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"Well," he said with an oath, "it's 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.
"There's 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 land-locked, buried in woods, the trees coming right
down to high-water 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 anchorage a smell of sodden leaves and rotting tree
trunks. I observed the doctor sniffing and sniffing, like someone tasting a bad egg.
"I don't know about treasure," he said, "but I'll stake my wig there's 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 thunder-cloud.
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 ship'll 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 don't, Silver will see there's
something under that, and the game's up. Now, we've only one man to rely on."
"And who is that?" asked the squire.
"Silver, sir," returned the captain; "he's as anxious as you and I to smother
things up. This is a tiff; he'd soon talk 'em out of it if he had the chance, and what
I propose to do is to give him the chance. Let's allow the men an afternoon ashore.
If they all go, why we'll 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, Silver'll
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, "we've had a hot day and are all tired and out of sorts. A
turn ashore'll hurt nobody the boats are still in the water; you can take the gigs,
and as many as please may go ashore for the afternoon. I'll 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 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]