Long, long ago, there lived a smart young boy named Jim Hawkins. His parents owned the Admiral Benbow Inn beside the sea. Jim Hawkins loved adventure. One day, a sailor named Billy Bones came to stay in their Inn. He was a tall and huge man. He also had a big scar across one of his cheeks. He looked like a pirate and carried a heavy iron chest with him.
Young Jim Hawkins was inquisitive to know what was inside that heavy iron chest.
Throughout the day, Billy Bones would be looking at the ships through the window of the Inn. No one talked to him because he was rude. But Jim was impressed with Billy’s strength. Billy told Jim about his adventures at sea and warned him about the one-legged man.
Jim’s parents were unhappy because Billy Bones never paid his bills.
One day, a strange blind man named Pew came to the Inn and asked for Billy Bones. He gave Billy a piece of paper with a black dot in the centre. Billy Bones looked at the paper and fell on the floor. He dropped dead. Jim Hawkins came running to see what happened but it was too late.
Jim and his mother went to Billy’s room and found the heavy iron chest under his bed. They opened it and were shocked to see the bags of gold coins! They decided to use the gold for the bills that Billy had not paid. They also found an old roll of paper.
Suddenly, they heard gunshots outside. Three policemen who were standing near by also heard the gunshots. They rushed on to the scene and found two gangs of pirates fighting among themselves. Seeing the policemen, the pirates ran away. Jim immediately understood that the pirates must have come to get Billy’s chest. He at once decided to go and meet his friend, the Squire.
The Squire patiently listened to what Jim told him about Billy, the chest, the rolled paper and the attack. “It looks to me like a map of some hidden treasure,” said Jim to the Squire pulling out the paper. “Indeed it does,” agreed the Squire. They spread out the paper and discovered that it was a map of an island revealing the path to a buried treasure.
Quite excited, the Squire decided to go to the island himself and hunt for the treasure. “We should set sail immediately to look for this treasure.” So, the next day, Jim and the Squire boarded a ship named Hispaniola and sailed to Treasure Island.
On the first day of their journey, Jim met the cook, Long John Silver, who had only one leg. No sooner did Jim meet him than he remembered Billy’s warning against the one-legged man. He became very doubtful and stayed away from Long John Silver as much as possible. But Jim’s doubts disappeared when he talked to him. Long John Silver seemed a nice, cheerful man. He took Jim to his kitchen and while cooking, told him funny stories.
After dinner one night, Jim was crawling into a large barrel to get an apple when he fell inside. As he was coming out of the barrel, he heard footsteps. It was Long John Silver. He and his men were plotting to kill the Squire and get the treasure! Long John Silver said, “Tomorrow we will reach Treasure Island. As soon as I give the signal, we will take all passengers on board as prisoners. Then we can take the map and dig up the treasure. Let us go back to our places before anyone sees us.”
When Jim was sure everyone had gone, he came out of the barrel and warned the Squire of Long John Silver’s plan. The Squire asked him to wait until they reached the island. He also warned the others to be careful of Long John Silver. Soon, they arrived at the island and everyone got into the rowboat to get to the shore.
Long John Silver had become suspicious of the Squire and as soon as the island became visible, Long John Silver jumped out of the boat to get ashore first. Once the ship touched the shore, Jim also jumped out and ran into the forest before anyone could stop him. There, he met a tattered old man, who said, “I am Ben Gunn; I have been shipwrecked in this island for twenty years. I suppose you have come to look for the treasure.” Jim nodded and said, “I jumped off the ship; there are dangerous men on that ship. Please help me; my friend the Squire is on that ship too.” Ben Gunn agreed to help Jim.
They hid behind the bushes and saw the Squire and Long John Silver fighting with each other. Long John Silver ran into the bushes where he found Jim and Ben Gunn. He asked them to accompany him in the search for the treasure. Jim Hawkins unwillingly agreed. He had no other choice.
As they walked, they came across a skeleton and a big hole in the ground. Everyone thought that he had found the treasure and started to dig at once. Meanwhile, the Squire came after Long John Silver with the other members of crew. Silver and his men were defeated. Silver surrendered and apologized for his mistakes and was forgiven.
Actually, Ben Gunn had already found the treasure earlier and had moved it to a safe place. He finally led them all to the treasure. Early next morning, they were all set to journey back home.
