Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1898-03-22

This put me in great fear, and l
| crawled under cover Of the nearest live
oak and squatted there, hearkening, as
silent as mouse.
Another voice answered; and then
the first voice, which I now recognized
to be Silver's, once more took up the
story, and ran on for a long while in a
stream, only now and again interrupt
ed by the other. By the sound they
must have been talking earnestly, and
| almost fercely; but no distinct word
! came to my hearing.
At last the speakers seemed to have,
paused, and perhaps to have sat down;
for not only did they cease to draw any
nearer, but the birds themselves began
to grow more quiet, and to settle again
to their places in the swamp.
And now I began to feel that was
neglecting my business; that since
had been SO foolhardy as to come ashore
with these desperadoes, the least 1
| could do was to overhear them at their
! councils; and my plain and obvious
duty was to draw as close as I could
manage, under the favorable ambush
u ZIG ciouculnB trees.
could tell the direction of the speak
ers pretty exactly, not only by the
| sound of their voices, but by the be-
havior of the few birds that still hung
in alarm above the heads of the in
truders.
Crawling on all-fours, I made
steadily but slowly toward them; till
at last, raising my head to an aperture
among the leaves, 1 could see clear
down into little green dell beside the
marsh, and closely set about with trees,
| where Long John Silver and another
of the crew stood face to face in con-
versation.
The sun beat full upon them. Silver
had thrown his hat beside hip on the
ground, and his great, smooth, blonde
face, all shining with heat, was lifted
to the other mans in kind of appeal.
"Mate," he was saying, 'it's because
thinks gold-dust of you-gold-dust,
and you may lay to that! If I hadn't
took to you like pitch, do you think I'd
have been here a-warning of you? ALPS
up-you can't make nor mend; it's to
save your neck that I'm a-speaking,
and if one of the wild 'uns knew it,
where 'ud I be, Tom-now, tell me,
where 'ud I be?"
"Silver," said the other man-and
I observed he was not only red in the
face, but spoke as hoarse as crow, and
his voice shook, too, like taut rope
'Silver," says he, you're old, and
you're honest, or has the name for it;
and you've money, too, which lots of
poor sailors hasn't: and you're brave,
or I'm mistook. And will you tell me
you'll let yourself be led away with
that kind of 4 mess of swabs? not you!
AS sure as God sees me, I'd sooner lose
my hand. If I turn again my dooty-'
And then all of sudden he was inter-
rupted by a noise. I had found one of
the honest hands-well, here, at that
same moment, came news of another.
Far away out in the marsh there arose,
all of sudden, sound like the cry of
anger, then another on the back. of it;
and then one borrid, long-drawn
scream. The rocks of the Spy-glass re-
echoed it score of times; the whole
troop of marsh-birds rose again, dark
ening heaven, with a simultaneous
whir; and long after that death yell
was still ringing in my brain, silence
had reestablished it's empire, and only
the rustic of the redescending birds
and the boom of the distant surges dis
turbed the languor of the afternoon.
Tom had leaped at the sound, like
horse at the spur; but Silver had not
winked an eye. He stood where he
was, resting lightly on his crutch,
watching his companion like snake
about to spring.
"John!" said the sailor, stretching
out his hand.
Glands off" cried Silver, leaping
back a yard, as it seemed to me, with
the speed and security of a trained
gymnast.
Hands off, if you like, John Silver"
said the other. cts black conscience
that can make you feared of me. But,
in Heavens name, tell me what was
that?'
'That?" returned Silver, smiling
away, but warier than ever, his eye
mere pin-point in his big face, but
cleaning like crumb of glass.
THAT? Oh, reckon that'll be Alan"
And at this poor Tom flashed out like
hero. IT,: ~.
"Alan!" he cried. ''Then rest his
soul for true seaman! And as for
you, John Silver, long you've been a
mate of mine, but you're mate of mine
no more. fl die like dog, I'll die in
my dooty. 8 You've killed Alan, have
you? Kill me, too, if you can. But
defes you" ~. III :,...z j .>s,f"
And with that, this brave fellow
turned his back directly on the cook,
and set off walking for the beach. But
he was not destined togo far. WI tn q
cry, John seized the branch Of a tree,
whipped the crutch out#of his armpit,
and sent that uncouth missile hurling