THE SEAMAN’S CHEST

Chapter 2

The captain’s death was the second I had known, and sorrow filled my heart. I stood for a moment feeling more sad than afraid. When I realized the danger which threatened us I ran for my mother. I told her what the captain had told me. If I went for Dr. Livesey as the captain had ordered me, I would he leaving my mother alone and unprotected. We stood together, fearing all sounds in the night. We decided to go for help.
It was already candle-light when we reached the village. I shall never forget how happy I was to see the yellow shine in the windows.
Man, woman and child, clung to their homes. They would not go back to Benbow Inn with us.
“If none of you dare to go hack with us, we shall go alone. Jim and I are not afraid,” said mother, taking my arm and walking away.
My heart was beating like a hammer as we started back. A full moon was beginning to rise and appeared red over the rim of the fog. I clung to the loaded pistol, in case we were attacked.
“Come Jim,” whispered my mother, “we shall open that chest and take just the money due us.”
We slipped along the hedges, noiseless and swift until our hands felt the bolt on the door. We went in quickly and stood a moment in the dark, our hearts pounding against our ribs. Mother got a candle from the bar and we made our way to the parlour where we had to face the dead captain once again. He lay as before and his eyes seemed to be on me! I knelt down beside him.
“We have to find the key,” whispered mother, “before those men come back for it.”
On the floor close to his hand was a little round piece of paper, blackened on one side. I could not doubt that this was the, ‘black spot’. On the other side, it read, “You have until ten tonight.” A short but deadly message!
“They’ll be back by ten, mother,” I said, and just as I said it, the clock struck six.
I began at once to feel in his pockets. I found only a few small coins, some thread and needle, a piece of tobacco bitten away at one end and a pocket compass.
“Perhaps it’s around his neck,” suggested my mother.
Feeling a little sick, I tore open his shirt and there it was hanging by a dirty string which I cut at once.
Expecting Black Dog and the blind beggar to come back any second we raced upstairs to the captain’s room. The seaman’s chest had the initial ‘B’ burned on the top of it with a hot iron.
“Give me the key,” said my mother, and though it was stiff the lock opened at once.
We worked fast.
A strong smell of tobacco and tar rose from the interior, but there was nothing on top but clothes. Under that were pistols, tobacco, a piece of bar silver and trinkets. At the very bottom, under an old black coat, was a bundle tied up in oilcloth, looking like papers and a canvas bag, which jingled like gold pieces.
“I’ll show these rogues that I’m an honest woman,” said my mother, and began at once to count the money.
It was a long, difficult business, for the coins were of all countries and sizes. There were doubloons, and Louis-d’ors, and guineas, and pieces of eight. As we sat there counting we heard in the silent, frosty air the sound of tap-tap-tap-, which I knew so well. The blind man’s stick on the frozen road!
“Mother,” I cried, “take the money and come with me at once. As we hurried out the back way we heard the blind man trying to get in the bolted front door.
The fog was rapidly rising and we had to run to the bottom of the hill where we would walk out into the light of a dim moon.
“Jim,” cried my mother, breathing hard, “I am going to faint.”
I reached her just as she slid quietly to the ground. How I found the strength to do what I did, I shall never know. I pulled, not too gently I’m afraid, and tugged until I had my dear mother under a very low bridge. I could not hide her feet, for it was a small bridge, so I ran up to stay near the road to watch for the men.
They had got into the inn. Breaking windows in the captain’s room, they began yelling to the blind beggar on the road below.
“Pew,” the man cried, “they’ve been before us.”
“It’s these people of the inn. It’s that boy. I wish I had put his eyes out!” cried the blind man, Pew. “Find them. Tear the inn down!”

As I slid down the bank towards the bridge, I heard great quarrelling among the men. They had found the money we left there. The quarrel saved us, for the men did not hear the horses coming. They pounded down across the bridge and as I ran up to call for help I saw the blind beggar step directly in the path of a charging horse.
I leaped to my feet and hailed the riders. Dr. Livesey had been called and the revenue officers had joined the fight. One of the men had run Pew down. The blind man was dead.
We found the inn all torn to pieces. Dr. Livesey asked some of the men to help my mother and asked if I might go along with him for the night. He had the captain’s papers and wanted me to talk everything over with him. We were to meet a man known as the squire or Mr. Trelawney. I had never seen the squire close up before and I felt a bit out of place in such a fine house.
“Jim,” said the doctor, “you have the thing they were looking for, haven’t you?”
“Here it is sir,” said I, and handed him the oilskin packet, which I’d had sense enough to keep.
He didn’t open it at once but instead ordered some supper for me. The men talked as I ate.
At last the men called me back. Great clouds of smoke rolled out of their pipes as they talked and puffed away.
They had opened the sealed map and it lay stretched out on the table. It showed an island about nine miles long and five across. It looked like a fat dragon standing up. The hill in the centre was marked, ‘Spyglass’. In red ink, in a small, neat hand, very different from the captain’s, were these words: “Bulk of treasure here.”
Over on the back in the same hand was written the following information:
“Tall tree, Spyglass shoulder, bearing a point to the N. of N.N.E. Skeleton Island E.S.E. and by E. Ten feet. The bar of silver is in the north cache. Ten fathoms south of the black crag with the face on it.”
Before I could get my breath, Dr. Livesey, and Mr. John Trelawney had the trip planned and I was to go as cabin-boy. Such adventure I had never imagined in my whole life.

Mr. Trelawney hired the cook of a ship who was called, Long John Silver. When I heard that he had just one leg, I was filled with fear, for hadn’t the captain told me to be on the lookout for just such a man of the sea? Who would listen to a boy like me? I was going to sea myself—to sea in a schooner, with a piping boatswain, and a pig-tailed singing seaman! —bound for an unknown island, seeking buried treasure.
“We sail tomorrow,” called Mr. Trelawney.

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