The treasure was gone. The six men were very surprised. They stood still like they were hit. But Long John Silver recovered quickly. He thought about the money for a long time. Now the money was not there. He changed his plan in one second.
Long John Silver whispered to Jim Hawkins. He told Jim Hawkins to take a pistol (a small gun that you can hold in one hand). Long John Silver told Jim Hawkins to prepare for trouble. Long John Silver walked away from the other pirates. He put the hole between himself and the men.
Jim Hawkins saw that Long John Silver was changing sides again. Jim Hawkins did not like this. He whispered to Long John Silver about it. But there was no time to talk. The other pirates jumped into the hole. They used their fingers to dig in the dirt.
The pirates moved the old boxes. Morgan found one piece of gold. He was very angry. He showed the coin to the other men. It was only a guinea (an old British gold coin). One coin was not seven hundred thousand pounds.
George Merry shouted at Long John Silver. He said Long John Silver was a bad leader. He said Long John Silver knew the treasure was gone. Long John Silver was very calm. He told the pirates to keep digging. He said they might find some nuts in the ground.
The pirates looked at Long John Silver with hate. They climbed out of the hole. They stood on the opposite side from Long John Silver. Now there were two men on one side and five pirates on the other. Long John Silver stood tall on his crutch. He was very brave.
George Merry started to speak to the pirates. He wanted to attack Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver. He raised his arm and his voice. Then, three musket (a long gun used by soldiers in the past) shots came from the trees.
George Merry fell into the hole. Another pirate fell and died. The other three pirates turned and ran away. Long John Silver shot George Merry with his pistol. Then Dr. Livesey, Gray, and Ben Gunn came out of the trees. Their guns were smoking.
Dr. Livesey shouted to the group. He said they must run to the boats. They wanted to stop the pirates from leaving. They ran through the thick bushes. Long John Silver worked very hard to keep up. He jumped on his crutch.
Long John Silver was very tired. His chest hurt because he moved so fast. Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins reached the top of the hill. They saw the three pirates running away. The pirates were not going to the boats. They were running to another hill.
Everyone sat down to rest. Long John Silver thanked Dr. Livesey. He saw Ben Gunn. Ben Gunn was the man who lived alone on the island. Long John Silver was surprised to see him. Ben Gunn was shy, but he spoke to Long John Silver.
Gray went back to get a tool. The group walked slowly to the boats. Dr. Livesey told the story. Ben Gunn found the treasure a long time ago. Ben Gunn found the dead man and the gold. He carried the gold to his cave.
The gold was in the cave before the ship arrived. Dr. Livesey knew this secret. He gave the map to Long John Silver because it was useless. He gave the pirates the food because Ben Gunn had plenty of meat. Dr. Livesey wanted to move to Ben Gunn's cave.
Dr. Livesey said the cave was a safe place. He was sorry that Jim Hawkins was with the pirates. But Dr. Livesey had to protect the other men. That morning, Dr. Livesey heard about the pirates' plan. He took Gray and Ben Gunn to the trees to wait.
They reached the boats. Dr. Livesey broke one boat with a tool. Then everyone got into the other boat. They started to row around the island. Long John Silver was very tired, but he helped with an oar (a long piece of wood used to push a boat through water).
They saw the ship, the Hispaniola, floating in the water. There was no one on the ship. They put an anchor in the sea to stop the ship. Then they rowed to a place near Ben Gunn’s cave. Gray stayed on the ship to guard it.
They walked up a hill to the cave. Squire Trelawney met them there. He was kind to Jim Hawkins. He did not blame Jim Hawkins for leaving. But Squire Trelawney was very angry with Long John Silver. He told Long John Silver that he was a very bad man.
Squire Trelawney said he would not punish Long John Silver yet. Long John Silver thanked him politely. Then everyone entered the cave. It was a large, clean place with a fire. There was a small spring of clear water.
Captain Smollett was lying near the fire. In the corner, Jim Hawkins saw the gold. There were many gold coins and bars of gold. This was the treasure of Captain Flint. Many men died for this money. Many ships were destroyed for it.
Captain Smollett spoke to Jim Hawkins. He said Jim Hawkins was a good boy. Then he saw Long John Silver. Long John Silver said he had come back to his duty. Captain Smollett did not say much to him.
That night, they had a great dinner. They were very happy. They ate meat and drank wine. Long John Silver sat in the back, away from the fire. He was very polite and helpful. He laughed with the other men. He acted like a kind sailor again.