Weeks passed before everything was ready for the voyage.
The squire had imagined we would leave quickly, but many things changed from our first plans. Dr. Livesey had to travel to London to find another doctor to look after his patients. The squire was busy in Bristol arranging the ship. As for me, I stayed at the hall under the watch of old Tom Redruth, the gamekeeper.
I felt almost like a prisoner, but my mind was filled with dreams of the sea.
I spent hours staring at the treasure map, remembering every tiny detail. Sitting by the fire in the housekeeper’s room, I imagined the island from every possible angle.
Sometimes I pictured myself fighting wild natives.
Sometimes I imagined dangerous animals chasing us through the jungle.
Sometimes I climbed the tall hill called the Spy-glass and looked out over the strange land below.
But no matter how wild my imagination became, nothing I dreamed of was as strange or as terrible as the adventures that actually awaited us.
One day, a letter arrived for Dr. Livesey. On the envelope were instructions:
“Open this if Dr. Livesey is away. It may be opened by Tom Redruth or young Hawkins.”
Redruth handed the letter to me because he was not very good at reading.
I opened it and began to read.
The letter was from Squire Trelawney.
Old Anchor Inn, Bristol, March 1, 17—
“Dear Livesey,
I do not know whether you are still in London or already back at the hall, so I have sent this letter to both places.
The ship has been bought and fully prepared. She is waiting in the harbor, ready to sail.
You could never imagine a finer schooner. Even a child could handle her.
She is two hundred tons, and her name is the Hispaniola.
I bought her through my old friend Blandly, who has been absolutely wonderful. He worked harder for me than anyone could have expected.
And when people in Bristol heard where we were going—especially when they heard about the treasure—everyone became eager to help.”
“Redruth,” I interrupted, “Dr. Livesey won’t like that. The squire has been telling people about the treasure.”
The old gamekeeper frowned.
“Why shouldn’t he?” he said. “The squire has every right to speak for Dr. Livesey, I suppose.”
I stopped arguing and continued reading.
“Blandly himself found the Hispaniola and managed to buy her at an excellent price.
Some people in Bristol say terrible things about him. They claim he only helped because he wanted money, that the ship was his own, and that he charged me too much for it.
These are nothing but lies.
No one, however, can deny that the ship herself is a wonderful vessel.
So far everything has gone smoothly.
The workers were slow, especially the riggers and sailors preparing the ship, but time solved that problem.
The real difficulty was finding a crew.
I wanted twenty strong men in case we met natives, pirates, or even those unpleasant Frenchmen.
Yet I could hardly find six good sailors.
Then, by the greatest luck, I found exactly the man we needed.
I was standing near the docks when I happened to start a conversation with him.
He was an old sailor who owned a small inn. He knew almost every sailor in Bristol. He had lost his health while living on land and wanted a good job as a ship’s cook so he could return to the sea.
He told me he had simply walked down to the docks that morning because he missed the smell of salt water.
I was deeply moved by his story, and I hired him immediately as our cook.
His name is Long John Silver.
He has lost one leg, but I consider that a mark of honor because he lost it while serving his country under the famous Admiral Hawke.
He receives no pension, Livesey. Imagine how unfair the world can be!
I thought I had only found a cook, but I soon discovered that I had found an entire crew.
Between Silver and me, we gathered the toughest group of old sailors imaginable.
They are not handsome men, but their faces show great courage.
I believe we could fight even against a warship.
Silver also helped remove two men from the crew that I had already hired.
He immediately saw that they were exactly the kind of useless sailors we needed to avoid.
I am in excellent health and spirits. I eat like a horse and sleep like a baby.
Still, I cannot truly enjoy myself until I hear my old sailors walking around the capstan.
To sea!
Forget the treasure!
It is the glory of adventure that has captured my heart.
So come quickly, Livesey. Do not waste a moment.
Send young Hawkins home to visit his mother, with Redruth guarding him.
Then both of you come straight to Bristol.
Your friend,
John Trelawney”
Postscript:
“Blandly, who will send another ship to search for us if we do not return by the end of August, has also found us an excellent sailing master.
He is a strict man, which I regret, but otherwise he is perfect.
Long John Silver found us a skilled first mate named Arrow.
I have even found a boatswain who can play the whistle.
Everything will be organized like a real navy ship aboard the Hispaniola.
I forgot to mention that Silver is a wealthy man.
I know he has a bank account that has never gone into debt.
He leaves his wife to manage the inn.
Since she is a woman of color, perhaps you and I, being old bachelors, may guess that his return to the sea is caused by his wife as much as by his poor health.
J. T.
P.P.S.
Hawkins may stay one night with his mother.
J. T.”
That letter filled me with unbelievable excitement.
I could hardly contain myself.
The only person who ruined my happiness was old Tom Redruth.
He did nothing but complain and sigh.
Many younger gamekeepers would have gladly taken his place, but the squire had chosen him, and the squire’s decisions were treated like law.
No one except Redruth would have dared complain.
The next morning, Redruth and I walked toward the Admiral Benbow.
When we arrived, I found my mother healthy and cheerful.
The captain, who had caused us so much trouble, was finally gone forever.
The squire had repaired the inn, repainted the public rooms and sign, and added new furniture.
Most importantly, he had bought my mother a beautiful armchair for the bar.
He had also found a young apprentice to help her while I was away.
Seeing that boy made me realize something for the first time.
Until then, I had only thought about the adventures waiting for me.
I had not thought about leaving home.
But when I saw this awkward stranger standing there, someone who would take my place beside my mother, tears suddenly filled my eyes.
I am ashamed to admit that I treated the poor boy badly.
Because he was new to the work, I found countless chances to correct him and make myself feel important.
And I took every one of those chances.
The next day after dinner, Redruth and I started our journey again.
I said goodbye to my mother, the little bay where I had lived all my life, and the dear old Admiral Benbow.
Although after all the repairs and repainting, it did not feel quite the same anymore.
My final thought was of the captain.
I remembered him walking along the beach with his three-cornered hat, his scarred cheek, and his old brass telescope.
Then we turned the corner, and my home disappeared from sight.
That evening, we caught the mail coach at the Royal George Inn.
I sat between Redruth and a large old gentleman.
The coach moved quickly through the cold night, but I soon fell asleep.
I slept through hills, valleys, and many stages of the journey.
At last, a sharp poke in my side woke me.
I opened my eyes and saw that we had stopped in front of a large building in a city street.
Morning had already arrived.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Bristol,” said Tom Redruth. “Get down.”
Squire Trelawney was staying at an inn near the docks so he could supervise the work on the ship.
We walked there, and my heart filled with excitement as we passed the harbor.
I saw ships of every size and shape from every country.
On one ship, sailors sang while they worked.
On another, men climbed high above my head, hanging from ropes as thin as spider webs.
Although I had lived beside the sea my whole life, I felt as if I had never truly seen the ocean before.
The smell of tar and salt air was completely new to me.
I saw magnificent ship decorations that had traveled across the world.
I saw old sailors with earrings, curled beards, braided hair, and their strange rolling way of walking.
Seeing them amazed me more than seeing kings or archbishops.
And I was going to become one of them.
I was going to sea in a schooner.
I was going with a whistling boatswain and sailors with braided hair.
I was sailing toward an unknown island to search for buried treasure.
While I was lost in these wonderful thoughts, we suddenly arrived in front of a large inn.
There stood Squire Trelawney.
He was dressed like a sea officer in a strong blue coat.
He even walked with an exaggerated sailor’s swagger.
He smiled when he saw us.
“There you are!” he shouted.
“Dr. Livesey arrived from London last night. Excellent! The whole ship’s crew is finally complete!”
“Oh, sir!” I cried. “When do we sail?”
“Sail?” the squire laughed.
“We sail tomorrow!”