Chapter IX. The Man with the Belt of Gold

by Robert Louis Stevenson

　　More than a week went by, in which the ill-luck that had hithertopursued the Covenant upon this voyage grew yet more stronglymarked. Some days she made a little way; others, she was drivenactually back. At last we were beaten so far to the south thatwe tossed and tacked to and fro the whole of the ninth day,within sight of Cape Wrath and the wild, rocky coast on eitherhand of it. There followed on that a council of the officers,and some decision which I did not rightly understand, seeing onlythe result: that we had made a fair wind of a foul one and wererunning south.The tenth afternoon there was a falling swell and a thick, wet,white fog that hid one end of the brig from the other. Allafternoon, when I went on deck, I saw men and officers listeninghard over the bulwarks -- "for breakers," they said; and though Idid not so much as understand the word, I felt danger in the air,and was excited.Maybe about ten at night, I was serving Mr. Riach and the captainat their supper, when the ship struck something with a greatsound, and we heard voices singing out. My two masters leaped totheir feet."She's struck!" said Mr. Riach."No, sir," said the captain. "We've only run a boat down."And they hurried out.The captain was in the right of it. We had run down a boat inthe fog, and she had parted in the midst and gone to the bottomwith all her crew but one. This man (as I heard afterwards) hadbeen sitting in the stern as a passenger, while the rest were onthe benches rowing. At the moment of the blow, the stern hadbeen thrown into the air, and the man (having his hands free, andfor all he was encumbered with a frieze overcoat that came belowhis knees) had leaped up and caught hold of the brig's bowsprit.It showed he had luck and much agility and unusual strength, thathe should have thus saved himself from such a pass. And yet,when the captain brought him into the round-house, and I set eyeson him for the first time, he looked as cool as I did.He was smallish in stature, but well set and as nimble as a goat;his face was of a good open expression, but sunburnt very dark,and heavily freckled and pitted with the small-pox; his eyes wereunusually light and had a kind of dancing madness in them, thatwas both engaging and alarming; and when he took off hisgreat-coat, he laid a pair of fine silver-mounted pistols on thetable, and I saw that he was belted with a great sword. Hismanners, besides, were elegant, and he pledged the captainhandsomely. Altogether I thought of him, at the first sight,that here was a man I would rather call my friend than my enemy.The captain, too, was taking his observations, but rather of theman's clothes than his person. And to be sure, as soon as he hadtaken off the great-coat, he showed forth mighty fine for theround-house of a merchant brig: having a hat with feathers, a redwaistcoat, breeches of black plush, and a blue coat with silverbuttons and handsome silver lace; costly clothes, though somewhatspoiled with the fog and being slept in."I'm vexed, sir, about the boat," says the captain."There are some pretty men gone to the bottom," said thestranger, "that I would rather see on the dry land again thanhalf a score of boats.""Friends of yours?" said Hoseason."You have none such friends in your country," was the reply."They would have died for me like dogs.""Well, sir," said the captain, still watching him, "there aremore men in the world than boats to put them in.""And that's true, too," cried the other, "and ye seem to be agentleman of great penetration.""I have been in France, sir," says the captain, so that it wasplain he meant more by the words than showed upon the face ofthem."Well, sir," says the other, "and so has many a pretty man, forthe matter of that.""No doubt, sir" says the captain, "and fine coats.""Oho!" says the stranger, "is that how the wind sets?" And helaid his hand quickly on his pistols."Don't be hasty," said the captain. "Don't do a mischief beforeye see the need of it. Ye've a French soldier's coat upon yourback and a Scotch tongue in your head, to be sure; but so hasmany an honest fellow in these days, and I dare say none theworse of it.""So?" said the gentleman in the fine coat: "are ye of the honestparty?" (meaning, Was he a Jacobite? for each side, in these sortof civil broils, takes the name of honesty for its own)."Why, sir," replied the captain, "I am a true-blue Protestant,and I thank God for it." (It was the first word of any religionI had ever heard from him, but I learnt afterwards he was a greatchurch-goer while on shore.) "But, for all that," says he, "Ican be sorry to see another man with his back to the wall.""Can ye so, indeed?" asked the Jacobite. "Well, sir, to be quiteplain with ye, I am one of those honest gentlemen that were introuble about the years forty-five and six; and (to be stillquite plain with ye) if I got into the hands of any of thered-coated gentry, it's like it would go hard with me. Now, sir,I was for France; and there was a French ship cruising here topick me up; but she gave us the go-by in the fog -- as I wishfrom the heart that ye had done yoursel'! And the best that I cansay is this: If ye can set me ashore where I was going, I havethat upon me will reward you highly for your trouble.""In France?" says the captain. "No, sir; that I cannot do. Butwhere ye come from -- we might talk of that."And then, unhappily, he observed me standing in my corner, andpacked me off to the galley to get supper for the gentleman. Ilost no time, I promise you; and when I came back into theround-house, I found the gentleman had taken a money-belt fromabout his waist, and poured out a guinea or two upon the table.The captain was looking at the guineas, and then at the belt, andthen at the gentleman's face; and I thought he seemed excited."Half of it," he cried, "and I'm your man!"The other swept back the guineas into the belt, and put it onagain under his waistcoat. "I have told ye" sir" said he, "thatnot one doit of it belongs to me. It belongs to my chieftain,"and here he touched his hat, "and while I would be but a sillymessenger to grudge some of it that the rest might come safe, Ishould show myself a hound indeed if I bought my own carcase anytoo dear. Thirty guineas on the sea-side, or sixty if ye set meon the Linnhe Loch. Take it, if ye will; if not, ye can do yourworst.""Ay," said Hoseason. "And if I give ye over to the soldiers?""Ye would make a fool's bargain," said the other. "My chief, letme tell you, sir, is forfeited, like every honest man inScotland. His estate is in the hands of the man they call KingGeorge; and it is his officers that collect the rents, or try tocollect them. But for the honour of Scotland, the poor tenantbodies take a thought upon their chief lying in exile; and thismoney is a part of that very rent for which King George islooking. Now, sir, ye seem to me to be a man that understandsthings: bring this money within the reach of Government, and howmuch of it'll come to you?""Little enough, to be sure," said Hoseason; and then, "if they,knew" he added, drily. "But I think, if I was to try, that Icould hold my tongue about it.""Ah, but I'll begowk[12] ye there!" cried the gentleman. "Playme false, and I'll play you cunning. If a hand is laid upon me,they shall ken what money it is."[12]Befool."Well," returned the captain, "what must be must. Sixty guineas,and done. Here's my hand upon it.""And here's mine," said the other.And thereupon the captain went out (rather hurriedly, I thought),and left me alone in the round-house with the stranger.At that period (so soon after the forty-five) there were manyexiled gentlemen coming back at the peril of their lives, eitherto see their friends or to collect a little money; and as for theHighland chiefs that had been forfeited, it was a common matterof talk how their tenants would stint themselves to send themmoney, and their clansmen outface the soldiery to get it in, andrun the gauntlet of our great navy to carry it across. All thisI had, of course, heard tell of; and now I had a man under myeyes whose life was forfeit on all these counts and upon onemore, for he was not only a rebel and a smuggler of rents, buthad taken service with King Louis of France. And as if all thiswere not enough, he had a belt full of golden guineas round hisloins. Whatever my opinions, I could not look on such a manwithout a lively interest."And so you're a Jacobite?" said I, as I set meat before him."Ay," said he, beginning to eat. "And you, by your long face,should be a Whig?"[13][13] Whig or Whigamore was the cant name for those who were loyalto King George."Betwixt and between," said I, not to annoy him; for indeed I wasas good a Whig as Mr. Campbell could make me."And that's naething," said he. "But I'm saying, Mr.Betwixt-and-Between," he added, "this bottle of yours is dry; andit's hard if I'm to pay sixty guineas and be grudged a dram uponthe back of it.""I'll go and ask for the key," said I, and stepped on deck.The fog was as close as ever, but the swell almost down. Theyhad laid the brig to, not knowing precisely where they were, andthe wind (what little there was of it) not serving well for theirtrue course. Some of the hands were still hearkening forbreakers; but the captain and the two officers were in the waistwith their heads together. It struck me (I don't know why) thatthey were after no good; and the first word I heard, as I drewsoftly near, more than confirmed me.It was Mr. Riach, crying out as if upon a sudden thought:"Couldn't we wile him out of the round-house?""He's better where he is," returned Hoseason; "he hasn't room touse his sword.""Well, that's true," said Riach; "but he's hard to come at.""Hut!" said Hoseason. "We can get the man in talk, one upon eachside, and pin him by the two arms; or if that'll not hold, sir,we can make a run by both the doors and get him under hand beforehe has the time to draw"At this hearing, I was seized with both fear and anger at thesetreacherous, greedy, bloody men that I sailed with. My firstmind was to run away; my second was bolder."Captain," said I, "the gentleman is seeking a dram, and thebottle's out. Will you give me the key?"They all started and turned about."Why, here's our chance to get the firearms!"Riach cried; and then to me: "Hark ye, David," he said, "do yeken where the pistols are?""Ay, ay," put in Hoseason. "David kens; David's a good lad. Yesee, David my man, yon wild Hielandman is a danger to the ship,besides being a rank foe to King George, God bless him!"I had never been so be-Davided since I came on board: but I saidYes, as if all I heard were quite natural."The trouble is," resumed the captain, "that all our firelocks,great and little, are in the round-house under this man's nose;likewise the powder. Now, if I, or one of the officers, was togo in and take them, he would fall to thinking. But a lad likeyou, David, might snap up a horn and a pistol or two withoutremark. And if ye can do it cleverly, I'll bear it in mind whenit'll be good for you to have friends; and that's when we come toCarolina."Here Mr. Riach whispered him a little."Very right, sir," said the captain; and then to myself: "And seehere, David, yon man has a beltful of gold, and I give you myword that you shall have your fingers in it."I told him I would do as he wished, though indeed I had scarcebreath to speak with; and upon that he gave me the key of thespirit locker, and I began to go slowly back to the round-house.What was I to do? They were dogs and thieves; they had stolen mefrom my own country; they had killed poor Ransome; and was I tohold the candle to another murder? But then, upon the other hand,there was the fear of death very plain before me; for what coulda boy and a man, if they were as brave as lions, against a wholeship's company?I was still arguing it back and forth, and getting no greatclearness, when I came into the round-house and saw the Jacobiteeating his supper under the lamp; and at that my mind was made upall in a moment. I have no credit by it; it was by no choice ofmine, but as if by compulsion, that I walked right up to thetable and put my hand on his shoulder."Do ye want to be killed?" said I. He sprang to his feet, andlooked a question at me as clear as if he had spoken."O!" cried I, "they're all murderers here; it's a ship full ofthem! They've murdered a boy already. Now it's you.""Ay, ay" said he; "but they have n't got me yet." And thenlooking at me curiously, "Will ye stand with me?""That will I!" said I. "I am no thief, nor yet murderer. I'llstand by you.""Why, then," said he, "what's your name?""David Balfour," said I; and then, thinking that a man with sofine a coat must like fine people, I added for the first time,"of Shaws."It never occurred to him to doubt me, for a Highlander is used tosee great gentlefolk in great poverty; but as he had no estate ofhis own, my words nettled a very childish vanity he had."My name is Stewart," he said, drawing himself up. "Alan Breck,they call me. A king's name is good enough for me, though I bearit plain and have the name of no farm-midden to clap to thehind-end of it."And having administered this rebuke, as though it were somethingof a chief importance, he turned to examine our defences.The round-house was built very strong, to support the breachingof the seas. Of its five apertures, only the skylight and thetwo doors were large enough for the passage of a man. The doors,besides, could be drawn close: they were of stout oak, and ran ingrooves, and were fitted with hooks to keep them either shut oropen, as the need arose. The one that was already shut I securedin this fashion; but when I was proceeding to slide to the other,Alan stopped me."David," said he -- "for I cannae bring to mind the name of yourlanded estate, and so will make so bold as to call you David --that door, being open, is the best part of my defences.""It would be yet better shut," says I."Not so, David," says he. "Ye see, I have but one face; but solong as that door is open and my face to it, the best part of myenemies will be in front of me, where I would aye wish to findthem."Then he gave me from the rack a cutlass (of which there were afew besides the firearms), choosing it with great care, shakinghis head and saying he had never in all his life seen poorerweapons; and next he set me down to the table with a powder-horn,a bag of bullets and all the pistols, which he bade me charge."And that will be better work, let me tell you," said he, "for agentleman of decent birth, than scraping plates and raxing[14]drams to a wheen tarry sailors."[14]Reaching.Thereupon he stood up in the midst with his face to the door, anddrawing his great sword, made trial of the room he had to wieldit in."I must stick to the point," he said, shaking his head; "andthat's a pity, too. It doesn't set my genius, which is all forthe upper guard. And, now" said he, "do you keep on charging thepistols, and give heed to me."I told him I would listen closely. My chest was tight, my mouthdry, the light dark to my eyes; the thought of the numbers thatwere soon to leap in upon us kept my heart in a flutter: and thesea, which I heard washing round the brig, and where I thought mydead body would be cast ere morning, ran in my mind strangely."First of all," said he, "how many are against us?"I reckoned them up; and such was the hurry of my mind, I had tocast the numbers twice. "Fifteen," said I.Alan whistled. "Well," said he, "that can't be cured. And nowfollow me. It is my part to keep this door, where I look for themain battle. In that, ye have no hand. And mind and dinnae fireto this side unless they get me down; for I would rather have tenfoes in front of me than one friend like you cracking pistols atmy back."I told him, indeed I was no great shot."And that, s very bravely said," he cried, in a great admirationof my candour. "There's many a pretty gentleman that wouldnaedare to say it.""But then, sir" said I, "there is the door behind you" which theymay perhaps break in.""Ay," said he, "and that is a part of your work. No sooner thepistols charged, than ye must climb up into yon bed where ye'rehandy at the window; and if they lift hand, against the door,ye're to shoot. But that's not all. Let's make a bit of asoldier of ye, David. What else have ye to guard?""There's the skylight," said I. "But indeed, Mr. Stewart, Iwould need to have eyes upon both sides to keep the two of them;for when my face is at the one, my back is to the other.""And that's very true," said Alan. "But have ye no ears to yourhead?""To be sure!" cried I. "I must hear the bursting of the glass!""Ye have some rudiments of sense," said Alan, grimly.