noon
The doctor hailed them and told them of the stores we had left , and where they were to find them , but they continued to call us by name and appeal to us for God 's sake to be merciful and not leave them to die in such a place . At last , seeing the ship still bore on her course , and was now swiftly drawing out of earshot , one of them -- I know not which it was -- leaped to his feet with a hoarse cry , whipped his musket to his shoulder , and sent a shot whistling over Silver 's head and through the mainsail . After that we kept under cover of the bulwarks , and when next I looked out they had disappeared from the spit , and the spit itself had almost melted out of sight in the growing distance . That was , at least , the end of that ; and before noon , to my inexpressible joy , the highest rock of Treasure Island had sunk into the blue round of sea . We were so short of men that everyone on board had to bear a hand -- only the captain lying on a mattress in the stern and giving his orders , for though greatly recovered he was still in want of quiet . We laid her head for the nearest port in Spanish America , for we could not risk the voyage home without fresh hands ; and as it was , what with baffling winds and a couple of fresh gales , we were all worn out before we reached it . It was just at sundown when we cast anchor in a most beautiful landlocked gulf , and were immediately surrounded by shore boats full of negroes and Mexican Indians and half-bloods , selling fruits and vegetables , and offering to dive for bits of money .