The Voyage and the Apple Barrel

Life on board the Hispaniola was strange and new to me. The sailors worked hard, climbing the ropes and pulling the sails, while Long John Silver, our ship's cook, moved about on one leg and a wooden stick, carrying plates and food as easily as any man with two legs. He kept a green parrot on his shoulder, and every sailor liked him — he told a story now and then, made everyone laugh, and always seemed quiet and kind.

Captain Smollett was a serious man, and from the very first day, something about the crew made him doubt them. He watched the sailors closely, and noticed how quickly they obeyed Silver's smallest word, more than they obeyed him. A good captain, he often said, does not trust a stranger too quickly.

But Captain Smollett, who commanded the ship, did not trust the crew. "Too many of these sailors talk openly of treasure," he said to the Squire. "A wise captain keeps such secrets close, or someone aboard may grow greedy." The Squire only laughed at this, and called the Captain suspicious for no good reason. I began to watch the sailors more closely myself, though I could not say exactly why.

One warm evening, I felt hungry for an apple, and climbed inside a wooden barrel that held the ship's supply. Before I could take one, I heard footsteps, and voices nearby. I stayed quiet and still, hiding inside the barrel, and listened.

It was Long John Silver, speaking quietly to two other sailors. "I sailed under Captain Flint myself, long ago," Silver said. "We took his gold once, and we can take this treasure too — once we get to the island, and not before." "And the Captain, and the Squire?" one sailor asked. "We deal with them then," Silver said quietly. "No need to do anything until the treasure is safely ours. A patient man gets what he wants."

I understood, with a terrible feeling, that Silver was no honest cook at all — he was a traitor, and he meant to betray the Captain and take the treasure for himself and his men. Worse, I now knew that many of our own sailors were secretly loyal to him, not to us. I stayed hidden until the men walked away, my heart pounding, afraid of what I had heard.

Doctor Livesey later told me that my words had revealed more than anyone aboard had known. "You may have saved every honest life on this ship," he declared quietly, "by hiding in a barrel at exactly the right moment." I did not feel brave. I only wished, more than anything, that our long voyage could already be over, and all of us safely home again.

As soon as I could, I found Doctor Livesey, Squire Trelawney, and Captain Smollett, and told them everything I had heard. Their faces turned pale and serious. "We must not let Silver see that we suspect him," Captain Smollett said. "We must show Silver nothing but friendly faces, and prepare ourselves quietly, until we know exactly who among the crew we can still trust."

That night, I could not relax. Every friendly word from a sailor now felt like a lie, and every quiet laugh on the ship made me suspicious. We had to pretend that nothing had changed, though the tension on board grew heavier with each passing hour. One wrong word from any of us, Captain Smollett said, could put every loyal life at risk.

There were only a few of us who were really loyal: the Captain, the Doctor, the Squire, myself, and three honest servants — seven in all, against nearly twenty men who might obey Silver instead. It was a dangerous secret to carry, and every smile from Silver now felt like a threat hiding behind kind words.

The next morning, a sailor high above us called out that land had been sighted. Everyone ran to look, and there it was: a small, quiet island, rising green and mysterious out of the sea. My heart should have felt joy, but instead, I only felt afraid, for I knew that once we got to that shore, Silver and his men would finally show their true, dangerous plan.