Early the next morning (Chapter 30, "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 31 ("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.
