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Once on the ship Jim realised it was being guarded by just two pirates, both of whom were drunk and fighting with one another. Jim's enemy, Israel Hands, was the victor, spotted Jim and immediately tried to kill him too.

After a brief wrestle, Jim escaped up the main mast, with Israel in hot pursuit. At the crow's nest, Jim could go no further and had to face his foe. Israel threw his knife at Jim, hitting him in the arm and pinning him to the mast. As a reaction the pistol Silver had given Jim went off and shot Hands between the eyes. He crashed to his death. Jim cut the anchor line and let the Hispaniola drift across the bay, then strikes the Jolly Roger and replaces it with the Union Jack. With the ship safe, he went back to the stockade expecting to meet his companions but ended up with Silver and his cutthroats.

Silver rescued Jim by pretending to take him hostage and got Dr Livesey to tend his wound under flag of truce. The pirates didn't like this and tried to depose him. As usual though Silver outwitted them, even after they had given him the black spot. Long John kept a foot in both camps (quite hard for a one-legged man) by pretending to keep Jim hostage, whilst siding with Dr Livesey.

At the entrance to Bathurst Basin and alongside one of Bristol's last remaining ancient slipways we would like to erect a ship's mast with Israel Hands either chasing Jim up the mast with a knife in his mouth, or plummeting to his death.