Reading Help Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Ch.I-III
undulating, sandy country, about a mile long, dotted `
` with a few pines and a great number of contorted trees, `
` not unlike the oak in growth, but pale in the foliage, `
` like willows. On the far side of the open stood one of `
` the hills, with two quaint, craggy peaks shining `
` vividly in the sun. `
` `
` I now felt for the first time the joy of exploration. `
` The isle was uninhabited; my shipmates I had left `
` behind, and nothing lived in front of me but dumb `
` brutes and fowls. I turned hither and thither among `
` the trees. Here and there were flowering plants, `
` unknown to me; here and there I saw snakes, and one `
` raised his head from a ledge of rock and hissed at me `
` with a noise not unlike the spinning of a top. Little `
` did I suppose that he was a deadly enemy and that the `
` noise was the famous rattle. `
` `
` Then I came to a long thicket of these oaklike trees-- `
` live, or evergreen, oaks, I heard afterwards they `
` should be called--which grew low along the sand like `
` brambles, the boughs curiously twisted, the foliage `
` compact, like thatch. The thicket stretched down from `
` the top of one of the sandy knolls, spreading and `
` growing taller as it went, until it reached the margin `
` of the broad, reedy fen, through which the nearest of `
` the little rivers soaked its way into the anchorage. `
` The marsh was steaming in the strong sun, and the `
` outline of the Spy-glass trembled through the haze. `
` `
` All at once there began to go a sort of bustle among `
` the bulrushes; a wild duck flew up with a quack, `
` another followed, and soon over the whole surface of `
` the marsh a great cloud of birds hung screaming and `
` circling in the air. I judged at once that some of my `
` shipmates must be drawing near along the borders of the `
` fen. Nor was I deceived, for soon I heard the very `
` distant and low tones of a human voice, which, as I `
` continued to give ear, grew steadily louder and nearer. `
` `
` This put me in a great fear, and I crawled under cover `
` of the nearest live-oak and squatted there, hearkening, `
` as silent as a mouse. `
` `
` Another voice answered, and then the first voice, which `
` I now recognized to be Silver's, once more took up the `
` story and ran on for a long while in a stream, only now `
` and again interrupted by the other. By the sound they `
` must have been talking earnestly, and almost fiercely; `
` but no distinct word came to my hearing. `
` `
` At last the speakers seemed to have paused and perhaps `
` to have sat down, for not only did they cease to draw `
` any nearer, but the birds themselves began to grow more `
` quiet and to settle again to their places in the swamp. `
` `
` And now I began to feel that I was neglecting my business, `
` that since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with `
` these desperadoes, the least I could do was to overhear `
` them at their councils, and that my plain and obvious duty `
` was to draw as close as I could manage, under the favourable `
` ambush of the crouching trees. `
` `
` I could tell the direction of the speakers pretty `
` exactly, not only by the sound of their voices but by `
` the behaviour of the few birds that still hung in alarm `
` above the heads of the intruders. `
` `
` Crawling on all fours, I made steadily but slowly `
` towards them, till at last, raising my head to an `
` aperture among the leaves, I could see clear down into `
` a little green dell beside the marsh, and closely set `
` about with trees, where Long John Silver and another of `
` the crew stood face to face in conversation. `
` `
` The sun beat full upon them. Silver had thrown his hat `
` beside him on the ground, and his great, smooth, blond `
` face, all shining with heat, was lifted to the other `
` man's in a kind of appeal. `
` `
` "Mate," he was saying, "it's because I thinks gold dust `
` of you--gold dust, and you may lay to that! If I `
` hadn't took to you like pitch, do you think I'd have `
` been here a-warning of you? All's up--you can't make `
` nor mend; it's to save your neck that I'm a-speaking, `
` and if one of the wild uns knew it, where'd I be, Tom-- `
` now, tell me, where'd I be?" `
` `
` "Silver," said the other man--and I observed he was not `
` only red in the face, but spoke as hoarse as a crow, and `
` his voice shook too, like a taut rope--"Silver," says he, `
` "you're old, and you're honest, or has the name for it; `
` and you've money too, which lots of poor sailors hasn't; `
` and you're brave, or I'm mistook. And will you tell me `
` you'll let yourself be led away with that kind of a mess `
` of swabs? Not you! As sure as God sees me, I'd sooner `
` lose my hand. If I turn agin my dooty--" `
` `
` And then all of a sudden he was interrupted by a noise. `
` I had found one of the honest hands--well, here, at `
` that same moment, came news of another. Far away out `
` in the marsh there arose, all of a sudden, a sound like `
` the cry of anger, then another on the back of it; and `
` then one horrid, long-drawn scream. The rocks of the `
` Spy-glass re-echoed it a score of times; the whole `
` troop of marsh-birds rose again, darkening heaven, with `
` a simultaneous whirr; and long after that death yell `
` was still ringing in my brain, silence had re- `
` established its empire, and only the rustle of the `
` redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges `
` disturbed the languor of the afternoon. `
` `
` Tom had leaped at the sound, like a horse at the spur, `
` but Silver had not winked an eye. He stood where he `
` was, resting lightly on his crutch, watching his `
` companion like a snake about to spring. `
` `
` "John!" said the sailor, stretching out his hand. `
` `
` "Hands off!" cried Silver, leaping back a yard, as it seemed `
` to me, with the speed and security of a trained gymnast. `
` `
` "Hands off, if you like, John Silver," said the other. `
` "It's a black conscience that can make you feared of `
` me. But in heaven's name, tell me, what was that?" `
` `
` "That?" returned Silver, smiling away, but warier than `
` ever, his eye a mere pin-point in his big face, but `
` gleaming like a crumb of glass. "That? Oh, I reckon `
` that'll be Alan." `
` `
` And at this point Tom flashed out like a hero. `
` `
` "Alan!" he cried. "Then rest his soul for a true seaman! `
` And as for you, John Silver, long you've been a mate of `
` mine, but you're mate of mine no more. If I die like a `
` dog, I'll die in my dooty. You've killed Alan, have you? `
` Kill me too, if you can. But I defies you." `
` `
` And with that, this brave fellow turned his back `
` directly on the cook and set off walking for the beach. `
` But he was not destined to go far. With a cry John `
` seized the branch of a tree, whipped the crutch out of `
` his armpit, and sent that uncouth missile hurtling `
` through the air. It struck poor Tom, point foremost, `
` and with stunning violence, right between the shoulders `
` in the middle of his back. His hands flew up, he gave `
` a sort of gasp, and fell. `
` `
` Whether he were injured much or little, none could ever `
` tell. Like enough, to judge from the sound, his back `
` was broken on the spot. But he had no time given him `
` to recover. Silver, agile as a monkey even without leg `
` or crutch, was on the top of him next moment and had `
` twice buried his knife up to the hilt in that `
` defenceless body. From my place of ambush, I could `
` hear him pant aloud as he struck the blows. `
` `
` I do not know what it rightly is to faint, but I do know `
` that for the next little while the whole world swam away `
` from before me in a whirling mist; Silver and the birds, `
` and the tall Spy-glass hilltop, going round and round and `
` topsy-turvy before my eyes, and all manner of bells ringing `
` and distant voices shouting in my ear. `
` `
` When I came again to myself the monster had pulled `
` himself together, his crutch under his arm, his hat `
` upon his head. Just before him Tom lay motionless upon `
` the sward; but the murderer minded him not a whit, `
` cleansing his blood-stained knife the while upon a wisp `
` of grass. Everything else was unchanged, the sun still `
` shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh and the tall `
` pinnacle of the mountain, and I could scarce persuade `
` myself that murder had been actually done and a human `
` life cruelly cut short a moment since before my eyes. `
` `
` But now John put his hand into his pocket, brought out `
` a whistle, and blew upon it several modulated blasts `
` that rang far across the heated air. I could not tell, `
` of course, the meaning of the signal, but it instantly `
` awoke my fears. More men would be coming. I might be `
` discovered. They had already slain two of the honest `
` people; after Tom and Alan, might not I come next? `
` `
` Instantly I began to extricate myself and crawl back `
` again, with what speed and silence I could manage, to `
` the more open portion of the wood. As I did so, I `
` could hear hails coming and going between the old `
` buccaneer and his comrades, and this sound of danger `
` lent me wings. As soon as I was clear of the thicket, `
` I ran as I never ran before, scarce minding the `
` direction of my flight, so long as it led me from the `
` murderers; and as I ran, fear grew and grew upon me `
` until it turned into a kind of frenzy. `
` `
` Indeed, could anyone be more entirely lost than I? `
` When the gun fired, how should I dare to go down to the `
` boats among those fiends, still smoking from their crime? `
` Would not the first of them who saw me wring my neck like `
` a snipe's? Would not my absence itself be an evidence `
` to them of my alarm, and therefore of my fatal knowledge? `
`
` with a few pines and a great number of contorted trees, `
` not unlike the oak in growth, but pale in the foliage, `
` like willows. On the far side of the open stood one of `
` the hills, with two quaint, craggy peaks shining `
` vividly in the sun. `
` `
` I now felt for the first time the joy of exploration. `
` The isle was uninhabited; my shipmates I had left `
` behind, and nothing lived in front of me but dumb `
` brutes and fowls. I turned hither and thither among `
` the trees. Here and there were flowering plants, `
` unknown to me; here and there I saw snakes, and one `
` raised his head from a ledge of rock and hissed at me `
` with a noise not unlike the spinning of a top. Little `
` did I suppose that he was a deadly enemy and that the `
` noise was the famous rattle. `
` `
` Then I came to a long thicket of these oaklike trees-- `
` live, or evergreen, oaks, I heard afterwards they `
` should be called--which grew low along the sand like `
` brambles, the boughs curiously twisted, the foliage `
` compact, like thatch. The thicket stretched down from `
` the top of one of the sandy knolls, spreading and `
` growing taller as it went, until it reached the margin `
` of the broad, reedy fen, through which the nearest of `
` the little rivers soaked its way into the anchorage. `
` The marsh was steaming in the strong sun, and the `
` outline of the Spy-glass trembled through the haze. `
` `
` All at once there began to go a sort of bustle among `
` the bulrushes; a wild duck flew up with a quack, `
` another followed, and soon over the whole surface of `
` the marsh a great cloud of birds hung screaming and `
` circling in the air. I judged at once that some of my `
` shipmates must be drawing near along the borders of the `
` fen. Nor was I deceived, for soon I heard the very `
` distant and low tones of a human voice, which, as I `
` continued to give ear, grew steadily louder and nearer. `
` `
` This put me in a great fear, and I crawled under cover `
` of the nearest live-oak and squatted there, hearkening, `
` as silent as a mouse. `
` `
` Another voice answered, and then the first voice, which `
` I now recognized to be Silver's, once more took up the `
` story and ran on for a long while in a stream, only now `
` and again interrupted by the other. By the sound they `
` must have been talking earnestly, and almost fiercely; `
` but no distinct word came to my hearing. `
` `
` At last the speakers seemed to have paused and perhaps `
` to have sat down, for not only did they cease to draw `
` any nearer, but the birds themselves began to grow more `
` quiet and to settle again to their places in the swamp. `
` `
` And now I began to feel that I was neglecting my business, `
` that since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with `
` these desperadoes, the least I could do was to overhear `
` them at their councils, and that my plain and obvious duty `
` was to draw as close as I could manage, under the favourable `
` ambush of the crouching trees. `
` `
` I could tell the direction of the speakers pretty `
` exactly, not only by the sound of their voices but by `
` the behaviour of the few birds that still hung in alarm `
` above the heads of the intruders. `
` `
` Crawling on all fours, I made steadily but slowly `
` towards them, till at last, raising my head to an `
` aperture among the leaves, I could see clear down into `
` a little green dell beside the marsh, and closely set `
` about with trees, where Long John Silver and another of `
` the crew stood face to face in conversation. `
` `
` The sun beat full upon them. Silver had thrown his hat `
` beside him on the ground, and his great, smooth, blond `
` face, all shining with heat, was lifted to the other `
` man's in a kind of appeal. `
` `
` "Mate," he was saying, "it's because I thinks gold dust `
` of you--gold dust, and you may lay to that! If I `
` hadn't took to you like pitch, do you think I'd have `
` been here a-warning of you? All's up--you can't make `
` nor mend; it's to save your neck that I'm a-speaking, `
` and if one of the wild uns knew it, where'd I be, Tom-- `
` now, tell me, where'd I be?" `
` `
` "Silver," said the other man--and I observed he was not `
` only red in the face, but spoke as hoarse as a crow, and `
` his voice shook too, like a taut rope--"Silver," says he, `
` "you're old, and you're honest, or has the name for it; `
` and you've money too, which lots of poor sailors hasn't; `
` and you're brave, or I'm mistook. And will you tell me `
` you'll let yourself be led away with that kind of a mess `
` of swabs? Not you! As sure as God sees me, I'd sooner `
` lose my hand. If I turn agin my dooty--" `
` `
` And then all of a sudden he was interrupted by a noise. `
` I had found one of the honest hands--well, here, at `
` that same moment, came news of another. Far away out `
` in the marsh there arose, all of a sudden, a sound like `
` the cry of anger, then another on the back of it; and `
` then one horrid, long-drawn scream. The rocks of the `
` Spy-glass re-echoed it a score of times; the whole `
` troop of marsh-birds rose again, darkening heaven, with `
` a simultaneous whirr; and long after that death yell `
` was still ringing in my brain, silence had re- `
` established its empire, and only the rustle of the `
` redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges `
` disturbed the languor of the afternoon. `
` `
` Tom had leaped at the sound, like a horse at the spur, `
` but Silver had not winked an eye. He stood where he `
` was, resting lightly on his crutch, watching his `
` companion like a snake about to spring. `
` `
` "John!" said the sailor, stretching out his hand. `
` `
` "Hands off!" cried Silver, leaping back a yard, as it seemed `
` to me, with the speed and security of a trained gymnast. `
` `
` "Hands off, if you like, John Silver," said the other. `
` "It's a black conscience that can make you feared of `
` me. But in heaven's name, tell me, what was that?" `
` `
` "That?" returned Silver, smiling away, but warier than `
` ever, his eye a mere pin-point in his big face, but `
` gleaming like a crumb of glass. "That? Oh, I reckon `
` that'll be Alan." `
` `
` And at this point Tom flashed out like a hero. `
` `
` "Alan!" he cried. "Then rest his soul for a true seaman! `
` And as for you, John Silver, long you've been a mate of `
` mine, but you're mate of mine no more. If I die like a `
` dog, I'll die in my dooty. You've killed Alan, have you? `
` Kill me too, if you can. But I defies you." `
` `
` And with that, this brave fellow turned his back `
` directly on the cook and set off walking for the beach. `
` But he was not destined to go far. With a cry John `
` seized the branch of a tree, whipped the crutch out of `
` his armpit, and sent that uncouth missile hurtling `
` through the air. It struck poor Tom, point foremost, `
` and with stunning violence, right between the shoulders `
` in the middle of his back. His hands flew up, he gave `
` a sort of gasp, and fell. `
` `
` Whether he were injured much or little, none could ever `
` tell. Like enough, to judge from the sound, his back `
` was broken on the spot. But he had no time given him `
` to recover. Silver, agile as a monkey even without leg `
` or crutch, was on the top of him next moment and had `
` twice buried his knife up to the hilt in that `
` defenceless body. From my place of ambush, I could `
` hear him pant aloud as he struck the blows. `
` `
` I do not know what it rightly is to faint, but I do know `
` that for the next little while the whole world swam away `
` from before me in a whirling mist; Silver and the birds, `
` and the tall Spy-glass hilltop, going round and round and `
` topsy-turvy before my eyes, and all manner of bells ringing `
` and distant voices shouting in my ear. `
` `
` When I came again to myself the monster had pulled `
` himself together, his crutch under his arm, his hat `
` upon his head. Just before him Tom lay motionless upon `
` the sward; but the murderer minded him not a whit, `
` cleansing his blood-stained knife the while upon a wisp `
` of grass. Everything else was unchanged, the sun still `
` shining mercilessly on the steaming marsh and the tall `
` pinnacle of the mountain, and I could scarce persuade `
` myself that murder had been actually done and a human `
` life cruelly cut short a moment since before my eyes. `
` `
` But now John put his hand into his pocket, brought out `
` a whistle, and blew upon it several modulated blasts `
` that rang far across the heated air. I could not tell, `
` of course, the meaning of the signal, but it instantly `
` awoke my fears. More men would be coming. I might be `
` discovered. They had already slain two of the honest `
` people; after Tom and Alan, might not I come next? `
` `
` Instantly I began to extricate myself and crawl back `
` again, with what speed and silence I could manage, to `
` the more open portion of the wood. As I did so, I `
` could hear hails coming and going between the old `
` buccaneer and his comrades, and this sound of danger `
` lent me wings. As soon as I was clear of the thicket, `
` I ran as I never ran before, scarce minding the `
` direction of my flight, so long as it led me from the `
` murderers; and as I ran, fear grew and grew upon me `
` until it turned into a kind of frenzy. `
` `
` Indeed, could anyone be more entirely lost than I? `
` When the gun fired, how should I dare to go down to the `
` boats among those fiends, still smoking from their crime? `
` Would not the first of them who saw me wring my neck like `
` a snipe's? Would not my absence itself be an evidence `
` to them of my alarm, and therefore of my fatal knowledge? `
`