Bare-headed as we were , we ran out at once in the gathering evening and the frosty fog . The hamlet lay not many hundred yards away , though out of view , on the other side of the next cove ; and what greatly encouraged me , it was in an opposite direction from that whence the blind man had made his appearance and whither he had presumably returned . We were not many minutes on the road , though we sometimes stopped to lay hold of each other and hearken . But there was no unusual sound -- nothing but the low wash of the ripple and the croaking of the inmates of the wood . It was already candle-light when we reached the hamlet , and I shall never forget how much I was cheered to see the yellow shine in doors and windows ; but that , as it proved , was the best of the help we were likely to get in that quarter . 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 XXXXX had closed behind us .
Benbow Crossley Livesey day emboldener evening foolhardiness lugger minutes whither