The pirate meeting had been going on for quite a while when one of the men came back into the blockhouse.
He gave the same mocking little salute as before.
“Can I borrow the torch for a moment?” he asked.
Silver nodded and handed it over.
The man left again, leaving us alone in the darkness.
“There’s trouble coming, Jim,” Silver said.
By now, his voice had become strangely friendly, almost like he was talking to an old friend.
I moved to the nearest gun hole and looked outside.
The great fire had almost burned out. Only a few weak red ashes remained, which explained why the pirates wanted the torch.
Halfway down the hill toward the stockade, I saw them gathered together.
One man held the torch.
Another was kneeling in the middle of the group.
Something shiny flashed in his hand.
It was a knife.
At first, I could not understand what he was doing.
Then I saw he also held a book.
A knife and a book together seemed like a strange combination for a group of pirates.
The kneeling man suddenly stood up.
The whole group began walking toward the blockhouse.
“They’re coming,” I said.
I quickly moved away from the hole.
I did not want them to see me watching them.
“Let them come, lad,” Silver said cheerfully.
“I’ve still got a trick or two left.”
The door opened.
Five pirates stood crowded together inside the entrance.
They pushed one man forward.
Under different circumstances, his slow, nervous steps would have been funny.
He moved carefully, one foot at a time, holding his closed right hand in front of him.
“Come along, lad,” Silver called.
“I won’t bite you.”
“Give it here. I know the rules. I won’t hurt a messenger.”
The pirate gained confidence and stepped forward.
He handed something to Silver.
Then he quickly hurried back to the others.
Silver looked down at what he had received.
“The black spot,” he said.
“I thought so.”
“Where did you get the paper?”
He looked closer.
“Wait a minute. This isn’t lucky.”
“You cut this out of a Bible.”
“What fool cuts up a Bible?”
“See?” Morgan said.
“I told you. Nothing good would come from that.”
“Well, you’ve certainly made trouble for yourselves,” Silver said.
“You’ll all hang because of this.”
“What idiot used a Bible?”
“It was Dick,” one pirate answered.
“Dick, was it?” Silver laughed.
“Then Dick can start praying. He’s already had his bit of bad luck.”
The tall pirate with yellow eyes stepped forward.
“Enough, John Silver.”
“The whole crew gave you the black spot properly.”
“Turn it over and read what’s written on it.”
“Then you can talk.”
“Thank you, George,” Silver replied.
“You’ve always been quick to follow the rules.”
“Now let me see.”
He looked at the paper.
“Ah, ‘Deposed.’”
“So that’s it?”
“Very nicely written too.”
“Almost like printing.”
“Your handwriting, George?”
“You’re becoming quite important in this crew.”
“Perhaps you’ll be captain next.”
“Pass me the torch again, will you?”
“My pipe isn’t working properly.”
“Come on, John,” George said.
“You can’t fool us anymore.”
“You’ve had your time.”
“Get off that barrel and come vote with us.”
“I thought you knew the rules,” Silver replied coldly.
“If you don’t, I do.”
“I’ll stay right here.”
“And remember, I’m still your captain.”
“You tell me your complaints first, and I’ll answer them.”
“Until then, your black spot means nothing.”
“After that, we’ll see.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” George said.
“We’re ready.”
“First, you ruined this whole voyage.”
“You can’t deny that.”
“Second, you let our enemies escape.”
“Why did they leave?”
“I don’t know.”
“But they clearly wanted to.”
“Third, you refused to let us attack them when they were moving.”
“We understand you now, John Silver.”
“You’re making deals with them.”
“And finally, there’s this boy.”
“That’s all?” Silver asked quietly.
“That’s more than enough,” George answered.
“We’ll all end up hanging because of your mistakes.”
“Now listen carefully,” Silver said.
“I’ll answer each point one by one.”
“You say I ruined the voyage?”
“Everyone here knows what I wanted.”
“If things had gone my way, we would all be aboard the Hispaniola tonight.”
“Every man alive.”
“Every man healthy.”
“Eating good food.”
“And the treasure would be safely in the ship’s hold.”
“But who stopped me?”
“Who forced me to change my plans?”
“Who gave me the black spot the day we arrived and started this mess?”
“It was Anderson.”
“It was Hands.”
“And it was you, George Merry.”
“You are the last one left from that group.”
“And now you dare stand there and try to become captain?”
“You helped destroy us all.”
“That’s the first point.”
Silver wiped sweat from his forehead.
He had spoken with such force that the whole room seemed shaken.
“Honestly, I’m tired of talking to you fools.”
“You have no memory and no sense.”
“I wonder what kind of parents let you go to sea.”
“Sea men?”
“Gentlemen of fortune?”
“You’d be better off making clothes.”
“Go on, John,” Morgan said.
“Answer the other points.”
“The other points?”
Silver laughed.
“They’re even better.”
“You say this voyage is a disaster.”
“If only you understood how badly things have gone.”
“We’re already standing with our necks near the rope.”
“Imagine seeing a man hanging in chains.”
“Birds flying around him.”
“Sailors pointing and saying, ‘That’s John Silver.’”
“That is where we all are now.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to Hands.”
“Thanks to Anderson.”
“And thanks to every other foolish man here.”
“And about the boy?”
“Isn’t he a hostage?”
“Are we going to throw away a hostage?”
“No.”
“He may be our last chance.”
“Kill him?”
“Not me.”
“Not my crew.”
“And the third point?”
“You think it means nothing that we have a real doctor treating us every day?”
“You, John, with your injured head.”
“You, George Merry, who had fever only hours ago and still look sick.”
“And perhaps you forgot something else.”
“There are ships coming.”
“Not long from now.”
“And when they arrive, we’ll see who is happy to have a hostage.”
“As for the second point, why did I make a deal?”
“Because you came crawling to me.”
“You begged me.”
“You were starving.”
“You needed my help.”
“But that’s not important.”
“Look here.”
Silver threw a paper onto the floor.
I immediately recognized it.
It was the yellow map with the three red crosses.
The same map I had found hidden in the captain’s chest.
I could not understand why the doctor had given it to Silver.
But the pirates were even more shocked than I was.
They rushed toward the map like hungry animals.
They grabbed it from one another.
They shouted, cursed, and laughed like children.
They acted as if they already held the treasure in their hands.
“As I thought,” one pirate said.
“That’s Flint’s mark.”
“J.F.”
“And those numbers below.”
“It’s real.”
“Beautiful,” George said.
“But how do we escape with it?”
“We don’t even have a ship.”
Silver suddenly jumped up.
He grabbed the wall to steady himself.
“George, listen carefully.”
“One more insult from you, and I’ll make you fight me.”
“How do we escape?”
“How should I know?”
“You and the others ruined my ship.”
“You destroyed my plans.”
“But I don’t expect you to understand.”
“You don’t have the imagination of a cockroach.”
“Still, you will speak politely.”
“That’s enough,” Morgan said.
“That’s fair.”
“Fair?”
Silver smiled.
“You lost the ship.”
“I found the treasure.”
“Who did better?”
“And now I resign.”
“Choose another captain if you want.”
“I’m finished.”
“Silver!” the pirates shouted.
“Barbecue forever!”
“Barbecue for captain!”
“So that’s how things are now?” Silver said.
“George, looks like you’ll have to wait.”
“And lucky for you, I’m not a revengeful man.”
“Now then, mates.”
“What about this black spot?”
“It isn’t worth much anymore.”
“Dick ruined his luck and destroyed his Bible.”
“That’s all.”
“It can still be used to swear on a book, can’t it?” Dick complained.
“A Bible with a piece cut out?”
Silver laughed.
“No.”
“It has no more power than a songbook.”
“Really?” Dick said happily.
“Well, that’s good news.”
“Jim,” Silver called.
“Here’s something interesting for you.”
He threw the paper to me.
It was about the size of a coin.
One side was blank.
The other side had a few lines from the Book of Revelation.
One phrase caught my attention:
“Outside are dogs and murderers.”
The printed words were covered with black ash.
The ash was already coming off and staining my fingers.
On the blank side, someone had written one word:
“Deposed.”
I still have that strange little paper.
But today, almost all the writing has disappeared.
Only a tiny mark remains, like something scratched with a fingernail.
That ended the night’s business.
Soon afterward, the pirates shared a drink.
Then we lay down to sleep.
Silver’s revenge was simple.
He ordered George Merry to stand guard.
And he threatened to kill him if he betrayed him.
It took me a long time to fall asleep.
My mind was full of thoughts.
I thought about the man I had killed that afternoon.
I thought about my own dangerous situation.
But most of all, I thought about Silver.
He was playing a dangerous game.
With one hand, he was trying to keep the pirates together.
With the other, he was searching for any possible way to save himself.
He slept peacefully that night.
He even snored loudly.
Yet I could not help feeling troubled for him.
He was a wicked man.
But I could not forget the terrible dangers around him.
And the shameful fate waiting for him if he failed.