Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Table of Contents
Chapter 28 to Chapter 34
Part VI: Captain Silver
Chapter 28
In the Enemy’s Camp
Dick brings a torch for Silver, and Silver examines Jim. Silver’s demeanor is pleasant as ever, and Jim learns from the pirate that Smollett and the others are still alive. Yet, Jim surmises that a choice is being placed to him: He is to choose whether he will join the mutineers. Silver does not urge the boy to rush in his decision. Instead, he answers Jim’s questions concerning his friends.
Silver tells Jim that Livesey came in the morning to make a truce with the mutineers: In exchange for a safe exit from the house, Livesey would give Silver the map to the treasure and use of the stockade and house. Neither Silver nor Jim can makes sense of this deal, but Silver seems to understand that the jig is up, so to speak. He sees now in Jim his only chance for survival. Now that Jim knows where his friends are, he refuses to join Silver and the other pirates, and boldly tells them how he has cut the ship loose and killed the men aboard it. He finishes his declaration by telling Silver that he believes him to be the best man present and that if he will spare his life, Jim will see to it that the court takes it into account.
These words play on Silver’s mind, and when the other mutineers attempt to kill Jim for his brazenness, Silver stops them, challenging them boldly and asserting his own authority on the matter of what to do with the boy. His men do not like what Silver is up to, and they go outside for a meeting. They salute Silver as they pass, and Silver tells Jim that all is over, that the two of them must stick together. Silver asks Jim what Livesey gave over the map, but Jim has no answer. Silver appears to shrug it off, accepting the fact that the hunt is likely a bust and that the worst is yet to come. The pirate takes it all in stride.
Chapter 29
The Black Spot Again
One of the buccaneers...
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