Chapter 14

Treasure Island

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

Tom had leaped at the sound, like a horse at the spur, but Silver had not winked an eye. He stood where he was, resting lightly on his crutch, watching his companion like a snake about to spring. John! said the sailor, stretching out his hand. Hands off! cried Silver, leaping back a yard, as it seemed to me, with the speed and security of a trained gymnast.

Two men hear the same scream: one "leaped", one "had not winked an eye". What does each body do before either man speaks? Which word in Jim's last clause about Silver points to what he might do next?

Discussion

Narration Tell what happens from Jim's first steps ashore to the moment a fresh alarm stops his running.

1. Silver tells Tom he thinks “gold dust” of him and speaks to save his neck. What do you think Silver wants?Inference

2. Tom tells Silver, “you're old, and you're honest, or has the name for it.” What is Tom trying to do with those words?Character

3. When the scream comes, Tom leaps, but Silver “had not winked an eye.” What does that stillness suggest about him?Inference

4. Jim says it was his “plain and obvious duty” to creep closer and overhear. Was it duty, or did something else draw him?Moral reasoning

5. After the killing, the sun is “still shining mercilessly” and the birds settle. What does Stevenson gain by keeping the day so calm?Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a time you overheard something you were not meant to hear.

Vocabulary

Crossword

1	2			3
		4
					5
	6		7


					8






9

Across

Across 1. a spike on a rider's heel that urges a horse on
Across 6. with no people living there
Across 8. free oneself from a tangle
Across 9. rough and clumsy

Down

Down 1. sureness and steadiness of movement
Down 2. rising and falling like waves
Down 3. more watchful and cautious
Down 4. heavy, drowsy stillness
Down 5. reckless, dangerous criminals
Down 7. an opening; a gap

The words in the chapter

spur like a horse at the spur,
security with the speed and security of a trained gymnast.
undulating an open piece of undulating, sandy country,
uninhabited The isle was uninhabited;
desperadoes since I had been so foolhardy as to come ashore with these desperadoes,

aperture raising my head to an aperture among the leaves,
languor only the rustle of the redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges disturbed the languor of the afternoon.
warier smiling away, but warier than ever,
uncouth sent that uncouth missile hurtling through the air.
extricate Instantly I began to extricate myself and crawl back again,

Critical thinking

1. After the killing, Silver cleans his knife and blows a whistle. Using two pieces of evidence, what does his manner show?

2. Jim asks, “could anyone be more entirely lost than I?” Using two pieces of evidence, is his danger as great as his fear?

3. A snake hisses at Jim, and he says, “Little did I suppose” it was deadly. Using two pieces of evidence, what does that moment show?