10 What I Heard in the Apple Barrel, and Afterward

CHAPTER 10 What I Heard in the Apple Barrel, and Afterward We worked well into the night. I was thrilled with the sea talk and quick banter of the men. As we worked, Long John raised up his crutch like a baton and started up his fast- paced sea chantey: "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—" And the whole crew joined in with, "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"

Even then, in my excitement, it brought me back to our own Captain at the inn. Before I knew it, we were on our voyage to Treasure Island. The voyage was long and the Hispaniola soon proved itself to be an able vessel that sped us along on our journey. Not so with Mr. Arrow. He often seemed seasick, and though the doctor tried to look after him, he stumbled about on deck and had to be helped into bed as often as not. One day, he disappeared entirely. "Well," said Captain Smollett, "that's a relief. Overboard and good riddance." And with this, the Captain had to find a new mate, and did so in Israel Hands, the wily old seaman who was a great friend of Long John Silver. Long John himself turned out to be a great seaman in his own way. He was quick and

nimble and ever helpful, and the men loved him dearly. I spent much of my time by his side in the galley, helping with the cooking, with Long John and his parrot for my only company. "I call my parrot," he told me, "Cap'n Flint, after the famous pirate!" At this, the parrot would squawk out "Pieces of eight, pieces of eight!" and would carry on until his master covered the cage with a shred of torn sail. He then told me of its great age and the parrot's many voyages. During this time, we drew close, and I thought him the best of men and a true friend. In the meantime, Captain Smollett and the Squire remained distant. Everything about the Captain's displeasure interfered with Mr. Trelawney's sense of adventure and joy at being aboard. The crew, on the other hand,

never had an easier time of it, I imagine. There was good wind and good food for all, and even a big barrel of apples on deck at all times for any to take his pick of the sweet fruit. All of this the Captain considered taking away from us, but as you will see, the apple barrel did eventually serve its purpose. If not for that barrel, we might have had no warning and might all have been killed in a foul manner. Late one day, as the sun was going down, I chose to go and find an apple for myself out of the barrel and, finding it nearly empty, crawled right in to get to the bottom. Once inside, I sat there with the darkness coming on and began to feel quite sleepy. Suddenly, though, I heard a muffled voice and sensed a body leaning against the barrel that I knew to be Silver himself. After

hearing only the first few words, I trembled with fear, for now I knew that the lives of the few honest men left on board depended on me alone. The fearful whispering continued. "Flint was Captain and I was quartermaster. It was on that voyage," continued Silver, "that I lost my leg and Pew lost his eyes. That ship was dripping with red blood and fit to sink with all the gold we found."

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