13 The Story Continued by the Doctor How the Ship Was Abandoned

CHAPTER 13 The Story Continued by the Doctor: How the Ship Was Abandoned That afternoon when the two boats went ashore, the Captain, the Squire, and I sat talking matters over while keeping an eye on the six mutineers left on board who were sitting and skulking. Hunter came down to tell us that Jim had gone ashore and our hearts sank. We came to a decision, worried for his safety, and saw immediately that Hunter and

I should go ashore and find out more. We headed directly for the stockade that had appeared on the map and found it to be a sturdy, well-protected place with a freshwater spring and a high fence. We thought it perfect for defense. With that, we heard the cry of a man dying and thought at once that it was Jim Hawkins, killed this time for sure. We instantly rowed back to the Hispaniola and found the Squire white as a sheet and one of the six hands on deck looking equally pale. The Captain told me he thought that one might come over to our side. We quickly put Redruth in the galley between the cabin and the forecastle, with loaded muskets. Hunter brought the boat around and Joyce and I quickly loaded it with powder, guns, biscuits, kegs of pork, and my medicine chest. On deck, the Captain held the crew within range of his pistol, saying—

"Mr. Hands, there are two of us here who will shoot the first man that moves." The crew was shocked but quickly went belowdecks, only to find Redruth waiting with his weapons. They came up again, but cowered under the Captain's guns. By this time we had the boat loaded and made quickly for shore. We reached the stockade and, leaving Joyce as guard, quickly loaded in our wares without stopping. We then rowed back, exhausted, to the Hispaniola. Once more we loaded the boats with another round of cargo and got ready to set for shore yet again. First, though, we took all the guns we could and dumped the rest overboard, watching them all sink to the clean, sandy bottom. We heard voices calling out from shore and knew that our time was up. Before loading everything into the boat, the Captain

called down to the men belowdecks. "I am speaking to you, Abraham Gray. I am leaving. I order you to follow your Captain. I don't think you are like those other men. I give you thirty seconds to join me. Come at once. I am risking my life for you and the lives of my friends here." As soon as he finished, we heard a scuffle and Gray appeared with a knife cut on his face and ran to the Captain. With that, we jumped into our boat and headed out. We were clear of the ship but not yet on shore. Now, as we came up to the shore, we found that our trip out this time was much slower. We were five men now and much too loaded down with cargo. Added to this was the fact

that the tide was against us—the boat could be swamped and all of us drowned. Suddenly, the Captain spoke. "The cannon!'" he exclaimed. It was only then that we recalled the onboard cannon and its ammunition clearly laid out on deck. We turned to see the five pirates on board readying the gun to be shot our way, and our hearts went cold. "Israel," said Gray, "was Flint's gunner." We knew then that an expert shot was taking aim at us. All present nominated the Squire as the best shot. He at once stood up and aimed his rifle at the Hispaniola and, as he shot, we saw Israel duck and the man behind him fall. At the same time, we heard voices from the shore and saw men coming from the trees, pointing. Some were getting into the two boats, and others were running in one

direction as we headed for a point from which we could make our escape. We made our target and were sheltered from the men who were after us. Our main worry now was the cannon, which they were quickly reloading. They paid no attention to the fallen man and, just as the Squire reloaded, had the great gun ready. As he pulled the trigger, they let loose their shot also, and this was the great blast heard by Jim. We heard the terrible pellet go past us, close overhead. The boat shook from all this violence, and then the front portion of the boat went underwater. Sure enough, the Squire and I managed to keep our guns above water, standing there in the shallow surf, but the rest of the men dropped into the water with the rest of our supplies. Their guns were ruined, and we