t in his life, and, by the powers, I'll
face him dead. There's seven hundred thousand pound not a quarter of a
mile from here. When did ever a gentleman o' fortune show his stern to
that much dollars for a boozy old seaman with a blue mug--and him dead,
too?"

But there was no sign of reawakening courage in his followers; rather,
indeed, of growing terror at the irreverence of his words.

"Belay there, John!" said Merry. "Don't you cross a sperrit."

And the rest were all too terrified to reply. They would have run away
severally had they dared, but fear kept them together, and kept them
close by John, as if his daring helped them. He, on his part, had pretty
well fought his weakness down.

"Sperrit? Well, maybe," he said. "But there's one thing not clear to me.
There was an echo. Now, no man ever seen a sperrit with a shadow. Well,
then, what's he doing with an echo to him, I should like to know? That
ain't in natur', surely."

This argument seemed weak enough to me. But you can never tell what will
affect the superstitious, and, to my wonder, George Merry was greatly
relieved.

"Well, that's so," he said. "You've a head upon your shoulders, John,
and no mistake. 'Bout ship, mates! This here crew is on a wrong tack, I
do believe. And come to think on it, it was like Flint's voice, I grant
you, but not just so clear away like it, after all. It was liker
somebody else's voice now--it was liker--"

"By the powers, Ben Gunn!" roared Silver.

"Ay, and so it were," cried Morgan, springing on his knees. "Ben Gunn it
were!"

"It don't make much odds, do it, now?" asked Dick. "Ben Gunn's not here
in the body, any more'n Flint."

But the older hands greeted this remark with scorn.

"Why, nobody minds Ben Gunn," cried Merry; "dead or alive, nobody minds
him!"

It was extraordinary how their spirits had returned, and how the natural
color had revived in their faces. Soon they were chatting together, with
intervals of listening; and not long after, hearing no further sound,
they shouldered the tools and set forth again, Merry walking first with
Silver's compass to keep them on the right line with Skeleton Island. He
had said the truth; dead or alive, nobody minded Ben Gunn.

Dick alone still held his Bible, and looked around him as he went, with
fearful glances; but he found no sympathy, and Silver even joked him on
his precautions.

"I told you," said he, "I told you you had sp'iled your Bible. If it
ain't no go