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Early one frosty January morning, the captain walked to the beach with his cutlass—the sword he always kept by his side—swinging under his old blue coat.

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He carried his brass telescope under his arm, and he had his hat tilted back on his head.

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The old man's breath hung in the air like smoke.

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Mother was helping my sick father upstairs,

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and I was setting the table for the captain's breakfast when the door opened and a pale, greasy-looking creature walked in.

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He was missing two fingers from his left hand and he wore a cutlass too, but he didn't look like a seafaring man.

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"May I help you, sir?" I asked.

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"I'll have some rum," he said.

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"Are you setting that table for my mate Bill?"

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"It's for the captain," I said.

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"Well," he said, "I expect Bill might like to be called 'captain.'

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Does your captain have a scar on one cheek and a pleasant personality when he's drunk?

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Has he a sea chest that he guards most carefully?" I nodded.

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"Now, my lad, tell me, is my mate Bill here?"

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"He's out walking," I said. "He'll return soon."

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"Ah," said he, "good."

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The stranger hung around the door like a cat waiting for a mouse.

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Once, when I stepped outside, a change came over his face and he angrily said, "Get back in here!"

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Then he suddenly became very polite, half smiling and half sneering.

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"You're a good boy." He patted my shoulder. "I have a son of my own."

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Then the stranger looked out the window and said cheerfully, "Ah, here comes my friend Bill.

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Let's move aside, sonny, and we'll give Bill a little surprise—bless his heart."

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He pushed me back until we were both hidden behind the open door.

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I was very alarmed, but the stranger seemed frightened too.

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He swallowed hard and grabbed the handle of his cutlass, loosening the blade in its sheath.

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Unsuspecting, the captain marched in the door and across the room to the table where his breakfast lay.

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"Bill," the stranger said in a bold voice as he pushed me away.

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The captain spun around, and he became so pale that his nose was nearly blue.

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I felt sorry to see him suddenly turn so old and sick.

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"Black Dog!" gasped the captain, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.

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"And who else?" the stranger said.

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"I'm here to see you, Billy, my old shipmate. It's been a while since I lost these two fingers."

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He held up his mutilated hand.

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"Well, you found me," the captain said, recovering. "Here I am. What do you want?"

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"Let's just sit down over there and talk like old shipmates, Billy Bones," Black Dog said.

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Then Black Dog looked at me. "Leave us.

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And I don't want to see you listening to our conversation, sonny."

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I left them at the table, but I did my best to pick up a word or two from where I waited at the bar.

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I heard mostly curses from the captain.

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"No, no, no!" he cried. "If I'm going to hang, then everyone will!"

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They shouted and swore and began to fight, knocking over a chair and table.

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I ran over to watch as their cutlasses clashed.

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Then Black Dog let out a cry of pain.

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He turned and started to run with the captain right behind him.

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Blood was streaming from Black Dog's left shoulder as he sprinted through the door.

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The captain took aim with his cutlass and threw it at Black Dog,

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and he might have split Black Dog's head in half if not for our big sign saying "Admiral Benbow."

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The frame still has a nick where the sword hit it.

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Despite his wound, Black Dog ran off and disappeared over the hill.

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The captain rubbed his eyes and went inside.

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"Jim," he said, clutching the wall, "I need some rum."

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"Are you hurt?" I cried.

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"Rum," he repeated. "Rum! Rum!"

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Shaking, I ran to get it, but my hands were so unsteady I broke the glass and had to fill another.

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Suddenly, I heard a loud crash and ran toward the sound.

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The captain was lying on the floor.

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Alarmed by all the noise, Mother came downstairs.

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"He's drunk! What a disgrace!" she cried. "And with your poor father sick!"

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My mother and I raised the captain's head.

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His eyes were closed and he was breathing loud and hard.

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I had the rum, but his teeth and jaws were shut tight.

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We were relieved when the door opened, and we saw Dr. Livesey, here to visit Father.

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"Oh, Doctor!" Mother cried.

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"He looks as if he's had a stroke," said the doctor.

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"Now, Mrs. Hawkins, run upstairs to your husband.

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I'll do my best to help this worthless fellow."

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The doctor had just loosened the captain's collar when the old man awoke.

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The captain recognized the doctor and frowned, and then he saw me.

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"Where's Black Dog?" he asked, trying to raise himself up.

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"There's no black dog here," said the doctor.

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"You drank too much and had a stroke."

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"Where is he?" the captain gasped.

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"Listen to me," the doctor said.

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"One drink won't kill you, but keep drinking one after another and you'll die—do you understand that?—die."

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We hoisted the captain upstairs and put him to bed.

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"Heed my words," said the doctor. "Rum will kill you."

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Out of earshot, the doctor told me, "He should rest for a week.

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Another stroke could end his sorry life."