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A
crusty old pirate (Billy Bones) comes to stay, and then eventually
to overstay his welcome.
He
arrives with a big, old locked sea chest that no one is allowed to
touch. It's all very mysterious.
Billy
used to sail with evil Captain Flint, a now-dead pirate who had
accumulated masses of treasure.
The
whereabouts of all this treasure is unknown.
During
a long winter, Jim's dad dies of "the consumption."
Sometime
later, Billy Bones up and dies of an alcohol-induced stroke.
Mom
and Jim open the sea chest to find rent money, but also find a
treasure map.
The
rest of the pirates come looking around, and wreck the place -- Jim
and his mom escape.
Dr.
Livesey and squire Trelawney come to help run the pirates off.
The
meaning of the map is discovered.
It's
where Captain Flint's treasure
is hidden!
It
is decided to charter a ship, and go find the treasure.
A
ship is chartered in Bristol -- The "Hispaniola."
Captain
Smollet and a crew are hired to run the ship.
The
ship has a total of 26 souls on board.
There
are 7 good guys -- Jim, the Doctor, the squire, the squire's three
servants, & Captain Smollet.
The
other 19 crew members are scurvy blokes, hired just for this trip.
Including
the ship's cook, Long John Silver.
Long
John has one leg, uses a crutch, has a pet parrot named "Captain
Flint."
There
is no mention of an eye patch.
The
crew are all experienced sailors, but that's all that's known about them.
(Background
checks were evidently not done very well back then)
During
the voyage --
.
. . . . Long John befriends Jim Hawkins. (Long John's a nice
guy . . )
.
. . . . The
first mate, one of the honest crew members, simply
"disappears" one night.
.
. . . . Probably heaved overboard.
.
. . . . He
is never heard from again.
.
. . . . Jim Hawkins accidentally discovers that the crew are mostly pirates!
And
the pirates intend to mutiny when the treasure is found.
Not
all of the 19 crew members are bad guys -- some are honest.
But they don't know which.
The
7 good guys are now at risk. They have to figure out how to
survive this trip.
The
ship arrives at Treasure Island.
The
pirates are allowed to go ashore to blow off steam -- a "shore leave."
While
they're gone and partying, the 7 good guys leave the ship.
They
sneak onto the island with much of the ship's provisions.
They
take up housekeeping in a small fort on the island, originally built
for use by Captain Flint.
The
pirates attack the fort one night, and lose about 5 crew members in
the process.
The
good guys lose 1, and Captain Smollett is seriously injured.
Late
one night Jim Hawkins goes over the wall to spy on the pirates.
He
bumps into a hermit on the island, by the name of Ben Gunn.
Ben
had been marooned on the island 3 years before by Captain Flint.
Ben
is just a little nuts, having survived all this time by himself.
Ben
befriends Jim Hawkins -- he figures this is his ticket home.
Ben
goes off to give the pirates some grief.
Jim
sneaks on board the Hispaniola, and manages to set it free to float away.
It
comes to rest on a sandbar, where the pirates won't find it.
Jim
returns to the fort and finds out that the pirates have taken over.
His
friends are gone -- he figures they've been killed.
But
they've gone off to hide out with Ben Gunn. (The pirates don't
know this)
Dr.
Livesey comes to talk to the pirates one night.
He
gives them the treasure map.
But
the map won't do them any good without a ship to carry it all home.
Jim
is still stuck with the pirates. He can't get away from them.
Long
John still wants to be friends with Jim.
It's
unclear if Long John is still on the pirate's side or not.
He
may be trying to atone for his sins to avoid a hangman's noose.
He
tells Jim that he will join with him and leave the pirates if the
chance presents itself.
But
Jim isn't so sure whose side Long John is on . . .
The
pirates follow the treasure map to the location on the island.
The
treasure is gone!
Ben
Gunn has up and moved it during his three years on the island.
An
attack is mounted on the pirates by the good guys.
Many
of the pirates are killed, and the rest are run off.
Long
John saves Jim's life during the fight.
He
then surrenders himself to the Captain for the trip home.
They
re-take and re-float the ship.
The
treasure is loaded onto the ship (most of it)
They
sail away, with a very tiny crew -- Long John helping to navigate.
(Though
everyone else is very nervous about his true intentions)
The
few remaining pirates are left behind, marooned on the island.
The
captain leaves provisions behind on the island to help them.
(Because they're the good guys!)
Halfway
home, they stop in a port for provisions, and to hire extra crew.
While
there, Long John swipes a bag of gold doubloons and a rowboat and disappears.
Jim
Hawkins sees him leave, but doesn't try to stop him.
Back
in England, they split the treasure and all go their separate ways.
Jim
has enough money to fix up the Admiral Benbow for his mom.
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