Treasure Island XXVII Summary

Pieces of Eight

Jim frees himself from a knife, staggers ashore after securing the Hispaniola, and is caught at the stockade when Silver's parrot gives him away.

A pale moonlight bathes the western end of a grass-cleared opening, while the blockhouse and palisade melt into black shadow cut by silvery streaks. On the far side a great fire has run down to glowing embers, throwing a steady red wash against the trunks and posts. Beyond the palisade the two-peaked hill rises darkly, and a thin wind stirs the long grasses, leaving the clearing utterly still.
A pale moonlight bathes the western end of a grass-cleared opening, while the blockhouse and palisade melt into black shadow cut by silvery streaks. On the far side a great fire has run down to glowing embers, throwing a steady red wash against the trunks and posts. Beyond the palisade the two-peaked hill rises darkly, and a thin wind stirs the long grasses, leaving the clearing utterly still.

Summary

Jim Hawkins resumes consciousness pinned to the mast by a dirk and sees Israel Hands sink dead near the capsized boat. After a violent shudder frees the knife from his shoulder, Jim strips himself free, climbs back on deck, and disposes of the last hostile aboard—tossing O’Brien overboard—before cutting away some of the rigging to lessen the schooner’s danger. The Hispaniola settles on her beam-ends but is saved from drifting; Jim wades ashore across shallow water and heads for the stockade, pleased that he has recovered the ship for his friends.

Making his way through the dusk and then by moonlight, Jim approaches the blockhouse cautiously. He spies Ben Gunn’s cooking fire at a distance and worries the light might betray everyone to Silver’s party. Reaching the stockade, Jim slips over the palisade and crawls toward the sleeping companions inside. The peace of their snoring reassures him—until Silver’s parrot, Captain Flint, suddenly screams its monotonous call: "Pieces of eight!" The cry awakens the men, and Jim is grabbed and held as a torch is fetched, while Long John Silver demands to know who approaches.

Key events

  1. Jim awakens pinned to the mast; Israel Hands drowns nearby.
  2. A shudder frees the dirk; Jim returns to the deck and throws O’Brien overboard.
  3. Jim cuts rigging to ease the stranded Hispaniola and lands ashore.
  4. He travels by moonlight toward the stockade, noting Ben Gunn’s fire.
  5. Jim sneaks over the palisade and hears the camp snoring—until the parrot cries.
  6. Captain Flint’s repeated call alerts the sleepers; Silver orders a torch and Jim is seized.

Analysis

This chapter emphasizes Jim’s growing resourcefulness and the costs of the violent conflict around him. The physical ordeal—being pinned by the dirk, the horror at Israel Hands’ corpse, the risky work to save the Hispaniola—sharpens Jim’s transition from frightened boy to active agent. The juxtaposition of vivid bodily sensation (pain, blood, the salt sea) with Jim’s interior fear of falling beside a dead man underscores the novel’s recurring attention to bodily vulnerability amid adventure.

Structurally, the chapter functions as a hinge: it concludes the immediate struggle for the ship and shifts action back to the stockade and human confrontation. Symbolically, the parrot’s cry—mechanical, repetitive, and inhuman—breaks the fragile safety of the sleeping camp and signals that human vigilance is imperfect; an animal, not a person, keeps watch more faithfully than Jim’s companions. The narrative voice stays close to Jim’s perceptions and emotions, enhancing immediacy and suspense; small concrete details (the red cap floating, the singing cordage, the ember glow) create a tactile scene while foreshadowing the danger that follows when the parrot betrays him. The chapter also highlights the moral ambiguity of violence—Jim disposes of O’Brien without sentiment—and sets up interpersonal conflict by having Silver’s cunning and the carelessness of Jim’s allies converge to capture him at a vulnerable moment.

Important quotes

“The knife, in fact, had come the nearest in the world to missing me altogether; it held me by a mere pinch of skin, and this the shudder tore away.”

NarratorJim describes how a shudder tears the dirk from his shoulder, freeing him to climb back aboard.

“All’s well,” never fell more reassuringly on my ear.”

NarratorHearing his friends snoring and the watch cry, Jim feels briefly reassured as he nears the blockhouse.

““Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!””

Captain FlintThe parrot’s repetitive cry betrays Jim’s approach and promptly awakens the sleeping men, ruining his stealth.

Characters in XXVII

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