February 21, 2025 • 55 mins
Drift into the world of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," an epic tale brimming with hidden treasures and looming threats. This is the first couple of chapters in which we meet Jim Hawkins as he crosses paths with a mysterious pirate captain staying at his family's inn. So, snuggle up in your blankets and have sweet dreams.
The music in this episode is A World Beyond by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen.
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Speaker 1 (00:20):
Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for
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(03:17):
I'm very excited about thisepisode, as I've been wanting to
read from this book for a verylong time.
Every now and then, I get inthe mood for a good pirate tale,
and what is a more famous onethan Robert Louis Stevenson's
Treasure Island.
This is the first couple ofchapters and I hope you enjoy
them as much as I do.
(03:38):
So snuggle up in your blanketsand have sweet dreams.
(04:25):
Squire TRULAN, dr Livesy and therest of these gentlemen, having
asked me to write down thewhole particulars about Treasure
Island from the beginning tothe end, keeping nothing back
but the bearings of the island,and that only because there is
still treasure not yet lifted, Itake up my pen in the year of
(04:52):
grace seventeen and go back tothe time when my father kept the
Admiral Benbow in and the brownold seaman with the saber cut
first took up his lodging undera roof.
I remember him as if it wereyesterday, as he came plodding
to the inn door, his sea chest,following behind him in a
(05:16):
handbarrow.
A tall, strong, heavy,nut-brown man, his terry pigtail
falling over the shoulder ofhis soiled blue coat, his hands
ragged and scarred with black,broken nails and the saber cut
across one cheek a dirty, lividwhite.
I remember him looking roundthe cove and whistling to
(05:41):
himself as he did so and thenbreaking out in that old sea
song that he sang so oftenafterwards Fifteen men on the
dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho, anda bottle of rum In the high old
tottering voice as seen to havebeen tuned and broken at the
(06:03):
capstan bars.
Then he rapped on the door witha bit of a stick like a hand
spike that he carried and whenmy father appeared, called
roughly for a glass of rum.
This, when it was brought tohim, he drank slowly like a
connoisseur, lingering on thetaste and still looking about
(06:27):
him at the cliffs and up at oursignboard.
This is a handy cove, says he atlength, and a pleasant,
situated grog shop.
Much company mate, much companymate.
My father told him, no, verylittle company.
(06:49):
The more was a pity.
Well then, said he, this is thebirth for me.
Here you matey.
He cried to the man whotrundled the barrow Bring up
alongside and help up my chest.
I'll stay here a bit.
He continued.
I'm a plain man.
(07:12):
Rum and bacon and eggs is all Iwant.
And that head up there for towatch ships off.
What do you want to call me?
You might call me captain.
Oh, I see what you're at there.
And he threw down three or fourgold pieces on the threshold.
(07:32):
You can tell me when I'veworked through that, says he,
looking as fierce as Commanderand indeed bad as his clothes
were, and coarsely as he spoke,he had no of the appearance of a
man who sailed before the mastbut seemed like a mate or
(07:57):
skipper accustomed to be obeyedor to strike.
The man who came with the barreltold us the mail had set him
down the morning before at theRoyal George that he had
inquired what inns there werealong the coast and, hearing
ours, well spoken of, I suppose,and described as lonely, had
(08:20):
chosen it from the others forhis place of residence.
And that was all we could learnof our guest.
He was a very silent man bycustom.
All day he hung round the coveor upon the cliffs with a brass
telescope.
All evening he sat in a cornerof the parlor next to the fire
(08:46):
and drank rum and water verystrong.
Mostly he would not speak whenspoken, to only look up sudden
and fierce and blow through hisnose like a foghorn.
And we and the people who cameabout our house soon learned to
let him be.
Every day, when he came backfrom a stroll he would ask if
(09:10):
any seafaring men had gone byalong the road.
At first we thought it was thewant of company of his own kind
that made him ask this question,but at last we began to see he
was desirous to avoid them.
When a seaman did put up at theAdmiral Benbow, as now and then
(09:34):
some did, making by the coastroad for Bristol, he would look
in at him through the curtaindoor before he entered the
parlour, and he was always sureto be as silent as a mouse when
any such was present.
For me at least, there was nosecret about the matter, for I
(09:57):
was in a way a share in hisalarms.
He had taken me aside one dayand promised me a silver
fourpenny on the first of everymonth if I would only keep my
weather eye open for a seafaringman with one leg and let him
know the moment he appeared.
(10:18):
Often enough, when the first ofthe month came around and I
applied to him for my wage, hewould only blow through his nose
at me and stare me down, butbefore the week was out he was
sure to think better of it.
(10:39):
Bring me my four-penny pieceand repeat his orders to look
out for the seafaring man withone leg.
How that personage haunted mydreams I need scarcely tell you.
(11:07):
On stormy nights, when the windshook the four corners of the
house and the surf roared alongthe cove and up the cliffs.
I would see him in a thousandforms and with a thousand
diabolical expressions.
Now the leg would be cut off,at the knee, now at the hip.
Now he was a monstrous kind ofcreature but never had but the
one leg, and that in the middleof his body.
To see him leap and run andpursue me over hedge and ditch
(11:31):
was the worst of my nightmares.
And altogether I paid prettydear for my monthly four-penny
piece in the shape of theseabominable fancies.
But though I was so terrified bythe idea of the seafaring man
with one leg, I was far lessafraid of the captain himself
(11:53):
than anybody else who knew him.
There were nights when he tooka deal more rum and water than
his head would carry, and thenhe would sometimes sit and sing
his wicked old waltzy songs,minding nobody.
But sometimes he would call forglasses round and force all the
(12:14):
trembling company to listen tohis stories or bear a chorus to
his singing.
Often I have heard the houseshaking With yo-ho-ho and a
bottle of rum, all the neighborsjoining in for dear life With
the fear of death upon them, andeach singing louder than the
(12:36):
other to avoid remark, for inthese fits he was the most
overriding companion ever known.
He would slap his hand on thetable for silence all around.
He would fly up in a passion ofanger at a question, or
sometimes because none was put,and so he judged the company was
(12:57):
not following his story.
Nor would he allow anyone toleave the inn till he had drunk
himself sleepy and reeled off tobed.
His stories were what frightenedpeople worst of all.
Dreadful stories.
They were about hanging andwalking the plank and storms at
(13:20):
sea and the dry tortugas andwild deeds in places on the
Spanish main.
And storms at sea and the drytortugas and wild deeds and
places on the Spanish main.
By his own account, he musthave lived his life among some
of the wickedest men that Godever allowed upon the sea, and
the language in which he toldthese stories shocked our plain
(13:41):
country people almost as much asthe crimes that he described.
My father was always saying theend would be ruined, for people
would soon cease coming there tobe tyrannized over and put down
and sent shivering to theirbeds.
But I really believe hispresence did us good.
(14:03):
People were frightened at thetime but on looking back they
rather liked it.
It was a fine excitement in aquiet country life, and there
was even a party of the youngermen who pretended to admire him,
calling him a true sea dog anda real old salt and such like
(14:27):
names, and saying there was asort of man that made England
terrible at sea.
In one way, indeed, he badefair to ruin us, for he kept on
staying week after week and, atlast, month after month, so that
(14:49):
all the money had been longexhausted and still my father
never plucked up the heart toinsist on having more.
If ever he mentioned it.
The captain blew through hisnose so loudly that he might say
he roared and stared my poorfather out of the room.
(15:09):
I have seen him wringing hishands after such or above, and I
am sure the annoyance and theterror he lived in must have
greatly hastened his early andunhappy death.
All the time he lived with us,and unhappy death All the time
he lived with us, the captainmade no change whatever in his
(15:31):
dress but to buy some stockingsfrom a hawker.
One of the cocks of his hathaving fallen down, he let it
hang.
From that day forth, though itwas a great annoyance when it
blew, I remember the appearanceof his coat, which he patched
himself upstairs in his room andwhich, before the end, was
(15:56):
nothing but patches.
He never wrote or received aletter and he never spoke with
any but the neighbors, and withthese for the most part only
when drunk on rum.
The great sea chest none of ushad ever seen open, he was only
(16:20):
once crossed, and that wastowards the end when my poor
father was far gone in a declinethat took him off.
Dr Lisey came late one afternoonto see the patient, took a bit
of dinner for my mother and wentinto the parlor to smoke a pipe
until his horse should comedown from the hamlet, for we had
(16:44):
no stabling at the old Benbow.
I followed him in and Iremember observing the contrast
the neat, bright doctor with hispowder as white as snow and his
bright black eyes and pleasantmanners made with the cultish
country folk and above all withthat filthy, heavy, blear
(17:10):
scarecrow of a pirate of ourssitting far gone and rum with
his arms on the table.
Suddenly he, the captain thatis, began to pipe up his eternal
song Fifteen men on the deadman's chest, yo-ho-ho and a
bottle of rum drink.
(17:32):
And the devil had done for therest.
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
At first I supposed the deadman's chest to be that identical
big box of his upstairs in thefront room, and the thought had
been mingled in my nightmareswith that of the one
(17:55):
legacy-faring man.
But by this time we had alllong ceased to pay any
particular notice to the song.
We had all along ceased to payany particular notice to the
song.
It was new that night to nobodybut Dr Livesy, and on him I
observed, it did not produce anagreeable effect, for he looked
(18:16):
up for a moment quite angrily,before he went on with his talk
to old Taylor the gardener on anew cure for the rheumatics.
In the meantime the captaingradually brightened up at his
own music and at last slappedhis hand upon the table before
(18:37):
him in a way we all knew to meansilence.
The voices stopped at once, allbut Dr Lycees.
He went on as before, speakingclear and kind and drawing
briskly at his pipe.
Between every word or two thecaptain glared at him for a
while, flapped his hand again,glares still harder, and at last
(19:04):
broke out with a villainous lowoath Silence there between
decks.
Were you addressing me, sir?
Says the doctor, and when theruffian had told him with
another oath that this was so.
I have only one thing to say toyou, sir, replies the doctor,
(19:31):
that if you keep on drinking rumthe world will be soon quit of
a very dirty scoundrel.
The old fellow's fury was awful.
He sprang to his feet, drew andopened a sailor's clasped knife
and balancing it open on theangto his feet, drew and opened a
sailor's clasp knife and,balancing it open on the palm of
his hand, threatened to pin thedoctor to the wall.
(19:52):
The doctor never so much asmoved.
He spoke to him as before, overhis shoulder and in the same
tone of voice, rather high sothat all the room might hear,
but perfectly calm and steady.
If you do not put that knifethis instant in your pocket, I
(20:18):
promise you, upon my honor, youshall hang at the next of
Caesar's.
You shall hang at the next ofCaesar's.
Then followed a battle of looksbetween them, but the captain
soon knuckled under, put up hisweapon and resumed his seat,
(20:39):
grumbling like a beaten dog.
And now, sir, continued thedoctor.
Since I now know there is sucha fellow in my district, you may
count, I'll have my eye uponyou day and night.
I'm not a doctor, only I'm amagistrate, and if I catch a
breath of complaint against you,if it's only for a piece of
(21:00):
incivility like tonight's, I'lltake effectual means to have you
hunted down and routed out ofthis.
Let that suffice.
Soon after Dr Lisey's horse cameto the door and he rode away,
but the captain held his peacethat evening and for many
(21:22):
evenings to come, that thereoccurred the first of the
mysterious events that rid us atlast of the captain, though not
(21:43):
, as you will see, of hisaffairs.
It was a bitter, cold winter,with long, hard frosts and heavy
gales, and it was plain for thefirst that my poor father was
little likely to see the spring.
He sank daily and my mother andI had all the inn upon our
(22:05):
hands and we were kept busyenough without paying much
regard to our unpleasant guest.
It was one January morning,very early, a pinching frosty
morning, the cove all grey withhoarfrost, the ripple lapping
softly on the stones, the sunstill low and only touching the
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hilltops and shining far toseaward.
Far to seaward, the captain hadrisen earlier than usual and
set out down the beach, hiscutlass swinging under the broad
skirts of the old blue coat,his brass telescope under his
arm, his hat tilted back uponhis head.
I remember his breath hanginglike smoke in his wake as he
(22:54):
strode off, and the last time Iheard of him as he turned the
big rock was a loud snort ofindignation, as though his mind
was still running upon Dr Livesy.
My mother was upstairs withfather and I was laying the
breakfast table against thecaptain's return when the parlor
(23:17):
door opened and a man steppedin on whom I had never set my
eyes before.
He was a pale, tallowy creaturewanting two fingers on the left
hand, and though he wore acutlass, he did not look much
like a fighter.
He did not look much like afighter.
I had always my eye open forsea-faring men with one leg or
(23:41):
two, and I remember this onepuzzled me.
He was not sailorly and yet hehad a smack of the sea about him
too.
I asked him what was for hisservice and he said he would
take rum.
But as I was going out of theroom to fetch it, he sat down
(24:03):
upon the table and motioned meto draw near.
I paused where I was with mynapkin in hand.
Come here, sonny, says he.
Come nearer here.
I took a step nearer.
Is this your table for my mateBill?
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He asked with a kind of leer.
I told him I did not know hismate Bill and this was for a
person who stayed in our housewhen we called the captain.
Well, said he, my mate Billwould be called the captain.
Well, said he, my mate Billwould be called the captain.
As like as not.
He is a cut on one cheek in amighty pleasant way with him,
(24:48):
particularly in drink.
As my mate Bill, We'll put itfor argument, like that, your
captain has a cut on one cheekand we'll put it, if you like,
that that cheek's the right one.
Ah well, I told you.
Now is this my mate Bill inthis here house?
I told him he was out walking.
(25:10):
Which way, sonny, which way ishe gone?
And when I had pointed out therock and told him how the
captain was likely to return andhow soon, and answered a few
other questions, ah, said he,this will be as good as drink to
(25:31):
my mate Bill.
The expression of his face as hesaid these words was not at all
pleasant and I had my ownreasons for thinking that the
stranger was mistaken, evensupposing he meant what he said.
But it was no affair of mine, Ithought, and besides, it was
(25:53):
difficult to know what to do.
The stranger kept hanging aboutjust inside the inn door,
peering round the corner like acat waiting for a mouse Once I
stepped out myself into the road, but he immediately called me
back and as I did not obey,quick enough for his fancy, a
(26:15):
most horrible change came overhis tallowy face and he ordered
me in with an oath that made mejump.
As soon as I was back again, hereturned to his former manner,
half fawning, half sneering,patted me on the shoulder and
told me I was a good boy and hehad taken quite a fancy to me on
(26:38):
the shoulder and told me I wasa good boy and he had taken
quite a fancy to me.
I have a son of my own, said he, as, like you, is two blocks
and he's all the pride of myheart.
But the great thing for boys isdiscipline, sonny, discipline.
Now, if you had sailed alongwith Bill, you wouldn't have
stood there to be spoke to twice, not you.
(27:00):
That was never Bill's way, northe way of such a sailed with
him.
And here, sure enough, is mymate, bill, with a spyglass
under his arm.
Bless his old heart.
To be sure, you and me'll justgo back into the parlor, sonny,
and get behind the door, andwe'll give Bill a little
(27:20):
surprise.
Bless his heart, I say again.
So saying, the stranger backedalong with me into the parlor
and put me behind him in thecorner so that we were both
hidden by the open door.
So that we were both hidden bythe open door, I was very uneasy
and alarmed, as you may fancy,and it rather added to my fears
(27:43):
to observe that the stranger wascertainly frightened himself.
He cleared the hilt of hiscutlass and loosened the blade
in the sheath, and all the timewe were waiting there he kept
swallowing, as if he felt whatwe used to call a lump in the
throat.
At last, in strode, the captainslammed the door behind him
(28:09):
without looking to the left orright and marched straight
across the room to where hisbreakfast awaited him.
Bill, said the stranger in avoice I thought he'd tried to
make bold and big.
The captain spun round on hisheel and fronted us All.
(28:31):
The brown had gone out of hisface and even his nose was blue.
He had the look of a man whosees a ghost, or the evil one,
or something worse, if anythingcan be, and upon my word, I felt
sorry to see him all in amoment turn so old and sick.
(28:54):
Come, bill, you know me, youknow an old shipmate, bill,
surely, said the stranger.
The captain made a sort of gasp.
Black Dog, said he.
And who else?
(29:14):
Returned the other, getting moreat ease, black Dog, as ever,
was come forward to see his oldshipmate, billy at the Admiral
Benbow Inn.
Ah, bill, bill, we have seensuch a sight of times, us two
since I lost them two talonsHolding up his mutilated hand.
(29:37):
Now, look here, said thecaptain, you've run me down.
Here I am.
Well, then, speak up.
What is it that's you?
Bill, returned Black Dog,you're on the right of it.
Billy, all of a glass of rumfrom this dear child here,
(30:00):
returned Black Dog.
You're on the right of it.
Billy, all of a glass of rumfrom this dear child here as I
took such a liking to.
And we'll sit down if youplease and talk square like old
shipmates.
When I returned with the rum,they were already seated on the
other side of the captain'sbreakfast table, black Dog next
(30:21):
to the door and sitting sideways, so as to have one eye on his
old shipmate and one, as Ithought, on his retreat.
He bade me go and leave thedoor wide open.
None of your keyholes for me,sonny, he said, and I left them
together and retired into thebar.
(30:43):
For a long time, though Icertainly did my best to listen,
I could hear nothing but a lowgatling, but at last the voices
began to grow higher and I couldpick up a word or two mostly
(31:06):
oaths from the captain.
No, no, no and an end of it, hecried once and again.
If it comes to swinging, swing,all say hi.
Then, all of a sudden, therewas a tremendous explosion of
oaths and other noises.
(31:26):
The chair and table went overin a lump.
A clash of steel followed andthen a cry of pain.
In the next instant I saw BlackDog in full flight and the
captain hotly pursuing, bothwith drawn cutlasses and the
(31:51):
former streaming blood from theleft shoulder.
Just at the door, the captainaimed at the fugitive One last
tremendous cut, which wouldcertainly have split him to the
chin had it not been interceptedby a big signboard of Admiral
Bembao.
You may see the notch on thelower side of the frame to this
day.
That blow was the last of thebattle.
(32:16):
Once out upon the road, blackDog, in spite of his wound,
showed a wonderful, clean pairof heels and disappeared over
the edge of the hill in half aminute.
The captain, for his part,stood staring at the signboard
like a bewildered man.
Then he passed his hand overhis eyes several times and at
(32:41):
last turned back into the house.
Jim says he rum.
And as he spoke he reeled alittle and caught himself with
one hand against the wall.
Are you hurt, cried I Rum.
(33:04):
He repeated, I must get awayfrom here, rum, rum.
I ran to fetch it, but I wasquite unsteady by all that had
fallen out and I broke one glassand fouled the tap.
And while I was still gettingmy own way, I heard a loud fall
(33:25):
in the parlor and, running in,beheld the captain lying full
length upon the floor.
At the same instant my mother,alarmed by the cries and
fighting, fighting, came runningdownstairs to help me.
Between us, we raised his head.
He was breathing very loud andhard, but his eyes were closed
(33:49):
and his face a horrible color.
Dear deary me, cried my mother.
What a disgrace upon the houseand your poor father sick.
In the meantime, we had no ideawhat to do to help the captain,
(34:09):
nor any other thought, but thathe had got his death hurt in the
scuffle with a stranger.
I got the rum, to be sure, andtried to put it down his throat,
but his teeth were tightly shutand his jaws as strong as iron.
It was a happy relief for uswhen the door opened and Dr
(34:30):
Livesy came in on his visit tomy father.
Oh, doctor, we cried.
What shall we do?
Where is he?
Wounded, wounded, afiddlestick's end, said the
doctor, no more wounded than youor I.
The man has had a stroke, as Iwarned him.
(34:52):
Now, mrs Hawkins, just you runupstairs to your husband and
tell him, if possible, nothingabout it.
For my part, I must do my bestto save this fellow's trebly
worthless life.
Jim, you get me a basin.
When I got back with the basin,the doctor had already ripped up
(35:13):
the captain's sleeve andexposed his great sinewy arm.
It was tattooed in severalplaces.
Here's luck, a fair win.
Billy bones, his fancy we'revery neatly and clearly executed
.
On the forearm and up near theshoulder there was a sketch of a
(35:36):
gallows and a man hanging fromit.
Done as I thought, with greatspirit, prophetic, said the
doctor, touching his picturewith his finger.
And now, master Billy Bones, ifthat be your name, we'll have a
look at the color of your blood.
(35:57):
Jim, he said Are you afraid ofblood?
No, sir, said I.
Well then, said he, you holdthe basin.
And with that he took hislancet and opened a vein.
A great deal of blood was takenbefore the captain opened his
(36:20):
eyes and looked mistily abouthim.
First he recognized the doctorwith an unmistakable frown.
Then his glance fell upon meand he looked relieved.
But suddenly his color changedand he tried to raise himself,
crying Where's Black Dog?
(36:41):
There is no Black Dog here,said the doctor, except what you
have on your own back.
You have been drinking rum, youhave had a stroke, precisely as
I told you, and I have just,very much against my own will,
dragged you head foremost out ofthe grave.
(37:03):
Now, Mr Bones that's not myname, he interrupted.
Much I care, returned thedoctor.
It's the name of a buccaneer ofmy acquaintance, and I call you
by it for the sake of shortness.
And what I have to say to youis this One glass of rum won't
(37:24):
kill you, but if you take one,you'll take another and another,
and I stake my wig.
If you don't break off short,you'll die.
Do you understand that.
Die and go to your own place,like the man in the Bible.
Come now, make an effort, I'llhelp you to your bed for once,
(37:49):
between us.
With much trouble, we managed tohoist him upstairs and laid him
on his bed.
We managed to hoist himupstairs and laid him on his bed
, where his head fell back onthe pillow as if he were almost
fainting.
Now, mind you, said the doctor,I clear my conscience.
(38:12):
The name of Rome for you isdeath.
And with that he went off tosee my, my father, taking me
with him by the arm.
This is nothing.
He said as soon as he hadclosed the door.
I have drawn blood enough tokeep him quite a while and he
should lie for a week.
(38:33):
Where he is.
That is the best thing for himand you, but another stroke
would settle him.
About noon I stopped at thecaptain's door with some cooling
drinks and medicines.
He was lying very much, as wehad left him only a little
(38:58):
higher, and he seemed both weakand excited.
Jim, he said you're the onlyone here that's worth anything,
and you know, I've always beengood to you, never a month.
But I've given you a silverfour penny for yourself.
And now you see, mate, I'mpretty low and deserted by all
(39:21):
and, jim, you'll bring me onenoggin of rum now, won't you?
Matey the doctor?
I began but he broke in cursingthe doctor in a feeble voice.
But heartily, doctor's all swabs, said he and that doctor there.
(39:43):
Why?
What do we know about seafaringmen?
I've been in places hot aspitch and mates dropping round
with yellow jack and the blessedland a-heaving like the sea
with earthquakes.
What do the doctor know oflands like that?
And I lived on rum.
I tell you, it's been meat anddrink and man and wife to me.
(40:07):
And if I'm not to have my rumnow, I'm a poor old hulk on a
lee shore.
My blood'll be on you, jim,that Dr Swab.
And he ran on again for a whilewith curses.
That doctor's a fool, I tellyou.
If I don't have a dram of rum,jim, I'll have the horrors.
(40:29):
I've seen some of them already.
I've seen old Flint in thecorner there behind you, as
plain as print.
I've seen him.
And if I get the horrors, I'm aman that's lived rough and I'll
raise Cain.
Your doctor himself said oneglass won't hurt me.
I'll give you a golden guineafor a noggin, jim.
(40:53):
He was growing more and moreexcited and this alarmed me for
my father, who was very low thatday and needed quiet.
Besides, I was reassured by thedoctor's words now quoted to me
, and rather offended by theoffer of a bribe.
(41:13):
I want none of your money, saidI, but of what you owe my
father.
I'll get you one glass and nomore.
When I brought it to him, heseized it greedily and drank it
out.
Aye, aye, said he best, somebetter, sure enough it to him.
He seized it greedily and drankit out.
Aye, aye, said he best, andbetter, sure enough.
(41:40):
And now, matey, did that doctorsay how long I was to lie here
in this old berth?
A week at least, said I Thunder, he cried.
A week, I can't do that.
They'd have the black spot onme.
Then the lovers is going to getthe wind out of me.
This blessed moment.
Lovers just couldn't keep whatthey got, want to nail what is
(42:01):
in others.
Is that seemingly a behavior?
Now?
I want to know.
But I'm a saving soul.
I never waste a good money ofmine, nor lost it neither.
And I'll trick him again, I'mnot afraid of him.
I'll shake out another reef,matey, and daddle him again.
(42:23):
As he was thus speaking, he hadrisen from bed with great
difficulty, holding to myshoulder with a grip that almost
made me cry out, and moving hislegs like so much dead weight.
His words, spirited as theywere in meaning, contrasted
(42:43):
sadly with the weakness of thevoice in which they were uttered
.
He had paused when he got intoa sitting position on the ledge.
Before he could do much to helphim, he had fallen back again
to his former place where he layfor a while, silent.
Jim, he said at length.
(43:06):
You saw that seafaring man today, black Dog, I asked.
Ah, black dog, says he, he's abad one, but there's worse that
put him on Now.
If I can't get away, no how?
And they tip me the black spot,mind you, it's my old sea chest
, they're after.
(43:26):
You get on a horse, you can,can't you?
Well, then you get on a horseand go to.
Well, yes, I will to thateternal doctor swab and tell him
to pipe all hands, magistratesand cinch, and he'll lay him
aboard at the Admiral Bembau,all Old Flint's crew, man and
(43:49):
boy, all on him.
That's left.
I was the first mate, I was OldFlint's first mate and I'm the
only one who knows the place.
He gave it to me at Savannahwhen he lay a-dying Like as if I
was too.
Now, you see.
But you won't peach unless theyget the black spot on me, or
(44:14):
unless you see that black dogagain, or a seafaring man with
one leg Jim, him above all.
But what is the black spot,captain?
I asked?
That's a summons mate.
I'll tell you if they get that.
But you keep your weather eyeopen, jim, and I'll share with
(44:38):
you equals upon my honor.
He wandered a little longer,his voice growing weaker, but
soon after I had given him hismedicine, which he took like a
child, with a remark If ever aseaman wanted drugs, it's me he
(45:06):
fell at last into a heavyswoon-like sleep in which I
(45:48):
loved him.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶,
(54:14):
¶¶.
Thank you.
Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for
slumber.
To start this episode off, Iwould like to thank all of the
Apple Podcast subscribers.
They are the unsung heroes ofDreamful Bedtime Stories,
because Apple doesn't sharetheir information with me and so
(00:41):
I can't give them a shout outby name, but to each and every
one of you.
Thank you so much, and if youwould like to support the show,
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(01:01):
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If you listen on Spotify, as Isaid, you can subscribe on Apple
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But I do appreciate yoursupport so much because your
donations go toward things likemusic licensing, equipment
upgrades and, of course, payingmy amazing editor, katie.
(01:22):
Of course, paying my amazingeditor Katie.
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(03:17):
I'm very excited about thisepisode, as I've been wanting to
read from this book for a verylong time.
Every now and then, I get inthe mood for a good pirate tale,
and what is a more famous onethan Robert Louis Stevenson's
Treasure Island.
This is the first couple ofchapters and I hope you enjoy
them as much as I do.
(03:38):
So snuggle up in your blanketsand have sweet dreams.
(04:25):
Squire TRULAN, dr Livesy and therest of these gentlemen, having
asked me to write down thewhole particulars about Treasure
Island from the beginning tothe end, keeping nothing back
but the bearings of the island,and that only because there is
still treasure not yet lifted, Itake up my pen in the year of
(04:52):
grace seventeen and go back tothe time when my father kept the
Admiral Benbow in and the brownold seaman with the saber cut
first took up his lodging undera roof.
I remember him as if it wereyesterday, as he came plodding
to the inn door, his sea chest,following behind him in a
(05:16):
handbarrow.
A tall, strong, heavy,nut-brown man, his terry pigtail
falling over the shoulder ofhis soiled blue coat, his hands
ragged and scarred with black,broken nails and the saber cut
across one cheek a dirty, lividwhite.
I remember him looking roundthe cove and whistling to
(05:41):
himself as he did so and thenbreaking out in that old sea
song that he sang so oftenafterwards Fifteen men on the
dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho, anda bottle of rum In the high old
tottering voice as seen to havebeen tuned and broken at the
(06:03):
capstan bars.
Then he rapped on the door witha bit of a stick like a hand
spike that he carried and whenmy father appeared, called
roughly for a glass of rum.
This, when it was brought tohim, he drank slowly like a
connoisseur, lingering on thetaste and still looking about
(06:27):
him at the cliffs and up at oursignboard.
This is a handy cove, says he atlength, and a pleasant,
situated grog shop.
Much company mate, much companymate.
My father told him, no, verylittle company.
(06:49):
The more was a pity.
Well then, said he, this is thebirth for me.
Here you matey.
He cried to the man whotrundled the barrow Bring up
alongside and help up my chest.
I'll stay here a bit.
He continued.
I'm a plain man.
(07:12):
Rum and bacon and eggs is all Iwant.
And that head up there for towatch ships off.
What do you want to call me?
You might call me captain.
Oh, I see what you're at there.
And he threw down three or fourgold pieces on the threshold.
(07:32):
You can tell me when I'veworked through that, says he,
looking as fierce as Commanderand indeed bad as his clothes
were, and coarsely as he spoke,he had no of the appearance of a
man who sailed before the mastbut seemed like a mate or
(07:57):
skipper accustomed to be obeyedor to strike.
The man who came with the barreltold us the mail had set him
down the morning before at theRoyal George that he had
inquired what inns there werealong the coast and, hearing
ours, well spoken of, I suppose,and described as lonely, had
(08:20):
chosen it from the others forhis place of residence.
And that was all we could learnof our guest.
He was a very silent man bycustom.
All day he hung round the coveor upon the cliffs with a brass
telescope.
All evening he sat in a cornerof the parlor next to the fire
(08:46):
and drank rum and water verystrong.
Mostly he would not speak whenspoken, to only look up sudden
and fierce and blow through hisnose like a foghorn.
And we and the people who cameabout our house soon learned to
let him be.
Every day, when he came backfrom a stroll he would ask if
(09:10):
any seafaring men had gone byalong the road.
At first we thought it was thewant of company of his own kind
that made him ask this question,but at last we began to see he
was desirous to avoid them.
When a seaman did put up at theAdmiral Benbow, as now and then
(09:34):
some did, making by the coastroad for Bristol, he would look
in at him through the curtaindoor before he entered the
parlour, and he was always sureto be as silent as a mouse when
any such was present.
For me at least, there was nosecret about the matter, for I
(09:57):
was in a way a share in hisalarms.
He had taken me aside one dayand promised me a silver
fourpenny on the first of everymonth if I would only keep my
weather eye open for a seafaringman with one leg and let him
know the moment he appeared.
(10:18):
Often enough, when the first ofthe month came around and I
applied to him for my wage, hewould only blow through his nose
at me and stare me down, butbefore the week was out he was
sure to think better of it.
(10:39):
Bring me my four-penny pieceand repeat his orders to look
out for the seafaring man withone leg.
How that personage haunted mydreams I need scarcely tell you.
(11:07):
On stormy nights, when the windshook the four corners of the
house and the surf roared alongthe cove and up the cliffs.
I would see him in a thousandforms and with a thousand
diabolical expressions.
Now the leg would be cut off,at the knee, now at the hip.
Now he was a monstrous kind ofcreature but never had but the
one leg, and that in the middleof his body.
To see him leap and run andpursue me over hedge and ditch
(11:31):
was the worst of my nightmares.
And altogether I paid prettydear for my monthly four-penny
piece in the shape of theseabominable fancies.
But though I was so terrified bythe idea of the seafaring man
with one leg, I was far lessafraid of the captain himself
(11:53):
than anybody else who knew him.
There were nights when he tooka deal more rum and water than
his head would carry, and thenhe would sometimes sit and sing
his wicked old waltzy songs,minding nobody.
But sometimes he would call forglasses round and force all the
(12:14):
trembling company to listen tohis stories or bear a chorus to
his singing.
Often I have heard the houseshaking With yo-ho-ho and a
bottle of rum, all the neighborsjoining in for dear life With
the fear of death upon them, andeach singing louder than the
(12:36):
other to avoid remark, for inthese fits he was the most
overriding companion ever known.
He would slap his hand on thetable for silence all around.
He would fly up in a passion ofanger at a question, or
sometimes because none was put,and so he judged the company was
(12:57):
not following his story.
Nor would he allow anyone toleave the inn till he had drunk
himself sleepy and reeled off tobed.
His stories were what frightenedpeople worst of all.
Dreadful stories.
They were about hanging andwalking the plank and storms at
(13:20):
sea and the dry tortugas andwild deeds in places on the
Spanish main.
And storms at sea and the drytortugas and wild deeds and
places on the Spanish main.
By his own account, he musthave lived his life among some
of the wickedest men that Godever allowed upon the sea, and
the language in which he toldthese stories shocked our plain
(13:41):
country people almost as much asthe crimes that he described.
My father was always saying theend would be ruined, for people
would soon cease coming there tobe tyrannized over and put down
and sent shivering to theirbeds.
But I really believe hispresence did us good.
(14:03):
People were frightened at thetime but on looking back they
rather liked it.
It was a fine excitement in aquiet country life, and there
was even a party of the youngermen who pretended to admire him,
calling him a true sea dog anda real old salt and such like
(14:27):
names, and saying there was asort of man that made England
terrible at sea.
In one way, indeed, he badefair to ruin us, for he kept on
staying week after week and, atlast, month after month, so that
(14:49):
all the money had been longexhausted and still my father
never plucked up the heart toinsist on having more.
If ever he mentioned it.
The captain blew through hisnose so loudly that he might say
he roared and stared my poorfather out of the room.
(15:09):
I have seen him wringing hishands after such or above, and I
am sure the annoyance and theterror he lived in must have
greatly hastened his early andunhappy death.
All the time he lived with us,and unhappy death All the time
he lived with us, the captainmade no change whatever in his
(15:31):
dress but to buy some stockingsfrom a hawker.
One of the cocks of his hathaving fallen down, he let it
hang.
From that day forth, though itwas a great annoyance when it
blew, I remember the appearanceof his coat, which he patched
himself upstairs in his room andwhich, before the end, was
(15:56):
nothing but patches.
He never wrote or received aletter and he never spoke with
any but the neighbors, and withthese for the most part only
when drunk on rum.
The great sea chest none of ushad ever seen open, he was only
(16:20):
once crossed, and that wastowards the end when my poor
father was far gone in a declinethat took him off.
Dr Lisey came late one afternoonto see the patient, took a bit
of dinner for my mother and wentinto the parlor to smoke a pipe
until his horse should comedown from the hamlet, for we had
(16:44):
no stabling at the old Benbow.
I followed him in and Iremember observing the contrast
the neat, bright doctor with hispowder as white as snow and his
bright black eyes and pleasantmanners made with the cultish
country folk and above all withthat filthy, heavy, blear
(17:10):
scarecrow of a pirate of ourssitting far gone and rum with
his arms on the table.
Suddenly he, the captain thatis, began to pipe up his eternal
song Fifteen men on the deadman's chest, yo-ho-ho and a
bottle of rum drink.
(17:32):
And the devil had done for therest.
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
At first I supposed the deadman's chest to be that identical
big box of his upstairs in thefront room, and the thought had
been mingled in my nightmareswith that of the one
(17:55):
legacy-faring man.
But by this time we had alllong ceased to pay any
particular notice to the song.
We had all along ceased to payany particular notice to the
song.
It was new that night to nobodybut Dr Livesy, and on him I
observed, it did not produce anagreeable effect, for he looked
(18:16):
up for a moment quite angrily,before he went on with his talk
to old Taylor the gardener on anew cure for the rheumatics.
In the meantime the captaingradually brightened up at his
own music and at last slappedhis hand upon the table before
(18:37):
him in a way we all knew to meansilence.
The voices stopped at once, allbut Dr Lycees.
He went on as before, speakingclear and kind and drawing
briskly at his pipe.
Between every word or two thecaptain glared at him for a
while, flapped his hand again,glares still harder, and at last
(19:04):
broke out with a villainous lowoath Silence there between
decks.
Were you addressing me, sir?
Says the doctor, and when theruffian had told him with
another oath that this was so.
I have only one thing to say toyou, sir, replies the doctor,
(19:31):
that if you keep on drinking rumthe world will be soon quit of
a very dirty scoundrel.
The old fellow's fury was awful.
He sprang to his feet, drew andopened a sailor's clasped knife
and balancing it open on theangto his feet, drew and opened a
sailor's clasp knife and,balancing it open on the palm of
his hand, threatened to pin thedoctor to the wall.
(19:52):
The doctor never so much asmoved.
He spoke to him as before, overhis shoulder and in the same
tone of voice, rather high sothat all the room might hear,
but perfectly calm and steady.
If you do not put that knifethis instant in your pocket, I
(20:18):
promise you, upon my honor, youshall hang at the next of
Caesar's.
You shall hang at the next ofCaesar's.
Then followed a battle of looksbetween them, but the captain
soon knuckled under, put up hisweapon and resumed his seat,
(20:39):
grumbling like a beaten dog.
And now, sir, continued thedoctor.
Since I now know there is sucha fellow in my district, you may
count, I'll have my eye uponyou day and night.
I'm not a doctor, only I'm amagistrate, and if I catch a
breath of complaint against you,if it's only for a piece of
(21:00):
incivility like tonight's, I'lltake effectual means to have you
hunted down and routed out ofthis.
Let that suffice.
Soon after Dr Lisey's horse cameto the door and he rode away,
but the captain held his peacethat evening and for many
(21:22):
evenings to come, that thereoccurred the first of the
mysterious events that rid us atlast of the captain, though not
(21:43):
, as you will see, of hisaffairs.
It was a bitter, cold winter,with long, hard frosts and heavy
gales, and it was plain for thefirst that my poor father was
little likely to see the spring.
He sank daily and my mother andI had all the inn upon our
(22:05):
hands and we were kept busyenough without paying much
regard to our unpleasant guest.
It was one January morning,very early, a pinching frosty
morning, the cove all grey withhoarfrost, the ripple lapping
softly on the stones, the sunstill low and only touching the
(22:30):
hilltops and shining far toseaward.
Far to seaward, the captain hadrisen earlier than usual and
set out down the beach, hiscutlass swinging under the broad
skirts of the old blue coat,his brass telescope under his
arm, his hat tilted back uponhis head.
I remember his breath hanginglike smoke in his wake as he
(22:54):
strode off, and the last time Iheard of him as he turned the
big rock was a loud snort ofindignation, as though his mind
was still running upon Dr Livesy.
My mother was upstairs withfather and I was laying the
breakfast table against thecaptain's return when the parlor
(23:17):
door opened and a man steppedin on whom I had never set my
eyes before.
He was a pale, tallowy creaturewanting two fingers on the left
hand, and though he wore acutlass, he did not look much
like a fighter.
He did not look much like afighter.
I had always my eye open forsea-faring men with one leg or
(23:41):
two, and I remember this onepuzzled me.
He was not sailorly and yet hehad a smack of the sea about him
too.
I asked him what was for hisservice and he said he would
take rum.
But as I was going out of theroom to fetch it, he sat down
(24:03):
upon the table and motioned meto draw near.
I paused where I was with mynapkin in hand.
Come here, sonny, says he.
Come nearer here.
I took a step nearer.
Is this your table for my mateBill?
(24:23):
He asked with a kind of leer.
I told him I did not know hismate Bill and this was for a
person who stayed in our housewhen we called the captain.
Well, said he, my mate Billwould be called the captain.
Well, said he, my mate Billwould be called the captain.
As like as not.
He is a cut on one cheek in amighty pleasant way with him,
(24:48):
particularly in drink.
As my mate Bill, We'll put itfor argument, like that, your
captain has a cut on one cheekand we'll put it, if you like,
that that cheek's the right one.
Ah well, I told you.
Now is this my mate Bill inthis here house?
I told him he was out walking.
(25:10):
Which way, sonny, which way ishe gone?
And when I had pointed out therock and told him how the
captain was likely to return andhow soon, and answered a few
other questions, ah, said he,this will be as good as drink to
(25:31):
my mate Bill.
The expression of his face as hesaid these words was not at all
pleasant and I had my ownreasons for thinking that the
stranger was mistaken, evensupposing he meant what he said.
But it was no affair of mine, Ithought, and besides, it was
(25:53):
difficult to know what to do.
The stranger kept hanging aboutjust inside the inn door,
peering round the corner like acat waiting for a mouse Once I
stepped out myself into the road, but he immediately called me
back and as I did not obey,quick enough for his fancy, a
(26:15):
most horrible change came overhis tallowy face and he ordered
me in with an oath that made mejump.
As soon as I was back again, hereturned to his former manner,
half fawning, half sneering,patted me on the shoulder and
told me I was a good boy and hehad taken quite a fancy to me on
(26:38):
the shoulder and told me I wasa good boy and he had taken
quite a fancy to me.
I have a son of my own, said he, as, like you, is two blocks
and he's all the pride of myheart.
But the great thing for boys isdiscipline, sonny, discipline.
Now, if you had sailed alongwith Bill, you wouldn't have
stood there to be spoke to twice, not you.
(27:00):
That was never Bill's way, northe way of such a sailed with
him.
And here, sure enough, is mymate, bill, with a spyglass
under his arm.
Bless his old heart.
To be sure, you and me'll justgo back into the parlor, sonny,
and get behind the door, andwe'll give Bill a little
(27:20):
surprise.
Bless his heart, I say again.
So saying, the stranger backedalong with me into the parlor
and put me behind him in thecorner so that we were both
hidden by the open door.
So that we were both hidden bythe open door, I was very uneasy
and alarmed, as you may fancy,and it rather added to my fears
(27:43):
to observe that the stranger wascertainly frightened himself.
He cleared the hilt of hiscutlass and loosened the blade
in the sheath, and all the timewe were waiting there he kept
swallowing, as if he felt whatwe used to call a lump in the
throat.
At last, in strode, the captainslammed the door behind him
(28:09):
without looking to the left orright and marched straight
across the room to where hisbreakfast awaited him.
Bill, said the stranger in avoice I thought he'd tried to
make bold and big.
The captain spun round on hisheel and fronted us All.
(28:31):
The brown had gone out of hisface and even his nose was blue.
He had the look of a man whosees a ghost, or the evil one,
or something worse, if anythingcan be, and upon my word, I felt
sorry to see him all in amoment turn so old and sick.
(28:54):
Come, bill, you know me, youknow an old shipmate, bill,
surely, said the stranger.
The captain made a sort of gasp.
Black Dog, said he.
And who else?
(29:14):
Returned the other, getting moreat ease, black Dog, as ever,
was come forward to see his oldshipmate, billy at the Admiral
Benbow Inn.
Ah, bill, bill, we have seensuch a sight of times, us two
since I lost them two talonsHolding up his mutilated hand.
(29:37):
Now, look here, said thecaptain, you've run me down.
Here I am.
Well, then, speak up.
What is it that's you?
Bill, returned Black Dog,you're on the right of it.
Billy, all of a glass of rumfrom this dear child here,
(30:00):
returned Black Dog.
You're on the right of it.
Billy, all of a glass of rumfrom this dear child here as I
took such a liking to.
And we'll sit down if youplease and talk square like old
shipmates.
When I returned with the rum,they were already seated on the
other side of the captain'sbreakfast table, black Dog next
(30:21):
to the door and sitting sideways, so as to have one eye on his
old shipmate and one, as Ithought, on his retreat.
He bade me go and leave thedoor wide open.
None of your keyholes for me,sonny, he said, and I left them
together and retired into thebar.
(30:43):
For a long time, though Icertainly did my best to listen,
I could hear nothing but a lowgatling, but at last the voices
began to grow higher and I couldpick up a word or two mostly
(31:06):
oaths from the captain.
No, no, no and an end of it, hecried once and again.
If it comes to swinging, swing,all say hi.
Then, all of a sudden, therewas a tremendous explosion of
oaths and other noises.
(31:26):
The chair and table went overin a lump.
A clash of steel followed andthen a cry of pain.
In the next instant I saw BlackDog in full flight and the
captain hotly pursuing, bothwith drawn cutlasses and the
(31:51):
former streaming blood from theleft shoulder.
Just at the door, the captainaimed at the fugitive One last
tremendous cut, which wouldcertainly have split him to the
chin had it not been interceptedby a big signboard of Admiral
Bembao.
You may see the notch on thelower side of the frame to this
day.
That blow was the last of thebattle.
(32:16):
Once out upon the road, blackDog, in spite of his wound,
showed a wonderful, clean pairof heels and disappeared over
the edge of the hill in half aminute.
The captain, for his part,stood staring at the signboard
like a bewildered man.
Then he passed his hand overhis eyes several times and at
(32:41):
last turned back into the house.
Jim says he rum.
And as he spoke he reeled alittle and caught himself with
one hand against the wall.
Are you hurt, cried I Rum.
(33:04):
He repeated, I must get awayfrom here, rum, rum.
I ran to fetch it, but I wasquite unsteady by all that had
fallen out and I broke one glassand fouled the tap.
And while I was still gettingmy own way, I heard a loud fall
(33:25):
in the parlor and, running in,beheld the captain lying full
length upon the floor.
At the same instant my mother,alarmed by the cries and
fighting, fighting, came runningdownstairs to help me.
Between us, we raised his head.
He was breathing very loud andhard, but his eyes were closed
(33:49):
and his face a horrible color.
Dear deary me, cried my mother.
What a disgrace upon the houseand your poor father sick.
In the meantime, we had no ideawhat to do to help the captain,
(34:09):
nor any other thought, but thathe had got his death hurt in the
scuffle with a stranger.
I got the rum, to be sure, andtried to put it down his throat,
but his teeth were tightly shutand his jaws as strong as iron.
It was a happy relief for uswhen the door opened and Dr
(34:30):
Livesy came in on his visit tomy father.
Oh, doctor, we cried.
What shall we do?
Where is he?
Wounded, wounded, afiddlestick's end, said the
doctor, no more wounded than youor I.
The man has had a stroke, as Iwarned him.
(34:52):
Now, mrs Hawkins, just you runupstairs to your husband and
tell him, if possible, nothingabout it.
For my part, I must do my bestto save this fellow's trebly
worthless life.
Jim, you get me a basin.
When I got back with the basin,the doctor had already ripped up
(35:13):
the captain's sleeve andexposed his great sinewy arm.
It was tattooed in severalplaces.
Here's luck, a fair win.
Billy bones, his fancy we'revery neatly and clearly executed
.
On the forearm and up near theshoulder there was a sketch of a
(35:36):
gallows and a man hanging fromit.
Done as I thought, with greatspirit, prophetic, said the
doctor, touching his picturewith his finger.
And now, master Billy Bones, ifthat be your name, we'll have a
look at the color of your blood.
(35:57):
Jim, he said Are you afraid ofblood?
No, sir, said I.
Well then, said he, you holdthe basin.
And with that he took hislancet and opened a vein.
A great deal of blood was takenbefore the captain opened his
(36:20):
eyes and looked mistily abouthim.
First he recognized the doctorwith an unmistakable frown.
Then his glance fell upon meand he looked relieved.
But suddenly his color changedand he tried to raise himself,
crying Where's Black Dog?
(36:41):
There is no Black Dog here,said the doctor, except what you
have on your own back.
You have been drinking rum, youhave had a stroke, precisely as
I told you, and I have just,very much against my own will,
dragged you head foremost out ofthe grave.
(37:03):
Now, Mr Bones that's not myname, he interrupted.
Much I care, returned thedoctor.
It's the name of a buccaneer ofmy acquaintance, and I call you
by it for the sake of shortness.
And what I have to say to youis this One glass of rum won't
(37:24):
kill you, but if you take one,you'll take another and another,
and I stake my wig.
If you don't break off short,you'll die.
Do you understand that.
Die and go to your own place,like the man in the Bible.
Come now, make an effort, I'llhelp you to your bed for once,
(37:49):
between us.
With much trouble, we managed tohoist him upstairs and laid him
on his bed.
We managed to hoist himupstairs and laid him on his bed
, where his head fell back onthe pillow as if he were almost
fainting.
Now, mind you, said the doctor,I clear my conscience.
(38:12):
The name of Rome for you isdeath.
And with that he went off tosee my, my father, taking me
with him by the arm.
This is nothing.
He said as soon as he hadclosed the door.
I have drawn blood enough tokeep him quite a while and he
should lie for a week.
(38:33):
Where he is.
That is the best thing for himand you, but another stroke
would settle him.
About noon I stopped at thecaptain's door with some cooling
drinks and medicines.
He was lying very much, as wehad left him only a little
(38:58):
higher, and he seemed both weakand excited.
Jim, he said you're the onlyone here that's worth anything,
and you know, I've always beengood to you, never a month.
But I've given you a silverfour penny for yourself.
And now you see, mate, I'mpretty low and deserted by all
(39:21):
and, jim, you'll bring me onenoggin of rum now, won't you?
Matey the doctor?
I began but he broke in cursingthe doctor in a feeble voice.
But heartily, doctor's all swabs, said he and that doctor there.
(39:43):
Why?
What do we know about seafaringmen?
I've been in places hot aspitch and mates dropping round
with yellow jack and the blessedland a-heaving like the sea
with earthquakes.
What do the doctor know oflands like that?
And I lived on rum.
I tell you, it's been meat anddrink and man and wife to me.
(40:07):
And if I'm not to have my rumnow, I'm a poor old hulk on a
lee shore.
My blood'll be on you, jim,that Dr Swab.
And he ran on again for a whilewith curses.
That doctor's a fool, I tellyou.
If I don't have a dram of rum,jim, I'll have the horrors.
(40:29):
I've seen some of them already.
I've seen old Flint in thecorner there behind you, as
plain as print.
I've seen him.
And if I get the horrors, I'm aman that's lived rough and I'll
raise Cain.
Your doctor himself said oneglass won't hurt me.
I'll give you a golden guineafor a noggin, jim.
(40:53):
He was growing more and moreexcited and this alarmed me for
my father, who was very low thatday and needed quiet.
Besides, I was reassured by thedoctor's words now quoted to me
, and rather offended by theoffer of a bribe.
(41:13):
I want none of your money, saidI, but of what you owe my
father.
I'll get you one glass and nomore.
When I brought it to him, heseized it greedily and drank it
out.
Aye, aye, said he best, somebetter, sure enough it to him.
He seized it greedily and drankit out.
Aye, aye, said he best, andbetter, sure enough.
(41:40):
And now, matey, did that doctorsay how long I was to lie here
in this old berth?
A week at least, said I Thunder, he cried.
A week, I can't do that.
They'd have the black spot onme.
Then the lovers is going to getthe wind out of me.
This blessed moment.
Lovers just couldn't keep whatthey got, want to nail what is
(42:01):
in others.
Is that seemingly a behavior?
Now?
I want to know.
But I'm a saving soul.
I never waste a good money ofmine, nor lost it neither.
And I'll trick him again, I'mnot afraid of him.
I'll shake out another reef,matey, and daddle him again.
(42:23):
As he was thus speaking, he hadrisen from bed with great
difficulty, holding to myshoulder with a grip that almost
made me cry out, and moving hislegs like so much dead weight.
His words, spirited as theywere in meaning, contrasted
(42:43):
sadly with the weakness of thevoice in which they were uttered
.
He had paused when he got intoa sitting position on the ledge.
Before he could do much to helphim, he had fallen back again
to his former place where he layfor a while, silent.
Jim, he said at length.
(43:06):
You saw that seafaring man today, black Dog, I asked.
Ah, black dog, says he, he's abad one, but there's worse that
put him on Now.
If I can't get away, no how?
And they tip me the black spot,mind you, it's my old sea chest
, they're after.
(43:26):
You get on a horse, you can,can't you?
Well, then you get on a horseand go to.
Well, yes, I will to thateternal doctor swab and tell him
to pipe all hands, magistratesand cinch, and he'll lay him
aboard at the Admiral Bembau,all Old Flint's crew, man and
(43:49):
boy, all on him.
That's left.
I was the first mate, I was OldFlint's first mate and I'm the
only one who knows the place.
He gave it to me at Savannahwhen he lay a-dying Like as if I
was too.
Now, you see.
But you won't peach unless theyget the black spot on me, or
(44:14):
unless you see that black dogagain, or a seafaring man with
one leg Jim, him above all.
But what is the black spot,captain?
I asked?
That's a summons mate.
I'll tell you if they get that.
But you keep your weather eyeopen, jim, and I'll share with
(44:38):
you equals upon my honor.
He wandered a little longer,his voice growing weaker, but
soon after I had given him hismedicine, which he took like a
child, with a remark If ever aseaman wanted drugs, it's me he
(45:06):
fell at last into a heavyswoon-like sleep in which I
(45:48):
loved him.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶,
(54:14):
¶¶.
Thank you.
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