Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) đ
- Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
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and last, weâve split upon Jim Hawkins!â
âThen here goes!â said Morgan with an oath.
And he sprang up, drawing his knife as if he had
been twenty.
âAvast, there!â cried Silver. âWho are you, Tom
Morgan? Maybe you thought you was capân here, perhaps.
By the powers, but Iâll teach you better! Cross me,
and youâll go where many a good manâs gone before you,
first and last, these thirty year backâsome to the
yard-arm, shiver my timbers, and some by the board, and
all to feed the fishes. Thereâs never a man looked me
between the eyes and seen a good day aâterwards, Tom
Morgan, you may lay to that.â
Morgan paused, but a hoarse murmur rose from the others.
âTomâs right,â said one.
âI stood hazing long enough from one,â added another.
âIâll be hanged if Iâll be hazed by you, John Silver.â
âDid any of you gentlemen want to have it out with ME?â
roared Silver, bending far forward from his
position on the keg, with his pipe still glowing in his
right hand. âPut a name on what youâre at; you ainât
dumb, I reckon. Him that wants shall get it. Have I
lived this many years, and a son of a rum puncheon cock
his hat athwart my hawse at the latter end of it? You
know the way; youâre all gentlemen oâ fortune, by your
account. Well, Iâm ready. Take a cutlass, him that
dares, and Iâll see the colour of his inside, crutch
and all, before that pipeâs empty.â
Not a man stirred; not a man answered.
âThatâs your sort, is it?â he added, returning his pipe
to his mouth. âWell, youâre a gay lot to look at,
anyway. Not much worth to fight, you ainât. Pârâaps
you can understand King Georgeâs English. Iâm capân
here by âlection. Iâm capân here because Iâm the best
man by a long sea-mile. You wonât fight, as gentlemen
oâ fortune should; then, by thunder, youâll obey, and
you may lay to it! I like that boy, now; I never seen
a better boy than that. Heâs more a man than any pair
of rats of you in this here house, and what I say is
this: let me see him thatâll lay a hand on himâthatâs
what I say, and you may lay to it.â
There was a long pause after this. I stood straight up
against the wall, my heart still going like a sledge-hammer, but with a ray of hope now shining in my bosom.
Silver leant back against the wall, his arms crossed, his
pipe in the corner of his mouth, as calm as though he had
been in church; yet his eye kept wandering furtively, and
he kept the tail of it on his unruly followers. They, on
their part, drew gradually together towards the far end of
the block house, and the low hiss of their whispering sounded
in my ear continuously, like a stream. One after another,
they would look up, and the red light of the torch would
fall for a second on their nervous faces; but it was not
towards me, it was towards Silver that they turned their eyes.
âYou seem to have a lot to say,â remarked Silver,
spitting far into the air. âPipe up and let me hear
it, or lay to.â
âAx your pardon, sir,â returned one of the men; âyouâre
pretty free with some of the rules; maybe youâll kindly
keep an eye upon the rest. This crewâs dissatisfied;
this crew donât vally bullying a marlin-spike; this
crew has its rights like other crews, Iâll make so free
as that; and by your own rules, I take it we can talk
together. I ax your pardon, sir, acknowledging you for
to be captaing at this present; but I claim my right,
and steps outside for a council.â
And with an elaborate sea-salute, this fellow, a long,
ill-looking, yellow-eyed man of five and thirty,
stepped coolly towards the door and disappeared out of
the house. One after another the rest followed his
example, each making a salute as he passed, each adding
some apology. âAccording to rules,â said one.
âForecastle council,â said Morgan. And so with one
remark or another all marched out and left Silver and
me alone with the torch.
The sea-cook instantly removed his pipe.
âNow, look you here, Jim Hawkins,â he said in a steady
whisper that was no more than audible, âyouâre within
half a plank of death, and whatâs a long sight worse,
of torture. Theyâre going to throw me off. But, you
mark, I stand by you through thick and thin. I didnât
mean to; no, not till you spoke up. I was about
desperate to lose that much blunt, and be hanged into
the bargain. But I see you was the right sort. I says
to myself, you stand by Hawkins, John, and Hawkinsâll
stand by you. Youâre his last card, and by the living
thunder, John, heâs yours! Back to back, says I. You
save your witness, and heâll save your neck!â
I began dimly to understand.
âYou mean allâs lost?â I asked.
âAye, by gum, I do!â he answered. âShip gone, neck gone
âthatâs the size of it. Once I looked into that bay, Jim
Hawkins, and seen no schoonerâwell, Iâm tough, but I gave
out. As for that lot and their council, mark me, theyâre
outright fools and cowards. Iâll save your lifeâif so be
as I canâfrom them. But, see here, Jimâtit for tatâyou
save Long John from swinging.â
I was bewildered; it seemed a thing so hopeless he was
askingâhe, the old buccaneer, the ringleader throughout.
âWhat I can do, that Iâll do,â I said.
âItâs a bargain!â cried Long John. âYou speak up
plucky, and by thunder, Iâve a chance!â
He hobbled to the torch, where it stood propped among
the firewood, and took a fresh light to his pipe.
âUnderstand me, Jim,â he said, returning. âIâve a head
on my shoulders, I have. Iâm on squireâs side now. I
know youâve got that ship safe somewheres. How you
done it, I donât know, but safe it is. I guess Hands
and OâBrien turned soft. I never much believed in
neither of THEM. Now you mark me. I ask no questions,
nor I wonât let others. I know when a gameâs up, I do;
and I know a lad thatâs staunch. Ah, you thatâs youngâ
you and me might have done a power of good together!â
He drew some cognac from the cask into a tin cannikin.
âWill you taste, messmate?â he asked; and when I had
refused: âWell, Iâll take a drain myself, Jim,â said
he. âI need a caulker, for thereâs trouble on hand.
And talking oâ trouble, why did that doctor give me the
chart, Jim?â
My face expressed a wonder so unaffected that he saw
the needlessness of further questions.
âAh, well, he did, though,â said he. âAnd thereâs
something under that, no doubtâsomething, surely,
under that, Jimâbad or good.â
And he took another swallow of the brandy, shaking his
great fair head like a man who looks forward to the worst.
29
The Black Spot Again
THE council of buccaneers had lasted some time, when
one of them re-entered the house, and with a repetition
of the same salute, which had in my eyes an ironical
air, begged for a momentâs loan of the torch. Silver
briefly agreed, and this emissary retired again,
leaving us together in the dark.
âThereâs a breeze coming, Jim,â said Silver, who had by
this time adopted quite a friendly and familiar tone.
I turned to the loophole nearest me and looked out.
The embers of the great fire had so far burned
themselves out and now glowed so low and duskily that I
understood why these conspirators desired a torch.
About half-way down the slope to the stockade, they
were collected in a group; one held the light, another
was on his knees in their midst, and I saw the blade of
an open knife shine in his hand with varying colours in
the moon and torchlight. The rest were all somewhat
stooping, as though watching the manoeuvres of this last.
I could just make out that he had a book as well as a
knife in his hand, and was still wondering how anything
so incongruous had come in their possession when the
kneeling figure rose once more to his feet and the whole
party began to move together towards the house.
âHere they come,â said I; and I returned to my former
position, for it seemed beneath my dignity that they
should find me watching them.
âWell, let âem come, ladâlet âem come,â said Silver
cheerily. âIâve still a shot in my locker.â
The door opened, and the five men, standing huddled
together just inside, pushed one of their number
forward. In any other circumstances it would have been
comical to see his slow advance, hesitating as he set
down each foot, but holding his closed right hand in
front of him.
âStep up, lad,â cried Silver. âI wonât eat you. Hand
it over, lubber. I know the rules, I do; I wonât hurt
a depytation.â
Thus encouraged, the buccaneer stepped forth more
briskly, and having passed something to Silver, from
hand to hand, slipped yet more smartly back again to
his companions.
The sea-cook looked at what had been given him.
âThe black spot! I thought so,â he observed. âWhere
might you have got the paper? Why, hillo! Look here,
now; this ainât lucky! Youâve gone and cut this out of
a Bible. What foolâs cut a Bible?â
âAh, there!â said Morgan. âThere! Wot did I say? No
goodâll come oâ that, I said.â
âWell, youâve about fixed it now, among you,â continued
Silver. âYouâll all swing now, I reckon. What soft-headed lubber had a Bible?â
âIt was Dick,â said one.
âDick, was it? Then Dick can get to prayers,â said
Silver. âHeâs seen his slice of luck, has Dick, and
you may lay to that.â
But here the long man with the yellow eyes struck in.
âBelay that talk, John Silver,â he said. âThis crew
has tipped you the black spot in full council, as in
dooty bound; just you turn it over, as in dooty bound,
and see whatâs wrote there. Then you can talk.â
âThanky, George,â replied the sea-cook. âYou always
was brisk for business, and has the rules by heart,
George, as Iâm pleased to see. Well, what is it,
anyway? Ah! âDeposedââthatâs it, is it? Very pretty
wrote, to be sure; like print, I swear. Your hand oâ
write, George? Why, you was gettinâ quite a leadinâ
man in this here crew. Youâll be capân next, I
shouldnât wonder. Just oblige me with that torch
again, will you? This pipe donât draw.â
âCome, now,â said George, âyou donât fool this crew no
more. Youâre a funny man, by your account; but youâre
over now, and youâll maybe step down off that barrel
and help vote.â
âI thought you said you knowed the rules,â returned
Silver contemptuously. âLeastways, if you donât, I do;
and I wait hereâand Iâm still your capân, mindâtill
you outs with your grievances and I reply; in the
meantime, your black spot ainât worth a biscuit. After
that, weâll see.â
âOh,â replied George, âyou donât be under no kind of
apprehension; WEâRE all square, we are. First,
youâve made a hash of this cruiseâyouâll be a bold man
to say no to that. Second, you let the enemy out oâ
this here trap for nothing. Why did they want
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