I told Mrs. Hawkins everything. We knew we were in a very dangerous position. The Captain owed us money. But we knew his friends were bad men. Black Dog and the blind man wanted the Captain’s gold. I could not leave Mrs. Hawkins alone at the inn. We were both very afraid. We heard every small noise in the house. We decided to go to the nearby hamlet (a very small village) to ask for help.
We ran out into the cold night. The fog was very thick. We reached the hamlet quickly. I felt happy when I saw the yellow lights in the windows. But the people in the hamlet did not want to help us. They were very afraid when they heard the name of Captain Flint. Some men saw strangers on the road. They thought the strangers were smugglers (people who move things secretly and illegally).
The men in the hamlet refused to go to the Admiral Benbow. They offered to ride to find Dr. Livesey. But they would not help us defend the inn. Mrs. Hawkins was very brave. She said she wanted the money for her son. She said the men in the hamlet were cowards. "We will go back alone," Mrs. Hawkins said. "We will open that chest."
One man gave me a loaded pistol. The people promised to have horses ready for us. Then Mrs. Hawkins and I walked back to the inn. The moon was starting to rise. We walked quickly and quietly next to the trees. We did not see anyone on the road. Finally, we went inside the Admiral Benbow and locked the door.
We were alone in the dark house with the dead Captain. Mrs. Hawkins got a candle. We went into the room where the Captain lay. I saw a small piece of paper on the floor. It was the Black Spot. On the back, it said: "You have until ten tonight." I looked at the clock. It was only six o’clock.
"We have time until ten, Mother," I said. Now I had to find the key to the chest. I looked in the Captain’s pockets. I found some coins, a compass, and a small knife. But I did not find the key. Mrs. Hawkins suggested the key was around his neck. I opened his shirt. There was the key on a piece of string. I cut the string with the Captain’s knife.
We hurried upstairs to the Captain’s room. The big wooden chest was there. Mrs. Hawkins used the key and opened the lid. The chest smelled like tobacco. On top, there were some very good clothes. Under the clothes, we found many strange things. There were pistols, a piece of silver, and shells from the West Indies.
At the bottom of the chest, we found a bundle of papers. It was wrapped in oilcloth (a cloth that does not let water in). We also found a cloth bag full of gold coins. Mrs. Hawkins started to count the money. She only wanted the exact amount that the Captain owed her. She was a very honest woman. It was a difficult job because there were many different types of coins.
Suddenly, I heard a sound. It was the tap-tap-tap of the blind man’s stick on the road. We stayed very still and held our breath. The blind man hit the door of the inn. He tried to turn the handle, but the door was locked. Then it was silent for a long time. Finally, we heard the tapping sound again. The blind man was walking away.
"Mother," I whispered. "Take all the money and let’s go." I was sure the blind man would return with more men. But Mrs. Hawkins wanted to finish counting. She said she knew her rights. Then we heard a low whistle on the hill. This was a signal. We were both very terrified now.
Mrs. Hawkins jumped up and took the money she had counted. I took the papers in the oilcloth. We ran downstairs and left the candle by the chest. We opened the door and ran out into the night. The fog was going away and the moon was bright. We heard the sound of men running toward the inn. We saw the light of a lantern.
"Jim," Mrs. Hawkins said. "Take the money and run. I am going to faint." I did not want to leave her. We were near a small bridge. I helped Mrs. Hawkins move down the bank of the river. We hid under the bridge. We were very close to the inn. We could hear the voices of the pirates. We waited there in the dark.