Treasure hunt on Treasure Island
The treasure hunt on Treasure Island is the decisive expedition that brings the novel's central conflict to a head. Led by Long John Silver, the mutineers—accompanied by Jim Hawkins as a hostage—march inland following the clues on Flint's map, only to discover that the gold has already been dug up. The discovery triggers a violent ambush that shatters the pirates' power and resolves the quest for Flint's treasure.
The Expedition Sets Out
On the morning of the hunt, Silver and the mutineers set out from their camp, equipped with picks and shovels brought ashore from the Hispaniola. Jim Hawkins is led like a dancing bear, a rope tied around his waist, the loose end held by Silver. The party is heavily armed: Silver carries two guns, a cutlass, and pistols in his coat pockets, while Captain Flint the parrot perches on his shoulder, gabbling sea-talk. The men carry provisions of pork, bread, and brandy for the midday meal, all taken from the stockade stores. They launch the two gigs and row across the anchorage, landing at the mouth of the second river, which runs down a woody cleft of the Spy-glass. From there they begin the ascent toward the plateau.
The Skeleton Pointer
As the party climbs, the terrain changes from miry marsh to stony ground, then to open woodland scented with broom and flowering shrubs. The men spread out in a fan shape, shouting and leaping. Silver and Jim follow behind, Silver ploughing through sliding gravel, panting heavily, sometimes needing Jim's hand to keep his footing. When the man on the far left cries out in terror, the others rush to him. At the foot of a large pine, entangled in green creeper, lies a human skeleton with a few shreds of clothing. George Merry examines the rags and pronounces them good sea-cloth. Silver realizes the bones are positioned unnaturally: the feet point in one direction, the hands, raised above the head like a diver's, point directly opposite. Using his compass, he takes a bearing along the line of the bones and finds they point straight at Skeleton Island, exactly E.S.E. and by E.—the bearing written on the map. Silver declares the skeleton is a pointer left by Flint, one of his jokes. He identifies the dead man as Allardyce, a yellow-haired seaman. The discovery chills the pirates, who begin to speak in whispers and keep close together.
The Voice Among the Trees
As the party sits to rest on the brow of the plateau, a thin, high, trembling voice suddenly strikes up the well-known air: "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest—Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!" The song breaks off abruptly, as if someone had laid a hand on the singer's mouth. The pirates are dreadfully affected; the color drains from their faces, some leap to their feet, Morgan grovels on the ground. Merry cries out that it is Flint's ghost. Silver struggles to rally them, arguing that a spirit would have no echo, but the voice returns, wailing "Darby M'Graw!" and then, with an oath, "Fetch aft the rum, Darby!" The pirates are rooted in terror until Silver realizes the voice belongs to Ben Gunn, not a ghost. The revelation restores their spirits, and they press on, Dick alone still clutching his Bible, his fever rising.
The Rifled Cache
At last the party reaches the tall tree that matches the map's description—a giant pine rising nearly two hundred feet, its red column as big as a cottage, casting a wide shadow. The men break into a run, but suddenly stop. Before them is a great excavation, not recent, its sides fallen in and grass sprouting on the bottom. In the pit lie the broken shaft of a pick and the boards of several packing-cases, one branded with the name WALRUS—Flint's ship. The cache has been found and rifled; the seven hundred thousand pounds are gone.
The Ambush and the Fall of the Chieftain
The mutineers are struck dumb with shock. Silver alone recovers instantly, passing Jim a double-barrelled pistol and quietly moving northward to put the hollow between them and the other five. The pirates leap into the pit, digging with their fingers. Morgan finds a two-guinea piece, which passes from hand to hand. Merry shakes it at Silver, accusing him of knowing all along. The five mutineers scramble out on the opposite side from Silver, and the two parties face each other across the pit. Merry raises his arm to lead a charge, but three musket-shots flash from the thicket. Merry tumbles head foremost into the excavation; the man with the bandaged head spins and falls dead; the other three flee. Silver fires two pistol barrels into the struggling Merry, declaring him settled. Dr. Livesey, Abraham Gray, and Ben Gunn emerge from the nutmeg-trees with smoking muskets. The doctor reveals that Ben Gunn had found the skeleton, rifled it, dug up the treasure months before the Hispaniola arrived, and carried it to a cave on the two-pointed hill. The doctor had given Silver the now-useless chart and the stores to buy time to move the loyal party to safety. The ambush ends the mutineers' threat, and the surviving pirates flee toward Mizzen-mast Hill, leaving the treasure hunt concluded.
