Two men appeared just outside the stockade. One of them carried a white flag, and the other was none other than Long John Silver himself, standing there calmly.
It was still early morning, and the cold was the worst I had ever felt. The freezing air seemed to sink deep into my bones.
The sky above was clear and bright. The tops of the trees glowed red in the sunlight.
But where Silver and his companion stood, everything was still covered in shadow. They were standing knee-deep in a layer of white mist that had drifted out of the swamp during the night.
The cold air and the heavy mist told us something unpleasant about the island.
It was a wet, unhealthy place, full of the kind of air that could bring sickness.
“Stay inside, men,” Captain Smollett ordered. “There’s a good chance this is a trick.”
Then he called out to the pirates.
“Who’s there? Stop, or we’ll fire!”
“Flag of truce!” Silver shouted.
The captain stood in the doorway of the stockade, keeping himself protected in case the pirates tried a surprise shot.
Then he turned to us.
“Doctor, keep watch. Take the north side. Jim, take the east. Gray, the west. Everyone else, load your muskets. Quickly, but carefully.”
He turned back toward the pirates.
“And what exactly do you want with your flag of truce?”
The other man holding the flag answered.
“Captain Silver wants to come aboard and discuss terms.”
“Captain Silver?” Captain Smollett replied. “I don’t know any man by that name. Who is he?”
Then we heard him mutter under his breath.
“Captain, is he? Well, that’s quite a promotion.”
Long John Silver answered for himself.
“It’s me, sir. These poor fellows have chosen me as their captain after your desertion.”
He placed special emphasis on the word “desertion.”
“We’re willing to make peace if we can agree on terms. All I ask, Captain Smollett, is your promise that I may leave this stockade safely, with enough time to get beyond shooting range before anyone fires.”
“My man,” said Captain Smollett, “I have no desire to speak with you. If you want to speak with me, then come here yourself. If there is any treachery, it will come from your side. May God help you then.”
“That’s good enough, Captain,” Silver called cheerfully. “Your word is enough. I know a gentleman when I meet one.”
We saw the man carrying the flag trying to stop Silver from going forward.
That was hardly surprising after hearing the captain’s cold reply.
But Silver only laughed and slapped the man on the back as if there was nothing to worry about.
Then he moved toward the stockade, threw his crutch over the fence, pulled himself up, and with surprising strength and skill climbed over and dropped safely inside.
I admit I was too interested in what was happening to be a proper guard.
I had already left my position at the eastern shooting hole and moved behind Captain Smollett.
The captain was sitting at the entrance with his elbows resting on his knees. His head was in his hands, and he was staring at the water bubbling out of an old iron kettle buried in the sand.
He was quietly whistling a tune called “Come, Lasses and Lads.”
Silver struggled badly as he climbed the hill.
The slope was steep. Tree stumps blocked his way. The sand was soft and loose.
With his wooden leg and crutch, he moved like a ship stuck in the wind.
But he kept going silently.
At last, he reached the captain and greeted him with great politeness.
Silver had dressed himself in his finest clothes.
A huge blue coat covered with brass buttons hung almost to his knees. A fancy hat with lace decoration sat proudly on the back of his head.
“Here you are,” said Captain Smollett, lifting his head. “You’d better sit down.”
“You’re not going to let me inside, Captain?” Silver complained. “It’s a terribly cold morning to be sitting outside on the sand.”
“Why, Silver,” said the captain, “if you had chosen to be an honest man, you would be sitting comfortably in your kitchen right now.”
“It was your own choice.”
“You are either my ship’s cook, who was treated fairly, or you are Captain Silver, a common pirate and mutineer. And if that is what you are, you can go to the gallows.”
“Well, well, Captain,” Silver replied, sitting down on the sand as ordered. “Looks like you’ll have to help me up again later.”
“This is a fine little place you have here.”
“Oh, there’s Jim!”
“Good morning, Jim.”
“Doctor, my respects.”
“Why, look at all of you. Standing together like one happy family.”
“If you have something to say, say it,” Captain Smollett replied.
“Quite right, Captain Smollett,” said Silver. “Duty is duty.”
“Now, listen. That was a clever move you made last night. I won’t deny it.”
“Some of your men handled themselves well with those weapons.”
“And I won’t deny that some of my fellows were frightened. Maybe all of them were frightened.”
“Maybe even I was frightened.”
“Maybe that’s why I’m here to make a deal.”
“But remember this, Captain. It won’t happen again.”
“We’ll keep better watches next time, and perhaps drink a little less rum.”
“You may think we were all drunk and helpless.”
“But I wasn’t drunk.”
“I was only exhausted.”
“If I had woken up one second earlier, I would have caught you in the middle of your attack.”
“He wasn’t dead when I reached him. Not at all.”
“Well?” Captain Smollett said calmly.
Silver’s words made little sense to the captain, but he showed no confusion.
I, however, began to understand.
Ben Gunn’s final words came back to me.
I started thinking that Ben must have visited the pirates while they were all drunk around their campfire.
If that was true, then we only had fourteen enemies left to face.
“Well, here’s the matter,” Silver continued.
“We want the treasure, and we’re going to get it. That’s what this is all about.”
“You want to save your lives, I suppose. That’s your goal.”
“You have the treasure map, don’t you?”
“That depends,” Captain Smollett answered.
“Oh, come now. I know you have it,” Silver said.
“You don’t need to act so tough with me. It doesn’t help anyone.”
“What I mean is, we want your map.”
“And I never personally intended any harm toward you.”
“That won’t work on me,” Captain Smollett interrupted.
“We know exactly what you planned to do.”
“And right now, we don’t care, because you can’t do it anymore.”
The captain calmly filled his pipe.
“If Abe Gray—” Silver began.
“Stop right there!” Captain Smollett snapped.
“Gray told me nothing, and I asked him nothing.”
“And I would rather see you, him, and this whole island blown apart before I believed otherwise.”
“That is what I think of the matter.”
The captain’s anger seemed to cool Silver down.
He had been getting irritated, but now he controlled himself again.
“Fair enough,” Silver said.
“I wouldn’t judge what gentlemen consider proper or improper.”
“And since you are about to smoke your pipe, Captain, I’ll do the same.”
Silver filled his own pipe and lit it.
Then the two men sat silently, smoking for a long time.
Sometimes they looked directly at each other.
Sometimes they stopped smoking.
Sometimes they leaned forward to spit.
Watching them was like watching a performance on a stage.
“Now,” Silver finally said, “here is our offer.”
“You give us the map so we can find the treasure.”
“And you stop shooting poor sailors and attacking men while they sleep.”
“Do that, and we’ll give you a choice.”
“First, you can come aboard with us after we load the treasure.”
“I swear on my honor that I’ll put you safely ashore somewhere.”
“Or, if you don’t like that idea because some of my men have old grudges against you, then you can stay here.”
“We’ll share our supplies with you equally.”
“And I swear that when I see the first ship, I’ll send it here to rescue you.”
“Now, you must admit, that’s a generous offer.”
“You won’t get better terms than that.”
Silver raised his voice.
“And I hope everyone inside this fort hears what I’ve said.”
“What I say to one man, I say to all.”
Captain Smollett stood up and emptied the ashes from his pipe into his left hand.
“Is that all?” he asked.
“Every single word,” Silver replied.
“Reject it, and the next thing you’ll see from me will be musket fire.”
“Very well,” said the captain.
“Now listen to me.”
“If you come here one by one, without weapons, I promise to put you in irons and take you back to England for a fair trial.”
“But if you refuse, remember my name is Alexander Smollett.”
“I serve my king, and I will send every one of you to the bottom of the sea.”
“You cannot find the treasure.”
“You cannot sail the ship.”
“Not one of you knows enough to command her.”
“You cannot defeat us.”
“Gray escaped from five of you.”
“Your ship is helpless, Silver.”
“You are trapped on a dangerous shore, and you will discover that soon enough.”
“I am telling you this now, and these are the last friendly words you will ever hear from me.”
“The next time I see you, I will put a bullet in your back.”
“Now leave.”
“Get out of here quickly.”
Silver’s face changed completely.
His eyes burned with anger.
He knocked the ashes from his pipe.
“Give me a hand up!” he shouted.
“Not I,” Captain Smollett replied.
“Who will help me up?” Silver roared.
No one moved.
Cursing furiously, Silver dragged himself across the sand until he reached the porch.
Using it for support, he pulled himself back onto his crutch.
Then he spat into the spring.
“There!”
“That’s what I think of you.”
“Before one hour passes, I’ll smash this old fort like a barrel of rum.”
“Laugh if you want!”
“Before long, you’ll be the ones crying.”
“And those who die will be the lucky ones.”
With a terrible oath, he stumbled away.
The man carrying the flag helped him climb back over the stockade after several failed attempts.
A moment later, Silver disappeared into the trees.