Treasure Island: Israel Hands

Jim climbed on board and found only two pirates on deck: one lay still, and the other was Israel Hands, badly wounded after the fight.First Jim pulled down the pirates’ black flag and threw it into the sea. “God save the king!” he cried, waving his cap.“I’ve come aboard to take this ship, Mr. Hands,” he said, “and you’ll please think of me as your captain.”

Hands was weak and needed help, so they made a deal: Jim would give him food, drink and a bandage, and Hands would tell him how to sail the ship.With Hands giving orders, Jim steered the Hispaniola around the island toward a quiet bay called the North Inlet.But Hands kept smiling in a strange way, and when he sent Jim below for wine, Jim secretly watched him take out a long knife and hide it in his jacket.

Just as the ship slid gently onto the sand, Jim felt someone behind him, and he turned to see Hands coming at him with the knife.Jim quickly climbed up the ropes of the mast, sat high above the deck, and loaded his pistols again.“One more step, Mr. Hands, and I’ll shoot!” Jim called down. “Dead men don’t bite, you know.”

Hands stopped and seemed to give up, but suddenly he threw the knife, and it pinned Jim’s shoulder to the mast.In the shock and pain, both of Jim’s pistols went off, and Hands fell from the ropes into the water and did not come up again.Jim’s wound was not deep, and after a while he pulled himself free, shaking, and went ashore to find his friends.

It was dark when he reached the stockade, and he crept quietly into the log-house, thinking how surprised his friends would be in the morning.But in the dark he tripped over a sleeping man, and a sharp voice screamed, “Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”It was Silver’s parrot, Captain Flint, and a moment later strong hands grabbed Jim: the log-house was full of pirates.