Sure enough, there were two men just outside the stockade, one of themwaving 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 everwas abroad in; a chill that pierced into the marrow. The sky was brightand cloudless overhead, and the tops of the trees shone rosily in thesun. But where Silver stood with his lieutenant all was still in shadow,and they waded knee-deep in a low, white vapor that had crawled duringthe night out of the morass. The chill and the vapor taken together tolda poor tale of the island. It was plainly a damp, feverish, unhealthyspot.

"Keep indoors, men," said the captain. "Ten to one this is a trick."

Then he hailed the buccaneer.

"Flag of truce!" cried Silver.

The captain was in the porch, keeping himself carefully out of the wayof a treacherous shot, should any be intended. He turned and spoke tous.

"Doctor's watch on the lookout. Doctor Livesey, take the north side, ifyou please; Jim the east; Gray, west. The watch below, all hands to loadmuskets. 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! Don't know him. Who's he?" cried the captain. And wecould hear him adding to himself: "Cap'n, is it? My heart, and here'spromotion!"

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'rewilling to submit, if we can come to terms, and no bones about it. All Iask is your word, Cap'n Smollett, to let me safe and sound out of thishere 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 totalk to you. If you wish to talk to me, you can come, that's all. Ifthere'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'senough. I know a gentleman, and you may lay to that."

We could see the man who carried the flag of truce attempting to holdSilver back. Nor was that wonderful, seeing how cavalier had been thecaptain's answer. But Silver laughed at him aloud, and slapped him onthe back, as if the idea of alarm had been absurd. Then he advanced tothe stockade, threw over his crutch, got a leg up, and with great vigorand skill succeeded in surmounting the fence and dropping safely to theother side.

I will confess that I was far too much taken up with what was going onto be of the slightest use as sentry; indeed, I had already deserted myeastern loophole and crept up behind the captain, who had now seatedhimself on the threshold, with his elbows on his knees, his head in hishands, and his eyes fixed on the water as it bubbled out of the old ironkettle in the sand. He was whistling to himself, "Come, Lasses andLads."

Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll. What with thesteepness of the incline, the thick tree-stumps, and the soft sand, heand his crutch were as helpless as a ship in stays. But he stuck to itlike a man, in silence, and at last arrived before the captain, whom hesaluted in the handsomest style. He was tricked out in his best; animmense blue coat, thick with brass buttons, hung as low as to hisknees, 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 hadbetter sit down."

"You ain't a-going to let me inside, cap'n?" complained Long John. "It'sa 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 manyou might have been sitting in your galley. It's your own doing. You'reeither my ship's cook--and then you were treated handsome--or Cap'nSilver, a common mutineer and pirate, and then you can go hang!"

"Well, well, cap'n," returned the sea-cook, sitting down as he wasbidden 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 ofthe morning to you, Jim. Doctor, here's my service. Why, there you allare 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 are, Cap'n Smollett," replied Silver. "Dooty is dooty, to besure. 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 ahandspike-end. And I'll not deny neither but what some of my people wasshook--maybe all was shook; maybe I was shook myself; maybe that's whyI'm here for terms. But you mark me, cap'n, it won't do twice, bythunder! We'll have to do sentry-go, and ease off a point or so on therum. Maybe you think we were all a sheet in the wind's eye. But I'lltell you I was sober; I was on'y dog tired; and if I'd awoke a secondsooner I'd 'a' caught you at the act, I would. He wasn't dead when I gotround to him, not he."

"Well?" says Captain Smollett, as cool as can be.

All that Silver said was a riddle to him, but you would never haveguessed it from his tone. As for me, I began to have an inkling. BenGunn's last words came back to my mind. I began to suppose that he hadpaid the buccaneers a visit while they all lay drunk together roundtheir fire, and I reckoned up with glee that we had only fourteenenemies to deal with.

"Well, here it is," said Silver. "We want that treasure, and we'll haveit--that's our point! You would just as soon save your lives, I reckon;and that's yours. You have a chart, haven't you?"

"That's as may be," replied the captain.

"Oh, well, you have, I know that," returned Long John. "You needn't beso husky with a man; there ain't a particle of service in that, and youmay lay to it. What I mean is, we want your chart. Now, I never meantyou no harm, myself."

"That won't do with me, my man," interrupted the captain. "We knowexactly what you meant to do, and we don't care; for now, you see, youcan't do it."

And the captain looked at him calmly, and proceeded to fill a pipe.

"If Abe Gray--" Silver broke out.

"Avast there!" cried Mr. Smollett. "Gray told me nothing, and I askedhim nothing; and what's more, I would see you and him and this wholeisland blown clean out of the water into blazes first. So there's mymind for you, my man, on that."

This little whiff of temper seemed to cool Silver down. He had beengrowing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together.

"Like enough," said he. "I would set no limits to what gentlemen mightconsider shipshape, or might not, as the case were. And, seein' as howyou are about to take a pipe, cap'n, I'll make so free as do likewise."

And he filled a pipe and lighted it; and the two men sat silentlysmoking for quite a while, now looking each other in the face, nowstopping their tobacco, now leaning forward to spit. It was as good asthe play to see them.

"Now," resumed Silver, "here it is. You give us the chart to get thetreasure by, and drop shooting poor seamen, and stoving of their headsin while asleep. You do that and we'll offer you a choice. Either youcome aboard along of us, once the treasure shipped, and then I'll giveyou my affy-davy, upon my word of honor, to clap you somewhere safeashore. Or, if that ain't to your fancy, some of my hands being rough,and having old scores, on account of hazing, then you can stay here, youcan. We'll divide stores with you, man for man; and I'll give myaffy-davy, as before, to speak the first ship I sight, and send 'em hereto pick you up. Now you'll own that's talking. Handsomer you couldn'tlook to get, not you. And I hope"--raising his voice--"that all hands inthis here blockhouse will overhaul my words, for what is spoke to one isspoke to all."

Captain Smollett rose from his seat and knocked out the ashes of hispipe in the palm of his left hand.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"Every last word, by thunder!" answered John. "Refuse that and you'veseen the last of me but musket-balls."

"Very good," said the captain. "Now you'll hear me. If you'll come upone by one, unarmed, I'll engage to clap you all in irons, and to takeyou home to a fair trial in England. If you won't, my name is AlexanderSmollett, I've flown my sovereign's colors, and I'll see you all to DavyJones. You can't find the treasure. You can't sail the ship--there's nota man among you fit to sail the ship. You can't fight us--Gray, there,got away from five of you. Your ship's in irons, Master Silver; you'reon a lee shore, and so you'll find. I stand here and tell you so, andthey're the last good words you'll get from me; for, in the name ofheaven, I'll put a bullet in your back when next I meet you. Tramp, mylad. Bundle out of this, please, hand over hand, and double quick."

Silver's face was a picture; his eyes started in his head with wrath. Heshook the fire out of his pipe.

"Give me a hand up!" he cried.

"Not I," returned the captain.

"Who'll give me a hand up?" he roared.

Not a man among us moved. Growling the foulest imprecations, he crawledalong the sand till he got hold of the porch and could hoist himselfagain upon his crutch. Then he spat into the spring.

"There!" he cried, "that's what I think of ye. Before an hour's out,I'll stove in your old blockhouse like a rum puncheon. Laugh, bythunder, laugh! Before an hour's out, ye'll laugh upon the other side.Them that die'll be the lucky ones."

And with a dreadful oath he stumbled off, plowed down the sand, washelped across the stockade, after four or five failures, by the man withthe flag of truce, and disappeared in an instant afterward among thetrees.