October 21, 2023 • 26 mins
Treasure IslandThe story is narrated by young Jim Hawkins, who becomes embroiled in a thrilling tale of piracy and buried treasure. When Jim and his mother discover a map in the chest of their inn's deceased lodger, Billy Bones, they realize it points to the legendary treasure of Captain Flint, a notorious pirate. This discovery leads to Jim embarking on a perilous voyage aboard the Hispaniola to Skeleton Island, where the treasure is believed to be hidden.During the journey, Jim discovers that a large portion of the ship's crew is composed of pirates, formerly under the command of Flint, and now led by the cunning and charismatic Long John Silver. Silver and his crew plan to mutiny once they reach the island and claim the treasure for themselves.The story unfolds with battles, treachery, loyalty, and cunning strategy. Throughout his adventure, Jim encounters danger at every turn, from deadly skirmishes with the pirates to encounters with the island's indigenous inhabitants."Treasure Island" is not just a tale of adventure but also a coming-of-age story for Jim, who must navigate moral ambiguities, learn whom to trust, and grow into his own as a young man. The novel also delves into themes of greed, loyalty, and the unpredictability of human nature.The character of Long John Silver, with his mix of ruthlessness and charm, is one of literature's most famous and complex pirates. Stevenson's vivid characters, combined with the suspenseful narrative, make "Treasure Island" a timeless tale that has captivated readers for generations.
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Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson.This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain.For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Treasure Islandby Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Adrian
Pratzellis, Santa Rosa, California,December twelve, two thousand seven, Chapter
(00:26):
thirty three, The Fall of aChieftain. There never was such an overturn
in this world. All of thesesix men was as through as he had
been struck, but with silver theblow passed almost instantly. Every thought of
his soul had been set full stretchlike a racer on that money. Well,
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he was brought up in a singlesecond dead, and he kept his
head, found his temper, andchanged his plan before the others had had
time to realize the disappointment. Jim, he whispered, take that and stand
boy for trouble. And he passedme a double barreled pistol. At the
same time he began quietly moving northward, and in a few steps had put
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the hollow between us two and theother five. Then he looked at me
and nodded as much as to say, here is a narrow corner, as
indeed I thought it was. Hislooks were now quite friendly, and I
was so revolted at these constant changesthat I could not forbear whispering. So
you've changed sides again. There wasno time left for him to answer.
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In the buccaneers, with oaths andcries, began to leap one after another
into the pit and to dig withtheir fingers, throwing the boards aside as
they did so, Morgan found apiece of gold. He held it up
with a perfect spout of oaths.It was a too guinea piece, and
it went from hand to hand amongthem for aquar of a minute. Two
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guineas, roared Mary, shaking itat silver. That's your seven hundred thousand
pounds, is it? You're theman for bargains, ain't you? You're
him that never bungled nothing, Youwooden headed lubber dagg away boys, said
silver with the coolest insolence. Y'a'llfind some pig nuts. I shouldn't wonder
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pig nuts, repeated Mary in ascream. Mates, do you hear that?
I tell you now that man thereknew it all along. Look in
the face of him, and you'llsee it, wrote there Ah, Mary
remarked, Silver standing for a cut, And again you're a pushing lad,
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to be sure. But this timeeveryone was entirely in Mary's favor. They
began to scramble out of the excavation, darting fury glances behind them. One
thing I observed which looked well forus. They all got out upon the
opposite side from Silver. Well,there we stood, two on one side,
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five on the other. The pitbetween us and nobody screwed up high
enough to offer the first blow.Silver never moved. He watched them very
upright on his crutch, and lookedas cool as ever I saw him.
He was brave and no mistake.At last, Mary seemed to think a
speech might help matters. Mates,said he there's two of them alone here.
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One's the old cripple that brought usall here and blundered us down to
this. The other's that cub thatI mean to have the heart of now.
Mates. He was raising his armand his voice and plainly meant to
lead a charge. But just then, crack, crack, crack, three
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musket shots lashed out of the thicket. Merry tumbled head foremost into the excavation.
The man with the bandage spun roundlike a teetotem and fell all his
length upon his side, where helay dead but still twitching. And the
other three turned and ran for itwith all their might. Before you could
wink, long, John fired twobarrels of a pistol into the struggling merry,
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and as the man rolled up hiseyes at him in the last agony,
George said, he I reck,I selled you. In the same
moment the doctor Gray and Ben Gunnjoined us with smoking muskets from among the
nutmeg trees. Forward, cried thedoctor double quick, my lads, we
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must head him off the boats.And we set off at a great pace,
sometimes plunging through the bushes to thechest. I tell you, but
Silver was anxious to keep up withus. The work that man went through,
leaping on his crutch till the musclesof his chest were fit to burst,
was work no sound man ever equalled. And so thinks the doctor.
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As it was, he was alreadythirty yards behind us and on the verge
of strangling. When we reached thebrow of the slope. Doctor, he
hailed, see the no hurry.Sure enough there was no hurry. In
a more open part of the plateau, we could see the three survivors still
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running in the same direction as theyhad started, right for Middenmast Hill.
We were already between them and theboats, and so we four sat down
to breathe, while long John,mopping his face, came slowly up with
us. Thank ye kindly, doctorsays he. You came in in about
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the neck. I guess from meand Arkins, and so it's you Ben
Go. He added, Well you'rea noice one, to be sure.
I'm Ben Gunn. I am repliedthe Maroon, wriggling like an eel in
his embarrassment, and he added,after a long pause, how do mister
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Silver pretty well? I thank ye, says you. Ben Ben murmured Silver,
to think as you've done me.The doctor sent back Gray for one
of the pickaxes deserted in their flightby the mutineers, and then as we
proceeded leisurely downhill to where the boatswere lying, related in a few words
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what had taken place. It wasa story that profoundly interested Silver and Ben
Gunn, the half idiot Maroon wasthe hero from beginning to end. Ben
in his long lonely wanderings about theisland had found the skeleton. It was
he that had rifled it. Hehad found the treasure, he had dug
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it up. It was the halftof his pickaxe that lay broken in the
excavation. He had carried it onhis back in many weary journeys from the
foot of the tall Pine to acave he had on the two pointed Hill
at the northeast angle of the island, and there it had lain stored in
safety since two months before the arrivalof the Hispaniola. When the doctor had
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wormed the secret from him on theafternoon of the attack, and when next
morning he saw the anchorage deserted,he had gone to silver, given him
the chart which was now useless,given him the stores for ben Gunn's cave
was well supplied with goat's meat,salted by himself, given anything and everything
to get a chance of moving insafety from the stockade to the two pointed
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Hill, there to be clear ofmalaria and keep a guard upon the money.
As for you, Jim, hesaid, it went against my heart,
but I did what I thought bestfor those who had stood by their
duty. And if you were notone of these whose fault was it?
That morning, finding that I wasto be involved in the horrid disappointment he
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had prepared for the mutineers, hehad run all the way to the cave,
and, leaving Squire to guard,the Captain, had taken Gray and
the Maroon and started making the diagonalacross the island to be at hand beside
the pine. Soon, however,he saw that our party had the start
of him, and ben Gunn,being fleet of foot, had been dispatched
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in front to do his best alone. Then it had occurred to him to
work upon the superstitions of his formershipmates, and he was so far successful
that Gray and the Doctor had comeup and were already ambushed before the arrival
of the treasure hunters. Ah saidSilver, it was farch in it for
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me that I had Hearken's ear.You would have let old Lungjohn be cut
to bit, and never a thought, Darktor, not a thought, replied
Doctor Livesey cheerily. And by thistime we had reached the gigs. The
Doctor with the pickaxe demolished one ofthem. Then we all got aboard the
other and set out to go roundby the sea for North Inlet. This
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was a run of eight or ninemiles. Silver, though he was almost
killed already with fatigue, was setto an oar like the rest of us,
and we were soon skimming swiftly overa smooth sea. Soon we passed
out of the straits and doubled thesoutheast corner of the island, round which
four days ago we had towed theHispaniola. As we passed the two pointed
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hill, we could see the blackmouth of ben Gunn's cave, and a
figure standing by it, leaning ona musket. It was the Squire,
and we waved a handkerchief and gavehim three cheers, in which the voice
of Silver joined as heartily as any. Three miles farther, just inside the
mouth of north Inlet, what shouldwe meet but the Hispaniola, cruising by
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herself. The last flood had liftedher, and had there been much wind
or a strong tide current, asin the southern anchorage, we should never
have found her more, or foundher stranded beyond help. As it was,
there was little amiss beyond the wreckof the mainsail. Another anchor was
got ready and dropped in a fathomand a half of water. We all
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pulled round to rum Cove, thenearest point for Ben Gunn's treasure house.
Then Gray, single handed returned withthe gig to the Hispaniola, where he
was to pass the night on guard. A gentle slope ran up from the
beach to the entrance of the cave. At the top, the Squire met
us to me. He was cordialand kind, saying nothing of my escapade
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either in the way of blame orpraise. At Silver's polite salute, he
somewhat flushed. John Silver, Hesaid, you're a prodigious villain and impostor,
a monstrous impostor, Sir, Iam told I am not to prosecute
you. Well, then I willnot, But the dead men, Sir,
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hang about your neck like Millstone's.Thank you kindly, sir, replied
long John again, saluting, howdare you thank me? Cried the squire,
It is a gross dereliction of myduty. Stand back, And thereupon
we all entered the cave. Itwas a large, airy place, with
a little spring and a pool ofclear water overhung with ferns. The floor
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was sand. Before a big firelay Captain Smollett, and in a far
corner, only duskily flitted over bythe blaze, I beheld great heaps of
coin and quadrilaterals built of bars ofgold. That was Flint's treasure, that
we had come so far to seek, and that had cast already the lives
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of seventeen men from the Hispaniola.How many it had cost in the amassing,
What blood and sorrow? What goodships scuttled on the deep? What
brave men walking the plank blindfold?What shot of cannon? What shame and
lies and cruelty? Perhaps no manalive could tell. Yet there were still
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three upon that island, Silver andOld Morgan and Ben Gunn, who had
each taken his share in these crimes, as each yet hoped in vain to
share in the reward. Come in, Jim, said the captain. You're
a good boy in your line,Jim, but I don't think you and
me'll go to sea again. You'retoo much of the born. Favorite for
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me is that you John Silver.What brings you here? Man? Come
back to my duty, sir,returned Silver. Oh, said the captain,
And that was all he said.What a supper I had of it
that night with all my friends aroundme, and what a meal it was
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with Ben Gunn's salted goat, andsome delicacies, and a bottle of old
wine from the Hispaniola. Never Iam sure were people gayer or happier,
and there was silver, sitting backalmost out of the firelight, but eating
heartily, prompt to spring forward whenanything was wanted, even joining quietly in
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our laughter. The same bland obsequiousseamen of the voyage out end of chapter
thirty three, Chapter thirty four,and last the next morning we fell early
to work for the transportation of thisgreat mass of gold near a mile by
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land to the beach, and thencethree miles by boat to the Hispaniola.
Was a considerable task for so smalla number of workmen. The three fellows
still abroad upon the island did notgreatly trouble us. A single sentry on
the shoulder of the hill was sufficientto ensure us against any sudden onslaught,
and we thought, besides they hadhad more than enough of fighting. Therefore,
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the work was pushed on briskly.Gray and Ben Gunn came and went
with the boat, while the rest, during their absences, piled at treasure
on the beach. Two of thebars slung in a Rope's end made a
good load for a grown man,one that he was glad to walk slowly
with. For my part, Iwas not so much use at carrying.
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I was kept busy all day inthe cave, packing the minted money into
bread bags. It was a strangecollection, like Billy Bone's hoard for the
diversity of coinage, but so muchlarger and so much more varied than I
think. I never had more pleasurethan in sorting them English, French,
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Spanish, Portuguese, George's and Louise's, to balloons and double guineas and moire
doors and sequins, and pictures ofall the kings of Europe for the last
one hundred years, strange oriental pieces, stamped with what looked like wisps of
string or bits of spider's web,round pieces and square pieces, and pieces
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bored through the middle, as ifto wear them round your neck. Nearly
every variety of money in the worldmust, I think, have found a
place in that collection, And fornumber I am sure they were like autumn
leaves, so that my back achedwith stooping, and my fingers with sorting
them out. Day after day.This work went on by every evening a
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fortune had been stowed aboard, butthere was another fortune waiting for the morrow.
And all this time we heard nothingof the three surviving mutineers. At
last, I think it was onthe third nine night the Doctor and I
were strolling on the shoulder of thehill where it overlooks the lowlands of the
Isle, when from out of thethick darkness below, the wind brought us
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a noise between shrieking and singing.It was only a snatch that reached our
ears, followed by the former silence. Heaven forgive them, said the Doctor
Chios. The mutineers, all drunk, Sir struck in the voice of Silver
from behind us. Silver, Ishould say, was allowed his entire liberty,
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and, in spite of daily rebuffs, seemed to regard himself once more
as quite a privileged and friendly dependent. Indeed, it was remarkable how well
he bore these slights, and withwhat unwearying politeness he kept at trying to
ingratiate himself with all. Yet Ithink none treated him better than a dog,
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unless it was ben Gunn, whowas still terribly afraid of his old
quarter master, or myself, whohad really something to thank him for.
Although for that matter, I supposeI had reason to think even worse of
him than anybody else, for Ihad seen him meditating a fresh treachery upon
the plateau. Accordingly, it waspretty gruffly that the doctor answered him drunk
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or raving, said he right,you were sorrow, replied Silver, and
precious lettlelards witch to you and me. I suppose you would hardly ask me
to call you a humane man,returned the doctor with a sneer. And
so my feelings may surprise you,master Silver. But if I was sure
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they were raving, as I ammorally certain one at least of them is
down with fever, I should leavethis cambad, and whatever risked to my
own carcass, take them the assistanceof my skill. Ask your pardon,
sir. You would be very wrong, quoth Silver. You would lose your
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precious life in you made late that. I'm on your seed now, hand
and glove, and I shouldn't wishfor it to see the party weakened,
let alone yourself, seeing as Iknow what I owes you. But these
men down there, they couldn't keeptheir word, no, not supposing they
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wished to. And what's more,they couldn't believe as you could no,
said the doctor. You're the manto keep your word. We know that
well. That was about the lastnews we had of the three pirates.
Only once we heard a gun shota great way off and supposed them to
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be hunting. A council was heldand it was decided that we must desert
them on the island. To thehuge glee I must say of Ben Gunn,
and with the strong approval of Gray, we left a good stock of
powder and shot the bulk of thesalt goat, a few medicines and some
other necessities, tools, clothing asbare sail, a fathom or two of
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rope, and by the particular desireof the doctor, a handsome present of
tobacco. That was about our lastdoing on the island. Before that we
had got the treasure stowed, andhad shipped enough water and the remainder of
the goat meat in case of anydistress. And at last, one fine
morning we weighed anchor, which wasabout all that we could manage, and
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stood out of north Inlet. Thesame colors flying the captain had flown and
fought under at the palisade. Thethree fellows must have been watching us closer
than we thought, As we soonhad proved for coming through the narrows,
we had to lie very near thesouthern point, and there we saw all
three of them kneeling together on aspit of sand, with their arms raised
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in supplication. It went to allour hearts, I think, to leave
them in that wretched state, butwe could not risk another mutiny, and
to take them home for the Gibbetwould have been a cruel sort of kindness.
The doctor hailed them and told themof the stores we had left and
where they were to find them,But they continued to call us by name
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and appeal to us for God's sake, to be merciful and not to leave
them to die in such a place. At last, seeing the ship still
bore on her course and was nowswiftly drawing out of earshot, one of
them, I know not which itwas, leaped to his feet with a
hoarse cry, whipped his musket tohis shoulder, and sent a shot whistling
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over Silver's head and through the mainsail. After that we kept under cover of
the bulwarks, and when next Ilooked out, they had disappeared from the
spit, and the spit itself hadalmost melted out of sight in the growing
distance. That was at least theend of that and before noon, to
my inexpressionable joy, the highest rockof Treasure Island had sunk into the blue
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round of sea. We were soshort of men that everyone on board had
to bear a hand, only thecaptain, lying on a mattress in the
stern and giving his orders, forthough greatly recovered, he was still in
want of quiet. We laid herhead for the nearest port in South America,
for we could not risk the voyagehome without fresh hands. And as
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it was, what with baffling windsand a couple of fresh gales, we
were all worn out before we reachedit. It was almost sundown when we
cast Anchor in a most beautiful landlocked gulf, and were almost immediately surrounded
by shore boats full of Negroes andMexican Indians and half bloods, selling fruits
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and vegetables and offering to die forbits of money. The sight of so
many good humored faces, especially theblacks, the taste of the tropical fruits,
and above all the lights that beganto shine in the town made a
most charming contrast to our dark andbloody sojourn on the island, and the
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doctor and the Squire, taking mealong with them, went ashore to pass
the early part of the night.Here they met the captain of an english
man, O war fell in talkwith him, went on board his ship,
and in short had so agreeable atime that day was breaking when we
came alongside the Hispaniola ben Gunn wason deck alone, and as soon as
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we came on board, he beganwith wonderful contortions to make us a confession.
Silver was gone. The maroon hadconnived at his escape in a shore
boat some hours ago, and henow assured us that he had only done
so to preserve our lives, whichwould certainly have been forfeited if that man
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with the one leg had stained abold. But this was not all.
The sea cook had not gone emptyhanded. He had cut through a bulwalk
unobserved, and had removed one ofthe sacks of coin worth perhaps three or
four hundred guineas to help him onhis further wanderings. I think we were
all pleased to be so cheaply quitof him. Well, to make a
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long story short, we got afew hands on board made a good cruise
home, and the Hispaniola reached Bristoljust as mister Blandy was beginning to think
of fitting out her consort. Fivemen only of those who sailed returned with
her drink, and the devil haddone for the rest with a vengeance.
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Although to be sure, we werenot quite in so bad a case as
that other ship. They sung about. With one man of the crew alive,
what put to sea with seventy fiveAll of us had an ample share
of the treasure, and used itwisely or foolishly according to our natures.
Captain Smollett is now retired from thesea. Gray not only saved his money,
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but, being suddenly smit with thedesire to rise, also studied his
profession, and he is now ourmate and part owner of a fine full
rigged ship, married besides, andthe father of a family. As for
ben Gunn, he got a thousandpounds, which he spent or lost in
three weeks, or to be moreexact, in nineteen days, for he
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was back begging on the twentieth.Then he was given a lodge to keep
exactly as he'd feared upon the island, and he still lives a great favorite,
though something of a butt with thecountry boys, and a notable singer
in church on Sundays and Saints Daysof silver. We have heard no more.
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That formidable seafaring man with one leghas at last gone clean out of
my life. But I dare sayhe met his old negress, and perhaps
still lives in comfort with her andCaptain Flint. It is to be hoped,
so I suppose, for his chancesof comfort in another world are very
small. The bar, silver andarms still lie, for all that I
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know where Flint buried them, andcertainly they shall lie there. For me.
Oxen and wain ropes would not bringme back to that accursed island.
And the worst dreams that ever Ihave are when I hear the surf booming
about its coasts, or starting upin bed, with a sharp voice of
Captain Flint still ringing in my ears. Paces of eight pieces of eight end
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of Chapter thirty three and end ofTreasure Island. Fifty men on the dead
man's chest, yo ho and abottle of rum, and a bottle of
drink, and a bum yo hoho, and a right
Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson.This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
recordings are in the public domain.For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Treasure Islandby Robert Louis Stevenson, read by Adrian
Pratzellis, Santa Rosa, California,December twelve, two thousand seven, Chapter
(00:26):
thirty three, The Fall of aChieftain. There never was such an overturn
in this world. All of thesesix men was as through as he had
been struck, but with silver theblow passed almost instantly. Every thought of
his soul had been set full stretchlike a racer on that money. Well,
(00:48):
he was brought up in a singlesecond dead, and he kept his
head, found his temper, andchanged his plan before the others had had
time to realize the disappointment. Jim, he whispered, take that and stand
boy for trouble. And he passedme a double barreled pistol. At the
same time he began quietly moving northward, and in a few steps had put
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the hollow between us two and theother five. Then he looked at me
and nodded as much as to say, here is a narrow corner, as
indeed I thought it was. Hislooks were now quite friendly, and I
was so revolted at these constant changesthat I could not forbear whispering. So
you've changed sides again. There wasno time left for him to answer.
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In the buccaneers, with oaths andcries, began to leap one after another
into the pit and to dig withtheir fingers, throwing the boards aside as
they did so, Morgan found apiece of gold. He held it up
with a perfect spout of oaths.It was a too guinea piece, and
it went from hand to hand amongthem for aquar of a minute. Two
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guineas, roared Mary, shaking itat silver. That's your seven hundred thousand
pounds, is it? You're theman for bargains, ain't you? You're
him that never bungled nothing, Youwooden headed lubber dagg away boys, said
silver with the coolest insolence. Y'a'llfind some pig nuts. I shouldn't wonder
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pig nuts, repeated Mary in ascream. Mates, do you hear that?
I tell you now that man thereknew it all along. Look in
the face of him, and you'llsee it, wrote there Ah, Mary
remarked, Silver standing for a cut, And again you're a pushing lad,
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to be sure. But this timeeveryone was entirely in Mary's favor. They
began to scramble out of the excavation, darting fury glances behind them. One
thing I observed which looked well forus. They all got out upon the
opposite side from Silver. Well,there we stood, two on one side,
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five on the other. The pitbetween us and nobody screwed up high
enough to offer the first blow.Silver never moved. He watched them very
upright on his crutch, and lookedas cool as ever I saw him.
He was brave and no mistake.At last, Mary seemed to think a
speech might help matters. Mates,said he there's two of them alone here.
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One's the old cripple that brought usall here and blundered us down to
this. The other's that cub thatI mean to have the heart of now.
Mates. He was raising his armand his voice and plainly meant to
lead a charge. But just then, crack, crack, crack, three
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musket shots lashed out of the thicket. Merry tumbled head foremost into the excavation.
The man with the bandage spun roundlike a teetotem and fell all his
length upon his side, where helay dead but still twitching. And the
other three turned and ran for itwith all their might. Before you could
wink, long, John fired twobarrels of a pistol into the struggling merry,
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and as the man rolled up hiseyes at him in the last agony,
George said, he I reck,I selled you. In the same
moment the doctor Gray and Ben Gunnjoined us with smoking muskets from among the
nutmeg trees. Forward, cried thedoctor double quick, my lads, we
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must head him off the boats.And we set off at a great pace,
sometimes plunging through the bushes to thechest. I tell you, but
Silver was anxious to keep up withus. The work that man went through,
leaping on his crutch till the musclesof his chest were fit to burst,
was work no sound man ever equalled. And so thinks the doctor.
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As it was, he was alreadythirty yards behind us and on the verge
of strangling. When we reached thebrow of the slope. Doctor, he
hailed, see the no hurry.Sure enough there was no hurry. In
a more open part of the plateau, we could see the three survivors still
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running in the same direction as theyhad started, right for Middenmast Hill.
We were already between them and theboats, and so we four sat down
to breathe, while long John,mopping his face, came slowly up with
us. Thank ye kindly, doctorsays he. You came in in about
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the neck. I guess from meand Arkins, and so it's you Ben
Go. He added, Well you'rea noice one, to be sure.
I'm Ben Gunn. I am repliedthe Maroon, wriggling like an eel in
his embarrassment, and he added,after a long pause, how do mister
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Silver pretty well? I thank ye, says you. Ben Ben murmured Silver,
to think as you've done me.The doctor sent back Gray for one
of the pickaxes deserted in their flightby the mutineers, and then as we
proceeded leisurely downhill to where the boatswere lying, related in a few words
(06:39):
what had taken place. It wasa story that profoundly interested Silver and Ben
Gunn, the half idiot Maroon wasthe hero from beginning to end. Ben
in his long lonely wanderings about theisland had found the skeleton. It was
he that had rifled it. Hehad found the treasure, he had dug
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it up. It was the halftof his pickaxe that lay broken in the
excavation. He had carried it onhis back in many weary journeys from the
foot of the tall Pine to acave he had on the two pointed Hill
at the northeast angle of the island, and there it had lain stored in
safety since two months before the arrivalof the Hispaniola. When the doctor had
(07:24):
wormed the secret from him on theafternoon of the attack, and when next
morning he saw the anchorage deserted,he had gone to silver, given him
the chart which was now useless,given him the stores for ben Gunn's cave
was well supplied with goat's meat,salted by himself, given anything and everything
to get a chance of moving insafety from the stockade to the two pointed
(07:47):
Hill, there to be clear ofmalaria and keep a guard upon the money.
As for you, Jim, hesaid, it went against my heart,
but I did what I thought bestfor those who had stood by their
duty. And if you were notone of these whose fault was it?
That morning, finding that I wasto be involved in the horrid disappointment he
(08:11):
had prepared for the mutineers, hehad run all the way to the cave,
and, leaving Squire to guard,the Captain, had taken Gray and
the Maroon and started making the diagonalacross the island to be at hand beside
the pine. Soon, however,he saw that our party had the start
of him, and ben Gunn,being fleet of foot, had been dispatched
(08:33):
in front to do his best alone. Then it had occurred to him to
work upon the superstitions of his formershipmates, and he was so far successful
that Gray and the Doctor had comeup and were already ambushed before the arrival
of the treasure hunters. Ah saidSilver, it was farch in it for
(08:54):
me that I had Hearken's ear.You would have let old Lungjohn be cut
to bit, and never a thought, Darktor, not a thought, replied
Doctor Livesey cheerily. And by thistime we had reached the gigs. The
Doctor with the pickaxe demolished one ofthem. Then we all got aboard the
other and set out to go roundby the sea for North Inlet. This
(09:18):
was a run of eight or ninemiles. Silver, though he was almost
killed already with fatigue, was setto an oar like the rest of us,
and we were soon skimming swiftly overa smooth sea. Soon we passed
out of the straits and doubled thesoutheast corner of the island, round which
four days ago we had towed theHispaniola. As we passed the two pointed
(09:43):
hill, we could see the blackmouth of ben Gunn's cave, and a
figure standing by it, leaning ona musket. It was the Squire,
and we waved a handkerchief and gavehim three cheers, in which the voice
of Silver joined as heartily as any. Three miles farther, just inside the
mouth of north Inlet, what shouldwe meet but the Hispaniola, cruising by
(10:07):
herself. The last flood had liftedher, and had there been much wind
or a strong tide current, asin the southern anchorage, we should never
have found her more, or foundher stranded beyond help. As it was,
there was little amiss beyond the wreckof the mainsail. Another anchor was
got ready and dropped in a fathomand a half of water. We all
(10:30):
pulled round to rum Cove, thenearest point for Ben Gunn's treasure house.
Then Gray, single handed returned withthe gig to the Hispaniola, where he
was to pass the night on guard. A gentle slope ran up from the
beach to the entrance of the cave. At the top, the Squire met
us to me. He was cordialand kind, saying nothing of my escapade
(10:52):
either in the way of blame orpraise. At Silver's polite salute, he
somewhat flushed. John Silver, Hesaid, you're a prodigious villain and impostor,
a monstrous impostor, Sir, Iam told I am not to prosecute
you. Well, then I willnot, But the dead men, Sir,
(11:13):
hang about your neck like Millstone's.Thank you kindly, sir, replied
long John again, saluting, howdare you thank me? Cried the squire,
It is a gross dereliction of myduty. Stand back, And thereupon
we all entered the cave. Itwas a large, airy place, with
a little spring and a pool ofclear water overhung with ferns. The floor
(11:37):
was sand. Before a big firelay Captain Smollett, and in a far
corner, only duskily flitted over bythe blaze, I beheld great heaps of
coin and quadrilaterals built of bars ofgold. That was Flint's treasure, that
we had come so far to seek, and that had cast already the lives
(11:58):
of seventeen men from the Hispaniola.How many it had cost in the amassing,
What blood and sorrow? What goodships scuttled on the deep? What
brave men walking the plank blindfold?What shot of cannon? What shame and
lies and cruelty? Perhaps no manalive could tell. Yet there were still
(12:20):
three upon that island, Silver andOld Morgan and Ben Gunn, who had
each taken his share in these crimes, as each yet hoped in vain to
share in the reward. Come in, Jim, said the captain. You're
a good boy in your line,Jim, but I don't think you and
me'll go to sea again. You'retoo much of the born. Favorite for
(12:46):
me is that you John Silver.What brings you here? Man? Come
back to my duty, sir,returned Silver. Oh, said the captain,
And that was all he said.What a supper I had of it
that night with all my friends aroundme, and what a meal it was
(13:07):
with Ben Gunn's salted goat, andsome delicacies, and a bottle of old
wine from the Hispaniola. Never Iam sure were people gayer or happier,
and there was silver, sitting backalmost out of the firelight, but eating
heartily, prompt to spring forward whenanything was wanted, even joining quietly in
(13:28):
our laughter. The same bland obsequiousseamen of the voyage out end of chapter
thirty three, Chapter thirty four,and last the next morning we fell early
to work for the transportation of thisgreat mass of gold near a mile by
(13:50):
land to the beach, and thencethree miles by boat to the Hispaniola.
Was a considerable task for so smalla number of workmen. The three fellows
still abroad upon the island did notgreatly trouble us. A single sentry on
the shoulder of the hill was sufficientto ensure us against any sudden onslaught,
and we thought, besides they hadhad more than enough of fighting. Therefore,
(14:15):
the work was pushed on briskly.Gray and Ben Gunn came and went
with the boat, while the rest, during their absences, piled at treasure
on the beach. Two of thebars slung in a Rope's end made a
good load for a grown man,one that he was glad to walk slowly
with. For my part, Iwas not so much use at carrying.
(14:39):
I was kept busy all day inthe cave, packing the minted money into
bread bags. It was a strangecollection, like Billy Bone's hoard for the
diversity of coinage, but so muchlarger and so much more varied than I
think. I never had more pleasurethan in sorting them English, French,
(15:00):
Spanish, Portuguese, George's and Louise's, to balloons and double guineas and moire
doors and sequins, and pictures ofall the kings of Europe for the last
one hundred years, strange oriental pieces, stamped with what looked like wisps of
string or bits of spider's web,round pieces and square pieces, and pieces
(15:22):
bored through the middle, as ifto wear them round your neck. Nearly
every variety of money in the worldmust, I think, have found a
place in that collection, And fornumber I am sure they were like autumn
leaves, so that my back achedwith stooping, and my fingers with sorting
them out. Day after day.This work went on by every evening a
(15:46):
fortune had been stowed aboard, butthere was another fortune waiting for the morrow.
And all this time we heard nothingof the three surviving mutineers. At
last, I think it was onthe third nine night the Doctor and I
were strolling on the shoulder of thehill where it overlooks the lowlands of the
Isle, when from out of thethick darkness below, the wind brought us
(16:08):
a noise between shrieking and singing.It was only a snatch that reached our
ears, followed by the former silence. Heaven forgive them, said the Doctor
Chios. The mutineers, all drunk, Sir struck in the voice of Silver
from behind us. Silver, Ishould say, was allowed his entire liberty,
(16:30):
and, in spite of daily rebuffs, seemed to regard himself once more
as quite a privileged and friendly dependent. Indeed, it was remarkable how well
he bore these slights, and withwhat unwearying politeness he kept at trying to
ingratiate himself with all. Yet Ithink none treated him better than a dog,
(16:52):
unless it was ben Gunn, whowas still terribly afraid of his old
quarter master, or myself, whohad really something to thank him for.
Although for that matter, I supposeI had reason to think even worse of
him than anybody else, for Ihad seen him meditating a fresh treachery upon
the plateau. Accordingly, it waspretty gruffly that the doctor answered him drunk
(17:17):
or raving, said he right,you were sorrow, replied Silver, and
precious lettlelards witch to you and me. I suppose you would hardly ask me
to call you a humane man,returned the doctor with a sneer. And
so my feelings may surprise you,master Silver. But if I was sure
(17:37):
they were raving, as I ammorally certain one at least of them is
down with fever, I should leavethis cambad, and whatever risked to my
own carcass, take them the assistanceof my skill. Ask your pardon,
sir. You would be very wrong, quoth Silver. You would lose your
(17:57):
precious life in you made late that. I'm on your seed now, hand
and glove, and I shouldn't wishfor it to see the party weakened,
let alone yourself, seeing as Iknow what I owes you. But these
men down there, they couldn't keeptheir word, no, not supposing they
(18:18):
wished to. And what's more,they couldn't believe as you could no,
said the doctor. You're the manto keep your word. We know that
well. That was about the lastnews we had of the three pirates.
Only once we heard a gun shota great way off and supposed them to
(18:38):
be hunting. A council was heldand it was decided that we must desert
them on the island. To thehuge glee I must say of Ben Gunn,
and with the strong approval of Gray, we left a good stock of
powder and shot the bulk of thesalt goat, a few medicines and some
other necessities, tools, clothing asbare sail, a fathom or two of
(19:02):
rope, and by the particular desireof the doctor, a handsome present of
tobacco. That was about our lastdoing on the island. Before that we
had got the treasure stowed, andhad shipped enough water and the remainder of
the goat meat in case of anydistress. And at last, one fine
morning we weighed anchor, which wasabout all that we could manage, and
(19:25):
stood out of north Inlet. Thesame colors flying the captain had flown and
fought under at the palisade. Thethree fellows must have been watching us closer
than we thought, As we soonhad proved for coming through the narrows,
we had to lie very near thesouthern point, and there we saw all
three of them kneeling together on aspit of sand, with their arms raised
(19:48):
in supplication. It went to allour hearts, I think, to leave
them in that wretched state, butwe could not risk another mutiny, and
to take them home for the Gibbetwould have been a cruel sort of kindness.
The doctor hailed them and told themof the stores we had left and
where they were to find them,But they continued to call us by name
(20:11):
and appeal to us for God's sake, to be merciful and not to leave
them to die in such a place. At last, seeing the ship still
bore on her course and was nowswiftly drawing out of earshot, one of
them, I know not which itwas, leaped to his feet with a
hoarse cry, whipped his musket tohis shoulder, and sent a shot whistling
(20:33):
over Silver's head and through the mainsail. After that we kept under cover of
the bulwarks, and when next Ilooked out, they had disappeared from the
spit, and the spit itself hadalmost melted out of sight in the growing
distance. That was at least theend of that and before noon, to
my inexpressionable joy, the highest rockof Treasure Island had sunk into the blue
(20:56):
round of sea. We were soshort of men that everyone on board had
to bear a hand, only thecaptain, lying on a mattress in the
stern and giving his orders, forthough greatly recovered, he was still in
want of quiet. We laid herhead for the nearest port in South America,
for we could not risk the voyagehome without fresh hands. And as
(21:19):
it was, what with baffling windsand a couple of fresh gales, we
were all worn out before we reachedit. It was almost sundown when we
cast Anchor in a most beautiful landlocked gulf, and were almost immediately surrounded
by shore boats full of Negroes andMexican Indians and half bloods, selling fruits
(21:40):
and vegetables and offering to die forbits of money. The sight of so
many good humored faces, especially theblacks, the taste of the tropical fruits,
and above all the lights that beganto shine in the town made a
most charming contrast to our dark andbloody sojourn on the island, and the
(22:00):
doctor and the Squire, taking mealong with them, went ashore to pass
the early part of the night.Here they met the captain of an english
man, O war fell in talkwith him, went on board his ship,
and in short had so agreeable atime that day was breaking when we
came alongside the Hispaniola ben Gunn wason deck alone, and as soon as
(22:23):
we came on board, he beganwith wonderful contortions to make us a confession.
Silver was gone. The maroon hadconnived at his escape in a shore
boat some hours ago, and henow assured us that he had only done
so to preserve our lives, whichwould certainly have been forfeited if that man
(22:45):
with the one leg had stained abold. But this was not all.
The sea cook had not gone emptyhanded. He had cut through a bulwalk
unobserved, and had removed one ofthe sacks of coin worth perhaps three or
four hundred guineas to help him onhis further wanderings. I think we were
all pleased to be so cheaply quitof him. Well, to make a
(23:07):
long story short, we got afew hands on board made a good cruise
home, and the Hispaniola reached Bristoljust as mister Blandy was beginning to think
of fitting out her consort. Fivemen only of those who sailed returned with
her drink, and the devil haddone for the rest with a vengeance.
(23:29):
Although to be sure, we werenot quite in so bad a case as
that other ship. They sung about. With one man of the crew alive,
what put to sea with seventy fiveAll of us had an ample share
of the treasure, and used itwisely or foolishly according to our natures.
Captain Smollett is now retired from thesea. Gray not only saved his money,
(23:52):
but, being suddenly smit with thedesire to rise, also studied his
profession, and he is now ourmate and part owner of a fine full
rigged ship, married besides, andthe father of a family. As for
ben Gunn, he got a thousandpounds, which he spent or lost in
three weeks, or to be moreexact, in nineteen days, for he
(24:17):
was back begging on the twentieth.Then he was given a lodge to keep
exactly as he'd feared upon the island, and he still lives a great favorite,
though something of a butt with thecountry boys, and a notable singer
in church on Sundays and Saints Daysof silver. We have heard no more.
(24:37):
That formidable seafaring man with one leghas at last gone clean out of
my life. But I dare sayhe met his old negress, and perhaps
still lives in comfort with her andCaptain Flint. It is to be hoped,
so I suppose, for his chancesof comfort in another world are very
small. The bar, silver andarms still lie, for all that I
(25:02):
know where Flint buried them, andcertainly they shall lie there. For me.
Oxen and wain ropes would not bringme back to that accursed island.
And the worst dreams that ever Ihave are when I hear the surf booming
about its coasts, or starting upin bed, with a sharp voice of
Captain Flint still ringing in my ears. Paces of eight pieces of eight end
(25:29):
of Chapter thirty three and end ofTreasure Island. Fifty men on the dead
man's chest, yo ho and abottle of rum, and a bottle of
drink, and a bum yo hoho, and a right
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