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Chapter 34
And Last
THE next morning we fell early to work, for
the transportation of this great mass of
gold near a mile by land to the beach, and
thence three miles by boat to the
HISPANIOLA, was a considerable task for so
small a number of workmen.
The three fellows still abroad upon the
island did not greatly trouble us; a single
sentry on the shoulder of the hill was
sufficient to ensure us against any sudden
onslaught, and we thought, besides, they
had had more than enough of fighting.
Therefore the work was pushed on briskly.
Gray and Ben Gunn came and went with the
boat, while the rest during their absences
piled treasure on the beach.
Two of the bars, slung in a rope's end,
made a good load for a grown man--one that
he was glad to walk slowly with.
For my part, as I was not much use at
carrying, I was kept busy all day in the
cave packing the minted money into bread-
bags.
It was a strange collection, like Billy
Bones's hoard for the diversity of coinage,
but so much larger and so much more varied
that I think I never had more pleasure than
in sorting them.
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese,
Georges, and Louises, doubloons and double
guineas and moidores and sequins, the
pictures of all the kings of Europe for the
last hundred years, strange Oriental pieces
stamped with what looked like wisps of
string or bits of spider's web, round
pieces and square pieces, and pieces bored
through the middle, as if to wear them
round your neck--nearly every variety of
money in the world must, I think, have
found a place in that collection; and for
number, I am sure they were like autumn
leaves, so that my back ached with stooping
and my fingers with sorting them out.
Day after day this work went on; by every
evening a fortune had been stowed aboard,
but there was another fortune waiting for
the morrow; and all this time we heard
nothing of the three surviving mutineers.
At last--I think it was on the third night-
-the doctor and I were strolling on the
shoulder of the hill where it overlooks the
lowlands of the isle, when, from out the
thick darkness below, the wind brought us a
noise between shrieking and singing.
It was only a *** that reached our ears,
followed by the former silence.
"Heaven forgive them," said the doctor;
"'tis the mutineers!"
"All drunk, sir," struck in the voice of
Silver from behind us.
Silver, I should say, was allowed his
entire liberty, and in spite of daily
rebuffs, seemed to regard himself once more
as quite a privileged and friendly
dependent.
Indeed, it was remarkable how well he bore
these slights and with what unwearying
politeness he kept on trying to ingratiate
himself with all.
Yet, I think, none treated him better than
a dog, unless it was Ben Gunn, who was
still terribly afraid of his old
quartermaster, or myself, who had really
something to thank him for; although for
that matter, I suppose, I had reason to
think even worse of him than anybody else,
for I had seen him meditating a fresh
treachery upon the plateau.
Accordingly, it was pretty gruffly that the
doctor answered him.
"Drunk or raving," said he.
"Right you were, sir," replied Silver; "and
precious little odds which, to you and me."
"I suppose you would hardly ask me to call
you a humane man," returned the doctor with
a sneer, "and so my feelings may surprise
you, Master Silver.
But if I were sure they were raving--as I
am morally certain one, at least, of them
is down with fever--I should leave this
camp, and at whatever risk to my own
carcass, take them the assistance of my
skill."
"Ask your pardon, sir, you would be very
wrong," quoth Silver.
"You would lose your precious life, and you
may lay to that.
I'm on your side now, hand and glove; and I
shouldn't wish for to see the party
weakened, let alone yourself, seeing as I
know what I owes you.
But these men down there, they couldn't
keep their word--no, not supposing they
wished to; and what's more, they couldn't
believe as you could."
"No," said the doctor.
"You're the man to keep your word, we know
that."
Well, that was about the last news we had
of the three pirates.
Only once we heard a gunshot a great way
off and supposed them to be hunting.
A council was held, and it was decided that
we must desert them on the island--to the
huge glee, I must say, of Ben Gunn, and
with the strong approval of Gray.
We left a good stock of powder and shot,
the bulk of the salt goat, a few medicines,
and some other necessaries, tools,
clothing, a spare sail, a fathom or two of
rope, and by the particular desire of the
doctor, a handsome present of tobacco.
That was about our last doing on the
Before that, we had got the treasure stowed
and had shipped enough water and the
remainder of the goat meat in case of any
distress; and at last, one fine morning, we
weighed anchor, which was about all that we
could manage, and stood out of North Inlet,
the same colours flying that the captain
had flown and fought under at the palisade.
The three fellows must have been watching
us closer than we thought for, as we soon
had proved.
For coming through the narrows, we had to
lie very near the southern point, and there
we saw all three of them kneeling together
on a spit of sand, with their arms raised
in supplication.
It went to all our hearts, I think, to
leave them in that wretched state; but we
could not risk another mutiny; and to take
them home for the gibbet would have been a
cruel sort of kindness.
The doctor hailed them and told them of the
stores we had left, and where they were to
find them.
But they continued to call us by name and
appeal to us, for God's sake, to be
merciful and not leave them to die in such
a place.
At last, seeing the ship still bore on her
course and was now swiftly drawing out of
earshot, one of them--I know not which it
was--leapt to his feet with a hoarse cry,
whipped his musket to his shoulder, and
sent a shot whistling over Silver's head
and through the main-sail.
After that, we kept under cover of the
bulwarks, and when next I looked out they
had disappeared from the spit, and the spit
itself had almost melted out of sight in
the growing distance.
That was, at least, the end of that; and
before noon, to my inexpressible joy, the
highest rock of Treasure Island had sunk
into the blue round of sea.
We were so short of men that everyone on
board had to bear a hand--only the captain
lying on a mattress in the stern and giving
his orders, for though greatly recovered he
was still in want of quiet.
We laid her head for the nearest port in
Spanish America, for we could not risk the
voyage home without fresh hands; and as it
was, what with baffling winds and a couple
of fresh gales, we were all worn out before
we reached it.
It was just at sundown when we cast anchor
in a most beautiful land-locked gulf, and
were immediately surrounded by shore boats
full of Negroes and Mexican Indians and
half-bloods selling fruits and vegetables
and offering to dive for bits of money.
The sight of so many good-humoured faces
(especially the blacks), the taste of the
tropical fruits, and above all the lights
that began to shine in the town made a most
charming contrast to our dark and bloody
sojourn on the island; and the doctor and
the squire, taking me along with them, went
ashore to pass the early part of the night.
Here they met the captain of an English
man-of-war, fell in talk with him, went on
board his ship, and, in short, had so
agreeable a time that day was breaking when
we came alongside the HISPANIOLA.
Ben Gunn was on deck alone, and as soon as
we came on board he began, with wonderful
contortions, to make us a confession.
Silver was gone.
The maroon had connived at his escape in a
shore boat some hours ago, and he now
assured us he had only done so to preserve
our lives, which would certainly have been
forfeit if "that man with the one leg had
stayed aboard."
But this was not all.
The sea-cook had not gone empty-handed.
He had cut through a bulkhead unobserved
and had removed one of the sacks of coin,
worth perhaps three or four hundred
guineas, to help him on his further
wanderings.
I think we were all pleased to be so
cheaply quit of him.
Well, to make a long story short, we got a
few hands on board, made a good cruise
home, and the HISPANIOLA reached Bristol
just as Mr. Blandly was beginning to think
of fitting out her consort.
Five men only of those who had sailed
returned with her.
"Drink and the devil had done for the
rest," with a vengeance, although, to be
sure, we were not quite in so bad a case as
that other ship they sang about:
With one man of her crew alive,
What put to sea with seventy-five.
All of us had an ample share of the
treasure and used it wisely or foolishly,
according to our natures.
Captain Smollett is now retired from the
sea.
Gray not only saved his money, but being
suddenly smit with the desire to rise, also
studied his profession, and he is now mate
and part owner of a fine full-rigged ship,
married besides, and the father of a
family.
As for Ben Gunn, he got a thousand pounds,
which he spent or lost in three weeks, or
to be more exact, in nineteen days, for he
was back begging on the twentieth.
Then he was given a lodge to keep, exactly
as he had feared upon the island; and he
still lives, a great favourite, though
something of a butt, with the country boys,
and a notable singer in church on Sundays
and saints' days.
Of Silver we have heard no more.
That formidable seafaring man with one leg
has at last gone clean out of my life; but
I dare say he met his old Negress, and
perhaps still lives in comfort with her and
Captain Flint.
It is to be hoped so, I suppose, for his
chances of comfort in another world are
very small.
The bar silver and the arms still lie, for
all that I know, where Flint buried them;
and certainly they shall lie there for me.
Oxen and wain-ropes would not bring me back
again to that accursed island; and the
worst dreams that ever I have are when I
hear the surf booming about its coasts or
start upright in bed with the sharp voice
of Captain Flint still ringing in my ears:
"Pieces of eight!
Pieces of eight!"