Treasure Island

A boy named Jim lives at an inn called the Admiral Benbow with his father. One day, a tall stranger comes to stay. He has sun-browned skin and a long pigtail in his hair. His hands are rough from working on ships. He calls himself Captain and pays with gold coins.

The Captain spends his days looking out at the sea with a telescope. He drinks rum by the fire at night. He likes to sing old sailor songs and tell wild stories about faraway places. He asks Jim to watch the road and tell him if any sailors come by. He seems worried about someone finding him. Jim wonders who the Captain is hiding from.

A kind doctor named Livesey visits the inn sometimes. He is not afraid of the grumpy Captain. Jim does not know it yet, but this is just the beginning of a very big adventure.

One cold, frosty morning, a stranger came into the Admiral Benbow inn. He was a pale man from the sea, and he was missing two fingers on one hand. He asked about "his mate Bill," which was really the captain. The stranger waited and waited, watching the road. When the captain finally came home, he turned white as snow. "Black Dog!" he cried out, looking very scared. The two men sat down to talk, but soon they began to argue loudly. Then there was a big crash and Black Dog ran away over the hill. The captain stumbled back inside and fell down on the floor. He was very sick. Doctor Livesey came and helped him get to bed. The doctor said the captain needed lots of rest to get better. But young Jim had a worried feeling that more trouble was on its way to the little inn by the sea.