The blind man cursed the money.
Flint s fist, I mean, he cried.
We don t see it here nohow, returned the man.
Here, you below there, is it on Bill? cried the blind man again.
At that another fellow, probably him who had remained below to search
the captain s body, came to the door of the inn. Bill s been overhauled
a ready, said he; nothin left.
It s these people of the inn--it s that boy. I wish I had put his eyes
out! cried the blind man, Pew. There were no time ago--they had the
door bolted when I tried it. Scatter, lads, and find em.
Sure enough, they left their glim here, said the fellow from the
window.
Scatter and find em! Rout the house out! reiterated Pew, striking
with his stick upon the road.
Then there followed a great to-do through all our old inn, heavy feet
pounding to and fro, furniture thrown over, doors kicked in, until the
very rocks re-echoed and the men came out again, one after another, on
the road and declared that we were nowhere to be found. And just
the same whistle that had alarmed my mother and myself over the dead
captain s money was once more clearly audible through the night,
but this time twice repeated. I had thought it to be the blind man s
trumpet, so to speak, summoning his crew to the assault, but I now found
that it was a signal from the hillside towards the hamlet, and from its
effect upon the buccaneers, a signal to warn them of approaching danger.
There s Dirk again, said one. Twice! We ll have to budge, mates.
Budge, you skulk! cried Pew. Dirk was a fool and a coward from the
first--you wouldn t mind him. They must be close by; they can t be far;
you have your hands on it. Scatter and look for them, dogs! Oh, shiver
my soul, he cried, if I had eyes!
27