# A New Swimming-Hole explained — Jibby Jones > Chapter companion for Jibby Jones by Ellis Parker Butler. ## What happens After a painful encounter with bees, the boys recover and learn from Jibby that the green sand is actually a mix of yellow and blue grains. They retrieve kerosene from Bill Catlin's wife, but upon returning, Jibby warns them that a group of treasure hunters—including a redheaded bandit—has arrived at the green sands. The boys devise a plan to spoil the hunters' food with kerosene and attempt to ignite it using Jibby's magnifying glass, but the fire ball falls short. ## Themes in this chapter ### Cleverness vs. Brawn Jibby and the boys use ingenuity and sabotage (kerosene, fire ball) to outwit the armed treasure hunters, emphasizing wit over force. ### Observation and Knowledge Jibby's magnifying glass reveals the true composition of the green sand, and he uses scientific knowledge (sun rays) to start a fire. ### Friendship and Teamwork The boys collaborate after the bee stings, share lunch, and work together to execute the plan against the treasure hunters. ## Character check-ins ### Jibby Jones Leads the boys after the bee stings, explains the green sand illusion, and orchestrates the sabotage of the treasure hunters' supplies. ### Wampus Smale Suffers bee stings, helps Jibby weigh down the birch tree, and expresses frustration about the treasure hunters. ### Skippy Root Participates in the sabotage plan, jokes about the bee incident, and helps with the dead wood. ### Tad Willing Assists in the plan to spoil the treasure hunters' food and helps with the birch tree maneuver. ### The Redheaded Bandit Leads the group of treasure hunters, threatens the negroes, and is described with red hair and a scar over his eye. ### Bill Catlin Mentioned as the man whose wife lends the boys kerosene; not present in the chapter. ## Key lines > Each grain stood out like the setting of a ring, and each grain was transparent, and sparkled, but not one grain was green! Under the magnifying glass, each sand grain looked like a gem, clear and glittering, but none were actually green. _Jibby reveals the optical illusion of the green sand._ > I’m a bad man when I get riled. I’m the great-grandson of my great-grandfather, and he killed more men than there are kinky hairs on all your worthless heads The redheaded bandit threatens the negroes, boasting about his violent ancestry. _The Redheaded Bandit asserts his authority through intimidation._ > We let the birch straighten up slowly and then pushed it down again, but this time toward the creek, so it stuck out over the bank The boys used a bent birch tree as a lever to position the kerosene can over the treasure hunters' supplies. _The boys employ a clever mechanical trick to sabotage the food._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jibby_jones_se/chapters/xxii-a-new-swimming-hole - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jibby_jones_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/jibby_jones_se/chapters