Ratsey spoke first. 'John, pass me the flask; I can hear voices mounting
the cliff of those poor souls of the _Florida_.'
With that he took another heavy pull, and flung a log on the fire, till
sparks flew about as in a smithy, and the flame that had slumbered woke
again and leapt out white, blue, and green from the salt wood. Now, as
the light danced and flickered I saw a piece of parchment lying at
Ratsey's feet: and this was none other than the writing out of
Blackbeard's locket, which I had been reading when I first heard
footsteps in the passage, and had dropped in my alarm of hostile
visitors. Ratsey saw it too, and stretched out his hand to pick it up. I
would have concealed it if I could, because I had never told him how I
had rifled Blackbeard's coffin, and did not want to be questioned as to
how I had come by the writing. But to try to stop him getting hold of it
would only have spurred his curiosity, and so I said nothing when he took
it in his hands.
'What is this, son?' asked he.
'It is only Scripture verses,' I answered, 'which I got some time ago.
'Tis said they are a spell against Spirits of Evil, and I was reading
them to keep off the loneliness of this place, when you came in and made
me drop them.'
I was afraid lest he should ask whence I had got them, but he did not,
thinking perhaps that my aunt had given them to me.
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