Chapter 15

Treasure Island

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

But the mere fact that he was a man, however wild, had somewhat reassured me, and my fear of Silver began to revive in proportion. I stood still, therefore, and cast about for some method of escape; and as I was so thinking, the recollection of my pistol flashed into my mind. As soon as I remembered I was not defenceless, courage glowed again in my heart and I set my face resolutely for this man of the island and walked briskly towards him.

Find the words "therefore" and "in proportion" in the passage. What do they show about how Jim is reasoning, step by step? Which of the three sentences is about a thought, which about a memory and which about an action?

Discussion

Narration Tell what happens from the figure in the trees to the sight of the flag above the wood.

1. Jim first takes the shaggy figure for a bear, a man or a monkey, and soon prefers Silver to it. Why would a known danger feel better than an unknown one?Inference

2. Jim sets his face “resolutely” toward Ben only after remembering his pistol. Does courage come from the pistol, or from something else?Character

3. Ben kneels and begs, yet shows “startled slyness,” testing Jim with questions about Flint's ship. How should we take a man who is both pitiful and shrewd?Character

4. Ben pinches Jim and tells him to say, “Nor he werent, neither.” Jim says he does not understand. Why would Ben speak in such a roundabout way?Inference

5. Ben trots along beside Jim and talks the whole way, while cannon and musket fire sound ahead. What do you make of Ben's talk at a moment like that?Tone

Make a Connection Tell about a time you had to decide quickly whether to trust someone you did not know.

Vocabulary

Crossword

1				2
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4					5
			6			7

		8




	9

Across

Across 1. a memory; the act of remembering
Across 4. sharp practical judgment
Across 6. an opponent
Across 9. a difficult situation

Down

Down 1. with firm determination
Down 2. a thing hard to describe or classify
Down 3. put ashore and abandoned on a lonely island
Down 5. empty, bleak and lonely
Down 7. humble begging
Down 8. a ghostly or startling appearance

The words in the chapter

recollection the recollection of my pistol flashed into my mind.
resolutely I set my face resolutely for this man of the island
apparition But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.
nondescript before me this lurking nondescript.
adversary to contend in speed with such an adversary.

supplication held out his clasped hands in supplication.
marooned Nay, mate, said he; marooned.
desolate left behind on some desolate and distant island.
predicament and the predicament in which we found ourselves.
shrewdness And a passage home? he added with a look of great shrewdness.

Critical thinking

1. Ben asks whether it is Flint's ship, and then whether a man with one leg is aboard. Using two pieces of evidence, what does he fear?

2. Ben says he was marooned by his own shipmates after he urged them to search for Flint's treasure. Using two pieces of evidence, how far should we trust his story?

3. Jim says, “I had a happy inspiration,” then tells Ben that some of Flint's hands are aboard. Using two pieces of evidence, was that wise?