英语小说网

The pirates did not return, and we had time to take care of the wounded. Out of the eight men who fell in the fight, only three still breathed. One pirate, Hunter, and Captain Smollett; and of these, the first two were nearly dead. The pirate died first, then Hunter only a few hours later.

The doctor, Gray and I ran back into the house. We saw Hunter lying still, after a knock on the head. Joyce lay dead, shot through the head; and the squire was half-carrying the wounded captain.

The captain's wounds were bad but not dangerous. The doctor told him he must not walk or move his arm, and to speak only when it was necessary.

After dinner, the squire and the doctor sat by the captain's side and talked. Then, a little past noon, the doctor took his hat, his pistols and a sword, put the map in his pocket, and walked off quickly through the trees.

I guessed he was going to see Ben Gunn, and thought the doctor was lucky to be walking in the cool shadows of the wood. The house was hot and smelt of blood, and there were dead bodies lying all around. Suddenly, I wanted to get away from that place -- and I had an idea! I would go and look for Ben Gunn's boat! Perhaps we would need it some time. That was my excuse to myself, although I knew it was wrong of me to leave only two unwounded men to guard the stockade. It was also wrong of me to leave secretly, but that is what I did.

Ben Gunn had told me his boat was hidden near the white rock, and I found that rock farther along the beach. The little boat was hidden in the grass -- a small, rough thing, made of wood and goat-skins.

I made my way towards the east coast. It was late in the afternoon, but still warm. Soon cool air began to reach me, and suddenly there was the sea. I walked along the edge, then up to a small sand-covered hill.

I put the small boat on my shoulders and carried it to the edge of the water, then I put it in the sea. It was a very safe boat, but difficult to control. It turned every way except the one I wanted to go!

I filled my pockets with bread, then took two pistols and the powder for them. When Gray and Mr Trelawney were helping the captain, I climbed quickly out of the stockade and ran into the trees.

I knew I should go back to the stockade now, but an idea came to me and I sat down to wait for darkness. As the last of the day disappeared, there were two lights in the blackness. One came from a great fire on the shore where the pirates sat singing and drinking; the other came from the Hispaniola out at sea.

The sea carried me out to the Hispaniola. I knew if I cut the anchor rope at the wrong moment, the Hispaniola would make a sudden move out to sea, and my boat might be knocked out of the water. So I took my knife and cut almost through the rope, then waited, listening to the sound of two loud voices coming from the cabin. Both men sounded drunk, and both were angry.

I don't know why I took hold of the rope, but I did. I pulled my boat near to the ship, then stood up to see through the cabin window. I had wondered why the two men weren't on deck, but one look through the window gave me my answer. It was Israel Hands and the man in the red cap, now locked in battle, each with a hand round the other's neck.

I dropped down in the boat again, looking over my shoulder at the shore. And there, right behind me, was the pirate's fire on the beach! Then the wind, with sudden violence, turned the Hispaniola, and my little boat with it, and we were both sailing fast into the open sea.

At last the wind turned the ship towards me and now I cut all the way through the rope. As fast as I could, I pushed my little boat along the side of the ship, desperate to get away before the ship crashed into me. Just as I gave the final push, my hand found a rope over the end of the ship.

There were sudden shouts and the sound of hurrying feet as the two men ran on deck. I lay down in my boat, sure that when we reached the rough, open water, that would be the end for me. I lay there for many hours, but at last I fell asleep, and in my small, helpless boat, dreamed of home and the Admiral Benbow.

"I must keep the water out of the boat," I thought, "but I can row a little in the smooth places."

It was very tiring work, and it kept me busy so that I did not look up and see the Hispaniola until she was just half a mile away from me! But something strange was happening to her. First the ship turned north, then suddenly to the west again.

It was daylight when I woke up. The sun was still hidden behind Spyglass Hill, which came down to the sea in dangerous cliffs on this side of the island. It was no place to row ashore, or I would be killed on the rocks. Also, the boat was so small that when I rowed, the waves came over the sides of the boat. I decided to wait until the sea took me somewhere safer on the north side of the island.

Then the ship turned again, big and dangerous as she came closer and closer to Ben Gunn's little boat. Suddenly, I was on the top of one wave as she came thundering over the next. And there she was, almost upon me!

I jumped up, pushed the boat under the water with my feet, and caught one of the ship's ropes. Then I heard the Hispaniola hit the little boat, and I was left with no way to escape.

"She's out of control!" I thought.