Editor's Choice
Why did Captain Billy Bones go to the Benbow Inn in Treasure Island?
Quick answer:
Captain Billy Bones goes to the Benbow Inn because it is isolated and gets few visitors, making it an ideal hiding spot from his former shipmates, particularly a "seafaring man with one leg." He asks Jim to watch for this man and warn him, indicating his desire to remain hidden. Despite its seclusion, Bones is eventually found by Black Dog, which leads to his demise shortly afterward.
Treasure Island begins with the arrival of the mysterious "Captain" at the Admiral Benbow Inn, singing about "fifteen men on the dead man's chest." The first question he puts to Jim's father is whether the inn gets "much company." He seems to be only making conversation since the question follows his observations that the inn is situated in a "handy cove" and provides a "pleasant sittyated grog-shop."
Evidently, the sly captain was leading Jim's father to provide an answer that would have made him, the captain, take his leave. When Jim's father replies that the inn isn't at all busy, although he wishes it was, and the captain replies that it's exactly what he's looking for and announces his intention to stay for a while.
It soon becomes apparent that the man, who they later learn is Billy Bones, is there to hide from someone, in particular, a "seafaring man...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
with one leg." He pays Jim to keep a lookout for the unwanted visitor and to warn him if he should ever see a man like that approaching. Therefore, the reason he chooses to stay at Jim's family's inn is that it is isolated and provides him the best hope of avoiding his old shipmates.
Captain Bones is said to have chosen the Benbow Inn because it is isolated and has few visitors. This is confided to Jim by Bones's porter, who accompanied him to the Inn when he first arrived, and was insinuated by Bones in conversation with Jim's father, saying the inn was suited to his tastes specifically because it saw little business.
This is in Bones's best interests because he's suspicious of being found by his former shipmates, and he spends most of his days scanning for signs of having been found out, and keeps Jim and his parents under standing orders to report to him the arrival of anyone who looks like a sailor, and especially a man with one leg. Evidently he wasn't isolated enough, because after several months (the exact length of time is unspecified) Black Dog finds Bones at the inn, and Bones dies shortly thereafter.