Krishna
Many of the old classics are not necessarily weighty stories. Some of them are lightweight adventure tales as seen earlier with Ivanhoe or Anna Karinena
Let us see this story.
Starts with David Balfour leaving his house in Essendean for a journey in the eighteenth century. Mr Campbell sees him off at the ford. Mr Campbell was asked by David’s dying father to send David to the Shaws living in Cramond, which is where the family came from initially. It is near Edinburgh, ‘a mere two days walk’.
He was seventeen when he set out with the father’s recommendation given to him by Mr Campbell. He goes near Edinburgh and finds that everyone he asked about the house of Shaws expresses contempt and hatred of the occupants there. At the end, he comes to the house, which seems to be dilapidated and even half finished.
His uncle seems miserly and mistrusting and slowly David (‘Davie’ as his uncle calls him) stands up for himself. His uncle astonishes him by saying that he promised some money to David and makes good his promise by putting several gold coins in his hand.
When his uncle calls him to go see the lawyer about the remaining money after seeing a seafaring friend of his, he agrees. He learns from a stranger that all of the uncle’s money is actually his and is thrilled at the prospect of getting everything from the uncle as he is far superior to the uncle in wits and strength.
The captain invites the uncle and David to go aboard the ship and David, who all his life wanted to see the inside of a ship, agrees readily. Once the captain gets him aboard the ship from the boat, he suddenly realizes with alarm that the uncle is still on the boat and what’s more, departing towards the shore! He tries to raise an alarm but is hit on the head and falls unconscious.
When he comes to, he realizes that he is a prisoner and is being taken to the US to be sold as a (white) slave to work on the plantations. He also makes friends with the crew of the ship and realizes that under the rough exterior, what nice folks many of them are. When the cabin boy dies – murdered by someone in the forecastle, David takes that position.
Then comes a flamboyant man in rich clothes and carrying two silver guns. He has been aboard the ship – picked up in a storm.
When the ship’s crew treacherously try to murder him for his coins, David throws in his lot with the condemned man and against overwhelming odds, manages to beat them in a sword/ gun battle that ensues. The captain sues for peace – especially since the captain’s cabin that holds arms and, more critically, all the liquor is in control of the duo.
Later, they make peace but the boat hits the rocks in a storm. David is thrown clean off and wonders about the others. He walks to an island and after some confusion, understands that he can walk across to the mainland in low tide. He finds that Adam, the swashbuckling partner of his, has survived and has left a message for him to follow him to another town.
He reunites with Adam and immediately goes on the run away from the British authorities. Adam and David find refuge with some friends and Adam angers him by borrowing and then losing all the money David had in a card game.
They go back to England and while Adam hides, David goes back to the lawyer to convince him of his claim to the property and tells him how his uncle has cheated him.
The rest of the story consists of the plan by the three – the lawyer, Alan and David to get the uncle to confess to what he did (without realizing that he was doing so in front of witnesses) and set things to right.
Nice. Not what I expected but readable.
5/10
== Krishna