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10 - Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson · Classic Adventure Books Collection

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Chapter nineteen. Narrative resumed by Jim Hawkins the garrison in the stockade. As
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soon as Ben Gunn saw the colors, he came to a halt, stopped
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me by the arm, and sat down. Now, says he, there's
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your friends, sure enough, Far more likely it's the mutineers. I answered
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that. He cried, why in a place like this, where nobody puts
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him but gentlemen of fortune? Silver would fly the jolly roger. You don't
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make no doubt of that. Nah, that's your friends. There's been blows
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too, and I reckon your friend has had the best of it. And
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here they are ashore in the old stockade, as has made years and years
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ago by Flint. Ah he was the man to have a headpiece, was
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flint barring rum. His match was never seen. He were afraid of none,
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not he only silver? Silver? Was that? Genteel? Well said
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I that may be so, and so be it all the more reason that
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I should hurry on and join my friends. Nay, mate, returned Ben,
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not you you're a good boy, or I'm mistook, But you're only
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a boy all told? Now, Ben gun is fly rum wouldn't bring me
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there where you're going? Now rum wouldn't till I see your born gentleman and
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gets it on his word of honor. And you won't forget my words.
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A precious sight, that's what you'll say, A precious sight. More confidence,
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and then nips him and he pinched me the third time with the same
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air of cleverness. And when ben Gunn is wanted, you know where to
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find him, Jim, just where you found him today. An him that
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comes is to have a white thing in his hand, and he's to come
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alone. Oh, and you'll say this, ben Gunn, says you,
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has reasons of his own. Well, said I, I believe, I
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understand you have something to propose, and you wish to see the squire or
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the doctor. And you're to be found where I found you. Is that
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all? And when says you? He added, why from about noon observation
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to about six bells? Good, says I. And now may I go.
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You won't forget he inquired, anxiously precious sight, and reasons of his
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own, says you. Reasons of his own. That's the main stay as
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between man and man. Well, then, still holding me, I reckon,
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you can go, Jim, and Jim if you was to see silver.
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You wouldn't go for a cell bend gun wild orses wouldn't draw it from
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you, Na, says you. And if them pirates came ashore, Jim,
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what would you say? But there'd be widders in the morning. Here
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he was interrupted by a loud report, and a cannon ball came tearing through
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the trees and pitched in in the sand, not a hundred yards from where
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we two were talking. The next moment, each of us had taken to
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our heels in a different direction. For a good hour to come, frequent
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reports shook the island, and balls kept crashing through the woods. I moved
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from hiding place to hiding place, always pursued, or so it seemed to
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me, by these terrifying missiles. But toward the end of the bombardment,
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though still I durst not venture in the direction of the stockade where the balls
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fell oftenest. I had begun in a manner to pluck up my heart again,
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and after a long detour in the east, crept down among the shore
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side trees. The sun had just set. The sea breeze was rustling and
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tumbling in the woods, and ruffling the gray surface of the anchorage, and
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tied too, was far out, and great tracks of sand lay uncovered the
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air. After the heat of the day chilled me through my jacket. The
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Hispaniola still lay where she had anchored, but sure enough there was the Jolly
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Roger, the black flag of piracy flying from her peak. Even as I
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looked, there came another red flash and another report that sent the echoes clattering,
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and one more round shot whistled through the air. It was the last
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of the cannonade. I lay for some time watching the bustle which succeeded The
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attack men were demolishing something with axes on the beach near the stockade, the
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poor jolly boat. I afterwards discovered anyway near the mouth of the river a
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great fire was glowing among the trees, and between that point and the ship,
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one of the gigs kept coming and going. The men whom I had
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seen so gloomy shouting at the oars like children, But there was a sound
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in their voices which suggested rum. At length, I thought I might return
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towards the stockade. I was pretty far down on the low sandy spit that
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encloses the anchorage to the east and is joined at half water to Skeleton Island.
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And now, as I rose to my feet, I saw some distance
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farther down the spit, and rising from among low bushes, an isolated rock,
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pretty high and particularly white in color. It occurred to me that this
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might be the white rock of which ben Gunn had spoken, and that some
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day or other a boat might be wanted, and I should know where to
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look for one. Then I skirted among the woods till I had regained the
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rear or shoreward side of the stockade, and was soon warmly welcomed by the
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faithful party. I had soon told my story and began to look about me.
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The log house was made of unsquared trunks of pine, roof, walls
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and floor. The latter stood in several places as much as a foot or
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a foot and a half above the surface of the sand. There was a
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porch at the door, and under this porch the little spring welled up into
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an artificial basin of a rather odd kind, no other than a great ship's
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kettle of iron, with the bottom knocked out and sunk to her bearings.
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As the captain said, among the sand, little had been left beside the
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framework of the house, but in one corner there was a stone slab laid
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down by way of a hearth and an old, rusty iron bucket to contain
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the fire. The slopes of the knoll and all the inside of the stockade
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had been cleared of timber to build the house, and we could see by
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the stumps what a fine and lofty grove had been destroyed. Most of the
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soil had been washed away or buried in drift after the removal of the trees.
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Only where the streamlet ran down from the kettle a thick bed of moss,
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and some ferns and little creeping bushes were still green among the sand,
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Very close around the stockade, too close for defense, they said. The
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wood still flourished high and dense, all of fur on the land side,
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but toward the sea, with a large admixture of live oaks. The cold
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evening breeze of which I have spoken whistled through every chink of the rude building,
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and sprinkled the floor with a continual rain of fine sand. There was
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sand in our eyes, sand in our teeth, sand in our suppers,
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sand dancing in the spring at the bottom of the kettle for all the world,
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like porridge beginning to boil. Our chimney was a square hole in the
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roof, but it was but a little part of the smoke that found its
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way out, and the rest edded about the house and kept us coughing and
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piping. The add to this that Gray, the new Man, had his
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face tied up in a bandage for a cut he had got in breaking away
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from the mutineers. And that poor old Tom Redruth, still unburied, lay
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along the wall, stiff and stark under the union jack. If we had
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been allowed to sit idle, we should all have fallen into the blues.
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But Captain Smollett was never the man for that. All hands were called up
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before him, and he divided us into watches, the Doctor and Gray,
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and I for one, the squire Hunter and Joyce upon the other. Tired
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as we were, two men were sent out for firewood. Two more were
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sent to dig a gray for Redruth. The doctor was named Cook. I
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was put sentry at the door, and the Captain himself went from one to
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another, keeping up our spirits and lending a hand wherever it was wanted.
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From time to time the doctor came to the door for a little air and
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to rest his eyes, which were almost smoked out of his head, and
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whenever he did so, he had a word for me. That man's Smollett,
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he said once, is a better man than I am. And when
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I say that, it means a great deal Jim. Another time he came
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and was silent for a while. Then he put his head on one side
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and looked at me. Is this Ben Gunn a man? He asked?
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I do not know, Sir, said I I am not very sure whether
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he's sane. If there's any doubt about the matter, he is returned the
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doctor, A man who has been three years biting his nails on a desert
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island. Jim can't expect to appear as sane as you or me. It
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doesn't lie in human nature. Was it cheese? You said he had a
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fancy for Yes, sir, cheese, I answered, well, Jim says
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he just you see the good that comes of being daty in your food.
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You've seen my snuff box, haven't you? And you never saw me take
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senough, the reason being that in my snuff box I carry a piece of
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Parmesan cheese, a cheese made in Italy, very nutritious. Well that's for
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Ben Gunn. Before supper was eaten, we buried old Tom in the sand
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and stood round him for a while, bare headed in the breeze. A
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good deal of firewood had been got in, but not enough for the captain's
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fancy, and he shook his head over it and told us we must get
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back to this tomorrow, rather livelier then. When we had eaten our pork
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and each had a good stiff glass of brandy grog, the three chiefs got
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together in a corner to discuss our prospects. It appears that they were at
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their wits end what to do, the stores being so low that we must
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have been starved into surrender long before help came. But our best hope,
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it was decided, was to kill off the buccaneers until they either hauled down
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their flag or ran away with the Hispaniola. From nineteen they were already reduced
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to fifteen. Two others were wounded, and one at least the man shot
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beside the gun severely wounded if he were not dead. Every time we had
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a crack at them, we were to take it, saving our own lives
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with the extremest care. And besides that, we had two able allies,
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Rum and the climate. As for the first though we were about half a
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mile away, we could hear them roaring and singing late into the night.
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And as for the second, the doctor staked his wig that camped where they
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were in the marsh, and unprovided with remedies, half of them would be
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on their backs before a week. So he added, if we are not
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all shot down first, there'll be glad to be packing in the schooner.
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It's always a ship, and they can get to buccaneering again. I suppose
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first ship that I ever lost, said Captain Smollett. I was dead tired,
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as you may fancy. And when I got to sleep, which was
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not after a great deal of tossing, I slept like a log of wood.
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The rest had long been up and had already breakfasted, and increased the
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pile of firewood by about half as much. Again, when I was awakened
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by a bustle and the sound of voices, Flag of truce, I heard
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someone say, and then immediately after, with a cry of surprise, Silver
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himself. And at that I jumped up, and, rubbing my eyes,
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ran to a loop hole in the wall. End of chapter nineteen, Chapter
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twenty Silver's embassy. Sure enough, there were two men just outside the stockade,
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them waving a white cloth, the other no lesser person than Silver himself,
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standing placidly by. It was still quite early, and the coldest morning
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that I think I was ever abroad. In a chill that pierced into the
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marrow, the sky was bright and cloudless overhead, and the tops of the
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trees shone rosily in the sun. Where Silver stood with his lieutenant, all
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was still in shadow, and they waded knee deep in a low white vapor
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that had crawled during the night out of the morass. The chill and the
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vapor, taken together, told a poor tale of the island. It was
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plainly a damp, feverish, unhealthy spot. Keep indoors, men, said
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the captain ten to one. This is a trick. Then he hailed the
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buccaneer who goes stand aw wee fire flag of truce, cried Silver. The
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captain was in the porch, keeping himself carefully out of the way of a
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treacherous shot. Should edny be intended, He turned and spoke to us.
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Doctor's watch on the lookout, Doctor Livesey, take the north side, if
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you please, Jim the east, gray west, the watch below. All
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hands to load muskets, lively men and care for. And then he turned
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to the mutineers, And what do you want with your flag of truce?
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Sir? He cried? This time was the other man who replied, cap'n
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Silver, sir, to come on board and make terms, he shouted,
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Captain Silver. Don't know him? Who's he cried the captain, and we
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could hear him adding to himself, cap'n is it my heart? And here's
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promotion? Long John answered for himself, me, sir, these poor lads
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of chosen me, cap'noff your desertion, sir, laying a particular emphasis upon
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the word desertion. We're willing to submit if we can come to terms and
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make no bones about it. All I ask is your word, cap'n Smollett,
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to let me safe and sailed out of this ere stockade, and one
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minute to go get out a shot before a gun is fired, my man,
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said, Captain Smollett, I have not the slightest desire to talk to
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you. If you wish to talk to me, you can't come. That's
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all. If there's any treachery, it'll be on your side and the Lord
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help you. That's enough, cap'n shouted long John, cheerily a word from
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using enough, I know a gentleman, and you made later that we could
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see the man who carried the flag of truce attempting to hold Silver back.
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Nor was that wonderful sea, how cavalier had been the captain's answer. But
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Silver laughed at him aloud and slapped him on the back, as if the
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idea of alarm had been absurd. Then he advanced to the stockade, threw
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over his crutch, got a leg up, and with great vigor and skill,
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succeeded in surmounting the fence and dropping safely to the other side. I
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will confess that I was far too much taken up with what was going on
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to be of the slightest use as sentry. Indeed, I had already deserted
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my eastern loophole and crept up behind the captain, who had now seated himself
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on the threshold, with his elbows on his knees, his head in his
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hands, and his eyes fixed on the water as it bubbled out of the
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old iron cattle in the sand. He was whistling to himself, cumlasses and
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lads. Silver had terrible hard work at getting up the knoll. What with
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the steepness of the incline and the thick tree stumps and the soft sand and
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his crutch were as helpless as a ship in stays. But he stuck to
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it like a man in silence, and at last arrived before the captain,
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whom he saluted in the handsomest style. He was tricked out in his best
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an immense blue coat, thick with brass buttons, hung as low as to
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his knees, and a fine laced hat was set on the back of his
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head. Here you are, my man, said the captain, raising his
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head. You had better sit down. You wait, agora, let me
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inside. Capt'n complained Longjohn. It's a main cold morning to be sure,
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sir, to sit outside upon the sand, why silver, said the captain.
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If you had pleased to be an honest man, you might have been
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sitting in your galley. It's your own doing. You're either my ship's cook,
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and then you were treated handsome or cap'n over a common mutineer and pirate,
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and then you can go hang wow. Well, Copton returned the sea
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cook, sitting down as he was bidden on the sand. You're allowed to
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give me a hand up again. That's all a sweet pretty place you have
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of it. Here, Ah, there's Jim the top of the morning to
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you, Jim, doctor, here's my service. Why there you all are
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together like a happy family in a manner of speaking. If you have anything
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to say, my man better say it, said the captain. Right,
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you are cut'n. Smollett replied, silver dooty is dooty to be sure.
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Well, now you look here, that was a good lay of yours last
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night. I don't deny it was a good lay. Some of you pretty
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handy with a handspike hand, And I'll not deny neither. But what some
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of my people were shook? Maybe all was shook. Maybe I was shook
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myself, and maybe that's why I'm here for terms. But you mark me,
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cap'n. It won't do twice by thunder. We'll have to do century
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go and ease off a point or so on the rum. Maybe you think
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we were all a sheep in the wind's eye, But I'll tell you I
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was sober. I was only dog tired. And if i'd a woke a
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second sooner, i'd a caught you in the act. I would He wasn't
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dead when I got round to him. Not he well, said Captain Smollett,
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as cool as can be. All that Silver said was a riddle to
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him, But you would never have guessed it from his tone. As for
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me, I began to have an inkling. Ben Gunn's last words came back
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to my mind. I began to pose that he had paid the buccaneers a
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visit while they all lay drunk together round their fire, and I reckoned up
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with glee that we had only fourteen enemies to deal with. Well, here
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it is, said Silver, We want that treasure and we'll have it.
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That's our point. You would just as soon save your lives, I reckon,
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and that's yours. You have a chat, haven't you. That's as
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may be, replied the captain. Ah, well you have it. I
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know that, returned long John. You needn't be so husky with a man.
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There ain't a particle of service in that, and you may lay to
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it. What I mean is we want your chat now. I never meant
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you know, ah myself, that won't do with me, my man,
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interrupted the captain. We know exactly what you meant to do, and we
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don't care for now. You see you can't do it, And The captain
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looked at him calmly and proceeded to fill a pipe. If abe Gray Silver
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broke out, I've asked there, cried mister Smollett. Gray told me nothing,
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and I asked him nothing. And what's more, I would see you
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and him and this whole eyeland blown clear out of the water into blazes first.
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So there's my mind for you, my man. On that this little
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whiff of temper seemed to cool Silver down. He had been growing nettled before,
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but now he pulled himself together like enough, said he, I would
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set no limits to what gentlemen might consider shipshape, or might not, as
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the case were. And seeing as hell you are about to take a pipe,
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capt'n, I'll make so free as to do likewise. And he filled
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a pipe and lighted it, And the two men sat silently smoking for quite
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a while, now looking each other in the face, now stopping their tobacco,
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now leaning forward to spit. It was as good as the play to
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see them no resumed silver here it is. You give us the chap to
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get the treasure boy and drop shooting purse seamen and stoven of their heads in
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boil asleep. You do that and we'll offer you a choice. Either you
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come abore and along of us once the treasure's shipped, and then i'll give
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you a afy davy upon my word at honor to clap you somewhere safe ashore.
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Or if that ain't to your fancy, some of my hands being rough
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and having old scores on account of hazing, then you can stay here.
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You can. We'll devoid stores with you. Man for man, give my
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effie davy as before to speak the first ship I sight and send a mere
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to pick you up. Now, yelone, that's talking answer you could look
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to get not you, And I hope, raising his voice, that all
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hands in this ear bluckhouse will overhaul my words. For what is spoke to
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one is spoke to all. Captain Smollett rose from his seat and knocked out
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the ashes of his pipe in the palm of his left hand. Is that
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all? He asked, every last word by thunder, answered John. Refuse
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that, and you've seen the last of me. But musket balls very good,
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said the captain. Now you'll hear me. If you'll come up one
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by one unarmed, I'll engage to clap you all in irons and to tear.
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Make you home to a fair trial in England if you won't. My
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name is Alexander Smollett. I've flown my Sovereign's colors, and I'll see you
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all to Davy Jones. You can't find the treasure. You can't sail the
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ship. There's not a man among you fit to sail the ship. You
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can't fight us. Gray there got away from five of you. Your ship's
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in irons, Master Silver, you're on a lee shore, and so you'll
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find. I stand here and tell you so. And they're the last good
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words you'll get from me. For in the name of Heaven, I'll put
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a bullet in your back where next I meet you. Tramp, my lad
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bundle out of this place. Please hand over hand and double quick. Silver's
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face was a picture. His eyes started in his head with wrath. He
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shook the fire out of his pipe. Give me a hand up, he
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cried, Not I returned the captain. Who'll give me a hand up?
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He roared, Not a man among us moved, growling the foulest imprecations.
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He crawled along the sand till he got hold of the porch and could hoist
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himself again upon his crutch. Then he spat into the spring. There he
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cried, that's what I think of ye, before the arizel Oh, stoving
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your old blockhouse like a rum puncheon. Laugh, boy thunder, laugh before
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an hour, iseult year. Laugh upon the other side them that die'll be
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the lucky ones. And with a dreadful oath, he stumbled off, plowed
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down the sand, and was helped across the stockade after four or five failures
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by the man with the flag of truce, and disappeared in an instant afterward
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among the trees. End of chapter twenty