Alt. Ending to Treasure Island

[midnghtraver]

By Robert Louis Stevenson

Its kind of long, and you won't really understand it if you haven't read the book, but I did this for a school final.
If you've never read it then: http://www.edocere.org/book_summarie...ure_island.htm

Alternate Ending
(Proceeding Jim getting captured by Silver after returning to the stockade with the boat.)

“Listen up kid,” Silver whispered into my ear, “my crew has given me the black spot, they don’t want me anymore, they tells me.”
I struggled to let go of his grasp, but he held firm.
“I can get us out of here safe, just follow my lead!” he continued.
I stopped struggling and gave him a puzzled look.
“Your changing sides?” I whispered back.
“That’s what I’m tellins’ you!” He stopped whispering, “Now get back in the stockade hostage!”
I was thrown into a room that much resembled a cupboard. The walls were for the most part grey, for the sea salt and age had robbed them of all color. I had to bite my tongue for fear of crying out as a rat scurried across my feat and out a little hole in the corner. I could hear the men having an argument in the room next to my holding cell.
“We tolds ya! We aint’ callin’ you cap’n any longer!” Shouted a man I didn’t know.
“We have the map now! The treasure is as good as ours!” replied Silver.
“How do we know you aint’ just sayn’ that to keep us from killin’ ya?”
I could hear laughter coming from the other shipmates. The first thought that went through my head was that they were going to kill Silver, then dispose of me short after, but then Silver did something I did not expect.
“If that’s the way it has to be, then so be it!” Silver cried.
I heard some of the ship mates cry out in shock, then in anger, and then a fight broke out. I could not tell who got first blows, but what I could tell is that Silver had lost, for when they pulled me out of my cramped jail, I saw his body sprawled out across the floor, near the door, as if he tried to run. Then, all at once, I understood. All around the candle on the table was burnt shards of paper that could have only been the map. I found the courage to speak.
“Now that you don’t have the map, its over, you don’t need me anymore!”
“Nice try kid.” a big burly shipmate laughed.
They tied my hands behind my back and walked me out of the stockade with a knife under my throat at all times. I was truly frightened now. Who was going to save me? I had no idea where the Doctor was, nor Captain Smollett.
“Hey! Smollett!” Cried the shipmate up front.
And to my surprise, Captain Smollett with Dr. Livesey supporting him stumbled out from behind a rocky outcrop with the rest of our crew remaining at the rear.
“Silver burned the map.” Said the big shipmate with the knife at my throat, “We know you made copies, and we know you know where the treasure is, and if you don’t take us there, you know whats gon’ happen? Little Jim here is gonna-” as he made a slitting motion with his fingers across his neck.
“We will take you there.” Said the Doctor in defeat.
“Start walkin’ then!”
We walked deeper and deeper into the forest. Further into the island than I had ever dared to go for the brush got so thick, and the thorns so sharp that I feared that I would get lost and wind up dead. I heard the rustle of feet on the wet ground all around us which set me on edge. After it seemed like decades of walking, we finally emerged into a clearing where a solitary palm tree stood emperor over all of the others. I could see a roughly carved X at the base of the tree that looked like a scar that could never fully heal.
“Its under that tree.” Said Smollett pointing to the X.
“Start digging!” Yelled the man holding me, for he seemed to be in charge now.
“If any of you move, the boy dies!”
All the while the shipmates were digging at the base of the giant palm tree, I was thinking of all of the things that were going to happen. Either I would be killed, or marooned on this island, never to see my mother again, or my friends back in Bristol.
“I’ve got it! I’ve found it!” Cried one of the shipmates digging the hole.
“Pulled it up!” yelled the burly man as he dragged me behind him heading towards the crevice.
The shipmates hoisted the chest up onto the sand and everyone crowded around it as the burly man ran his hand across the intricate pattern carved into the wood of the chest, worn with age.
Letting go of my bounds out of excitement, the burly man opened the chest.
There was a moment of silence as everyone stood around the chest and stared, including Captain Smollett and the Doctor. Then the silent excitement turned to silent shock, then to not so silent shock, then anger. The burly man wheeled around.
“What is the meaning of this!?” he yelled at the captain.
I could hear a low chuckle coming from the back of our group.
“What do you think?” said Ben Gunn, “There never was treasure!”
“Silver was there! Silver saw it!” the burly man continued yelling.
“No,” said Ben, “he saw Flints treasure all right, but not in the chest, and definitely not buried on some remote island. I was marooned on this island after Flint buried his chest, and spent the time since looking for that chest, and you think after all that time I hadn’t found it? At first I felt let down, disappointed, Then I understood. Flint’s passion was exploring, and adventuring. Flint decided that there was not enough of that in the world, and so he decided to bury a chest with a note in it on a remote island, and invent the story that it was buried treasure.”
“I see no note!” yelled one of the shipmates.
Ben produced a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and started to read.
“Dear Adventurer! I am pleased to tell you that you have found my treasure! Where is all the riches you ask? My treasure was never gold, riches were never what mattered. You discovered the treasure of adventure! Love, C. Flint.”
“There was no treasure?”
“No”
The shipmates came to the conclusion to maroon us on the island with Ben, and go back to their homes. After I, Ben, the Doctor, the Captain, and all of our crew watched the ship fade into the distance, Ben spoke.
“Come on boys, I want ta show yer somethin”
Ben took us round to the back side of the island, where he had a ship, docked in a bay, completely out of sight from where all of the proceedings of the past few days took place. As we boarded the ship, Ben took us to the hull where there was the biggest mountain of treasure anyone could imagine.
“Is that-” I started to say.
“Yep! All of the treasure.” Ben said.
“But Ben, what is the meaning of this?” Asked the Doctor.
Ben answered, “You can just call me, Mr. Flint.”