ROBERT L. STEVENSON: TREASURE ISLAND

My name is Jim Hawkins. I want to tell you the great adventure of Treasure Island.

Many years ago I was a boy and I lived with my parents at the Benbow Inn.

One day an old seaman with a scar on a cheek came into our inn.
“Call me Captain and give me some rum-he said- I like this place and I will stay here”.

He gave my father four golden coins.

He always sat near the fire drinking rum . He was often drunk.

I was worried because my father was ill.

One morning I found the Captain on the floor and the Dr.Livesey, who was there for my father, said that the Captain was seriously ill.
“He must stop drinking rum” he said.

The Captain said to me: “I am in great danger. If you see a seaman with one leg, you must run to doctor Livesey and tell him that Flint’s pirates are there. They are dangerous . Keep your eyes open!”

The next day my father died and the Capitan was better.

One day a blind old man with a stick came and asked to see the Captain. 

The man put something into the Captain’s hand and went away.

The Captain opened his hand and I saw the black spot on it.

The Captain fell on the floor, dead.

I called my mother and we decided to take the money into the Captain’s chest.

My mother took a few coins and I took some old papers. We heard the sound of the blind man’s stick and we ran away.

We went to Dr. Livesey’s house. He was with a friend an important man called Mr. Trelawney. 
I showed them the Captain’s papers.

Imagine our surprise when we saw that the papers contained the map of an island, where there was a treasure.

Mr. Trelaney decided to go to Bristol and to find a ship and a crew. Dr. Livesey said to him: “Don’t tell anybody about the map because Flint’s men are looking for the treasure and they are very dangerous men!”

A few days later, the doctor and I went to Bristol. Mr. Trelawney had found a ship, called Hispaniola, and a crew.

The captain Mr. Smollet was very worried, because Mr. Trelawney had told everybody about the treasure.

The cook was a seaman called Long John Silver. He had a parrot, called Captain Flint. The parrot often repeated: “Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”

Silver was very kind and everybody on the ship liked him.

The voyage went on well, until one day I wanted an apple and I went to the barrel and I climbed into it.

While I sat on the bottom, two men came and stopped near the barrel. One of them was Silver.

He began to talk and I understood that he was a pirate and that he wanted the treasure.

I ran to talk to Mr. Trelawney and Dr. Livesey. They said: “We must be careful and prepared the fight.”

The ship approached the land and the captain Mr. Smollet let the men go on shore.

While Silver and twelve men got into the boats, I slipped into one and I landed a few minutes before Silver’s boat. 
I got out of it and ran away. But Silver saw me. 

I watched what two of the seamen were killed by the pirates. 

I was scared. I saw a man I didn’t know.

“My name is Ben Gun-he said-I have been on this island for three years.”

I told him the story and about Silver, he said that he knew him, because they had been together on Flint’s ship. 
He said: “Don’t be afraid of me. I will help you and yours friends.”

Ben Gun had a small boat and we decided to use it. 

We heard a gun firing and I saw the English flat flying above the trees. 
I understood that my friends were on the island, too.

They had seen on the map that there was a log-house protected with a stockade.

They had run there. I ran towards the stockade and my friends were very happy to see that I was safe.

When morning came, Silver was outside carrying a white flag: “Give me the map-he said-if you want to save yours lives.”

“Never” said Capitain Smollet.

We took our position, waiting for the attack.

Soon the pirates began shooting.

We had a good shelter and we won. The pirates had lost five men and we had lost three.

The following day I took Gun’s boat . 

I rowed the Hispaniola and cut the rope that tied the ship. 

I remained in the little boat. 
When daylight came, I decided to go and I caught a rope and climbed on board.

With great difficulty I managed to sail towards the shore. 

When I was near the island, I let the ship settle down on the sand. 
I jumped into the sea. 

The night had fallen and I reached the log-house and entered.

A voice cried: “Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!” Silver took me.

“Kill the boy!” shouted one of the pirates.

Silver didn’t want and the pirates went outside to talk.

Silver said: “I will save you and you will save me from hanging when we go back to England.”

The men came back and handed Silver the black spot but Silver took out the treasure map and everybody cried: “You are our captain!”

The following morning the doctor came to the log-house and I could speak to him.

I told him that the ship was safe.

“Stay with Silver-he said-I am sure we will get the treasure and go back to England!”

Then he went away and we started the treasure hunt.

One of the men gave a loud cry, a skeleton was lying on the ground. His hand pointed in the direction of the treasure.

We heard a voice singing: “ Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest, oh oh oh and a bottle of rum!” and the pirates were scared.

We reached the spot marked on the map.

There was a hole and the treasure was not there!

I heard some gunshots and two of the pirates fell dead. The other three run away.

The doctor came out of the trees with Ben Gun and Gray.

The doctor told us that Ben Gun had found the treasure and hidden it in a cave.

We went to the shore and the Hispaniola was in the bay.

We carried the treasure to the sail then we sailed towards England.

We stopped in a harbor to buy something and when we came back we discovered that Silver had gone with a bag of money.

When we arrived at Bristol, we divided the treasure.

Now I am a rich man, sometimes I dream of the Treasure Island and I hear the Captain Flint’s voice, crying: “ Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!.