8 At the Sign of the Spyglass

CHAPTER 8 At the Sign of the Spyglass After breakfast, the Squire sent me to go meet John Silver at the sign of the Spyglass. I made my way there and found a neat tavern full of seafaring men who talked loudly, rarely stopping their singing and laughing. I saw a man with his leg cut off at the hip and knew it had to be Long John. He carried a crutch and hopped with great speed, cheerful and laughing among the customers. Now, I had long worried that this might be the one-legged man whom the

Captain was so afraid of, but seeing him, I knew he was a very different sort from Pew, the Captain, and Black Dog. So I approached him and handed him the Squire's letter. He shook my hand firmly and smiled. "So you are our new cabin boy!" he said loudly. Suddenly, a man jumped up from the bar and made for the street. I knew at once by his look and missing fingers who it was. I cried out that I had just seen Black Dog. "I don't care who he is, he shall pay for his vile deeds!" said Long John, and sent one of his men after him. He then quizzed me about the man and said he had never heard the name. Then he grabbed the man who had been talking to Black Dog. He admitted that the blind beggar had also been in the bar and told us that his name was... Pew! Long John became quite excited about

tracking down Black Dog and assured me that his man Ben would find him. "Talking of throwing someone overboard, was he? It's him I'll throw overboard if I get the chance!" As he ranted, Long John walked up and down with his one leg and his crutch, cursing Black Dog and all those like him. Seeing Black Dog had made me suspicious, but John Silver had put on a good show. I was sure he was an innocent man, and he was clever at convincing me. He told me how worried he was that I would think badly of him for having such low-life persons in his avern. He made me believe that if only he'd had his other leg, he would have caught the man himself. We decided to report to Mr. Trelawney right away and so began our journey down to the water. There he laughed, told old sea

stories, and explained the different kinds of boats to me. He told me of their cargo and the way they were made and repeated phrases until I knew them like an old sailor. I began to think of him as the best of all shipmates. When we arrived, Dr. Livesey was there. Long John told the story to both men in lively fashion and asked for my agreement regarding what had happened. I simply nodded yes to everything he said. When he had finished, he made his way back to the tavern, and we all agreed to be on board by four that afternoon. "Well, Trelawney, I don't put much stock in your judgment," said the doctor, "but Silver is an ace! Now, Jim," he said to me, "let's go see our ship!"