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"More likely to be the pirates," I answered.

We followed the noise of the fighting and came to a hill. There stood a strong wooden house, big enough for forty people, and with holes for guns on every side. All around the house was a wide open piece of land; and around that was a fence, two metres high, with no doors or openings, and too strong to pull down easily.

As soon as Ben Gunn saw the English flag flying over the house, he said, "There are your friends."

"Silver would put up the pirate's flag, the Jolly Roger," said Ben. "No, there's been a fight, and your friends have won. They're inside the stockade that Flint made years ago."

"Then I must hurry and join them," I said.

He wouldn't come with me. "I won't come until you've seen your gentleman and got his promise. You know where to find me, Jim. And if the pirates sleep on shore tonight, one of them might have an unpleasant surprise!"

The ship's gun BOOMED! and the shot fell only a hundred metres away. Ben Gunn and I each ran our different ways. The firing continued for another hour, and I moved quietly through the trees to the shore. There I saw the Hispaniola in the bay -- but the Jolly Roger was flying over her!

"We heard you had gone ashore on one of the boats, Jim," he said. "We never doubted your honesty, but we were afraid you wouldn't be safe. Hunter and I came ashore to see what was happening, and found the stockade. It seemed a good place to defend ourselves against Silver and his men, because we were sure they would kill us when they returned to the ship Here, all we needed was enough food, and people to watch for enemies. You see, we know that if the Hispaniola does not return to Bristol by the end of August, a rescue ship will be sent to look for us."

Dr Livesey came out of the house in time to see me climbing into the stockade, and my friends welcomed me happily They gave me supper -- although they were worried because there was little food left. As I ate, Dr Livesey told me their story.

"Doctor!" I shouted. "Squire! Captain! Hello, Hunter, is that you?"

On the beach, the pirates were breaking up the captain's little boat with axes. When the ship's gun stopped firing, I went back to the stockade.

"So we made a plan to get ourselves off the ship," Dr Livesey went on. "Hunter, Redruth, and Joyce helped us. Hunter brought the captain's little boat round under the cabin window, and Joyce and I put guns and food and my medicine chest in it. Redruth took four guns and went on deck with Trelawney and the captain They were able to surprise Israel Hands and the other men, and they managed to persuade one man, Abraham Gray, to join us again."

"Yes," said Dr Livesey. "And we dropped the rest of the weapons over the side into the sea before leaving the ship. But we forgot the ship's gun. We were half-way to the island when the pirates fired it at us."

"So you left five pirates on the ship?" I said.

"Trelawney tried to shoot Hands but killed another man instead," said Dr Livesey. "The pirates on the island heard the gun and ran out of the trees towards their boats. Then our small boat began to go down and we found ourselves in the water. Most of the food was lost and we had only two dry guns out of five. Somehow we got ashore and into the stockade, but we knew there was going to be a fight."

"I heard it," I told him.

"Yes," agreed Dr Livesey. "We killed another of their men. badly wounded another, but lost one of our own poor Tom Redruth."

After the doctor had finished, I told them my story, andabout Ben Gunn. Then we began to talk about what to donext. Our best plan was to kill the pirates one by one until the rest ran off or sailed away in the ship.

"But you won," I said.

I ran to a hole in the wall and looked through. Two men were outside the stockade, one waving a white cloth The other man was Silver. It was a very cold morning, the sky bright and without a cloud, but Silver and his man were standing in a low mist.

"Cap'n Silver?" said the captain. "Who is he?"

Long John answered "Me, sir. The men chose me to be captain after you deserted the ship We're willing to make peace if we can all agree. All I ask is your promise to allow me safely out of the stockade."

"A white flag!" I heard someone say. "It's Silver!"

"What do you want?" shouted Captain Smollett.

Silver came towards the stockade, threw his crutch over the fence, then climbed after it. With great difficulty, he walked up the hill of soft sand.

"I don't want to talk to you," said Captain Smollett, "but if you want to talk to me, you may come."

I was very tired, and fell asleep as the three men talked. It was the sound of voices shouting that woke me the next morning.

The man beside Silver replied,"Cap'n Silver, sir, to talk about peace."

"Aren't you going to let me inside?" said Long John. "It's a cold morning to be outside."

"Well now, Cap'n Smollett," said Silver, sitting down in the sand, "you were very clever, last night. One of you is very quick with a knife, isn't he? Some of my men were frightened, and perhaps I was too. Perhaps that's why I'm here now. But you won't do it again, by thunder! We'll drink less rum and watch more carefully. I was asleep, but I almost caught you. The man you knifed wasn't dead when I reached him."

"Well?" said Captain Smollett, pretending to understand. But I guessed what Silver was talking about. I remembered Ben Gunn's last words to me. Perhaps he had visited the pirates during the night, when they were lying around their fire, full of rum.

"If you were an honest man, Silver," said the captain, "you could be in your kitchen. You're either my ship's cook, or Cap'n Silver, a dirty pirate! Now, if you've anything to say, say it!"

"We want that treasure, and we'll have it!" said Silver. "Now, you have a map. Give it to us, and stop killing poor sea-men when they're asleep, and we'll let you choose what to do. Either come aboard ship with us when we have the treasure, and we'll take you to a safe place; or stay here on the island."

"Now you'll hear me," said the captain. "If you come up one by one, without weapons, I'll take you home to a fair trial in England. You can't find the treasure without the map. None of you knows how to sail the ship home. And you can't fight us -- Gray got away from five of you. If you say no, the next time I see you I'll put a bullet in your back. Now, get out of here quickly."

"It's my last word, by thunder!" said Silver. "Refuse, and you'll all die."

Silver's eyes were filled with anger. "Somebody help me up!" he shouted, but none of us moved. Swearing angrily, he pulled himself across the sand to the fence. There, he was able to lift himself on to his crutch again and then climb out of the stockade.

"Before the hour is over," shouted Silver, "I'll break your old house like a rum bottle! And those that die will be the lucky ones!"

As soon as Silver disappeared, we got ready for a battle, placing ourselves around the sides of the stockade. The captain went round to check our places and our guns, and to see that everything was ready.

"Is that all?" asked Captain Smollett.

"Fight them in the open!" cried the captain.

A minute later, Joyce fired his pistol and the battle had begun. Shots came from every side of the stockade, hitting the wooden house, but the bullets did not get through the thick walls. Then there was silence and the smoke slowly cleared away.

Suddenly, guns were fired again, and a group of pirates ran from the woods and on to the stockade. They climbed over the fence like monkeys while the squire and Gray fired at them. In a few seconds, two fell dead, one was running back into the trees, and four were inside the stockade.

But in that moment, the fight was over and we had won. Gray cut down one man with his sword. Another was shot as he fired into the house, and now lay wounded with his smoking pistol in his hand. The doctor had cut down a third. The men on the fence had disappeared back into the trees. And of the four who had climbed into the stockade, only one was not wounded, and he was climbing out again with the fear of death in him.

I took a sword and ran out into the sun. More pirates were starting to climb into the stockade. One man, wearing a red cap and with a knife in his mouth, was already on top of the fence.