Admiral Benbow

The Admiral Benbow is the coastal inn kept by Jim Hawkins's father, where the old buccaneer Billy Bones takes up lodging and sets the entire treasure hunt in motion.

Identity and Setting

The Admiral Benbow was a lonely inn on the coast of Black Hill Cove, run by Jim Hawkins's father. It was described as a "handy cove" and a "pleasant sittyated grog-shop" by Billy Bones, who chose it for its isolation. The inn had a signboard bearing the image of Admiral Benbow, which later became marked with a notch from a cutlass blow during a fight. The building itself was old, with a parlour, a bar, and upstairs rooms, including the one where Billy Bones slept and kept his sea-chest.

Arrival of Billy Bones

The brown old seaman with the sabre cut first arrived at the inn door, his sea-chest following on a hand-barrow. He called for rum, drank it slowly like a connoisseur, and declared the inn his berth. He threw down three or four gold pieces on the threshold and told Jim's father to tell him when he had worked through that. The man who brought the barrow said the mail had set him down at the Royal George the morning before, and he had chosen the Admiral Benbow because it was well spoken of and described as lonely.

Life Under the Captain

Billy Bones, who insisted on being called "captain," became a long-term, tyrannical guest. He hung around the cove or on the cliffs with a brass telescope all day, and sat in the parlour corner drinking strong rum and water all evening. He was silent by custom, but when drunk he would force the company to listen to his dreadful stories of hanging, walking the plank, storms at sea, and wild deeds on the Spanish Main. He would call for glasses round and make everyone join in his song, "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest—Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!" The neighbours were frightened but also excited by his presence, and some of the younger men pretended to admire him, calling him a "true sea-dog." He never wrote or received a letter, and his great sea-chest was never seen open. He kept staying week after week, month after month, exhausting all the money he had paid, but Jim's father never dared to ask for more. The captain would blow through his nose and stare him out of the room. Jim believed the annoyance and terror hastened his father's early death.

Confrontation with Dr. Livesey

Towards the end, when Jim's father was far gone in a decline, Dr. Livesey came to see the patient. In the parlour, the captain began to sing his eternal song, and when he demanded silence, Dr. Livesey continued speaking. The captain threatened him with a sailor's clasp-knife, but the doctor, revealing he was also a magistrate, calmly promised he would hang at the next assizes. The captain knuckled under and resumed his seat, grumbling like a beaten dog. After that, he held his peace for many evenings.

The Fight with Black Dog and the Death of Billy Bones

One January morning, a pale, tallowy man missing two fingers of his left hand entered the inn. He was Black Dog, an old shipmate of the captain's. They had a violent quarrel in the parlour, and the captain pursued Black Dog with a cutlass, leaving a notch in the Admiral Benbow signboard. The captain then suffered a stroke, and Dr. Livesey bled him. Later, the blind beggar Pew arrived and delivered the Black Spot, a summons. The captain, upon receiving it, was struck dead by apoplexy. Jim Hawkins, who had been terrified by the idea of a one-legged seafaring man, burst into tears at the captain's death, the second death he had known.

Aftermath and Restoration

After the captain's death, the inn was ransacked by the pirates searching for the treasure map. The clock was thrown down, and the house was in a state of smash. Jim and his mother escaped with the captain's money and the oilskin packet containing the map. The inn was later repaired and repainted by Squire Trelawney, who also added some furniture, including a beautiful armchair for Jim's mother in the bar, and found her a boy as an apprentice. When Jim returned to say goodbye before leaving for Bristol, he saw the new boy and had his first attack of tears, realizing he was leaving home. The Admiral Benbow, after being repainted, was no longer quite so dear to him. His last thoughts were of the captain, who had so often strode along the beach with his cocked hat, sabre-cut cheek, and old brass telescope.