what happend with the first visitor ?

In January, a few months after the first chapter concludes, a strange man, wearing a cutlass and missing two fingers, appears at the inn inquiring about a man with a cut on his check, someone he refers to as Bill. The narrator explains that Bill is on the bluffs and will likely return that evening. Making sure the boy cannot warn Bill of his presence, the stranger makes the boy hide until Bill appears. When Bill finally appears, he looks like he has seen a ghost when he sees the stranger, whom he identifies as Black Dog, one of his shipmates. After telling the boy to leave, the two talk together in low voices. The only thing that the boy overhears is the captain speaking about all "swinging," (meaning hanging), before there is a loud commotion. After the outcry, Black Dog, with a cut on his shoulder flees, the captain pursues him, both with drawn cutlasses. The captain aims at Black Dog but misses and hits the inn's signboard instead, leaving Black Dog to escape.