"Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure island (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

that that cheek's the right one. Ah, well! I told you. Now, is my mate Bill
in this here house?"
I told him he was out walking.
"Which way, sonny? Which way is he gone?"
And when I had pointed out the rock and told him how the captain was
likely to return, and how soon, and answered a few other questions, "Ah,"
said he, "this'll be as good as drink to my mate Bill."
The expression of his face as he said these words was not at all
pleasant, and I had my own reasons for thinking that the stranger was
mistaken, even supposing he meant what he said. But it was no affair of
mine, I thought; and besides, it was difficult to know what to do. The
stranger kept hanging about just inside the inn door, peering round the
corner like a cat waiting for a mouse. Once I stepped out myself into the
road, but he immediately called me back, and as I did not obey quick enough
for his fancy, a most horrible change came over his tallowy face, and he
ordered me in with an oath that made me jump. As soon as I was back again he
returned to his former manner, half fawning, half sneering, patted me on the
shoulder, told me I was a good boy and he had taken quite a fancy to me. "I
have a son of my own," said he, "as like you as two blocks, and he's all the
pride of my 'art. But the great thing for boys is discipline, sonny -
discipline. Now, if you had sailed along of Bill, you wouldn't have stood
there to be spoke to twice - not you. That was never Bill's way, nor the way
of sich as sailed with him. And here, sure enough, is my mate Bill, with a
spy-glass under his arm, bless his old 'art, to be sure. You and me'll just
go back into the parlour, sonny, and get behind the door, and we'll give
Bill a little surprise - bless his 'art, I say again."
So saying, the stranger backed along with me into the parlour and put
me behind him in the corner so that we were both hidden by the open door. I
was very uneasy and alarmed, as you may fancy, and it rather added to my
fears to observe that the stranger was certainly frightened himself. He
cleared the hilt of his cutlass and loosened the blade in the sheath; and
all the time we were waiting there he kept swallowing as if he felt what we
used to call a lump in the throat.
At last in strode the captain, slammed the door behind him, without
looking to the right or left, and marched straight across the room to where
his breakfast awaited him.
"Bill," said the stranger in a voice that I thought he had tried to
make bold and big.
The captain spun round on his heel and fronted us; all the brown had
gone out of his face, and even his nose was blue; he had the look of a man
who sees a ghost, or the evil one, or something worse, if anything can be;
and upon my word, I felt sorry to see him all in a moment turn so old and
sick.
"Come, Bill, you know me; you know an old shipmate, Bill, surely," said
the stranger.
The captain made a sort of gasp.
"Black Dog!" said he.
"And who else?" returned the other, getting more at his ease. "Black
Dog as ever was, come for to see his old shipmate Billy, at the Admiral
Benbow inn. Ah, Bill, Bill, we have seen a sight of times, us two, since I