SURE enough, there were two men just outside the stockade, one of them waving a white cloth; the other, no less a person than Silver himself, standing placidly by.
It was still quite early, and the coldest morning that I think I ever was abroad in; a chill that pierced into the marrow. The sky was bright and cloudless overhead, and the tops of the trees shone rosily in the sun.
But where Silver stood with his lieutenant all was still in shadow, and they waded knee deep in a low, white vapour, that had crawled during the night out of the morass. The chill and the vapour taken together told a poor tale of the island. It was plainly a damp, feverish, unhealthy spot.
`Keep indoors, men,' said the captain. `Ten to one this is a trick.'
Then he hailed the buccaneer.
`Who goes? Stand, or we fire.'
`Flag of truce,' cried Silver.
The captain was in the porch, keeping himself carefully out of the way of a treacherous shot should any be intended. He turned and spoke to us:--`Doctor's watch on the look out. Dr Livesey take the north side, if you please; Jim, the east; Gray, west. The watch below, all hands to load muskets. Lively, men, and careful.'
And then he turned again to the mutineers.
`And what do you want with your flag of truce?' he cried.
This time it was the other man who replied.
`Cap'n Silver, sir, to come on board and make terms,' he shouted.
`Cap'n Silver! Don't know him. Who's he?' cried the captain. And we could hear him adding to himself: `Cap'n, is it? My heart, and here's promotion!'
Long John answered for himself.
`Me, sir. These poor lads, have chosen me cap'n, after your desertion, sir - laying a particular emphasis upon the word `desertion.' `We're willing to submit, if we can come to terms, and no bones about it. All I ask is your word, Cap'n Smollett, to let me safe and sound out of this here stockade, and one minute to get out o' shot before a gun is fired.'
`My man,' said Captain Smollett, `I have not the slightest desire to talk to you. If you wish to talk to me, you can come, that's all. If there's any treachery, it'll be on your side, and the Lord help you.'
`That's enough, cap'n,' shouted Long John, cheerily. `A word from you's enough. I know a gentleman, and you may lay to that.'
We could see the man who carried the flag of truce attempting to hold Silver back. Nor was that wonderful, seeing how cavalier had been the captain's answer. But Silver laughed at him aloud, and slapped him on the back, as if the idea of alarm had been absurd. Then he advanced to the stockade, threw over his crutch, got a leg up, and with great vigour and skill succeeded in surmounting the fence and dropping safely to the other side.
I will confess that I was far too much taken up with what was going on to be of the slightest use as sentry; indeed, I had already deserted my eastern loophole, and crept up behind the captain, who had now seated himself on the threshold, with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, and his eyes fixed on the water, as it bubbled out of the old iron kettle in the sand. He was whistling to himself, `Come, Lasses and Lads.'
Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll. What with the steepness of the incline, the thick tree stumps, and the soft sand, he and his crutch were as helpless as a ship in stays. But he stuck to it like a man in silence, and at last arrived before the captain, whom he saluted in the handsomest style. He was tricked out in his best; an immense blue coat, thick with brass buttons, hung as low as to his knees, and a fine laced hat was set on the back of his head.
`Here you are, my man,' said the captain, raising his head. `You had better sit down.'
`You aint a-going to let me inside, cap'n?' complained Long John. `It's a main cold morning, to be sure, sir, to sit outside upon the sand.'
`Why, Silver,' said the captain, `if you had pleased to be an honest man, you might have been sitting in your galley. It's your own doing. You're either my ship's cook - and then you were treated handsome - or Cap'n Silver, a common mutineer and pirate, and then you can go hang!'
`Well, well, cap'n,' returned the sea-cook, sitting down as he was bidden on the sand, `you'll have to give me a hand up again, that's all. A sweet pretty place you have of it here. Ah, there's Jim! The top of the morning to you, Jim. Doctor, here's my service. Why, there you all are together like a happy family, in a manner of speaking.'
`If you have anything to say, my man, better say it,' said the captain.
`Right you were, Cap'n Smollett,' replied Silver. `Dooty is dooty, to be sure. Well, now, you look here, that was a good lay of yours last night.
I don't deny it was a good lay. Some of you pretty handy with a handspike-end.
