Chapter 24

Treasure Island

Trailblazers · 4th–6th

Copywork

It was plain she was not to be interfered with, and at that rate, since I could in no way influence her course, what hope had I left of reaching land? I began to be horribly frightened, but I kept my head, for all that. First, moving with all care, I gradually baled out the coracle with my sea-cap; then, getting my eye once more above the gunwale, I set myself to study how it was she managed to slip so quietly through the rollers.

Read the three sentences aloud. Which words mark the order of what Jim does? What does the question at the start, "what hope had I left", do to the sentences that follow it?

Discussion

Narration Tell back Jim's morning at sea in order, from waking off the island to the leap onto the jib-boom.

1. Jim sits up “to try my skill at paddling” and the coracle buries her nose in a wave. Why does the boat punish him for being bold?Inference

2. Jim decides each wave is “for all the world like any range of hills.” Why might seeing the sea that way change what he does?Inference

3. Jim says the thought of the Hispaniola “had an air of adventure” and the water-breaker “doubled my growing courage.” What drives him to go after her?Inference

4. Jim thinks the men aboard must still be “drunk as owls” and later supposes the ship is “deserted.” Is he right to act on guesses like these?Moral reasoning

5. Jim says, “And then, of a sudden, I began to comprehend.” Why might the author let him understand so late and leave only a moment for action?Author's choice

Make a Connection Tell about a time you had to go slowly and carefully to get somewhere, in a story or in life.

Vocabulary

Crossword

1				2
			3
4						5


		6			7

				8


	9

Across

Across 1. have an effect on
Across 2. understand
Across 4. echoing booms
Across 8. certainly; without any chance of failing
Across 9. a high point of land jutting into the sea

Down

Down 2. opposition; being at odds
Down 3. arrangement; placement
Down 5. the upper edge of a boat's side
Down 6. supposed to be true without proof
Down 7. scooped water out of a boat

The words in the chapter

influence since I could in no way influence her course, what hope had I left of reaching land?
baled I gradually baled out the coracle with my sea-cap;
gunwale getting my eye once more above the gunwale,
reverberations loud reverberations, heavy sprays flying and falling, succeeded one another from second to second;
contrariety there was no contrariety between that and the current,

disposition But even a small change in the disposition of the weight will produce violent changes in the behaviour of a coracle.
infallibly though I saw I must infallibly miss that point,
promontory I felt sure I should make the next promontory without fail.
presumed I presumed the men on board were going round the island on their way back to the anchorage.
comprehend And then, of a sudden, I began to comprehend.

Critical thinking

1. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why Jim gives up on landing at Haulbowline Head.

2. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what Jim sees in the Hispaniola's sailing that makes him think nobody is steering.

3. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how the wind and current change Jim's chances in the chase.