Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (free novels txt) đ
- Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Book online «Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (free novels txt) đ». Author Robert Louis Stevenson
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 out? I dunno, but itâs pretty plain they wanted it. Third, you wouldnât let us go at them upon the march. Oh, we see through you, John Silver; you want to play booty, thatâs whatâs wrong with you. And then, fourth, thereâs this here boy.â
âIs that all?â asked Silver quietly.
âEnough, too,â retorted George. âWeâll all swing and sun-dry for your bungling.â
âWell now, look here, Iâll answer these four pâints; one after another Iâll answer âem. I made a hash oâ this cruise, did I? Well now, you all know what I wanted, and you all know if that had been done that weâd âa been aboard the Hispaniola this night as ever was, every man of us alive, and fit, and full of good plum-duff, and the treasure in the hold of her, by thunder! Well, who crossed me? Who forced my hand, as was the lawful capân? Who tipped me the black spot the day we landed and began this dance? Ah, itâs a fine danceâIâm with you thereâand looks mighty like a hornpipe in a ropeâs end at Execution Dock by London town, it does. But who done it? Why, it was Anderson, and Hands, and you, George Merry! And youâre the last above board of that same meddling crew; and you have the Davy Jonesâs insolence to up and stand for capân over meâyou, that sank the lot of us! By the powers! But this tops the stiffest yarn to nothing.â
Silver paused, and I could see by the faces of George and his late comrades that these words had not been said in vain.
âThatâs for number one,â cried the accused, wiping the sweat from his brow, for he had been talking with a vehemence that shook the house. âWhy, I give you my word, Iâm sick to speak to you. Youâve neither sense nor memory, and I leave it to fancy where your mothers was that let you come to sea. Sea! Gentlemen oâ fortune! I reckon tailors is your trade.â
âGo on, John,â said Morgan. âSpeak up to the others.â
âAh, the others!â returned John. âTheyâre a nice lot, ainât they? You say this cruise is bungled. Ah! By gum, if you could understand how bad itâs bungled, you would see! Weâre that near the gibbet that my neckâs stiff with thinking on it. Youâve seen âem, maybe, hanged in chains, birds about âem, seamen pâinting âem out as they go down with the tide. âWhoâs that?â says one. âThat! Why, thatâs John Silver. I knowed him well,â says another. And you can hear the chains a-jangle as you go about and reach for the other buoy. Now, thatâs about where we are, every motherâs son of us, thanks to him, and Hands, and Anderson, and other ruination fools of you. And if you want to know about number four, and that boy, why, shiver my timbers, isnât he a hostage? Are we a-going to waste a hostage? No, not us; he might be our last chance, and I shouldnât wonder. Kill that boy? Not me, mates! And number three? Ah, well, thereâs a deal to say to number three. Maybe you donât count it nothing to have a real college doctor to see you every dayâyou, John, with your head brokeâor you, George Merry, that had the ague shakes upon you not six hours agone, and has your eyes the colour of lemon peel to this same moment on the clock? And maybe, perhaps, you didnât know there was a consort coming either? But there is, and not so long till then; and weâll see whoâll be glad to have a hostage when it comes to that. And as for number two, and why I made a bargainâwell, you came crawling on your knees to me to make itâon your knees you came, you was that downheartedâand youâd have starved too if I hadnâtâbut thatâs a trifle! You look thereâthatâs why!â
And he cast down upon the floor a paper that I instantly recognizedânone other than the chart on yellow paper, with the three red crosses, that I had found in the oilcloth at the bottom of the captainâs chest. Why the doctor had given it to him was more than I could fancy.
But if it were inexplicable to me, the appearance of the chart was incredible to the surviving mutineers. They leaped upon it like cats upon a mouse. It went from hand to hand, one tearing it from another; and by the oaths and the cries and the childish laughter with which they accompanied their examination, you would have thought, not only they were fingering the very gold, but were at sea with it, besides, in safety.
âYes,â said one, âthatâs Flint, sure enough. J. F., and a score below, with a clove hitch to it; so he done ever.â
âMighty pretty,â said George. âBut how are we to get away with it, and us no ship.â
Silver suddenly sprang up, and supporting himself with a hand against the wall: âNow I give you warning, George,â he cried. âOne more word of your sauce, and Iâll call you down and fight you. How? Why, how do I know? You had ought to tell me thatâyou and the rest, that lost me my schooner, with your interference, burn you! But not you, you canât; you hainât got the invention of a cockroach. But civil you can speak, and shall, George Merry, you may lay to that.â
âThatâs fair enow,â said the old man Morgan.
âFair! I reckon so,â said the sea-cook. âYou lost the ship; I found the treasure. Whoâs the better man at that? And now I resign, by thunder! Elect whom you please to be your capân now; Iâm done with it.â
âSilver!â they cried. âBarbecue forever! Barbecue for capân!â
âSo thatâs the toon, is it?â cried the cook. âGeorge, I reckon youâll have to wait another turn, friend; and lucky for you as Iâm not a revengeful man. But that was never my way. And now, shipmates, this black spot? âTainât much good now, is it? Dickâs crossed his luck and spoiled his Bible, and thatâs about all.â
âItâll do to kiss the book on still, wonât it?â growled Dick, who was evidently uneasy at the curse he had brought upon himself.
âA Bible with a bit cut out!â returned Silver derisively. âNot it. It donât bind no moreân a ballad-book.â
âDonât it, though?â cried Dick with a sort of joy. âWell, I reckon thatâs worth having too.â
âHere, Jimâhereâs a curâosity for you,â said Silver, and he
Comments (0)