Treasure Island by Robert Stevenson

原文

Chapter 2: Flint's Map

A week later, the captain came down and sat in his usual chair.

I went outside the inn and looked up and down the road.

I saw another man on the road.

He wore a long black coat and he walked very slowly.

'He can't see,'I thought.

The man arrived in front of the inn and turned his face to me. 'Can you tell me, please, where I am?'

I told him.

He listened carefully ;'You're young,' he said. 'Take my hand, my young friend, and take me inside.'

He took my hand, He was very strong.

'Now my young friend,' he said, 'take me to the captain. Quickly! I can break your arm.'

When the captain saw the man, he did not move.

The man put something into the captain's hand and then left the inn.

The captain looked at the black paper in his hand.

Then he read the words on it.

'Ten o'clock!They're coming at ten o'clock,' he said. 'We've got six hours!'

He tried to stand up, but he was too ill.

I ran for my mother,but it was too late.

When we came back the captain was dead on the floor.

My mother and I went to the village, but the people there did not want to help us.

They were too afraid.

Our friend the doctor was away.

Nobody could help us.

'I must get my money from the captain's box,' my mother said. 'It's our money.'

We opened the box.

There were some old coats and shirts and a bag of money.

My mother began to take the money.

'Quickly!' I said. 'It's nearly ten o'clock.'

It was a cold night,and very quiet.

Suddenly, I heard a sound on the road.

Then I heard someone stop outside the inn.

We waited, but then everything was quiet again.

Nothing moved.

'Quickly, mother!' I said. 'Take all the captain's money.'

'No,' she said. 'I don't want it all.'

Then we heard someone again, outside the front door.

'Let's go without the money,'my mother said.

I took an envelope from the captain's box.  

'I'm going to take this,' I said.

We left the inn very quietly through the backdoor.

We heard men running along the road to the inn.

We stopped behind some trees and watched the men.

There were seven or eight of them, all pirates.

They broke down the door of the inn and ran inside.

'Bill's dead!'someone said.

'Open his box!' a second man said.

'Flint's map!Where's Flint's map?'

'We can't find it!'

'It's not here!'

'It's those people at the inn - it's that boy! The boy's got the map. Find them, boys!'

The men moved quickly.

They looked into every room in the inn.

'Listen!' one of them said. 'Someone's coming! We must run!'

'No, find the boy!He's near here somewhere, I know.'

Then I heard a gun.

The pirates heard it too, and began to run away.

We waited for a minute or two and then we went back to the inn.

'What did the pirates want?' a man from the village asked me. 'Did they find the captain's money?'

'Yes,' I said. 'But I think they wanted this.' I showed him the envelope. 'I think there's a map inside it.'

'You must take it to Mr.Trelawney,'he told me.

When I arrived at Mr.Trelawney's house, Dr Livesey was there.

'Hello Jim, what is it?' he asked.

I told him about the pirates.

'Let's see that map,' the doctor said. 'But first, Mr. Trelawney, what do you know about Captain Flint?'

'Flint?' said Mr.Trelawney. 'He was a famous pirate and a very bad man. Everybody was afraid of Captain Flint. But he's dead now.'

'Money!' said Mr.Trelawney. 'He was the richest pirate in the West Indies.'

Then perhaps this map shows where Captain Flint's treasure is,' said the doctor.

'What?' said Mr.Trelawney.

Then I must buy a ship and we can all go and look for the treasure.'

The doctor opened the map very carefully.

It was a map of an island.

There was some writing on the map.

It said: 'Treasure here'.

Mr. Trelawney and the doctor were excited.

'Livesey!' said Mr.Trelawney. 'Tomorrow I'm going to Bristol. I'm going to buy a ship and find sailors.Jim, you and Dr Livesey are going to come with me to look for the treasure!'