he _Hispaniola_; good-bye to the squire, the
doctor, and the captain! There was nothing left for me but death by
starvation, or death by the hands of the mutineers.

All this while, as I say, I was still running, and, without taking any
notice, I had drawn near to the foot of the little hill with the two
peaks, and had got into a part of the island where the live-oaks grew
more widely apart, and seemed more like forest-trees in their bearing and
dimensions. Mingled with these were a few scattered pines, some fifty,
some nearer seventy, feet high. The air, too, smelt more freshly than
down beside the marsh.

And here a fresh alarm brought me to a standstill with a thumping heart.

CHAPTER XV

THE MAN OF THE ISLAND

From the side of the hill, which was here steep and stony, a spout of
gravel was dislodged, and fell rattling and bounding through the trees.
My eyes turned instinctively in that direction, and I saw a figure leap
with great rapidity behind the trunk of a pine. What it was, whether bear
or man or monkey, I could in no wise tell. It seemed dark and shaggy;
more I knew not. But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a
stand.

I was now, it seemed, cut off upon both sides; behind me the murderers,
before me this lurking nondescript. And immediately I began to prefer the
dangers that I knew to those I knew not. Silver himself appeared less
terrible in contrast with this creature of the woods, and I turned on my
heel, and, looking sharply behind me over my shoulder, began to retrace
my steps in the direction of the boats.

Instantly the figure reappeared, and, making a wide circuit, began to
head me off. I was tired, at any rate; but had I been as fresh as when I
rose, I could see it was in vain for me to contend in speed with such an
adversary. From trunk to trunk the creature flitted like a deer, running
man-like on two legs, but, unlike any man that I had ever seen, stooping
almost double as it ran. Yet a man it was; I could no longer be in doubt
about that.

I began to recall what I had heard of cannibals. I was within an ace of
calling for help. But the mere fact that he was a man, however wild, had
somewhat reassured me, and my fear of Silver began to revive in
proportion. I stood still, therefore, and cast about for some method of
escape; and as I was so thinking, the recollection of my pistol flashed
into my mind. As soon as I remembered I was not defenceless, courage
glowed a