Captain Smollett and Squire Trelawney

Captain Alexander Smollett and Squire John Trelawney first meet aboard the Hispaniola, and their initial encounter sets the tone for a relationship marked by deep suspicion and barely concealed contempt. The squire, a tall, broad man with a bluff, rough-and-ready face and quick temper, has outfitted the expedition with boundless enthusiasm, while the captain, a sharp-looking man who seems angry with everything on board, immediately declares his displeasure. When Smollett is summoned to the cabin, he wastes no time in stating his grievances: "I don't like this cruise; I don't like the men; and I don't like my officer." Trelawney, stung by this bluntness, responds with indignation, and the exchange quickly escalates into a confrontation that reveals the fundamental clash between the squire's aristocratic assumption of authority and the captain's professional insistence on competence and secrecy.

The Clash of Authority and Secrecy

The core of the conflict lies in the captain's demand for control and the squire's careless indiscretion. Smollett objects that he was engaged under sealed orders, yet finds that "every man before the mast knows more than I do," and he specifically rebukes the squire for letting the secret of the treasure voyage leak—"the secret has been told to the parrot," as he puts it. Trelawney, who has already boasted in a letter to Dr. Livesey about the crew he has assembled and the treasure they seek, is outraged by the implication that he cannot hold his tongue. The captain further insists that the powder and arms be moved from the fore hold to a place under the cabin, and that the squire's own servants be berthed beside the cabin rather than forward, precautions that the squire initially resists as an affront to his judgment. When Dr. Livesey mediates, the squire grudgingly agrees to the captain's demands but declares, "I think the worse of you," a sentiment that leaves the two men on distant terms for much of the voyage.

The Voyage and Growing Respect

Despite the rocky start, the relationship evolves during the voyage, though not without continued friction. The squire, who has followed the sea himself, often takes a watch in easy weather, and his practical knowledge proves useful, yet he and the captain remain "on pretty distant terms." The squire makes no bones about despising the captain, while Smollett speaks only when spoken to, and then "sharp and short and dry." The captain, for his part, gradually concedes that he may have been wrong about the crew, admitting that some are as brisk as he could wish and that all have behaved fairly well, and he takes a downright fancy to the ship itself, remarking that she "will lie a point nearer the wind than a man has a right to expect of his own married wife." But he always adds, "we're not home again, and I don't like the cruise," a refrain that exasperates the squire, who turns away and marches up and down the deck, chin in air, muttering that a trifle more of that man would make him explode.

The Turning Point: Council of War

The relationship reaches its turning point when Jim Hawkins reveals the mutiny plot overheard in the apple barrel. In the cabin council, the squire, confronted with the captain's earlier warnings, admits his error with remarkable grace: "Now, captain," he says, "you were right, and I was wrong. I own myself an ass, and I await your orders." The captain, equally magnanimous, replies, "No more an ass than I, sir," and acknowledges that this crew "beats me," having shown no signs of the usual pre-mutiny discontent. From this moment, the two men begin to work in concert, with the squire deferring to the captain's strategic judgment. When the captain proposes allowing the men ashore to test their loyalty, the squire supports him, and when the stockade is established, the captain's authority is unquestioned, even as the squire's own servants—Redruth, Hunter, and Joyce—form the backbone of the loyal party.

The Stockade and the Wound

During the Battle of the Stockade, the relationship is tested further. The squire, a dead shot, is entrusted with the captain's own gun when his is useless, and he fights with coolness and precision. When the captain is wounded—his shoulder-blade broken and his lung touched by Job Anderson's ball—the squire is the one who supports him, "one as pale as the other," and it is the squire who reports the wound to the doctor. The captain, even in his pain, maintains his discipline, and the squire, for his part, shows a new respect for the man who has led them so ably. The captain's refusal to strike his colours when the enemy cannonades the stockade—"Strike my colours! No, sir, not I"—is a moment of shared defiance that the squire, who had suggested taking in the flag, comes to admire.

The Final Reconciliation

After the treasure is recovered and the party is safe in Ben Gunn's cave, the relationship reaches its final, almost affectionate stage. The squire, though he still cannot fully forgive Silver, treats the captain with warmth and deference. When the captain, lying on a mattress in the stern, gives his orders for the voyage home, the squire obeys without question. The captain's parting words to Jim Hawkins—"You're a good boy in your line, Jim, but I don't think you and me'll go to sea again. You're too much of the born favourite for me"—are spoken in the presence of the squire, who has come to understand the captain's gruff exterior as a mask for genuine competence and care. The relationship, which began in mutual suspicion, ends in a quiet, unspoken respect, a testament to the way shared danger and duty can bridge even the widest gaps of temperament and class.