Chapter 33 of Treasure Island crackles with danger and revelation as the pirates, furious at finding the treasure gone, turn on Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins.

The tension is palpable as the mutineers, betrayed by greed and failure, prepare to make their move.“Well, there we stood, two on one side, five on the other, the pit between us, and nobody screwed up high enough to offer the first blow.”

But before the pirates can act, the forest erupts with gunfire.

“Crack! crack! crack! — three musket-shots flashed out of the thicket,” scattering the mutineers in panic.

As one falls, the others flee into the wilderness, leaving Silver and Jim to breathe a momentary sigh of relief.

Out of the shadows step Dr. Livesey, Ben Gunn, and Gray, muskets still smoking. With a decisive cry of “Forward! Double quick, my lads. We must head ’em off the boats,” the loyalists regroup, racing toward the gigs and a chance to escape.

Amid the chaos, the truth of the missing treasure is revealed. Ben Gunn had secretly moved the gold to his own cave months before the Hispaniola arrived—“in many weary journeys.” The mutineers’ prize has been in loyalist hands all along.

Reunited aboard the schooner, the loyalists prepare to leave Treasure Island behind. But tensions remain: Long John Silver, guilty of so many deaths, escapes prosecution on orders from higher authority, much to Squire Trelawney’s frustration.

The chapter closes with a rare moment of triumph and camaraderie, as the loyalists celebrate their survival and the long-awaited return of Captain Flint’s treasure.

With Silver still aboard, one question remains—can he be trusted to see the voyage through? Chapter 33 brings thrilling resolution and lingering unease, as the adventure nears its final chapter.

BAKED APPLES

“What a supper I had of it that night, with all my friends around me; and what a meal it was, with Ben Gunn's salted goat and some delicacies and a bottle of old wine from the Hispaniola. Never, I am sure, were people gayer or happier.”

Rather than salted goat, we’re going to enjoy a victorious feast of baked apples - in tribute to the role apples played in this book.

TERMS TO KNOW

“There never was such an overturn in this world” – a dramatic and sudden reversal of circumstances or power.

“Every thought of his soul had been set full-stretch, like a racer, on that money” – a sleek ship racing across the sea, full sails stretched by the wind, emphasizing determination and urgency.

Two-guinea piece – a gold coin worth two guineas. The guinea was originally valued at 21 shillings, which made the two-guinea coin worth 42 shillings (or £2 and 2 shillings).

“With the coolest insolence” – someone behaving with calm, deliberate disrespect or defiance.

“You'll find some pig-nuts” – a type of edible tuber, also known as earthnuts or groundnuts – small, nut-like roots.

“I mean to have the heart of” – intent to exert power against someone, implying hostility or vengeance.

“Spun round like a teetotum” – a child’s spinning top.

"You came in about the nick” – an abbreviated version of the common saying “in the nick of time.” Intervening at the perfect moment, just before something critical happened.

Malaria – a disease caused by parasites, transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.

Prodigious – extraordinary in size, amount, degree, or force.

Imposter – pretending to be someone they are not.

“Dereliction of my duty” – a failure to fulfill one’s responsibilities.

Quadrilaterals – polygons with four sides, four vertices, and four angles. Two-dimensional shapes that can take various forms.

“You're too much of the born favourite for me” – someone who is naturally lucky, privileged, or always favored by fortune.

“Obsequious seaman” – someone who behaves in an overly eager-to-please manner, likely to gain favor or avoid trouble.