Daily camera., 1901-08-27
CHAPTER XIV.
THE FIRST BLOW.

THE FIRST BLOW.
was so pleased at having given the
slip to Long John that began to enjoy
myself and look around me with some
interest on the strange land that was
in.
had crossed q marshy tract full OF
willows, bulrushes, and odd outland-
ish, swampy trees. and l had now come
out upon the skirts Of an open piece OF
undulating, sandy country, about n
mile long, dotted with few pines, and
a great number of contorted trees, moi
unlike the oak in growth, but pale in
the foliage, like willows. On the far
side OF the open stood one of the hills,
with two quaint, craggy peaks, shining
vividly in the sun.
now felt for the first time the JOY
Of exploration. The isle was uninhab-
tied; my shipmatcs l had left behind,
and nothing lived in front OF me but
dumb brutes and fowls. l turned
hither and thither among the trees.
Here and there were Towering plants
unknown to me; here and there l saw
snakes, and one raised his head from
a ledge of rock and Kissed at me with
noise not unlike the spinning of
top. Little did suppose that he was a
deadly enemy, and that the noise was
the famous rattle.
Then 1 came to long thicket of these
oak-like trces-live or evergreen oaks,
l heard afterward they should be called
which grew low along the sand like
brambles, the boughs curiously twist
ed, the foliage compact. like thatch.
The thicket stretched down from the
top one of the sandy knobs, spreading
and growing taller as it went. until it
reached the margin of the broad, recdy
fen, through which the nearest OF the
little rivers soaked its way into the an
chorage. The marsh was steaming in
the strong sun, and the outline of the
Spy-glass trembled through the haze.
All at once there began to go sort OF
hustle among the bulrushes; wild
duck flew up with quack, another fol-
lowed, and soon over the whole surface
of the marsh a great cloud OF birds
hung screaming and circling in the
air. judged ut once that some of my
shipmates must be drawing near along
the borders of the fen. Nor was / de-
ceived; for soon l heard the very dis
tant and low tones of human voice,
which as l continued to give ear, grew
steadily louder and nearer
This put me in great fear, and i
crawled under cover of the nearest live
oak and squatted there, hearkenipg, as
silent as a mouse.
Another voice answered.; and then
the first voice, which now recognized
to be Silver's, once more took up the
story, and ran on for long while in
stream. only now and again interrupt
ed by the other. By the sound they
must have been talking earnestly, and
almost fiercely; 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
to grow more quiet and to settle again
to their places in the swamp.
And now began to feel that was
neglecting my business; that since |
had been SO foolhardy as to come ashore
with these dcsperadoes. the least
could do was to overhear them at their
councils; and my plain and obvious
duty was to draw as close as l could
manage, under the favorable ambush
Of the crouching 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, i 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 him 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, Its because
l thinks gold-dust of you-gold-dust,
and you may lay to that! II l hadn't
took to you like pitch, do you think I'd
have been here a-warning of you? Ais
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 l be, Tom-now, tell me,
where 'ud be?"
."Silver," said the other man-and
1 observed he was not only red in the
face, but spoke as hoarse as a crow, and
his voice shook, too, like taut rope
'Silvcr," 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 mess of swabs? not you!
AS sure Us God sees me, I'd sooner lose
my hand. If turn again my dooty-''
Andt then all of sudden he was inter
rupted by a noise. 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 a sudden, sound like the cry of
anger, then another on the back. of it !;
and then one horrid, 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 o simultaneous
whir; and long after that death yell
was still ringing in my brain, silence
had reestablished its 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 a
horse at the spur; but Silver had not
winkcd an eye. He stood where he
was, resting lightly on his crutch,
watching his companion like q snake
about to spring.
| "Ichni" said tho sailor RfretchinO