For -- you would have thought men would have been ashamed of themselves -- no soul would consent to return with us to the Admiral Benbow . The more we told of our troubles , the more -- man , woman , and child -- they clung to the shelter of their houses . The name of Captain Flint , though it was strange to me , was well enough known to some there and carried a great weight of terror . Some of the men who had been to field-work on the far side of the Admiral Benbow remembered , besides , to have seen several strangers on the road , and taking them to be smugglers , to have bolted away ; and one at least had seen a little lugger in what we called Kitt 's Hole . For that matter , anyone who was a comrade of the captain 's was enough to frighten them to death . And the short and the long of the matter was , that while we could get several who were willing enough to ride to Dr. Livesey 's , which lay in another direction , not one would help us to defend the inn . They say cowardice is infectious ; but then argument is , on the other hand , a great emboldener ; and so when each had said his say , my mother made them a speech . She would not , she declared , lose money that belonged to her fatherless boy ; `` If none of the rest of you dare , '' she said , `` Jim and I dare . Back we will go , the way we came , and small thanks to you big , hulking , chicken-hearted men . We 'll have that chest open , if we die for it . And I 'll thank you for that bag , Mrs. Crossley , to bring back our lawful money in . '' Of course I said I would go with my mother , and of course they all cried out at our foolhardiness , but even then not a man would go along with us . All they would do was to give me a loaded pistol lest we were attacked , and to promise to have horses ready saddled in case we were pursued on our return , while one lad was to ride forward to the doctor 's in search of armed assistance . My heart was beating finely when we two set forth in the cold night upon this dangerous venture . A full moon was beginning to rise and peered redly through the upper edges of the fog , and this increased our haste , for it was plain , before we came forth again , that all would be as bright as day , and our departure exposed to the eyes of any watchers . We slipped along the hedges , noiseless and swift , nor did we see or hear anything to increase our terrors , till , to our relief , the door of the Admiral Benbow had closed behind us . I slipped the bolt at once , and we stood and panted for a moment in the dark , alone in the house with the dead captain 's body . Then my mother got a candle in the bar , and holding each other 's hands , we advanced into the parlour . He lay as we had left him , on his back , with his eyes open and one arm stretched out . `` Draw down the blind , Jim , '' whispered my mother ; `` they might come and watch outside .
And now , '' said she when I had done so , `` we have to XXXXX the key off THAT ; and who 's to touch it , I should like to know ! ''
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