Part Six: Captain Silver - Chapter 33: The Fall of a Chieftain

by Robert Louis Stevenson

　　There never was such an overturn in this world. Eachof these six men was as though he had been struck. Butwith Silver the blow passed almost instantly. Everythought of his soul had been set full-stretch, like aracer, on that money; well, he was brought up, in asingle second, dead; and he kept his head, found histemper, and changed his plan before the others had hadtime to realize the disappointment.

　　"Jim," he whispered, "take that, and stand by for trouble."

　　And he passed me a double-barrelled pistol.

　　At the same time, he began quietly moving northward,and in a few steps had put the hollow between us twoand the other five. Then he looked at me and nodded,as much as to say, "Here is a narrow corner," as,indeed, I thought it was. His looks were not quitefriendly, and I was so revolted at these constantchanges that I could not forbear whispering, "So you'vechanged sides again."

　　There was no time left for him to answer in. Thebuccaneers, with oaths and cries, began to leap, oneafter another, into the pit and to dig with their fingers,throwing the boards aside as they did so. Morgan found apiece of gold. He held it up with a perfect spout of oaths.It was a two-guinea piece, and it went from hand to handamong them for a quarter of a minute.

　　"Two guineas!" roared Merry, shaking it at Silver."That's your seven hundred thousand pounds, is it?You're the man for bargains, ain't you? You're himthat never bungled nothing, you wooden-headed lubber!"

　　"Dig away, boys," said Silver with the coolest insolence;"you'll find some pig-nuts and I shouldn't wonder."

　　"Pig-nuts!" repeated Merry, in a scream. "Mates, doyou hear that? I tell you now, that man there knew itall along. Look in the face of him and you'll see itwrote there."

　　"Ah, Merry," remarked Silver, "standing for cap'nagain? You're a pushing lad, to be sure."

　　But this time everyone was entirely in Merry's favour.They began to scramble out of the excavation, dartingfurious glances behind them. One thing I observed,which looked well for us: they all got out upon theopposite side from Silver.

　　Well, there we stood, two on one side, five on theother, the pit between us, and nobody screwed up highenough to offer the first blow. Silver never moved; hewatched them, very upright on his crutch, and looked ascool as ever I saw him. He was brave, and no mistake.

　　At last Merry seemed to think a speech might help matters.

　　"Mates," says he, "there's two of them alone there;one's the old cripple that brought us all here andblundered us down to this; the other's that cub that Imean to have the heart of. Now, mates--"

　　He was raising his arm and his voice, and plainly meantto lead a charge. But just then--crack! crack! crack!--three musket-shots flashed out of the thicket. Merrytumbled head foremost into the excavation; the man withthe bandage spun round like a teetotum and fell all hislength upon his side, where he lay dead, but stilltwitching; and the other three turned and ran for itwith all their might.

　　Before you could wink, Long John had fired two barrelsof a pistol into the struggling Merry, and as the manrolled up his eyes at him in the last agony, "George,"said he, "I reckon I settled you."

　　At the same moment, the doctor, Gray, and Ben Gunn joinedus, with smoking muskets, from among the nutmeg-trees.

　　"Forward!" cried the doctor. "Double quick, my lads.We must head 'em off the boats."

　　And we set off at a great pace, sometimes plungingthrough the bushes to the chest.

　　I tell you, but Silver was anxious to keep up with us.The work that man went through, leaping on his crutchtill the muscles of his chest were fit to burst, waswork no sound man ever equalled; and so thinks thedoctor. As it was, he was already thirty yards behindus and on the verge of strangling when we reached thebrow of the slope.

　　"Doctor," he hailed, "see there! No hurry!"

　　Sure enough there was no hurry. In a more open part ofthe plateau, we could see the three survivors still runningin the same direction as they had started, right for Mizzen-mast Hill. We were already between them and the boats; andso we four sat down to breathe, while Long John, mopping hisface, came slowly up with us.

　　"Thank ye kindly, doctor," says he. "You came in inabout the nick, I guess, for me and Hawkins. And soit's you, Ben Gunn!" he added. "Well, you're a niceone, to be sure."

　　"I'm Ben Gunn, I am," replied the maroon, wrigglinglike an eel in his embarrassment. "And," he added,after a long pause, "how do, Mr. Silver? Pretty well,I thank ye, says you."

　　"Ben, Ben," murmured Silver, "to think as you've done me!"

　　The doctor sent back Gray for one of the pick-axesdeserted, in their flight, by the mutineers, and thenas we proceeded leisurely downhill to where the boatswere lying, related in a few words what had takenplace. It was a story that profoundly interestedSilver; and Ben Gunn, the half-idiot maroon, was thehero from beginning to end.

　　Ben, in his long, lonely wanderings about the island,had found the skeleton--it was he that had rifled it;he had found the treasure; he had dug it up (it was thehaft of his pick-axe that lay broken in theexcavation); he had carried it on his back, in manyweary journeys, from the foot of the tall pine to acave he had on the two-pointed hill at the north-eastangle of the island, and there it had lain stored insafety since two months before the arrival of the Hispaniola.

　　When the doctor had wormed this secret from him on theafternoon of the attack, and when next morning he sawthe anchorage deserted, he had gone to Silver, givenhim the chart, which was now useless--given him thestores, for Ben Gunn's cave was well supplied withgoats' meat salted by himself--given anything andeverything to get a chance of moving in safety from thestockade to the two-pointed hill, there to be clear ofmalaria and keep a guard upon the money.

　　"As for you, Jim," he said, "it went against my heart,but I did what I thought best for those who had stoodby their duty; and if you were not one of these, whosefault was it?"

　　That morning, finding that I was to be involved in thehorrid disappointment he had prepared for themutineers, he had run all the way to the cave, andleaving the squire to guard the captain, had taken Grayand the maroon and started, making the diagonal acrossthe island to be at hand beside the pine. Soon,however, he saw that our party had the start of him;and Ben Gunn, being fleet of foot, had been dispatchedin front to do his best alone. Then it had occurred tohim to work upon the superstitions of his formershipmates, and he was so far successful that Gray andthe doctor had come up and were already ambushed beforethe arrival of the treasure-hunters.

　　"Ah," said Silver, "it were fortunate for me that I hadHawkins here. You would have let old John be cut tobits, and never given it a thought, doctor."

　　"Not a thought," replied Dr. Livesey cheerily.

　　And by this time we had reached the gigs. The doctor,with the pick-axe, demolished one of them, and then weall got aboard the other and set out to go round by seafor North Inlet.

　　This was a run of eight or nine miles. Silver, though hewas almost killed already with fatigue, was set to an oar,like the rest of us, and we were soon skimming swiftly overa smooth sea. Soon we passed out of the straits and doubledthe south-east corner of the island, round which, four daysago, we had towed the Hispaniola.

　　As we passed the two-pointed hill, we could see theblack mouth of Ben Gunn's cave and a figure standing byit, leaning on a musket. It was the squire, and wewaved a handkerchief and gave him three cheers, inwhich the voice of Silver joined as heartily as any.

　　Three miles farther, just inside the mouth of NorthInlet, what should we meet but the Hispaniola,cruising by herself? The last flood had lifted her,and had there been much wind or a strong tide current,as in the southern anchorage, we should never havefound her more, or found her stranded beyond help. Asit was, there was little amiss beyond the wreck of themain-sail. Another anchor was got ready and dropped ina fathom and a half of water. We all pulled roundagain to Rum Cove, the nearest point for Ben Gunn'streasure-house; and then Gray, single-handed, returnedwith the gig to the Hispaniola, where he was topass the night on guard.

　　A gentle slope ran up from the beach to the entrance ofthe cave. At the top, the squire met us. To me he wascordial and kind, saying nothing of my escapade eitherin the way of blame or praise. At Silver's politesalute he somewhat flushed.

　　"John Silver," he said, "you're a prodigious villainand imposter--a monstrous imposter, sir. I am told Iam not to prosecute you. Well, then, I will not. Butthe dead men, sir, hang about your neck like mill-stones."

　　"Thank you kindly, sir," replied Long John, again saluting.

　　"I dare you to thank me!" cried the squire. "It is agross dereliction of my duty. Stand back."

　　And thereupon we all entered the cave. It was a large,airy place, with a little spring and a pool of clearwater, overhung with ferns. The floor was sand.Before a big fire lay Captain Smollett; and in a farcorner, only duskily flickered over by the blaze, Ibeheld great heaps of coin and quadrilaterals built ofbars of gold. That was Flint's treasure that we hadcome so far to seek and that had cost already the livesof seventeen men from the Hispaniola. How many ithad cost in the amassing, what blood and sorrow, whatgood ships scuttled on the deep, what brave men walkingthe plank blindfold, what shot of cannon, what shameand lies and cruelty, perhaps no man alive could tell.Yet there were still three upon that island--Silver,and old Morgan, and Ben Gunn--who had each taken hisshare in these crimes, as each had hoped in vain toshare in the reward.

　　"Come in, Jim," said the captain. "You're a good boy inyour line, Jim, but I don't think you and me'll go to seaagain. You're too much of the born favourite for me. Isthat you, John Silver? What brings you here, man?"

　　"Come back to my dooty, sir," returned Silver.

　　"Ah!" said the captain, and that was all he said.

　　What a supper I had of it that night, with all myfriends around me; and what a meal it was, with BenGunn's salted goat and some delicacies and a bottle ofold wine from the Hispaniola. Never, I am sure,were people gayer or happier. And there was Silver,sitting back almost out of the firelight, but eatingheartily, prompt to spring forward when anything waswanted, even joining quietly in our laughter--the samebland, polite, obsequious seaman of the voyage out.