My curtosity, in a sense, was stronger than my fear, for could not remain where I was, but crept l again, whence, sheltering my head behind a bush of broom, I might command the road before our door. I was scarcely in position ere my enemies began to arrive, seven or eight of them, running hard, their feet beating out of time along the road and the man with the lantern some paces in front. Three men ran together, hand in hand; and I made out, even through the mist, that the middle man of this trio was the blind beggar The next moment his voice showed me that I was right. back to the bank

'Down with the door!" he cried.

"Aye, ave, sir!' answered two or three; and a rush was made upon the Admiral Benbow, the lantern-bearer following, and then I could see them pause, and hear speeches passed in a lower key, as if they were surprised to find the door open. But the pause was brief, for the blind man again issued his commands. His voice sounded louder and higher, as if he were afire with eagerness and rage.

'In, in, in!" he shouted, and cursed them for their delay .Four or five of them obeyed at once, two remaining on the
road with the formidable beggar. There was a pause, then a cry of surprise, and then a voice shouting from the house, 'Bill's dead."

But the blind man swore at them again for their delay. Search him, some of you shirking lubbers, and the rest of you aloft and get the chest, he cried.

I could hear their feet rattling up our old stairs, so that the house must have shook with it. Promptly afterwards, fresh sounds of astonishment arose; the window of the captain's room was thrown open with a slam and a jingle of broken glass, and a man leaned out into the moonlight, head and shoulders, and addressed the blind beggar on the road below him.

'Pew, he cried, 'they've been before us. Someone's turned. the chest out alow and aloft.

Is it there?' roared Pew

The money's there."

The blind man cursed the money. 'Flint's fist, I mean, he cried.

We don't see it here nohow,' returned the man.

'Here, you below there, is it on Bill?' cried the blind man again. At that another fellow, probably him who had remained below to search the captain's body, came to the door of the inn. 'Bill's been overhauled a'ready," said he, 'nothin' left."

'It's these people of the inn-it's that boy. I wish I had put his eyes out!' cried the blind man, Pew. There were no time ago-they had the door bolted when I tried it. Scatter, lads, and find 'em.'

'Sure enough, they left their glim here,' said the fellow from the window.

'Scatter and find 'em! Rout the house out!' reiterated Pew, striking with his stick upon the road.Then there followed a great to-do through all our old heavy feet pounding to and fro, furniture thrown over, doon kicked in, anal the very rocks re-echoed and the men came out again, one after another, on the road and declared thr were nowhere to be found. And just the same whistle that had alarmed my mother and myself over the dead captain's money was once more clearly audible through the night, but this time ewice repeated. I had thought it to be the blind man's crumper so to speak, summoning his crew to the assault, but I now found that it was a signal from the hillside towards the hamlet and from its effect upon the buccaneers, a signal to warn them of approaching danger

There's Dick again,' said one. Twice! We'll have no budge maters.

Badge, you skulkened Pew Dirk was a fool and a coward from the fin-you wouldn't mind him. They must be close by they can be far you have your hands on it Scatter and look for them, dogs Oh, shiver my soul, he cred, if I had eyes!"

This appeal seemed to produce some effect, for two of the fellows began to look here and there among the lumber, but half-heartedly, I thought, and with half an eye to their own danger all the time, while the rest stood irresolute on the road.

You have your hands on thousands, you fools, and you hang a leg You'd be as nch as langs if you could find it, and you know it's here, and you stand there skulking. There wasn't one of you dared face Bill, and I did a blind man!

And I'm to lose my chance for youl Fm to be a poor crawling beggar, sponging for num, when I might be miling in a coach you had the pluck of a weevil in a bescuit you would catch them soil.

Hang it Pew, we've got the doubloons grumbled one.

They might have had the blessed thing, said another. Take the Georges, Pew, and don't stand here squalling".

Squalling was the word for it Pew's anger rose so high at these objection till at last, his passion completely taking the upper hand, he struck at them right and left in his blindness and his stick sounded heavily on more than one .

These, in their ram, cursed back at the blind miscreant, threatened him in hond terms, and ened in vain to catch the stick and wrest in from his grasp

This quarrel was the saving of us, for while it was saill raging, another sound came from the top of the hill on the de of the humler-the tramp of horses galloping Almost at the same time a pistol-shot, flush and report, came from the hedge side. And that was plainly the last signal of danger, for the buccaneers named at once and run, separating in every direction, neswand along the cove, one slant across the hill. and so on, so that in half a minute not a sign of them remaned but Pew Him they had deserted, whether in sheer panic or not of revenge for his ill words anil blows I now not but there he remained behind, rapping up and down the road to a frenzy, and groping and calling for his des Findly he took a wrong tum and ran a few steps par me, and the hamies, crying, Johnny, Black Dog, Dirk, and her names, you won' leave old Pew, manes-not old Pew! '

Just them the noise of horses topped the me, and four or five riders came in sight in the moonlight and swept at fall gallop down the slope.

At this Pew saw his error, tumed with a scream, and straight for the disch, into which he rolled. But he was his feet again in a second and made another dash, now unl bewildered, right under the nearest of the coming horses.

The rider tried to save him, but in vain. Down went Pe with a cry that rang high into the night, and the four books trampled and spurned him and passed by. He fell on his side then gently collapsed upon his face and moved no more.

I leaped to my feet and hailed the riders. They were up, at any rate, horrified at the accident, and I soon saw what they were. One, tailing out behind the rest, was a lad that had gone from the hamlet to Dr. Livesey's, the rest were revenue officers, whom he had met by the way, and with whom he had had the intelligence to return at once. Some news of the lugger in Kitt's Hole had found its way to Supervisor Dance and set him forth that night in our direction, and to that circumstance my mother and I owed our preservation from death.

Pew was dead, stone dead. As for my mother, when we bad carned her up to the hamlet, a little cold water and salts and that soon brought her back again, and she was none the worse for her terror, though she still continued to deplore the balance of the money. In the meantime the supervisor rode on, as fast as he could, to Kim's Hole, but his men had to dismount and grope down the dingle, leading, and sometimes supporting, their hones, and in continual fear of ambushes, so it was no great matter for surprise that when they got down to the Hole the lugger was already under way, though still close in. He hailed her. A voice replied, telling him to keep out of the moonlight or he would get some lead in him, and at the same time a bullet whistled close by his arm. Soon after, the lugger doubled the point and disappeared. Mr. Dance stood there, as he said, like a fish out of water, and all he could do was to dispatch a man to B to warn the cutter "And that," said he, 'is just about as good as nothing. They've got off clean, and there's an end. 'Only," he added,'I'm glad I trod on Master Pew's corns,' for by this time he had heard my story.

I went back with him to the Admiral Benbow, and you cannot imagine a house in such a state of smash; the very clock had been thrown down by these fellows in their furious hunt after my mother and myself; and though nothing had actually been taken away except the captain's money-bag and a little silver from the till, I could see at once that we were ruined. Mr. Dance could make nothing of the scene.

They got the money, you say? Well, then, Hawkins, what in fortune were they after? More money, I suppose?'

'No, sir, not money, I think,' replied I. 'In fact, sir, I believe

I have the thing in my breast pocket; and to tell you the truth,I should like to get it put in safety."

To be sure, boy; quite right,' said he. 'I'll take it, if you like."

I thought perhaps Dr. Livesey- I began. "Perfectly right,' he interrupted very cheerily, 'perfectly right-a gentleman and a magistrate. And, now I come to think of it, I might as well ride round there myself and report to him or squire. Master Pew's dead, when all's done; not that I regret it, but he's dead, you see, and people will make it out against an officer of his Majesty's revenue, if make it out they can. Now, I'll tell you, Hawkins, if you like, I'll take you along.' I thanked him heartily for the offer, and we walked back to the hamlet where the horses were. By the time I had told mother of my purpose they were all in the saddle.

'Dogger,' said Mr. Dance, 'you have a good horse; take up this lad behind you."

As soon as I was mounted, holding on to Dogger's belt, the supervisor gave the word, and the party struck out at a bouncing trot on the road to Dr. Livesey's house.
#Tarranum begum#

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