Chapter
# 31
# 31
What does the title of this chapter mean? What is Flint's pointer?
It is the skeleton place pointing out the direction of the treasure.
How do the pirates react to the voice singing "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest"?
They are scared to death. They think that it must be Captain Flint, a man who was very frightening in life and whose ghost they don't want to cross.
Why had the doctor given Silver the map?
It was no longer valuable since the treasure was now in Ben Gunn's cave.
How does Silver get away?
Ben Gunn helps him to leave in a shore boat while the Jim, the squire, and the doctor are ashore.
What do the mutineers begin to worry about after they find Flint's pointer?
They worry about being haunted by the ghost of Captain Flint; because he had such a bad death, they figure his spirit is likely to walk.
How does Silver convince them that the voice is not that of a spirit?
He points out that the voice has an echo, and spirits don't have shadows, so they shouldn't have echoes either.
Why had the squire's party wanted to leave the stockade?
They wanted to get away from the malaria swamps and they wanted to guard the treasure.
What does Ben Gunn do with his thousand pounds?
He spends it all in nineteen days, and must beg on the twentieth.
What does Jim mean when he says that Silver has "a foot in either camp"?
If the mutineers find the treasure, Silver will stick with the plan to kill the honest men, probably including Jim, and get away with the money. If that fails, he'll throw in his lot with the Squire's party, and return home with the rescue ship and remind the doctor and Jim of how they promised to testify on his behalf.
What is inside the excavation?
A broken pick and some boards, one bearing the name Walrus, are all that they find.
How does Long John change once they discover that the treasure is already gone?
He's back on Jim's side and shoots George Merry gladly.
What are Jim's feelings about the possibility of returning to Treasure Island for the bar silver?
He will never do it. He still has nightmares about his time there.