, in one word, of the identical, exact thing that he was doing. It
seemed to me so obvious, in this case, that I could not imagine how he
was to turn their anger. But he was twice the man the rest were; and his
last night's victory had given him a huge preponderance on their minds.
He called them all the fools and dolts you can imagine, said it was
necessary I should talk to the doctor, fluttered the chart in their
faces, asked them if they could afford to break the treaty the very day
they were bound a-treasure-hunting.

"No, by thunder!" he cried, "it's us must break the treaty when the time
comes; and till then I'll gammon that doctor, if I have to ile his boots
with brandy."

And then he bade them get the fire lit, and stalked out upon his crutch,
with his hand on my shoulder, leaving them in a disarray, and silenced by
his volubility rather than convinced.

"Slow, lad, slow," he said. "They might round upon us in a twinkle of an
eye, if we was seen to hurry."

Very deliberately, then, did we advance across the sand to where the
doctor awaited us on the other side of the stockade, and as soon as we
were within easy speaking distance, Silver stopped.

"You'll make a note of this here also, doctor," says he, "and the boy'll
tell you how I saved his life, and were deposed for it, too, and you may
lay to that. Doctor, when a man's steering as near the wind as
me--playing chuck-farthing with the last breath in his body, like--you
wouldn't think it too much, mayhap, to give him one good word? You'll
please bear in mind it's not my life only now--it's that boy's into the
bargain; and you'll speak me fair, doctor, and give me a bit o' hope to
go on, for the sake of mercy."

Silver was a changed man, once he was out there and had his back to his
friends and the block-house; his cheeks seemed to have fallen in, his
voice trembled; never was a soul more dead in earnest.

"Why, John, you're not afraid?" asked Doctor Livesey.

"Doctor, I'm no coward; no, not I--not _so_ much!" and he snapped his
fingers. "If I was I wouldn't say it. But I'll own up fairly, I've the
shakes upon me for the gallows. You're a good man and a true; I never
seen a better man! And you'll not forget what I done good, not any more
than you'll forget the bad, I know. And I step aside--see here--and leave
you and Jim alone. And you'll put that down for me too, for it's a long
stretch, is that!"

So saying, he stepped back a little way, till he was