暗黑小说

PART II The Sea-cook（第1页）

chapter7igotobristol

twaslongerthanthesquireimaginederewewerereadyforthesea，andnoneofourfirstplansnotevendr。liveseys，ofkeepingmebesidehim—couldbecarriedoutasweintended。thedoctorhadtogotolondonforaphysiciantotakechargeofhispractice;thesquirewashardatworkatbristol;andilivedonatthehal露nderthechargeofoldredruth，thegamekeeper，alstaprisoner，butfullofsea-dreamsandthestcharminganticipationsofstrangeislandsandadventures。ibroodedbythehourtogetheroverthemap，allthedetailsofwhichiwellremembered。sitbythefireinthehousekeepersroom，iapproachedthatislandinmyfancyfromeverypossibledirection;iexploredeveryacreofitssurface;iclimbedathousandtimestothattallhilltheycallthespy-glass，andfromthetopenjoyedthestwonderfulandchangingprospects。sometimestheislewasthickwithsavages，withwhomwefought，sometimesfullofdangerousanimalsthat混tedus，urredtomesostrangeandtragicasouractualadventures。

sotheweekspassedon，tillonefinedaytherecamealetteraddressedtodr。livesey，withthisaddition，"tobeopened，inthecaseofhisabsence，bytomredruthoryounghawkins。"obeyingthisorder，wefound，orratherifound—forthegamekeeperwasapoorhandatreadinganythingbutprint—thefollowingimportantnews:

oldanchorinn，bristol，march1，17—

dearlivesey—asidonotknowwhetheryouareatthehallorstillinlondon，isendthisindoubletobothplaces。

theshipisboughtandfitted。sheliesatanchor，readyforsea。youneverimaginedasweeterschooner—achildmightsailher—two混dredtons;name，hispaniola。

igotherthroughmyoldfriend，blandly，whohasprovedhimselfthroughoutthestsurprisingtrump。theadmirablefellowliterallyslavedinmyinterest，andso，imaysay，dideveryoneinbristol，assoonastheygotwindoftheportwesailedfor—treasure，imean。

"redruth，"saidi，interruptheletter，"dr。liveseywillnotlikethat。thesquirehasbeentalking，afterall。"

"well，whosabetterright?"growledthegamekeeper。"aprettyrumgoifsquireainttotalkfordr。livesey，ishouldthink。"

atthatigaveupallattemptsatmentaryandreadstraighton:

blandlyhimselffoundthehispaniola，andbythestadmirablemanagementgotherforthemeresttrifle。thereisaclassofmeninbristolnstrouslyprejudicedagainstblandly。theygothelengthofdeclaringthatthishonestcreaturewoulddoanythingforney，thatthehispaniolabelongedtohim，andthathesolditmeabsurdlyhigh—thesttransparentca露mnies。noneofthemdare，however，todenythemeritsoftheship。

sofartherewasnotahitch。theworkpeople，tobesure—ersandwhatnot—werestannoyinglyslow;buttimecuredthat。itwasthecrewthattroubledme。

iwishedaroundscoreofmen—incaseofnatives，aneers，ortheodiousfrench—andihadtheworryofthedeuceitselftofindsomuchashalfadozen，tillthestremarkablestrokeoffortunebroughtmetheverymanthatirequired。

iwasstandingonthedock，when，ident，ifellintalkwithhiifoundhewasanoldsailor，keptapublic-house，knewalltheseafaringmeninbristol，hadlosthishealthashore，andwantedagoodberthascooktogettoseaagain。hehadhobbleddowntherethatrning，hesaid，togetasmellofthesalt。

iwasnstrouslytouched—sowouldyouhavebeen—and，outofpurepity，iengagedhinthespottobeshipscook。longjohnsilver，heiscalled，andhaslostaleg;butthatiregardedasaremendation，sincehelostitinhiscountrysservice，undertheimrtalhawke。hehasnopension，livesey。imagiheabominableagewelivein!

well，sir，ithoughtihadonlyfoundacook，butitwasacrewihaddiscovered。betweensilverandmyselfwegottogetherinafewdaysapanyofthetoughestoldsaltsimaginable—notprettytolookat，butfellows，bytheirfaces，ofthestindomitablespirit。ideclarewecouldfightafrigate。

longjohnevengotridoftwooutofthesixorsevenihadalreadyengaged。heshowedmeinamentthattheywerejustthesortoffreshwaterswabswehadtofearinanadventureofimportance。

iaminthestmagnificenthealthandspirits，ealikeabull，sleepinglikeatree，yetishallnotenjoyamenttillihearmyoldtarpaulinstrampingroundthecapstan。seaward，ho!hangthetreasure!itsthegloryoftheseathathasturnedmyhead。sonow，livesey，epost;donotloseanhour，ifyourespectme。

letyounghawkinsgoatoncetoseehisther，withredruthforaguard;andthenbothefullspeedtobristol。

johntrelawney

postscript—ididnottellyouthatblandly，who，bytheway，istosendaconsortafterusifwedontturnupbytheendofaugust，hadfoundanadmirablefellowforsailingmaster—astiffman，whichiregret，butinallotherrespectsatreasure。longjohnsilverunearthedaverypetentmanforamate，amannamedarrow。ihaveaboatswainwhopipes，livesey;sothingsshallgoman-o-warfashiononboardthegoodshiphispaniola。

iforgottotellyouthatsilverisamanofsubstance;ount，whichhasneverbeenoverdrawn。heleaveshiswifetomanagetheinn;andassheisawomanofcolour，apairofoldbachelorslikeyouandimaybeexcusedforguessingthatitisthewife，quiteasmuchasthehealth，thatsendshimbacktoroving。

j。t。

p。p。s。—hawkinsmaystayonenightwithhisther。

j。t。

youcanfancytheexcitementintowhichthatletterputme。iwashalfbesidemyselfwithglee;andifeveridespisedaman，itwasoldtomredruth，whocoulddonothingbutgrumbleandlament。anyoftheunder-gamekeeperswouldgladlyhavechangedplaceswithhim;butsuchwasnotthesquirespleasure，andthesquirespleasurewaslikelawangthemall。nobodybutoldredruthwouldhavedaredsomuchaseventogrumble。

thenextrningheandisetoutonfootfortheadmiralbenbow，andthereifoundmytheringoodhealthandspirits。thecaptain，whohadsolongbeenacauseofsomuchdisfort，wasgonewherethewickedceasefromtroubling。thesquirehadhadeverythingrepaired，andthepublicroomsandthesignrepainted，andhadaddedsomefurniture—aboveallabeautifularmchairfortherinthebar。hehadfoundheraboyasanapprenticealsosothatsheshouldnotwanthelpwhileiwasgone。

itwasonseeingthatboythatiunderstood，forthefirsttime，mysituation。ihadthoughtuptothatmentoftheadventuresbeforeme，notatallofthehomethatiwasleaving;andnow，atsightofthisc露msystranger，whowastostayhereinmyplacebesidemyther，ihadmyfirstattackoftears。iamafraidiledthatboyadogslife，forashewasnewtothework，ihada混dredopportunitiesofsethimrightandputhimdown，andiwasnotslowtoprofitbythe