men. There were six men in one boat and seven in the other. Silver was in the other boat. He was feeding his parrot"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" the parrot screamed. Long John Silver did not see me until we were close to the shore. Jim, Jim!' heard Silver call. "Stay with me on the island, Jim But l didn't listen. 1 jumped out of the boat and ran up the beach. I ran straight ahead. There were trees in front of me. I ran through the trees and the thick bushes. There were strange flowers and plants everywhere. There were brightly coloured birds and insects. Some- times I could see Spy Glass Hill above the trees. Most of the time the trees hid the sky. I walked and walked. I did not know where I was going. I was lost in the jungle. must have walked in a circle because I heard voices ahead of me. heard Long John Silver's voice. I moved forward slowly and hid in the trees. Join us, Tom, Silver was saying to another man. 'All the crew are working together in this. You will be alone. "I'll not join you," said Tom. "I'll not join a crew of pirates. We're not all thieves and murderers like you. I'm not alone.' Just then there was a scream. A man gave a terrible cry and frightened birds flew up into the air. "What was that?" asked Tom. "That was Alan," said Silver. "Alan didn't want to join us either. "And you've killed him said Tom. He was angry and afraid. "You've killed him like a dog. And you'll have to kill me too, if you can.