Part Three: My Shore Adventure - Chapter 13: How My Shore Adventure Began

by Robert Louis Stevenson

　　The appearance of the island when I came on deck nextmorning was altogether changed. Although the breezehad now utterly ceased, we had made a great deal of wayduring the night and were now lying becalmed about halfa mile to the south-east of the low eastern coast.Grey-coloured woods covered a large part of thesurface. This even tint was indeed broken up bystreaks of yellow sand-break in the lower lands, and bymany tall trees of the pine family, out-topping theothers--some singly, some in clumps; but the generalcolouring was uniform and sad. The hills ran up clearabove the vegetation in spires of naked rock. All werestrangely shaped, and the Spy-glass, which was by threeor four hundred feet the tallest on the island, waslikewise the strangest in configuration, running upsheer from almost every side and then suddenly cut offat the top like a pedestal to put a statue on.

　　The Hispaniola was rolling scuppers under in theocean swell. The booms were tearing at the blocks, therudder was banging to and fro, and the whole shipcreaking, groaning, and jumping like a manufactory. Ihad to cling tight to the backstay, and the worldturned giddily before my eyes, for though I was a goodenough sailor when there was way on, this standingstill and being rolled about like a bottle was a thingI never learned to stand without a qualm or so, aboveall in the morning, on an empty stomach.

　　Perhaps it was this--perhaps it was the look of theisland, with its grey, melancholy woods, and wild stonespires, and the surf that we could both see and hearfoaming and thundering on the steep beach--at least,although the sun shone bright and hot, and the shorebirds were fishing and crying all around us, and youwould have thought anyone would have been glad to getto land after being so long at sea, my heart sank, asthe saying is, into my boots; and from the first lookonward, I hated the very thought of Treasure Island.

　　We had a dreary morning's work before us, for there wasno sign of any wind, and the boats had to be got outand manned, and the ship warped three or four milesround the corner of the island and up the narrowpassage to the haven behind Skeleton Island. Ivolunteered for one of the boats, where I had, ofcourse, no business. The heat was sweltering, and themen grumbled fiercely over their work. Anderson was incommand of my boat, and instead of keeping the crew inorder, he grumbled as loud as the worst.

　　"Well," he said with an oath, "it's not forever."

　　I thought this was a very bad sign, for up to that daythe men had gone briskly and willingly about theirbusiness; but the very sight of the island had relaxedthe cords of discipline.

　　All the way in, Long John stood by the steersman andconned the ship. He knew the passage like the palm ofhis hand, and though the man in the chains goteverywhere more water than was down in the chart, Johnnever hesitated once.

　　"There's a strong scour with the ebb," he said, "andthis here passage has been dug out, in a manner ofspeaking, with a spade."

　　We brought up just where the anchor was in the chart,about a third of a mile from each shore, the mainlandon one side and Skeleton Island on the other. Thebottom was clean sand. The plunge of our anchor sentup clouds of birds wheeling and crying over the woods,but in less than a minute they were down again and allwas once more silent.

　　The place was entirely land-locked, buried in woods,the trees coming right down to high-water mark, theshores mostly flat, and the hilltops standing round ata distance in a sort of amphitheatre, one here, onethere. Two little rivers, or rather two swamps,emptied out into this pond, as you might call it; andthe foliage round that part of the shore had a kind ofpoisonous brightness. From the ship we could seenothing of the house or stockade, for they were quiteburied among trees; and if it had not been for thechart on the companion, we might have been the firstthat had ever anchored there since the island arose outof the seas.

　　There was not a breath of air moving, nor a sound but thatof the surf booming half a mile away along the beaches andagainst the rocks outside. A peculiar stagnant smell hungover the anchorage--a smell of sodden leaves and rottingtree 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 stakemy wig there's fever here."

　　If the conduct of the men had been alarming in theboat, it became truly threatening when they had comeaboard. They lay about the deck growling together intalk. The slightest order was received with a blacklook and grudgingly and carelessly obeyed. Even thehonest hands must have caught the infection, for therewas not one man aboard to mend another. Mutiny, it wasplain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.

　　And it was not only we of the cabin party who perceivedthe danger. Long John was hard at work going fromgroup to group, spending himself in good advice, and asfor example no man could have shown a better. Hefairly 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 thecheeriest "Aye, aye, sir!" in the world; and when therewas nothing else to do, he kept up one song afteranother, as if to conceal the discontent of the rest.

　　Of all the gloomy features of that gloomy afternoon, thisobvious 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, thewhole 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 Idon't, Silver will see there's something under that, andthe 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 anxiousas you and I to smother things up. This is a tiff;he'd soon talk 'em out of it if he had the chance, andwhat I propose to do is to give him the chance. Let'sallow the men an afternoon ashore. If they all go, whywe'll fight the ship. If they none of them go, wellthen, we hold the cabin, and God defend the right. Ifsome go, you mark my words, sir, Silver'll bring 'emaboard again as mild as lambs."

　　It was so decided; loaded pistols were served out to allthe sure men; Hunter, Joyce, and Redruth were taken intoour confidence and received the news with less surpriseand a better spirit than we had looked for, and then thecaptain went on deck and addressed the crew.

　　"My lads," said he, "we've had a hot day and are alltired 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 theywould break their shins over treasure as soon as theywere landed, for they all came out of their sulks in amoment and gave a cheer that started the echo in a far-away hill and sent the birds once more flying andsqualling round the anchorage.

　　The captain was too bright to be in the way. Hewhipped out of sight in a moment, leaving Silver toarrange the party, and I fancy it was as well he didso. Had he been on deck, he could no longer so much ashave pretended not to understand the situation. It wasas plain as day. Silver was the captain, and a mightyrebellious crew he had of it. The honest hands--and Iwas soon to see it proved that there were such onboard--must have been very stupid fellows. Or rather,I suppose the truth was this, that all hands weredisaffected by the example of the ringleaders--onlysome more, some less; and a few, being good fellows inthe main, could neither be led nor driven any further.It is one thing to be idle and skulk and quite anotherto take a ship and murder a number of innocent men.

　　At last, however, the party was made up. Six fellowswere to stay on board, and the remaining thirteen,including Silver, began to embark.

　　Then it was that there came into my head the first ofthe mad notions that contributed so much to save ourlives. If six men were left by Silver, it was plainour party could not take and fight the ship; and sinceonly six were left, it was equally plain that the cabinparty had no present need of my assistance. It occurredto me at once to go ashore. In a jiffy I had slipped overthe side and curled up in the fore-sheets of the nearestboat, and almost at the same moment she shoved off.

　　No one took notice of me, only the bow oar saying, "Isthat you, Jim? Keep your head down." But Silver, fromthe other boat, looked sharply over and called out toknow if that were me; and from that moment I began toregret what I had done.

　　The crews raced for the beach, but the boat I was in,having some start and being at once the lighter and thebetter manned, shot far ahead of her consort, and thebow had struck among the shore-side trees and I hadcaught a branch and swung myself out and plunged intothe nearest thicket while Silver and the rest werestill a hundred yards behind.

　　"Jim, Jim!" I heard him shouting.

　　But you may suppose I paid no heed; jumping, ducking,and breaking through, I ran straight before my nosetill I could run no longer.