Black Dog Appears and Disappears

Black Dog Appears and Disappears is a pivotal early event in Treasure Island, marking the first direct confrontation between the old pirate world and the Hawkins family's inn, leading to the captain's first stroke and setting the stage for the black spot and the treasure hunt. This episode, occurring in the second chapter, introduces the first of the captain's old shipmates to appear at the Admiral Benbow, precipitates a violent fight that leaves the captain incapacitated, and reveals crucial details about his past and the dangers that pursue him. It is the first of the mysterious events that ultimately rid the inn of the captain, though not of his affairs, and it directly leads to the discovery of the treasure map and the subsequent voyage to Treasure Island.

The Stranger's Arrival and Recognition

On a bitter cold January morning, with the cove grey with hoar-frost and the sun low, the captain had risen early and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under his old blue coat and his brass telescope under his arm. Jim Hawkins was laying the breakfast-table when the parlour door opened and a man stepped in whom he had never seen before. This man was a pale, tallowy creature, wanting two fingers of his left hand, and though he wore a cutlass, he did not look much like a fighter. He had a smack of the sea about him, but he was not sailorly, which puzzled Jim, who had always kept his eye open for seafaring men, with one leg or two. The stranger asked for rum, but as Jim was going to fetch it, he sat down upon a table and motioned the boy to draw near. He asked if the table was for his mate Bill, and when Jim said he did not know his mate Bill, the stranger described the captain's distinguishing features: a cut on one cheek and a mighty pleasant way with him, particularly in drink. Jim told him the captain was out walking, and the stranger, with a leer, said this would be as good as drink to his mate Bill. The stranger then forced Jim to hide with him behind the door, and when the captain strode in, the stranger revealed himself as Black Dog, an old shipmate. The captain, who had been brown and strong, turned pale, his nose blue, and he looked like a man who sees a ghost. He gasped and said, "Black Dog!" and the stranger replied, "And who else? Black Dog as ever was, come for to see his old shipmate Billy, at the Admiral Benbow inn."

The Fight and Its Aftermath

The two men sat down at the captain's breakfast-table, with Black Dog next to the door, sitting sideways so as to have one eye on his old shipmate and one on his retreat. They talked in low voices, but soon the voices grew higher, and Jim could pick up words like oaths from the captain. The captain cried, "No, no, no, no; and an end of it!" and "If it comes to swinging, swing all, say I." Then there was a tremendous explosion of oaths, the chair and table went over, a clash of steel followed, and a cry of pain. Jim saw Black Dog in full flight, with the captain hotly pursuing, both with drawn cutlasses, and Black Dog streaming blood from the left shoulder. At the door, the captain aimed a tremendous cut that would have split Black Dog to the chine had it not been intercepted by the big signboard of Admiral Benbow, which still bears the notch. Black Dog, despite his wound, showed a wonderful clean pair of heels and disappeared over the edge of the hill in half a minute. The captain stood staring at the signboard like a bewildered man, then turned back into the house. He called for rum, but as he spoke, he reeled and caught himself against the wall. Jim ran to fetch it, but he was so unsteadied that he broke a glass and fouled the tap, and then heard a loud fall in the parlour. The captain was lying full length upon the floor, breathing very loud and hard, his eyes closed and his face a horrible colour. Jim's mother came running downstairs, and they tried to help him, but his teeth were tightly shut and his jaws as strong as iron. Just then Dr. Livesey came in on his visit to Jim's father. The doctor declared the captain had had a stroke, as he had warned him, and proceeded to bleed him. When the captain came to, his first question was "Where's Black Dog?" The doctor told him there was no Black Dog there, and that he had been dragged headforemost out of the grave. The doctor also revealed that the captain's name was not Bones, but that he called him by that name for shortness, as it was the name of a buccaneer of his acquaintance. The doctor warned him that if he kept on drinking rum, the world would soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel, and that another stroke would settle him.

The Captain's Confidences and the Black Spot

After the fight, the captain, weak and excited, called Jim to his side and made him a series of confidences. He reminded Jim of the silver fourpenny he gave him every month, and asked for a noggin of rum, but Jim refused, citing the doctor's orders. The captain then spoke of the black spot, which he said was a summons, and told Jim that if he could not get away and they tipped him the black spot, they were after his old sea-chest. He instructed Jim to get on a horse and go to the doctor, telling him to pipe all hands—magistrates and such—and lay them aboard at the Admiral Benbow, for all old Flint's crew, man and boy, all on 'em that's left. He revealed that he was old Flint's first mate and the only one who knew the place where the treasure was buried, given to him at Savannah when Flint lay a-dying. He also warned Jim to keep his weather-eye open for a seafaring man with one leg, him above all. Jim asked what the black spot was, and the captain said it was a summons, and he would tell him if they got that. He promised to share with Jim equals, upon his honour. These confidences, made in the aftermath of the fight with Black Dog, directly set the stage for the arrival of Blind Pew and the captain's death, and they are the first clear indication of the treasure that drives the rest of the novel.

The Significance of the Encounter

The encounter with Black Dog is significant for several reasons. It is the first time the captain's past catches up with him in a violent way, and it reveals the existence of a network of former pirates who are hunting for something he possesses. The fight also demonstrates the captain's physical decline, as he suffers a stroke immediately after, and it introduces the theme of the black spot, which becomes a recurring symbol of pirate justice and threat. Furthermore, the episode establishes Jim Hawkins as a keen observer and a participant in the dangerous world of the buccaneers, as he is the one who recognizes Black Dog and later overhears the pirates' plans. The fight also has economic consequences, as the captain's illness and the subsequent events lead to the Hawkins family's financial ruin and their decision to open the sea-chest, which contains the treasure map. Thus, Black Dog Appears and Disappears is not merely an isolated incident but a crucial turning point that propels the narrative forward, connecting the old pirate world to the new adventure.