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Our little boat was gravely overloaded.
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In addition to our supplies, we were carrying five grown men, and three of them—Trelawney, Redruth, and the captain—were over six feet tall.
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We took on water several times, and my pants and the back end of my coat were soaking wet.
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"Trim the boat," the captain said. "Shift around and distribute the weight."
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We were able to stabilize the boat, but all the same, we were afraid to breathe.
6
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The tide was now causing a strong, rippling current that swept us off course, away from our proper landing place.
7
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We needed some luck or we'd come ashore beside the shore boats, where the pirates might appear at any moment.
8
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"I can't steer us toward the stockade, sir," I said to the captain.
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He and Redruth were at the oars. "Can you row faster?"
10
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"Not without flooding the boat," answered the captain.
11
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The tide kept sweeping us westward until I turned the head of the boat east, but it was slow going in the direction toward the stockade.
12
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"We'll never get ashore at this rate!" I called out.
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"Keep us going upstream and avoid those boats," commanded the captain.
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"Eventually, the current will let up a bit, and then we can dodge back along the shore."
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"The current has lessened already, sir," said Gray, who sat at the bow. "We can ease up a bit, sir."
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"Thank you," I said. We'd all quietly decided to treat Abe Gray as if nothing had happened—as if he had never been one of the mutineers.
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Suddenly the captain gasped, "The cannon!"
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I'd entirely forgotten about the ship's guns.
19
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To our horror, we saw the five pirates on the Hispaniola busily removing the cover from the big cannon.
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Not only that, but I realized the cannonballs and some powder had been left behind.
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"Israel was Flint's gunner," said Gray hoarsely.
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We headed for the landing place, and even though I could keep the boat steady, we dared not row any faster.
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Unfortunately, this course displayed our broadside to the Hispaniola, and we offered a huge target for the pirates.
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I could see that rascal Israel on the deck putting the cannonballs down the gun's neck.
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"Mr. Trelawney," said the captain, "I need you to pick off one of those men—Mr. Hands, if possible."
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Trelawney was as cool as steel while he prepared his gun.
27
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"Now," the captain said, "easy with that musket, sir, or you'll tip the boat. Everyone stand by to trim her when he pulls the trigger."
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The rowing stopped, the squire raised his gun, and we leaned over to the other side to keep the balance.
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By this time, the pirates on the Hispaniola had turned the cannon toward us.
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Israel, who was at the muzzle with the rammer, was the most exposed.
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However, just as Trelawney fired, Israel bent down and the shot whistled over him.
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It hit one of the other four pirates, and he fell with a cry.
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His cry was echoed not only by his companions on board but also by a great number of voices from the shore,
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as the other pirates came out from among the trees.
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"The pirates are going toward the boats," I said.
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"Row!" cried the captain. "We mustn't mind if we flood her now.
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If we can't get ashore, we're done for."
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"They're taking only one boat," I said.
39
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"The crew of the other boat is staying on the shore to cut us off."
40
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"It's not them I mind. It's the cannon," the captain said.
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"There is no way they can miss us.
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Tell us, Squire, when you have another chance at a shot, and we'll stop."
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Meanwhile, we'd been making pretty good headway for a boat so overloaded, and we'd taken on very little water.
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We were now close, and in thirty or forty strokes, we could beach her on a narrow belt of sand below the clustering trees.
45
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The pirates' boat was still behind us, and the tide, which had so cruelly delayed us, was also delaying them.
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The one source of danger was the cannon.
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"I think I can pick off another man," said the squire.
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"Hold!" the captain shouted, quick as an echo, and our boat stopped so fast that water poured over the stern.
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A cannonball came toward us at that same instant, and the squire's shot missed.
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Where the cannonball hit, no one could tell, but it must have gone over our heads and plunged into the water,
51
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because its impact contributed to our disaster.
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At any rate, our boat sank in three feet of water.
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The captain and I got to our feet, but the other three went under and came up drenched.
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So far, there was no great harm.
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No lives were lost, and we could wade ashore safely, but all the food and supplies were underwater.
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To make things worse, only two guns out of the five remained ready to use.
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Instinctively, I'd snatched my musket and held it over my head, and the captain had wisely carried his over his shoulder.
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But the other three were soaked.
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We heard voices in the woods along the shore, and we worried we might be cut off from the stockade in our weakened state.
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I also worried whether Hunter and Joyce could withstand an attack.
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Hunter was steady, but Joyce was a polite house servant, not a man of war.
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So we waded ashore as fast as we could, leaving behind the poor rowboat and half of all our powder and provisions.