When a torch is brought for light (Chapter XXVIII, “In the Enemy’s Camp”), Jim finds himself standing among the six remaining pirates, Silver and five others, one of whom was wounded in the attack. Jim fears that his friends are dead, and is reassured when Silver says they are not—that they bargained with the pirates after both groups found that the ship was no longer in the anchorage. Jim says he has killed Hands and O’Brien and hidden the ship. One of the others, Morgan, wants to kill Jim, but Silver argues against it and challenges the five men to defy him if they dare. They confer, and another man, Merry, claims their right (by rules of piracy) to hold a council. The five go outside, and Silver tells Jim that they intend to overthrow him. The two of them must stand together, he says, or the men will kill Jim unless Silver persuades them not to, and Silver will be hanged unless Jim testifies in his behalf for having saved his life. Jim agrees to this. Silver takes a drink of cognac and then asks Jim why the doctor has given the treasure map to the mutineers; he sees by Jim’s expression that Jim has no idea why.
As Chapter XXIX (“The Black Spot Again”) opens, the pirates reenter the blockhouse and, with some trepidation, hand something to Silver—the “black spot,” marked on a page young Dick has torn from his Bible (thus cursing himself with bad luck, Silver says). On the back, as Silver reads it, is the word “Deposed.” Silver says that, according to the rules, they must list their grievances and he must have the chance to answer them. George Merry enumerates their complaints and Silver answers them strongly: First, it was they who decided to mutiny before the treasure was found; second, he bargained with the squire’s group to gain the supplies in the stockade and, more importantly, the map; third, the reason he did not allow that group to be followed and killed was so that the doctor could visit the wounded man and Merry himself, who is sick with fever; and, finally, Silver will not allow them to kill Jim because they will need the boy for a hostage. The five men back down then and, when Silver says he resigns as captain, they re-elect him. Silver gives the black spot to Jim as a “curiosity,” and they all go back to sleep.
Early the next morning (Chapter XXX, “On Parole”), Livesey, coming to treat the wounded man and Merry, asks to have a talk with Jim. The men object to this, but Silver overrules them, makes Jim swear that he will not run for it, and then takes him out to talk with the doctor through the stockade fence, telling them he relies on them both to save him from hanging. Alone with Jim, Livesey rebukes the boy for running off two days before, but tries to get him to climb the fence and escape now. Jim refuses—he gave his word—and tells the doctor where the ship is. Then, calling Silver over to him, Livesey warns Silver, without giving him a reason, not to seek the treasure. Silver says that he must or the others will overpower him and Jim will be killed. The doctor advises Silver to look out for trouble, but tells him that he will do what he can in his behalf.
Chapter XXXI (“The Treasure Hunt—Flint’s Pointer”) begins with Silver’s telling Jim that his refusal to break his word and escape, along with the doctor’s warning, are the first hope he has had of saving his own life. They eat the breakfast that the wasteful pirates have cooked, throw the leftovers on the fire, and Silver cheers the others up by saying they’ll soon find the treasure and then have the upper hand, for they have the boats to take it to the ship, which they’ll find when the treasure is secured, holding Jim as hostage. Jim is sure that Silver will turn on him should they succeed in finding the treasure, and he wonders why his friends gave Silver the map. They all set out in the two boats from the anchorage and, following the map’s ambiguous directions, land the boats and begin to climb to the treasure site, Silver leading Jim on a rope. After a while they find a human skeleton, which they recognize as a former companion, one of the men whom Flint killed after burying the treasure. The bony arm is pointing in a direction that turns out to coincide with the compass reading given on the map, and they realize that Flint left the man there as a pointer. They begin to be superstitiously frightened; they know Flint is dead, but they fear his evil spirit.
In Chapter XXXII (“The Treasure Hunt—The Voice Among the Trees”) the pirates grow more leery of their enterprise, and Silver tries to reason with them. But suddenly, they hear a ghostly voice somewhere before them, first singing the song Flint was famous for, and then crying out in Flint’s last words. Even Silver is shaken, but he says he wasn’t afraid of Flint in life and will not let Flint’s ghost scare him now. Then he notes that the ghostly voice produced an echo among the hills, and the group decides that it was in fact more like Ben Gunn’s voice than Flint’s. None of them—except for the young sailor, Dick, who is coming down with fever himself—is afraid of Ben Gunn, not even of his ghost. They continue to follow the treasure map, making a few false turns, and from Silver’s demeanor Jim realizes that when they do find the treasure, the man will certainly turn on him as well as on Livesey and the others. But when they get to the place where the treasure should be, they find not the seven hundred thousand pounds that ought to be there but only a big hole. Someone else has found Flint’s treasure first.
