PART IV The Stockade02（第2页）

"thatmansllett，"hesaidonce，"isabettermanthaniaandwhenisaythatitmeansadeal，激"

anothertimehecameandwassilentforawhile.thenheputhisheadononeside，andlookedatme.

"isthisbengunnaman?"heasked.

"idonotknow，sir，"saidi."iamnotverysurewhetherhessane."

"iftheresanydoubtaboutthematter，heis，"returnedthedoctor."amanwhohasbeenthreeyearsbihisnailsonadesertisland，激m，cantexpecttoappearassaneasyouorme.itdoesntlieinhumannature.wasitcheeseyousaidhehadafancyfor?"

"yes，sir，cheese，"ianswered.

"well，激m，"sayshe，"justseethegoodthatesofbeingdaintyinyourfood.youveseenmysnuffbox，haventyou?andyouneversawmetakesnuff，thereasonbeingthatinmysnuff-boxicarryapieceofparmesancheese—acheesemadeinitaly，verynutritious.well，thatsforbengunn!"

beforesupperwaseatenweburiedoldtominthesandandstoodroundhimforawhilebare-headedinthebreeze.agooddealoffirewoodhadbeengotin，butnotenoughforthecaptainsfancy，andheshookhisheadoveritandtolduswe"mustgetbacktothistorrowratherlivelier."then，whenwehadeatenourporkandeachhadagoodstiffglassofbrandygrog，thethreechiefsgottogetherinacornertodiscussourprospects.

itappearstheywereattheirwitsendwhattodo，thestoresbeingsolowthatwemusthavebeenstarvedintosurrenderlongbeforehelpcame.butourbesthope，itwasdecided，aneersuntiltheyeitherhauleddowntheirflagorranawaywiththehispaniola.fromnieentheywerealreadyreducedtofifteen，twootherswerewounded，andoneatleast—themanshotbesidethegun—severelywounded，ifhewerenotdead.everytimewehadacrackatthem，weweretotakeit，savingourownlives，withtheextremestcare.andbesidesthat，wehadtwoableallies—rumandtheclimate.

asforthefirst，thoughwewereabouthalfamileaway，wecouldhearthemroaringandsinginglateintothenight;andasforthesecond，thedoctorstakedhiswigthat，campedwheretheywereinthemarshandunprovidedwithremedies，thehalfofthemwouldbeontheirbacksbeforeaweek.

"so，"headded，"ifwearenotallshotdownfirsttheyllbegladtobepackingintheschooner.itsalwaysaship，aneeringagain，isuppose."

"firstshipthateverilost，"saidcaptainsllett.

iwasdeadtired，asyoumayfancy;andwhenigottosleep，whichwasnottillafteragreatdealoftossing，isleptlikealogofwood.

theresthadlongbeenupandhadalreadybreakfastedandincreasedthepileoffirewoodbyabouthalfasmuchagainwheniwaswakenedbyabustleandthesoundofvoices.

"flagoftruce!"iheardsomeonesay;andthen，immediatelyafter，withacryofsurprise，"silverhimself!"

andatthat，upijumped，andrubbingmyeyes，rantoaloopholeinthewall.

chapter20silversembassy

ureenough，thereweretwomenjustoutsidethestockade，oneofthemwavingawhitecloth，theother，nolessapersonthansilverhimself，standingplacidlyby.

itwasstillquiteearly，andthecoldestrningthatithinkieverwasabroadin—achillthatpiercedintothemarrow.theskywasbrightandcloudlessoverhead，andthetopsofthetreesshonerosilyinthesun.butwheresilverstoodwithhislieutenant，allwasstillinshadow，andtheywadedknee-deepinalowwhitevapourthathadcrawledduringthenightoutoftherass.thechillandthevapourtakentogethertoldapoortaleoftheisland.itwasplainlyadamp，feverish，unhealthyspot.

"keepindoors，men，"saidthecaptain."tentoohisisatrick."

aneer.

"whogoes?stand，orwefire.

"flagoftruce，"criedsilver.

thecaptainwasintheporch，keepinghimselfcarefullyoutofthewayofatreacherousshot，shouldanybeintended.heturnedandspoketous，"doctorswatchonthelookout.dr.liveseytakethenorthside，ifyouplease;激m，theeast;gray，west.thewatchbelow，allhandstoloadmuskets.lively，men，andcareful."

andthenheturnedagaintothemutineers.

"andwhatdoyouwantwithyourflagoftruce?"hecried.

thistimeitwastheothermanwhoreplied.

"capnsilver，sir，toeonboardandmaketerms，"heshouted.

"capnsilver!dontknowhiwhoshe?"criedthecaptain.andwecouldhearhimaddingtohimself，"capn，isit?myheart，andheresprotion!"

longjohnansweredforhimself."me，sir.thesepoorladshavechosenmecapn，afteryourdesertion，sir"—layingaparticularemphasisupontheword"desertion.""werewillingtosubmit，ifwecanetoterms，andnobonesaboutit.alliaskisyourword，capnsllett，toletmesafeandsoundoutofthisherestockade，andoneminutetogetoutoshotbeforeagunisfired.

"myman，"saidcaptainsllett，"ihavenottheslightestdesiretotalktoyou.ifyouwishtotalktome，youcane，thatsall.iftheresanytreachery，itllbeonyourside，andthelordhelpyou."