Our house was filled with sorrow and visitors. There was much work at the inn, and I had little time to think about the captain.

The next morning the captain came downstairs again. He was still weak, but he drank rum and walked slowly through the house, holding the walls for support. His temper grew worse, and sometimes he placed his cutlass on the table in front of him.

So matters continued until the day after my father’s funeral.

That afternoon I was standing at the inn door when I saw a strange figure coming slowly along the road.

The man was blind. He tapped the ground with a stick and wore a large green shade over his eyes. His old sea-cloak hung around him in a terrible shape.

He stopped near the inn and spoke loudly.

“Will any kind person tell a poor blind man where he is?”

“You are at the Admiral Benbow Inn,” I said.

“I hear a young voice,” he replied. “Will you give me your hand and lead me inside?”

I took his hand, but he suddenly gripped my arm like iron.

“Now, boy,” he said quietly, “take me to the captain.”

“I cannot,” I said. “The captain is dangerous.”

“Take me to him,” the blind man said coldly, “or I will break your arm.”

He twisted my arm painfully, and I had no choice but to obey.

We walked into the parlour where the captain sat drinking. The blind man held me tightly and whispered:

“When we reach him, say: ‘Here is a friend for you, Bill.’”

Terrified, I opened the door and spoke the words.

Treasure Island (adapted)

The captain looked up. At once the rum seemed to leave him. His face became pale with fear.

“Now, Bill,” said the blind man calmly, “sit still. Hold out your left hand.”

He made me take the captain’s hand and guide it toward him. Then he placed something small into the captain’s palm.

“And now my work is done,” he said.

He let go of me and quickly left the room. Soon I heard his stick tapping away down the road.

The captain stared at the paper in his hand.

“Ten o’clock!” he cried. “Six hours!”

He tried to stand, but suddenly he swayed. He put a hand to his throat, made a strange sound, and fell heavily to the floor.

My mother and I ran to help him, but it was too late. The captain was dead.

I had never liked the man, but when I saw him lying there I began to cry. It was the second death I had seen in two days.

Treasure Island (adapted)

Chapter IV.
The Sea Chest

I quickly told my mother everything I knew about the captain and the black spot. We understood at once that we were in danger.

The captain owed money to the inn, but his shipmates would not pay it willingly. The blind man and Black Dog were clearly dangerous men.

We decided to go to the nearby hamlet and ask for help.

It was evening when we ran through the cold fog to the village. Lights shone warmly from the houses, and I felt hope when we arrived.

But the villagers were afraid.

When they heard the name Captain Flint, they became even more frightened. Some men had already seen strangers on the road and a small ship in the nearby cove. They believed pirates were near. No one agreed to return with us to the inn.

At last my mother spoke firmly.

“This money belongs to my son,” she said. “If none of you will come, Jim and I will go ourselves and take what we are owed.”

The villagers still refused to come. At last they gave me a loaded pistol. One boy rode away to fetch Dr. Livesey.

My mother and I then walked back toward the Admiral Benbow through the cold night. The moon began to rise through the fog.

We entered the inn and locked the door behind us. The house was silent, and the captain’s body still lay on the floor.

My mother lit a candle and we went into the parlour.

“Close the window,” she whispered. “Someone might be watching.”

I knelt beside the body and searched the captain’s pockets. I found small coins, tobacco, a compass, and other objects, but no key.

“Perhaps it hangs around his neck,” my mother said.

I opened his shirt and found a key tied to a string. We cut the string and hurried upstairs to his room. His sea-chest stood where it always had. My mother opened it quickly.

Inside we found many things: good clothes, pistols, tobacco, silver, a watch, shells, and other small objects. At the bottom we discovered two important items: a bundle of papers wrapped in oilcloth and a heavy canvas bag that jingled with gold coins.

My mother began counting the money that the captain owed us. The coins were from many countries, and it was slow work.

Suddenly I heard a sound outside. Tap. Tap. Tap. It was the blind man’s stick on the frozen road.

The tapping came closer and stopped at the inn door. We heard him try the handle, but the door was locked. After a long moment the tapping moved away again.

“Mother,” I whispered, “take the money and let us leave.”

But she refused to take more than what was owed to us.

While she continued counting, we suddenly heard a whistle far away on the hill. That was enough.

Treasure Island (adapted)

“I will take what I have,” she said.

“I will take this,” I said, grabbing the oilskin packet.

We hurried downstairs, left the candle burning, and ran out of the inn.

We had just reached the road when we heard running footsteps behind us. Someone was coming quickly with a lantern.

My mother suddenly stopped.

“Take the money and run,” she said weakly. “I think I will faint.”

We had reached a small bridge. I helped her down under it, where we hid in the shadows. There we waited in fear, while the sound of the pirates came closer.

Treasure Island (adapted)

Chapter V.
The Last of the Blind Man

My fear was great, but my curiosity was stronger. I left my mother under the bridge and crept back to the bank. I hid behind a bush and looked toward the inn.

Soon the men came. There were seven or eight of them, running fast along the road. One man carried a lantern. Three men came together, and the man in the middle was the blind beggar. I knew him at once by his voice.

“Break down the door!” he cried.

Several men rushed to the Admiral Benbow. Then they stopped for a moment, surprised to find the door already open. But the blind man shouted again:

“In, in, in!”

Some ran into the house. Two men stayed outside with the blind man.

A moment later a voice cried from inside: “Bill is dead!”

The blind man cursed them for wasting time.

“Search him!” he shouted. “The rest of you go upstairs and get the chest!”

I heard heavy feet on the stairs. Then came another cry from the captain’s room. A window opened, and a man leaned out.

“Pew,” he called, “someone was here before us. The chest has been opened.”

“Is it there?” shouted Pew.

“The money is here.”

The blind man screamed in anger. “I mean Flint’s fist!”

“We do not see it,” the man replied.

Another man came to the door and shouted that Bill had already been searched, and nothing was left on him. Then Pew understood.

“It is the people from the inn,” he cried. “It is that boy. Scatter, lads, and find them.”

The pirates searched everywhere. They ran through the inn, threw furniture down, and kicked in doors. At last they came out again and said they could not find us.

Then the same whistle I had heard before sounded again from the hill. This time it came twice.

One of the men spoke at once.

“That is Dirk again. We must go.”

But Pew shouted at them angrily. He told them they were close to great riches and were too afraid to take them. He grew wild with rage and struck at them with his stick.

The men cursed him back. They argued loudly in the road.

This quarrel saved us. While they were still shouting, I heard a new sound from the hill: horses galloping. Then a pistol fired.

At once the pirates broke and ran in every direction. In a few seconds they were gone.

Only Pew remained. They had left him behind. He stood in the road, tapping with his stick and calling for his friends. Then the horsemen came into sight and rode quickly down the slope.

Pew heard them, gave a scream, and ran in the wrong direction. He fell into a ditch, got up again, and then ran straight under the nearest horse.

The rider tried to stop, but it was too late. The horse knocked Pew down and trampled him. He fell and did not move again. I jumped up and called to the riders.

They stopped at once. One was the boy who had gone to fetch help. The others were revenue officers. He had met them on the way, and they had come back with him. Because of news about a small ship in Kitt’s Hole, Supervisor Dance was already in the area that night. That is how my mother and I were saved. Pew was dead.

My mother was carried back to the hamlet. Soon she recovered, though she still spoke sadly about the money left behind.

Mr. Dance and his men rode on to Kitt’s Hole, but they were too late. The little ship had already gone. A man on the ship warned them to stay back, and then a shot was fired near Mr. Dance. Soon the ship sailed away into the night.

After that, Mr. Dance came back with me to the Admiral Benbow. The house was badly damaged. Furniture was broken, and even the clock had been thrown down. Only the captain’s money-bag and some silver from the till were missing, but I could see that the inn was ruined.

Mr. Dance asked what the pirates had really wanted.

“It was not money,” I said. “I think I have the thing they wanted here in my pocket.”

I told him I wanted to put it somewhere safe.

He offered to take it, but I said I would rather give it to Dr. Livesey.

“Quite right,” said Mr. Dance. “He is a gentleman and a magistrate. I will ride there myself, and you can come with me.”

I thanked him. After I told my mother, we mounted the horses. Mr. Dance told one of his men, Dogger, to take me up behind him. Then we set off at once for Dr. Livesey’s house.

Treasure Island (adapted)

Chapter VI.
The Captain’s Papers

We rode quickly to Dr. Livesey’s house, but when we arrived the front was dark.

I knocked, and a maid opened the door. She told us the doctor was not at home. He had gone to dine with the squire at the Hall. So we rode on again.

This time I ran beside the horses until we reached the Hall. Mr. Dance went in, and I went with him. A servant led us to a large library, where Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey sat by the fire with their pipes.

Mr. Dance told the whole story. The squire and the doctor listened with great surprise. When they heard how my mother had gone back to the inn, the doctor struck his leg with his hand, and the squire cried, “Bravo!”

When Mr. Dance finished, the squire praised him warmly and called for ale. Then Dr. Livesey turned to me.

“So, Jim, you have the thing they wanted?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, and gave him the oilskin packet.

The doctor looked at it carefully, but he did not open it at once. He put it in his coat pocket.

He told the squire that I should stay the night, and food was brought for me. I was very hungry and ate well while Mr. Dance finished his drink and then left.

After that, the doctor and the squire turned to the packet.

“You have heard of Flint?” asked the doctor.

“Heard of him?” cried the squire. “He was the worst pirate that ever sailed. The Spaniards feared him greatly.”

The doctor nodded.

“But the important question is this,” he said. “Did he have money?”