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As soon as we discovered the existence of the treasure
map, we decided that we had to look for the treasure.
Squire Trelawney bought a ship called the 'Hispaniola'
and prepared her for the journey. A good crew was needed
to man the ship. A one-legged sailor by the name of Long
John Silver was employed as cook. Silver was an
experienced sea hand and helped Captain Smollet select
some tough men to work on the ship. I, Ben Hawkins, was
the ship's cabin boy. We soon set sail for the treasure
island. The crew worked hard and often sang songs to
keep their spirits up. One evening, as I sat inside a
huge barrel of apples munching on the delicious fruit, I
overheard Silver talking to one of the crew named Israel
Hands. The two of them were planning to take over the
command of the Hispaniola once the treasure was found.
They would kill anyone who opposed to their plan. I
trembled with fear that they would reach into the barrel
for an apple and discover my presence but fortunately
for me, they did not.
I told the Captain, the Squire and Doctor Livesey
what I had heard. We were fearful for our lives as most
of the crew were Silver's mates. We knew however that we
were safe until the treasure was found. The four of us
pretended that we knew nothing of Silver's evil plan.
Then one day, we arrived at the treasure island. I
went ashore with a few of the men, one of whom was
Silver. When we reached the beach, Silver turned to one
of the sailors and ordered him to join the side of the
pirates. The man refused. Without warning, Silver
plunged his dagger into the man's heart and killed him
instantly. Turning round to look at the rest of the
group, Silver warned us that whoever disobeyed him would
share a similar fate.
We walked on, leaving the dead man behind on the
beach. Feeling alarmed, I ran up the beach and
disappeared into the forest. Silver's men did not bother
to give chase for they probably thought that a small
frightened boy like me could do them no harm.
I stopped to catch my breath on top of a stony hill.
Suddenly, I saw a movement on the hillside. I could not
see what the creature was and thought that it would be
better to face Silver and his men rather than an unknown
enemy. I turned around and ran towards the shore but the
creature ran faster than me. The creature turned out to
be a man with thick unkempt hair. He was dressed in
tattered clothes that had been mended many times over.
Catching up with me, the scary-looking man threw himself
on the ground.
"Who are you?" I asked in a frightened voice.
"I am Ben Gunn," he replied in a hoarse voice. "I was
left behind on this island three years ago. I have not
seen or spoken to any human since that time.
He went on to tell me many more things. Sometimes as
he spoke, he seemed to make no sense at all. I began to
think that he was a little mad when he claimed to have a
lot of valuables hidden somewhere.
I told him what had happened to our crew. he promised
to help us fight the pirates if we would take him back
with us. Just then, we heard the sound of gunfire coming
from the direction of the shore. The battle with the
pirates had begun. |
