Treasure Island: Part IV

by Robert Louis Stevenson
In this tale of pirates and plunder, Jim Hawkins sets out for Skeleton Island to find buried treasure. Read the full text here.

Here are links to all of our lists for the novel: Part I, Parts II–III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gunwale
    a plank or ridge at the top of the side of a boat
    The gunwale was lipping astern. Several times we shipped a little water, and my breeches and the tails of my coat were all soaking wet before we had gone a hundred yards.
  2. leeward
    the side of something that is sheltered from the wind
    "We must keep upstream. You see, sir," he went on, "if once we dropped to leeward of the landing-place, it's hard to say where we should get ashore, besides the chance of being boarded by the gigs; whereas, the way we go the current must slacken, and then we can dodge back along the shore."
  3. bombardment
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    "I have thought of that," said I, for I made sure he was thinking of a bombardment of the fort. "They could never get the gun ashore, and if they did, they could never haul it through the woods."
  4. contrive
    make or work out a plan for; devise
    The squire raised his gun, the rowing ceased, and we leaned over to the other side to keep the balance, and all was so nicely contrived that we did not ship a drop.
  5. palisade
    a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground
    After reloading we walked down the outside of the palisade to see to the fallen enemy.
  6. acquiescence
    acceptance without protest
    Poor old fellow, he had not uttered one word of surprise, complaint, fear, or even acquiescence from the very beginning of our troubles till now, when we had laid him down in the log-house to die.
  7. genteel
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    He were afraid of none, not he; on'y Silver—Silver was that genteel.
  8. sentry
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    I was put sentry at the door, and the captain himself went from one to another, keeping up our spirits and lending a hand wherever it was wanted.
  9. placidly
    in a quiet and tranquil manner
    Sure enough, there were two men just outside the stockade, one of them waving a white cloth; the other, no less a person than Silver himself, standing placidly by.
  10. morass
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
    But where Silver stood with his lieutenant all was still in shadow, and they waded knee-deep in a low, white vapor that had crawled during the night out of the morass.
  11. cavalier
    showing a lack of concern or seriousness
    We could see the man who carried the flag of truce attempting to hold Silver back. Nor was that wonderful, seeing how cavalier had been the captain's answer.
    The adjective "cavalier" describes Captain Smollett's attitude towards a man who had unsuccessfully tried to mutiny and who is now asking for a truce. The noun "cavalier" can refer to an armed horseman, a gallant gentleman, or a supporter of a royal government. These definitions give more punch to Captain Smollett's later proposal to either bring the pirates back to England to be tried and hanged by the king or to shoot Silver in the back the next time he sees him.
  12. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    All that Silver said was a riddle to him, but you would never have guessed it from his tone. As for me, I began to have an inkling.
  13. nettled
    aroused to impatience or anger
    This little whiff of temper seemed to cool Silver down. He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together.
  14. imprecation
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil
    Growling the foulest imprecations, he crawled along the sand till he got hold of the porch and could hoist himself again upon his crutch.
  15. impending
    close in time; about to occur
    I had not time to be afraid, but, as the blow still hung impending, leaped in a trice upon one side, and missing my footing in the soft sand, rolled headlong down the slope.
Created on Fri Mar 01 15:30:25 EST 2013 (updated Wed Aug 06 15:27:34 EDT 2025)

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