; and if it had not been for the chart on the companion, we might have been the first that had ever anchored there since the island arose out of the seas. There was not a breath of air moving, nor a sound but that of the surf booming half a mile away along the beaches and against the rocks outside. A peculiar stagnant smell hung over the anchoragea smell of sodden leaves and rotting tree trunks. I observed the doctor sniffing and sniffing, like someone tasting a bad egg. I dont know about treasure, he said, but Ill stake my wig theres fever here. If the conduct of the men had been alarming in the boat, it became truly threatening when they had come aboard. They lay about the deck growling together in talk. The slightest order was received with a black look and grudgingly and carelessly obeyed. Even the honest hands must have caught the infection, for there was not one man aboard to mend another. Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thundercloud. And it was not only we of the cabin party who perceived the danger. Long John was hard at work going from group to group, spending himself in good advice, and as for example no man could have shown a better. He fairly outstripped himself in willingness and civility; he was all smiles to everyone. If an order were given, John would be on his crutch in an instant, with the cheeriest Aye, aye, sir! in the world; and when there was nothing else to do, he kept up one song after another, as if to conceal the discontent of the rest. Of all the gloomy features of that gloomy afternoon, this obvious anxiety on the part of Long John appeared the worst. We held a council in the cabin. Sir, said the captain, if I risk another order, the whole shipll come about our ears by the run. You see, sir, here it is. I get a rough answer, do I not? Well, if I speak back, pikes will be going in two shakes; if I dont, Silver will see theres something under that, and the games up. Now, weve only one man to rely on. And who is that? asked the squire. Silver, sir, returned the captain; hes as anxious as you and I to smother things up. This is a tiff; hed soon talk em out of it if he had the chance, and what I propose to do is to give him the chance. Lets allow the men an afternoon ashore. If they all go, why well fight the ship. If they none of them go, well then, we hold the cabin, and God defend the right. If some go, you mark my words, sir, Silverll bring em aboard again as mild as lambs. It was so decided; loaded pistols were served out to all the sure men; Hunter, Joyce, and Redruth were taken into our confidence and received the news with less surprise and a better spirit than we had looked for, and then the captain went on deck and addressed the crew. My lads, said he, weve had a hot day and are all tired and out of sorts. A turn ashorell hurt nobodythe boats are still in the water; you can take the gigs, and as many as please may go ashore for the afternoon. Ill fire a gun half an hour before sundown. I believe the silly fellows must have thought they would break their shins over treasure as soon as they were landed, for they all came out of their sulks in a moment and gave a cheer that started the echo in a faraway hill and sent the birds once more flying and squalling round the anchorage. The captain was too bright to be in the way. He whipped out of sight in a moment, leaving Silver to arrange the party, and I fancy it was as well he did so. Had he been on deck, he could no longer so much as have pretended not to understand the situation. It was as plain as day. Silver was the captain, and a mighty rebellious crew he had of it. The honest handsand I was soon to see it proved that there were such on boardmust have been very stupid fellows. Or rather, I suppose the truth was this, that all hands were disaffected by the example of the ringleadersonly some more, some less; and a few, being good fellows in the main, could neither be led nor driven any further. It is one thing to be idle and skulk and quite another to take a ship and murder a number of innocent men. At last, however, the party was made up. Six fellows were to stay on board, and the remaining thirteen, including Silver, began to embark. Then it was that there came into my head the first of the mad notions that contributed so much to save our lives. If six men were left by Silver, it was plain our party could not take and fight the ship; and since only six were left, it was equally plain that the cabin party had no present need of my assistance. It occurred to me at once to go ashore. In a jiffy I had slipped over the side and curled up in the foresheets of the nearest boat, and almost at the same moment she shoved off. No one took notice of me, only the bow oar saying, Is that you, Jim? Keep your head down. But Silver, from the other boat, looked sharply over and called out to know if that were me; and from that moment I began to regret what I had done. 0137m The crews raced for the beach, but the boat I was in, having some start and being at once the lighter and the better manned, shot far ahead of her consort, and the bow had struck among the shoreside trees and I had caught a branch and swung myself out and plunged into the nearest thicket while Silver and the rest were still a hundred yards behind. Jim, Jim! I heard him shouting. But you may suppose I paid no heed; jumping, ducking, and breaking through, I ran straight before my nose till I could run no longer. 0140m XIV The First Blow 9140m was so pleased at having given the slip to Long John that I began to enjoy myself and look around me with some interest on the strange land that I was in. I had crossed a marshy tract full of willows, bulrushes, and odd, outlandish, swampy trees; and I had now come out upon the skirts of an open piece of undulating, sandy country, about a mile long, dotted with a few pines and a great number of contorted trees, not unlike the oak in growth, but pale in the foliage, like willows. On the far side of the open stood one of the hills, with two quaint, craggy peaks shining vividly in the sun. I now felt for the first time the joy of exploration. The isle was uninhabited; my shipmates I had left behind, and nothing lived in front of me but dumb brutes and fowls. I turned hither and thither among the trees. Here and there were flowering plants, unknown to me; here and there I saw snakes, and one raised his head from a ledge of rock and hissed at me with a noise not unlike the spinning of a top. Little did I suppose that he was a deadly enemy and that the noise was the famous rattle. Then I came to a long thicket of these oaklike treeslive, or evergreen, oaks, I heard afterwards they should be calledwhich grew low along the sand like brambles, the boughs curiously twisted, the foliage compact, like thatch. The thicket stretched down from the top of one of the sandy knolls, spreading and growing taller as it went, until it reached the margin of the broad, reedy fen, through which the nearest of the little rivers soaked its way into the anchorage. The marsh was steaming in the strong sun, and the outline of the Spyglass trembled through the haze. All at once there began to go a sort of bustle among the bulrushes; a wild duck flew up with a quack, another followed, and soon over the whole surface of the marsh a great cloud of birds hung screaming and circling in the air. I judged at once that some of my shipmates must be drawing near along the borders of the fen. Nor was I deceived, for soon I heard the very distant and low tones of a human voice, which, as I continued to give ear, grew steadily louder and nearer. This put me in a great fear, and I crawled under cover of the nearest liveoak and squatted there, hearkening, as silent as a mouse. Another voice answered, and then the first voice, which I now recognized to be Silvers, once more took up the story and ran on for a long while in a stream, only now and again interrupted by the other. By the sound they must have been talking earnestly, and almost fiercely; but no distinct word came to my hearing. At last the speakers seemed to have paused and perhaps to have sat down, for not only did they cease to draw any nearer, but the birds themselves began to grow more quiet and to settle again to their places in the swamp. And now I began to feel that I was neglecting my business, that since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with these desperadoes, the least I could do was to overhear them at their councils, and that my plain and obvious duty was to draw as close as I could manage, under the favourable ambush of the crouching trees. I could tell the direction of the speakers pretty exactly, not only by the sound of their voices but by the behaviour of the few birds that still hung in alarm above the heads of the intruders. Crawling on all fours, I made steadily but slowly towards them, till at last, raising my head to an aperture among the leaves, I could see clear down into a little green dell beside the marsh, and closely set about with trees, where Long John Silver and another of the crew stood face to face in conversation. The sun beat full upon them. Silver had thrown his hat beside him on the ground, and his great, smooth, blond face, all shining with heat, was lifted to the other mans in a kind of appeal. Mate, he was saying, its because I thinks gold dust of yougold dust, and you may lay to that! If I hadnt took to you like pitch, do you think Id have been here awarning of you? Alls upyou cant make nor mend; its to save your neck that Im aspeaking, and if one of the wild uns knew it, whered I be, Tomnow, tell me, whered I be? Silver, said the other manand I observed he was not only red in the face, but spoke as hoarse as a crow, and his voice shook too, like a taut ropeSilver, says he, youre old, and youre honest, or has the name for it; and youve money too, which lots of poor sailors hasnt; and youre brave, or Im mistook. And will you tell me youll let yourself be led away with that kind of a mess of swabs? Not you! As sure as God sees me, Id sooner lose my hand. If I turn agin my dooty And then all of a sudden he was interrupted by a noise. I had found one of the honest handswell, here, at that same moment, came news of another. Far away out in the marsh there arose, all of a sudden, a sound like the cry of anger, then another on the back of it; and then one horrid, longdrawn scream. The rocks of the Spyglass reechoed it a score of times; the whole troop of marshbirds rose again, darkening heaven, with a simultaneous whirr; and long after that death yell was still ringing in my brain, silence had reestablished its empire, and only the rustle of the redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges disturbed the languor of the afternoon. Tom had leaped at the sound, like a horse at the spur, but Silver had not winked an eye. He stood where he was, resting lightly on his crutch, watching his companion like a snake about to spring. John! said the sailor, stretching out his hand. Hands off! cried Silver, leaping back a yard, as it seemed to me, with the speed and security of a trained gymnast. Hands off, if you like, John Silver, said the other. Its a black conscience that can make you feared of me. But in heavens name, tell me, what was that? That? returned Silver, smiling away, but warier than ever, his eye a mere pinpoint in his big face, but gleaming like a crumb of glass. That? Oh, I reckon thatll be Alan. And at this point Tom flashed out like a hero. Alan! he cried. Then rest his soul for a true seaman! And as for you, John Silver, long youve been a mate of mine, but youre mate of mine no more. If I die like a dog, Ill die in my dooty. Youve killed Alan, have you? Kill me too, if you can. But I defies you. And with that, this brave fellow turned his back directly on the cook and set off walking for the beach. But he was not destined to go far. With a cry John seized the branch of a tree, whipped the crutch out of his armpit, and sent that uncouth missile hurtling through the air. It struck poor Tom, point foremost, and with stunning violence, right between the shoulders in the middle of his back. His hands flew up, he gave a sort of gasp, and fell. Whether he were injured much or little, none could ever tell. Like enough, to judge from the sound, his back was broken on the spot. But he had no time given him to recover. Silver, agile as a monkey even without leg or crutch, was on the top of him next moment and had twice buried his knife up to the hilt in that defenceless body. From my place of ambush, I could hear him pant aloud as he struck the blows. I do not know what it rightly is to faint, but I do know that for the next little while the whole world swam away from before me in a whirling mist; Silver and the birds, and the tall Spyglass hilltop, going round and round and topsyturvy before my eyes, and all manner of bells ringing and distant voices shouting in my ear. When I came again to myself the monster had pulled himself together, his crutch under his arm, his hat upon his head. Just before him Tom lay motionless upon the sward; but the murderer minded him not a whit, cleansing his bloodstained knife the while upon a wisp of grass. Everything else was unchanged, the sun still shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh and the tall pinnacle of the mountain, and I could scarce persuade myself that murder had been actually done and a human life cruelly cut short a moment since before my eyes. 0141m 0145m But now John put his hand into his pocket, brought out a whistle, and blew upon it several modulated blasts that rang far across the heated air. I could not tell, of course, the meaning of the signal, but it instantly awoke my fears. More men would be coming. I might be discovered. They had already slain two of the honest people; after Tom and Alan, might not I come next? Instantly I began to extricate myself and crawl back again, with what speed and silence I could manage, to the more open portion of the wood. As I did so, I could hear hails coming and going between the old buccaneer and his comrades, and this sound of danger lent me wings. As soon as I was clear of the thicket, I ran as I never ran before, scarce minding the direction of my flight, so long as it led me from the murderers; and as I ran, fear grew and grew upon me until it turned into a kind of frenzy. Indeed, could anyone be more entirely lost than I? When the gun fired, how should I dare to go down to the boats among those fiends, still smoking from their crime? Would not the first of them who saw me wring my neck like a snipes? Would not my absence itself be an evidence to them of my alarm, and therefore of my fatal knowledge? It was all over, I thought. Goodbye to the Hispaniola; goodbye to the squire, the doctor, and the captain! There was nothing left for me but death by starvation or death by the hands of the mutineers. All this while, as I say, I was still running, and without taking any notice, I had drawn near to the foot of the little hill with the two peaks and had got into a part of the island where the liveoaks grew more widely apart and seemed more like forest trees in their bearing and dimensions. Mingled with these were a few scattered pines, some fifty, some nearer seventy, feet high. The air too smelt more freshly than down beside the marsh. And here a fresh alarm brought me to a standstill with a thumping heart. 0150m XV The Man of the Island 9150m rom the side of the hill, which was here steep and stony, a spout of gravel was dislodged and fell rattling and bounding through the trees. My eyes turned instinctively in that direction, and I saw a figure leap with great rapidity behind the trunk of a pine. What it was, whether bear or man or monkey, I could in no wise tell. It seemed dark and shaggy; more I knew not. But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand. I was now, it seemed, cut off upon both sides; behind me the murderers, before me this lurking nondescript. And immediately I began to prefer the dangers that I knew to those I knew not. Silver himself appeared less terrible in contrast with this creature of the woods, and I turned on my heel, and looking sharply behind me over my shoulder, began to retrace my steps in the direction of the boats. Instantly the figure reappeared, and making a wide circuit, began to head me off. I was tired, at any rate; but had I been as fresh as when I rose, I could see it was in vain for me to contend in speed with such an adversary. From trunk to trunk the creature flitted like a deer, running manlike on two legs, but unlike any man that I had ever seen, stooping almost double as it ran. Yet a man it was, I could no longer be in doubt about that. I began to recall what I had heard of cannibals. I was within an ace of calling for help. But the mere fact that he was a man, however wild, had somewhat reassured me, and my fear of Silver began to revive in proportion. I stood still, therefore, and cast about for some method of escape; and as I was so thinking, the recollection of my pistol flashed into my mind. As soon as I remembered I was not defenceless, courage glowed again in my heart and I set my face resolutely for this man of the island and walked briskly towards him. He was concealed by this time behind another tree trunk; but he must have been watching me closely, for as soon as I began to move in his direction he reappeared and took a step to meet me. Then he hesitated, drew back, came forward again, and at last, to my wonder and confusion, threw himself on his knees and held out his clasped hands in supplication. At that I once more stopped. Who are you? I asked. Ben Gunn, he answered, and his voice sounded hoarse and awkward, like a rusty lock. Im poor Ben Gunn, I am; and I havent spoke with a Christian these three years. 0153m I could now see that he was a white man like myself and that his features were even pleasing. His skin, wherever it was exposed, was burnt by the sun; even his lips were black, and his fair eyes looked quite startling in so dark a face. Of all the beggarmen that I had seen or fancied, he was the chief for raggedness. He was clothed with tatters of old ships canvas and old seacloth, and this extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass buttons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin. About his waist he wore an old brassbuckled leather belt, which was the one thing solid in his whole accoutrement. Three years! I cried. Were you shipwrecked? Nay, mate, said he; marooned. I had heard the word, and I knew it stood for a horrible kind of punishment common enough among the buccaneers, in which the offender is put ashore with a little powder and shot and left behind on some desolate and distant island. Marooned three years agone, he continued, and lived on goats since then, and berries, and oysters. Wherever a man is, says I, a man can do for himself. But, mate, my heart is sore for Christian diet. You mightnt happen to have a piece of cheese about you, now? No? Well, manys the long night Ive dreamed of cheesetoasted, mostlyand woke up again, and here I were. If ever I can get aboard again, said I, you shall have cheese by the stone. All this time he had been feeling the stuff of my jacket, smoothing my hands, looking at my boots, and generally, in the intervals of his speech, showing a childish pleasure in the presence of a fellow creature. But at my last words he perked up into a kind of startled slyness. If ever you can get aboard again, says you? he repeated. Why, now, whos to hinder you? Not you, I know, was my reply. And right you was, he cried. Now youwhat do you call yourself, mate? Jim, I told him. Jim, Jim, says he, quite pleased apparently. Well, now, Jim, Ive lived that rough as youd be ashamed to hear of. Now, for instance, you wouldnt think I had had a pious motherto look at me? he asked. Why, no, not in particular, I answered. Ah, well, said he, but I hadremarkable pious. And I was a civil, pious boy, and could rattle off my catechism that fast, as you couldnt tell one word from another. And heres what it come to, Jim, and it begun with chuckfarthen on the blessed gravestones! Thats what it begun with, but it went furthern that; and so my mother told me, and predicked the whole, she did, the pious woman! But it were Providence that put me here. Ive thought it all out in this here lonely island, and Im back on piety. You dont catch me tasting rum so much, but just a thimbleful for luck, of course, the first chance I have. Im bound Ill be good, and I see the way to. And, Jimlooking all round him and lowering his voice to a whisperIm rich. I now felt sure that the poor fellow had gone crazy in his solitude, and I suppose I must have shown the feeling in my face, for he repeated the statement hotly Rich! Rich! I says. And Ill tell you what Ill make a man of you, Jim. Ah, Jim, youll bless your stars, you will, you was the first that found me! And at this there came suddenly a lowering shadow over his face, and he tightened his grasp upon my hand and raised a forefinger threateningly before my eyes. Now, Jim, you tell me true that aint Flints ship? he asked. At this I had a happy inspiration. I began to believe that I had found an ally, and I answered him at once. Its not Flints ship, and Flint is dead; but Ill tell you true, as you ask methere are some of Flints hands aboard; worse luck for the rest of us. Not a manwith oneleg? he gasped. Silver? I asked. Ah, Silver! says he. That were his name. Hes the cook, and the ringleader too. He was still holding me by the wrist, and at that he give it quite a wring. If you was sent by Long John, he said, Im as good as pork, and I know it. But where was you, do you suppose? I had made my mind up in a moment, and by way of answer told him the whole story of our voyage and the predicament in which we found ourselves. He heard me with the keenest interest, and when I had done he patted me on the head. Youre a good lad, Jim, he said; and youre all in a clove hitch, aint you? Well, you just put your trust in Ben GunnBen Gunns the man to do it. Would you think it likely, now, that your squire would prove a liberalminded one in case of helphim being in a clove hitch, as you remark? I told him the squire was the most liberal of men. Aye, but you see, returned Ben Gunn, I didnt mean giving me a gate to keep, and a suit of livery clothes, and such; thats not my mark, Jim. What I mean is, would he be likely to come down to the toon of, say one thousand pounds out of money thats as good as a mans own already? I am sure he would, said I. As it was, all hands were to share. And a passage home? he added with a look of great shrewdness. Why, I cried, the squires a gentleman. And besides, if we got rid of the others, we should want you to help work the vessel home. Ah, said he, so you would. And he seemed very much relieved. Now, Ill tell you what, he went on. So much Ill tell you, and no more. I were in Flints ship when he buried the treasure; he and six alongsix strong seamen. They was ashore nigh on a week, and us standing off and on in the old Walrus. One fine day up went the signal, and here come Flint by himself in a little boat, and his head done up in a blue scarf. The sun was getting up, and mortal white he looked about the cutwater. But, there he was, you mind, and the six all deaddead and buried. How he done it, not a man aboard us could make out. It was battle, murder, and sudden death, leastwayshim against six. Billy Bones was the mate; Long John, he was quartermaster; and they asked him where the treasure was. Ah, says he, you can go ashore, if you like, and stay, he says; but as for the ship, shell beat up for more, by thunder! Thats what he said. Well, I was in another ship three years back, and we sighted this island. Boys, said I, heres Flints treasure; lets land and find it. The capn was displeased at that, but my messmates were all of a mind and landed. Twelve days they looked for it, and every day they had the worse word for me, until one fine morning all hands went aboard. As for you, Benjamin Gunn, says they, heres a musket, they says, and a spade, and pickaxe. You can stay here and find Flints money for yourself, they says. Well, Jim, three years have I been here, and not a bite of Christian diet from that day to this. But now, you look here; look at me. Do I look like a man before the mast? No, says you. Nor I werent, neither, I says. And with that he winked and pinched me hard. Just you mention them words to your squire, Jim, he went on. Nor he werent, neitherthats the words. Three years he were the man of this island, light and dark, fair and rain; and sometimes he would maybe think upon a prayer (says you), and sometimes he would maybe think of his old mother, so be as shes alive (youll say); but the most part of Gunns time (this is what youll say)the most part of his time was took up with another matter. And then youll give him a nip, like I do. And he pinched me again in the most confidential manner. Then, he continued, then youll up, and youll say this Gunn is a good man (youll say), and he puts a precious sight more confidencea precious sight, mind thatin a genleman born than in these genleman of fortune, having been one hisself. Well, I said, I dont understand one word that youve been saying. But thats neither here nor there; for how am I to get on board? Ah, said he, thats the hitch, for sure. Well, theres my boat, that I made with my two hands. I keep her under the white rock. If the worst come to the worst, we might try that after dark. Hi! he broke out. Whats that? For just then, although the sun had still an hour or two to run, all the echoes of the island awoke and bellowed to the thunder of a cannon. They have begun to fight! I cried. Follow me. And I began to run towards the anchorage, my terrors all forgotten, while close at my side the marooned man in his goatskins trotted easily and lightly. Left, left, says he; keep to your left hand, mate Jim! Under the trees with you! Theers where I killed my first goat. They dont come down here now; theyre all mastheaded on them mountings for the fear of Benjamin Gunn. Ah! And theres the cetemerycemetery, he must have meant. You see the mounds? I come here and prayed, nows and thens, when I thought maybe a Sunday would be about doo. It werent quite a chapel, but it seemed more solemn like; and then, says you, Ben Gunn was shorthandedno chapling, nor so much as a Bible and a flag, you says. So he kept talking as I ran, neither expecting nor receiving any answer. The cannonshot was followed after a considerable interval by a volley of small arms. Another pause, and then, not a quarter of a mile in front of me, I beheld the Union Jack flutter in the air above a wood. 0159m PART FOURThe Stockade 0161m XVI Narrative Continued by the Doctor How the Ship Was Abandoned 9161m t was about half past onethree bells in the sea phrasethat the two boats went ashore from the Hispaniola. The captain, the squire, and I were talking matters over in the cabin. Had there been a breath of wind, we should have fallen on the six mutineers who were left aboard with us, slipped our cable, and away to sea. But the wind was wanting; and to complete our helplessness, down came Hunter with the news that Jim Hawkins had slipped into a boat and was gone ashore with the rest. It never occurred to us to doubt Jim Hawkins, but we were alarmed for his safety. With the men in the temper they were in, it seemed an even chance if we should see the lad again. We ran on deck. The pitch was bubbling in the seams; the nasty stench of the place turned me sick; if ever a man smelt fever and dysentery, it was in that abominable anchorage. The six scoundrels were sitting grumbling under a sail in the forecastle; ashore we could see the gigs made fast and a man sitting in each, hard by where the river runs in. One of them was whistling Lillibullero. Waiting was a strain, and it was decided that Hunter and I should go ashore with the jollyboat in quest of information. The gigs had leaned to their right, but Hunter and I pulled straight in, in the direction of the stockade upon the chart. The two who were left guarding their boats seemed in a bustle at our appearance; Lillibullero stopped off, and I could see the pair discussing what they ought to do. Had they gone and told Silver, all might have turned out differently; but they had their orders, I suppose, and decided to sit quietly where they were and hark back again to Lillibullero. There was a slight bend in the coast, and I steered so as to put it between us; even before we landed we had thus lost sight of the gigs. I jumped out and came as near running as I durst, with a big silk handkerchief under my hat for coolness sake and a brace of pistols ready primed for safety. I had not gone a hundred yards when I reached the stockade. This was how it was a spring of clear water rose almost at the top of a knoll. Well, on the knoll, and enclosing the spring, they had clapped a stout loghouse fit to hold two score of people on a pinch and loopholed for musketry on either side. All round this they had cleared a wide space, and then the thing was completed by a paling six feet high, without door or opening, too strong to pull down without time and labour and too open to shelter the besiegers. The people in the loghouse had them in every way; they stood quiet in shelter and shot the others like partridges. All they wanted was a good watch and food; for, short of a complete surprise, they might have held the place against a regiment. What particularly took my fancy was the spring. For though we had a good enough place of it in the cabin of the Hispaniola, with plenty of arms and ammunition, and things to eat, and excellent wines, there had been one thing overlookedwe had no water. I was thinking this over when there came ringing over the island the cry of a man at the point of death. I was not new to violent deathI have served his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and got a wound myself at Fontenoybut I know my pulse went dot and carry one. Jim Hawkins is gone, was my first thought.


It is something to have been an old soldier, but more still to have been a doctor. There is no time to dillydally in our work. And so now I made up my mind instantly, and with no time lost returned to the shore and jumped on board the jollyboat. By good fortune Hunter pulled a good oar. We made the water fly, and the boat was soon alongside and I aboard the schooner. I found them all shaken, as was natural. The squire was sitting down, as white as a sheet, thinking of the harm he had led us to, the good soul! And one of the six forecastle hands was little better. Theres a man, says Captain Smollett, nodding towards him, new to this work. He came nighhand fainting, doctor, when he heard the cry. Another touch of the rudder and that man would join us. I told my plan to the captain, and between us we settled on the details of its accomplishment. We put old Redruth in the gallery between the cabin and the forecastle, with three or four loaded muskets and a mattress for protection. Hunter brought the boat round under the sternport, and Joyce and I set to work loading her with powder tins, muskets, bags of biscuits, kegs of pork, a cask of cognac, and my invaluable medicine chest. In the meantime, the squire and the captain stayed on deck, and the latter hailed the coxswain, who was the principal man aboard. Mr. Hands, he said, here are two of us with a brace of pistols each. If any one of you six make a signal of any description, that mans dead. They were a good deal taken aback, and after a little consultation one and all tumbled down the fore companion, thinking no doubt to take us on the rear. But when they saw Redruth waiting for them in the sparred galley, they went about ship at once, and a head popped out again on deck. Down, dog! cries the captain. And the head popped back again; and we heard no more, for the time, of these six very fainthearted seamen. 0163m By this time, tumbling things in as they came, we had the jollyboat loaded as much as we dared. Joyce and I got out through the sternport, and we made for shore again as fast as oars could take us. This second trip fairly aroused the watchers along shore. Lillibullero was dropped again; and just before we lost sight of them behind the little point, one of them whipped ashore and disappeared. I had half a mind to change my plan and destroy their boats, but I feared that Silver and the others might be close at hand, and all might very well be lost by trying for too much. We had soon touched land in the same place as before and set to provision the block house. All three made the first journey, heavily laden, and tossed our stores over the palisade. Then, leaving Joyce to guard themone man, to be sure, but with half a dozen musketsHunter and I returned to the jollyboat and loaded ourselves once more. So we proceeded without pausing to take breath, till the whole cargo was bestowed, when the two servants took up their position in the block house, and I, with all my power, sculled back to the Hispaniola. That we should have risked a second boat load seems more daring than it really was. They had the advantage of numbers, of course, but we had the advantage of arms. Not one of the men ashore had a musket, and before they could get within range for pistol shooting, we flattered ourselves we should be able to give a good account of a halfdozen at least. The squire was waiting for me at the stern window, all his faintness gone from him. He caught the painter and made it fast, and we fell to loading the boat for our very lives. Pork, powder, and biscuit was the cargo, with only a musket and a cutlass apiece for the squire and me and Redruth and the captain. The rest of the arms and powder we dropped overboard in two fathoms and a half of water, so that we could see the bright steel shining far below us in the sun, on the clean, sandy bottom. By this time the tide was beginning to ebb, and the ship was swinging round to her anchor. Voices were heard faintly halloaing in the direction of the two gigs; and though this reassured us for Joyce and Hunter, who were well to the eastward, it warned our party to be off. Redruth retreated from his place in the gallery and dropped into the boat, which we then brought round to the ships counter, to be handier for Captain Smollett. Now, men, said he, do you hear me? There was no answer from the forecastle. Its to you, Abraham Grayits to you I am speaking. Still no reply. Gray, resumed Mr. Smollett, a little louder, I am leaving this ship, and I order you to follow your captain. I know you are a good man at bottom, and I dare say not one of the lot of yous as bad as he makes out. I have my watch here in my hand; I give you thirty seconds to join me in. There was a pause. Come, my fine fellow, continued the captain; dont hang so long in stays. Im risking my life and the lives of these good gentlemen every second. There was a sudden scuffle, a sound of blows, and out burst Abraham Gray with a knife cut on the side of the cheek, and came running to the captain like a dog to the whistle. Im with you, sir, said he. And the next moment he and the captain had dropped aboard of us, and we had shoved off and given way. We were clear out of the ship, but not yet ashore in our stockade. 0168m XVII Narrative Continued by the Doctor The Jollyboats Last Trip 9168m his fifth trip was quite different from any of the others. In the first place, the little gallipot of a boat that we were in was gravely overloaded. Five grown men, and three of themTrelawney, Redruth, and the captainover six feet high, was already more than she was meant to carry. Add to that the powder, pork, and breadbags. The gunwale was lipping astern. Several times we shipped a little water, and my breeches and the tails of my coat were all soaking wet before we had gone a hundred yards. The captain made us trim the boat, and we got her to lie a little more evenly. All the same, we were afraid to breathe. In the second place, the ebb was now makinga strong rippling current running westward through the basin, and then southard and seaward down the straits by which we had entered in the morning. Even the ripples were a danger to our overloaded craft, but the worst of it was that we were swept out of our true course and away from our proper landingplace behind the point. If we let the current have its way we should come ashore beside the gigs, where the pirates might appear at any moment. I cannot keep her head for the stockade, sir, said I to the captain. I was steering, while he and Redruth, two fresh men, were at the oars. The tide keeps washing her down. Could you pull a little stronger? Not without swamping the boat, said he. You must bear up, sir, if you pleasebear up until you see youre gaining. I tried and found by experiment that the tide kept sweeping us westward until I had laid her head due east, or just about right angles to the way we ought to go. Well never get ashore at this rate, said I. If its the only course that we can lie, sir, we must even lie it, returned the captain. We must keep upstream. You see, sir, he went on, if once we dropped to leeward of the landingplace, its hard to say where we should get ashore, besides the chance of being boarded by the gigs; whereas, the way we go the current must slacken, and then we can dodge back along the shore. The currents less aready, sir, said the man Gray, who was sitting in the foresheets; you can ease her off a bit. Thank you, my man, said I, quite as if nothing had happened, for we had all quietly made up our minds to treat him like one of ourselves. Suddenly the captain spoke up again, and I thought his voice was a little changed. The gun! said he. I have thought of that, said I, for I made sure he was thinking of a bombardment of the fort. They could never get the gun ashore, and if they did, they could never haul it through the woods. Look astern, doctor, replied the captain. We had entirely forgotten the long nine; and there, to our horror, were the five rogues busy about her, getting off her jacket, as they called the stout tarpaulin cover under which she sailed. Not only that, but it flashed into my mind at the same moment that the roundshot and the powder for the gun had been left behind, and a stroke with an axe would put it all into the possession of the evil ones abroad. Israel was Flints gunner, said Gray hoarsely. At any risk, we put the boats head direct for the landingplace. By this time we had got so far out of the run of the current that we kept steerage way even at our necessarily gentle rate of rowing, and I could keep her steady for the goal. But the worst of it was that with the course I now held we turned our broadside instead of our stern to the Hispaniola and offered a target like a barn door. I could hear as well as see that brandyfaced rascal Israel Hands plumping down a roundshot on the deck. Whos the best shot? asked the captain. Mr. Trelawney, out and away, said I. Mr. Trelawney, will you please pick me off one of these men, sir? Hands, if possible, said the captain. Trelawney was as cool as steel. He looked to the priming of his gun. Now, cried the captain, easy with that gun, sir, or youll swamp the boat. All hands stand by to trim her when he aims. The squire raised his gun, the rowing ceased, and we leaned over to the other side to keep the balance, and all was so nicely contrived that we did not ship a drop. They had the gun, by this time, slewed round upon the swivel, and Hands, who was at the muzzle with the rammer, was in consequence the most exposed. However, we had no luck, for just as Trelawney fired, down he stooped, the ball whistled over him, and it was one of the other four who fell. The cry he gave was echoed not only by his companions on board but by a great number of voices from the shore, and looking in that direction I saw the other pirates trooping out from among the trees and tumbling into their places in the boats. Here come the gigs, sir, said I. Give way, then, cried the captain. We mustnt mind if we swamp her now. If we cant get ashore, alls up. Only one of the gigs is being manned, sir, I added; the crew of the other most likely going round by shore to cut us off. Theyll have a hot run, sir, returned the captain. Jack ashore, you know. Its not them I mind; its the roundshot. Carpet bowls! My ladys maid couldnt miss. Tell us, squire, when you see the match, and well hold water. 0171m In the meanwhile we had been making headway at a good pace for a boat so overloaded, and we had shipped but little water in the process. We were now close in; thirty or forty strokes and we should beach her, for the ebb had already disclosed a narrow belt of sand below the clustering trees. The gig was no longer to be feared; the little point had already concealed it from our eyes. The ebbtide, which had so cruelly delayed us, was now making reparation and delaying our assailants. The one source of danger was the gun. If I durst, said the captain, Id stop and pick off another man. But it was plain that they meant nothing should delay their shot. They had never so much as looked at their fallen comrade, though he was not dead, and I could see him trying to crawl away. Ready! cried the squire. Hold! cried the captain, quick as an echo. And he and Redruth backed with a great heave that sent her stern bodily under water. The report fell in at the same instant of time. This was the first that Jim heard, the sound of the squires shot not having reached him. Where the ball passed, not one of us precisely knew, but I fancy it must have been over our heads and that the wind of it may have contributed to our disaster. At any rate, the boat sank by the stern, quite gently, in three feet of water, leaving the captain and myself, facing each other, on our feet. The other three took complete headers, and came up again drenched and bubbling. So far there was no great harm. No lives were lost, and we could wade ashore in safety. But there were all our stores at the bottom, and to make things worse, only two guns out of five remained in a state for service. Mine I had snatched from my knees and held over my head, by a sort of instinct. As for the captain, he had carried his over his shoulder by a bandoleer, and like a wise man, lock uppermost. The other three had gone down with the boat. To add to our concern, we heard voices already drawing near us in the woods along shore, and we had not only the danger of being cut off from the stockade in our halfcrippled state but the fear before us whether, if Hunter and Joyce were attacked by half a dozen, they would have the sense and conduct to stand firm. Hunter was steady, that we knew; Joyce was a doubtful casea pleasant, polite man for a valet and to brush ones clothes, but not entirely fitted for a man of war. With all this in our minds, we waded ashore as fast as we could, leaving behind us the poor jollyboat and a good half of all our powder and provisions. 0175m XVIII Narrative Continued by the Doctor End of the First Days Fighting 9175m e made our best speed across the strip of wood that now divided us from the stockade, and at every step we took the voices of the buccaneers rang nearer. Soon we could hear their footfalls as they ran and the cracking of the branches as they breasted across a bit of thicket. I began to see we should have a brush for it in earnest and looked to my priming. Captain, said I, Trelawney is the dead shot. Give him your gun; his own is useless. They exchanged guns, and Trelawney, silent and cool as he had been since the beginning of the bustle, hung a moment on his heel to see that all was fit for service. At the same time, observing Gray to be unarmed, I handed him my cutlass. It did all our hearts good to see him spit in his hand, knit his brows, and make the blade sing through the air. It was plain from every line of his body that our new hand was worth his salt. Forty paces farther we came to the edge of the wood and saw the stockade in front of us. We struck the enclosure about the middle of the south side, and almost at the same time, seven mutineersJob Anderson, the boatswain, at their headappeared in full cry at the southwestern corner. They paused as if taken aback, and before they recovered, not only the squire and I, but Hunter and Joyce from the block house, had time to fire. The four shots came in rather a scattering volley, but they did the business one of the enemy actually fell, and the rest, without hesitation, turned and plunged into the trees. After reloading, we walked down the outside of the palisade to see to the fallen enemy. He was stone deadshot through the heart. We began to rejoice over our good success when just at that moment a pistol cracked in the bush, a ball whistled close past my ear, and poor Tom Redruth stumbled and fell his length on the ground. Both the squire and I returned the shot, but as we had nothing to aim at, it is probable we only wasted powder. Then we reloaded and turned our attention to poor Tom. The captain and Gray were already examining him, and I saw with half an eye that all was over. I believe the readiness of our return volley had scattered the mutineers once more, for we were suffered without further molestation to get the poor old gamekeeper hoisted over the stockade and carried, groaning and bleeding, into the loghouse. Poor old fellow, he had not uttered one word of surprise, complaint, fear, or even acquiescence from the very beginning of our troubles till now, when we had laid him down in the loghouse to die. He had lain like a Trojan behind his mattress in the gallery; he had followed every order silently, doggedly, and well; he was the oldest of our party by a score of years; and now, sullen, old, serviceable servant, it was he that was to die. The squire dropped down beside him on his knees and kissed his hand, crying like a child. Be I going, doctor? he asked. Tom, my man, said I, youre going home. I wish I had had a lick at them with the gun first, he replied. Tom, said the squire, say you forgive me, wont you? Would that be respectful like, from me to you, squire? was the answer. Howsoever, so be it, amen! After a little while of silence, he said he thought somebody might read a prayer. Its the custom, sir, he added apologetically. And not long after, without another word, he passed away. In the meantime the captain, whom I had observed to be wonderfully swollen about the chest and pockets, had turned out a great many various storesthe British colours, a Bible, a coil of stoutish rope, pen, ink, the logbook, and pounds of tobacco. He had found a longish firtree lying felled and trimmed in the enclosure, and with the help of Hunter he had set it up at the corner of the loghouse where the trunks crossed and made an angle. Then, climbing on the roof, he had with his own hand bent and run up the colours. This seemed mightily to relieve him. He reentered the loghouse and set about counting up the stores as if nothing else existed. But he had an eye on Toms passage for all that, and as soon as all was over, came forward with another flag and reverently spread it on the body. Dont you take on, sir, he said, shaking the squires hand. Alls well with him; no fear for a hand thats been shot down in his duty to captain and owner. It maynt be good divinity, but its a fact. Then he pulled me aside. Dr. Livesey, he said, in how many weeks do you and squire expect the consort? I told him it was a question not of weeks but of months, that if we were not back by the end of August Blandly was to send to find us, but neither sooner nor later. You can calculate for yourself, I said. Why, yes, returned the captain, scratching his head; and making a large allowance, sir, for all the gifts of Providence, I should say we were pretty close hauled. How do you mean? I asked. Its a pity, sir, we lost that second load. Thats what I mean, replied the captain. As for powder and shot, well do. But the rations are short, very shortso short, Dr. Livesey, that were perhaps as well without that extra mouth. And he pointed to the dead body under the flag. Just then, with a roar and a whistle, a roundshot passed high above the roof of the loghouse and plumped far beyond us in the wood. Oho! said the captain. Blaze away! Youve little enough powder already, my lads. At the second trial, the aim was better, and the ball descended inside the stockade, scattering a cloud of sand but doing no further damage. Captain, said the squire, the house is quite invisible from the ship. It must be the flag they are aiming at. Would it not be wiser to take it in? Strike my colours! cried the captain. No, sir, not I; and as soon as he had said the words, I think we all agreed with him. For it was not only a piece of stout, seamanly, good feeling; it was good policy besides and showed our enemies that we despised their cannonade. All through the evening they kept thundering away. Ball after ball flew over or fell short or kicked up the sand in the enclosure, but they had to fire so high that the shot fell dead and buried itself in the soft sand. We had no ricochet to fear, and though one popped in through the roof of the loghouse and out again through the floor, we soon got used to that sort of horseplay and minded it no more than cricket. There is one good thing about all this, observed the captain; the wood in front of us is likely clear. The ebb has made a good while; our stores should be uncovered. Volunteers to go and bring in pork. Gray and Hunter were the first to come forward. Well armed, they stole out of the stockade, but it proved a useless mission. The mutineers were bolder than we fancied or they put more trust in Israels gunnery. For four or five of them were busy carrying off our stores and wading out with them to one of the gigs that lay close by, pulling an oar or so to hold her steady against the current. Silver was in the sternsheets in command; and every man of them was now provided with a musket from some secret magazine of their own. The captain sat down to his log, and here is the beginning of the entry Alexander Smollett, master; David Livesey, ships doctor; Abraham Gray, carpenters mate; John Trelawney, owner; John Hunter and Richard Joyce, owners servants, landsmenbeing all that is left faithful of the ships companywith stores for ten days at short rations, came ashore this day and flew British colours on the loghouse in Treasure Island. Thomas Redruth, owners servant, landsman, shot by the mutineers; James Hawkins, cabinboy And at the same time, I was wondering over poor Jim Hawkins fate. A hail on the land side. Somebody hailing us, said Hunter, who was on guard. Doctor! Squire! Captain! Hullo, Hunter, is that you? came the cries. And I ran to the door in time to see Jim Hawkins, safe and sound, come climbing over the stockade. 0179m 0182m XIX Narrative Resumed by Jim Hawkins The Garrison in the Stockade 9182m s soon as Ben Gunn saw the colours he came to a halt, stopped me by the arm, and sat down. Now, said he, theres your friends, sure enough. Far more likely its the mutineers, I answered. That! he cried. Why, in a place like this, where nobody puts in but genlemen of fortune, Silver would fly the Jolly Roger, you dont make no doubt of that. No, thats your friends. Theres been blows too, and I reckon your friends has had the best of it; and here they are ashore in the old stockade, as was made years and years ago by Flint. Ah, he was the man to have a headpiece, was Flint! Barring rum, his match were never seen. He were afraid of none, not he; ony SilverSilver was that genteel. Well, said I, that may be so, and so be it; all the more reason that I should hurry on and join my friends. Nay, mate, returned Ben, not you. Youre a good boy, or Im mistook; but youre ony a boy, all told. Now, Ben Gunn is fly. Rum wouldnt bring me there, where youre goingnot rum wouldnt, till I see your born genleman and gets it on his word of honour. And you wont forget my words; A precious sight (thats what youll say), a precious sight more confidenceand then nips him. And he pinched me the third time with the same air of cleverness. And when Ben Gunn is wanted, you know where to find him, Jim. Just wheer you found him today. And him that comes is to have a white thing in his hand, and hes to come alone. Oh! And youll say this Ben Gunn, says you, has reasons of his own. Well, said I, I believe I understand. You have something to propose, and you wish to see the squire or the doctor, and youre to be found where I found you. Is that all? And when? says you, he added. Why, from about noon observation to about six bells. Good, said I, and now may I go? You wont forget? he inquired anxiously. Precious sight, and reasons of his own, says you. Reasons of his own; thats the mainstay; as between man and man. Well, thenstill holding meI reckon you can go, Jim. And, Jim, if you was to see Silver, you wouldnt go for to sell Ben Gunn? Wild horses wouldnt draw it from you? No, says you. And if them pirates camp ashore, Jim, what would you say but thered be widders in the morning? Here he was interrupted by a loud report, and a cannonball came tearing through the trees and pitched in the sand not a hundred yards from where we two were talking. The next moment each of us had taken to his heels in a different direction. For a good hour to come frequent reports shook the island, and balls kept crashing through the woods. I moved from hidingplace to hidingplace, always pursued, or so it seemed to me, by these terrifying missiles. But towards the end of the bombardment, though still I durst not venture in the direction of the stockade, where the balls fell oftenest, I had begun, in a manner, to pluck up my heart again, and after a long detour to the east, crept down among the shoreside trees. The sun had just set, the sea breeze was rustling and tumbling in the woods and ruffling the grey surface of the anchorage; the tide, too, was far out, and great tracts of sand lay uncovered; the air, after the heat of the day, chilled me through my jacket. The Hispaniola still lay where she had anchored; but, sure enough, there was the Jolly Rogerthe black flag of piracyflying from her peak. Even as I looked, there came another red flash and another report that sent the echoes clattering, and one more roundshot whistled through the air. It was the last of the cannonade. I lay for some time watching the bustle which succeeded the attack. Men were demolishing something with axes on the beach near the stockadethe poor jollyboat, I afterwards discovered. Away, near the mouth of the river, a great fire was glowing among the trees, and between that point and the ship one of the gigs kept coming and going, the men, whom I had seen so gloomy, shouting at the oars like children. But there was a sound in their voices which suggested rum. At length I thought I might return towards the stockade. I was pretty far down on the low, sandy spit that encloses the anchorage to the east, and is joined at halfwater to Skeleton Island; and now, as I rose to my feet, I saw, some distance further down the spit and rising from among low bushes, an isolated rock, pretty high, and peculiarly white in colour. It occurred to me that this might be the white rock of which Ben Gunn had spoken and that some day or other a boat might be wanted and I should know where to look for one. Then I skirted among the woods until I had regained the rear, or shoreward side, of the stockade, and was soon warmly welcomed by the faithful party. I had soon told my story and began to look about me. The loghouse was made of unsquared trunks of pineroof, walls, and floor. The latter stood in several places as much as a foot or a foot and a half above the surface of the sand. There was a porch at the door, and under this porch the little spring welled up into an artificial basin of a rather odd kindno other than a great ships kettle of iron, with the bottom knocked out, and sunk to her bearings, as the captain said, among the sand. Little had been left besides the framework of the house, but in one corner there was a stone slab laid down by way of hearth and an old rusty iron basket to contain the fire. The slopes of the knoll and all the inside of the stockade had been cleared of timber to build the house, and we could see by the stumps what a fine and lofty grove had been destroyed. Most of the soil had been washed away or buried in drift after the removal of the trees; only where the streamlet ran down from the kettle a thick bed of moss and some ferns and little creeping bushes were still green among the sand. Very close around the stockadetoo close for defence, they saidthe wood still flourished high and dense, all of fir on the land side, but towards the sea with a large admixture of liveoaks. The cold evening breeze, of which I have spoken, whistled through every chink of the rude building and sprinkled the floor with a continual rain of fine sand. There was sand in our eyes, sand in our teeth, sand in our suppers, sand dancing in the spring at the bottom of the kettle, for all the world like porridge beginning to boil. Our chimney was a square hole in the roof; it was but a little part of the smoke that found its way out, and the rest eddied about the house and kept us coughing and piping the eye. Add to this that Gray, the new man, had his face tied up in a bandage for a cut he had got in breaking away from the mutineers and that poor old Tom Redruth, still unburied, lay along the wall, stiff and stark, under the Union Jack. If we had been allowed to sit idle, we should all have fallen in the blues, but Captain Smollett was never the man for that. All hands were called up before him, and he divided us into watches. The doctor and Gray and I for one; the squire, Hunter, and Joyce upon the other. Tired though we all were, two were sent out for firewood; two more were set to dig a grave for Redruth; the doctor was named cook; I was put sentry at the door; and the captain himself went from one to another, keeping up our spirits and lending a hand wherever it was wanted. From time to time the doctor came to the door for a little air and to rest his eyes, which were almost smoked out of his head, and whenever he did so, he had a word for me. That man Smollett, he said once, is a better man than I am. And when I say that it means a deal, Jim. Another time he came and was silent for a while. Then he put his head on one side, and looked at me. Is this Ben Gunn a man? he asked. I do not know, sir, said I. I am not very sure whether hes sane. If theres any doubt about the matter, he is, returned the doctor. A man who has been three years biting his nails on a desert island, Jim, cant expect to appear as sane as you or me. It doesnt lie in human nature. Was it cheese you said he had a fancy for? Yes, sir, cheese, I answered. Well, Jim, says he, just see the good that comes of being dainty in your food. Youve seen my snuffbox, havent you? And you never saw me take snuff, the reason being that in my snuffbox I carry a piece of Parmesan cheesea cheese made in Italy, very nutritious. Well, thats for Ben Gunn! Before supper was eaten we buried old Tom in the sand and stood round him for a while bareheaded in the breeze. A good deal of firewood had been got in, but not enough for the captains fancy, and he shook his head over it and told us we must get back to this tomorrow rather livelier. Then, when we had eaten our pork and each had a good stiff glass of brandy grog, the three chiefs got together in a corner to discuss our prospects. 0187m It appears they were at their wits end what to do, the stores being so low that we must have been starved into surrender long before help came. But our best hope, it was decided, was to kill off the buccaneers until they either hauled down their flag or ran away with the Hispaniola. From nineteen they were already reduced to fifteen, two others were wounded, and one at leastthe man shot beside the gunseverely wounded, if he were not dead. Every time we had a crack at them, we were to take it, saving our own lives, with the extremest care. And besides that, we had two able alliesrum and the climate. As for the first, though we were about half a mile away, we could hear them roaring and singing late into the night; and as for the second, the doctor staked his wig that, camped where they were in the marsh and unprovided with remedies, the half of them would be on their backs before a week. So, he added, if we are not all shot down first theyll be glad to be packing in the schooner. Its always a ship, and they can get to buccaneering again, I suppose. First ship that ever I lost, said Captain Smollett. I was dead tired, as you may fancy; and when I got to sleep, which was not till after a great deal of tossing, I slept like a log of wood. The rest had long been up and had already breakfasted and increased the pile of firewood by about half as much again when I was wakened by a bustle and the sound of voices. Flag of truce! I heard someone say; and then, immediately after, with a cry of surprise, Silver himself! And at that, up I jumped, and rubbing my eyes, ran to a loophole in the wall. 0190m XX Silvers Embassy 9190m ure enough, there were two men just outside the stockade, one of them waving a white cloth, the other, no less a person than Silver himself, standing placidly by. It was still quite early, and the coldest morning that I think I ever was abroad ina chill that pierced into the marrow. The sky was bright and cloudless overhead, and the tops of the trees shone rosily in the sun. But where Silver stood with his lieutenant, all was still in shadow, and they waded kneedeep in a low white vapour that had crawled during the night out of the morass. The chill and the vapour taken together told a poor tale of the island. It was plainly a damp, feverish, unhealthy spot. Keep indoors, men, said the captain.