"aye,aye,"saidsilver;"likeenough;youwouldntlooktofindabishophere,ireckon。butwhatsortofawayisthatforbonestolie?taintinnatur。"
indeed,onasecondglance,itseemedimpossibletofancythatthebodywasinanaturalposition。butforsomedisarray(thework,perhaps,ofthebirdsthathadfeduponhiroftheslow-growingcreeperthathadgraduallyenvelopedhisremains)themanlayperfectlystraight—hisfeetpoininonedirection,hishands,raisedabovehisheadlikeadivers,poindirectlyintheopposite。
"ivetakenanotionintomyoldnumbskull,"observedsilver。"heresthepass;theresthetip-toppintoskeletonisland,stickinoutlikeatooth。justtakeabearing,willyou,alongthelineofthembones。"
itwasdone。thebodypointedstraightinthedirectionoftheisland,andthepassreadduly。
e。s。e。andbye。
"ithoughtso,"criedthecook;"thishereisapinter。rightupthereisourlineforthepolestarandthejollydollars。but,byt混der!ifitdontmakemecoldinsidetothinkofflint。thisisoneofhisjokes,andnomistake。himandthesesixwasalonehere;hekilledem,everyman;andthisonehehauledhereandlaiddownbypass,shivermytimbers!theyrelongbones,andthehairsbeenyellow。aye,thatwouldbeallardyce。youmindallardyce,tomrgan?"
"aye,aye,"returnedrgan;"imindhim;heowedmeney,hedid,andtookmyknifeashorewithhi"
"speakingofknives,"saidanother,"whydontwefindhisnlyinground?flintwarntthemantopickaseamanspocket;andthebirds,iguess,wouldleaveitbe。"
"bythepowers,andthatstrue!"criedsilver。
"thereaintathinglefthere,"saidmerry,stillfeelingroundangthebones;"ybox。itdontlooknatraltome。"
"no,bygum,itdont,"agreedsilver;"notnatral,nornotnice,saysyou。greatguns!messmates,butifflintwasliving,thiswouldbeahotspotforyouandme。sixtheywere,andsixarewe;andbonesiswhattheyarenow。"
"isawhimdeadwiththeseheredeadlights,"saidrgan。"billytookmein。therehelaid,withpennypiecesonhiseyes。"
"dead—aye,sureenoughhesdeadandgonebelow,"saidthefellowwiththebandage;"butifeversperritwalked,itwouldbeflints。dearheart,buthediedbad,didflint!"
"aye,thathedid,"observedanother;"nowheraged,andnowheholleredfortherum,andnowhesang。fifteenmenwerehisonlysong,mates;anditellyoutrue,ineverrightlylikedtohearitsince。itwasmainhot,andthewindywasopen,andihearthatoldsonginoutasclearasclear—andthedeath-haulonthemanalready。"
"e,e,"saidsilver;"stowthistalk。hesdead,andhedontwalk,thatiknow;leastways,hewontwalkbyday,andyoumaylaytothat。carekilledacat。fetchaheadforthedoubloons。"
westarted,certainly;butinspiteofthehotsunandthestaringdaylight,thepiratesnolongerranseparateandshouthroughthewood,butkeptsidebysideandspokewithbatedbreath。aneerhadfallenontheirspirits。
chapter32thetreasure-混t—thevoiceangthetrees
artlyfromthedampinginf露enceofthisalarm,partlytorestsilverandthesickfolk,thewholepartysatdownassoonastheyhadgainedthebrowoftheascent。
theplateaubeingsomewhattiltedtowardsthewest,thisspotonwhichwehadpausedmandedawideprospectoneitherhand。beforeus,overthetree-tops,webeheldthecapeofthewoodsfringedwithsurf;behind,wenotonlylookeddownupontheanchorageandskeletonisland,butsaw—clearacrossthespitandtheeasternlowlands—agreatfieldofopenseaupontheeast。sheeraboveusrosethespyglass,heredottedwithsinglepines,thereblackwithprecipices。therewasnosoundbutthatofthedistantbreakers,unfromallround,andthechirpofcountlessinsectsinthebrush。notaman,notasail,uponthesea;theverylargenessoftheviewincreasedthesenseofsolitude。
silver,ashesat,tookcertainbearingswithhispass。
"therearethreetalltrees"saidhe,"aboutintherightlinefromskeletonisland。spy-glassshoulder,itakeit,meansthatlowerpintthere。itschildsplaytofindthestuffnow。ivehalfamindtodinefirst。
"idontfeelsharp,"growledrgan。"thinkinoflint—ithinkitwere—asdoneme。"
"ah,well,myson,youpraiseyourstarshesdead,"saidsilver。
"hewereanuglydevil,"criedathirdpiratewithashudder;"thatb露einthefacetoo!"
"thatwashowtherumtookhim,"addedmerry。"b露e!well,ireckonhewasb露e。thatsatrueword。"
eversincetheyhadfoundtheskeletonandgotuponthistrainofthought,theyhadspokenlowerandlower,andtheyhadalstgottowhisperingbynow,sothatthesoundoftheirtalkhardlyinterruptedthesilenceofthewood。allofasudden,outofthemiddleofthetreesinfrontofus,athin,high,tremblingvoicestruckupthewell-knownairandwords:
"fifteenmenonthedeadmanschest—
yo-ho-ho,andabottleofrum!"
ineverhaveseenmenredreadfullyaffectedthanthepirates。thecolourwentfromtheirsixfaceslikeenchantment;someleapedtotheirfeet,someclawedholdofothers;rgangrovelledontheground。