Kidnapped · Chapter
The Captain Knuckles Under explained
After the battle in the roundhouse, Alan and David enjoy a tense but triumphant breakfast, cleaning up and negotiating with Captain Hoseason and Mr.
What happens
After the battle in the roundhouse, Alan and David enjoy a tense but triumphant breakfast, cleaning up and negotiating with Captain Hoseason and Mr. Riach. Alan gives David a silver button as a keepsake. A parley leads to a treaty: Alan agrees to guide the ship to the coast of Appin in exchange for sixty guineas, and a bottle of brandy is traded for water to clean the roundhouse.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Resilience
Alan and David, though outnumbered, secure their safety through negotiation and force, cleaning the roundhouse and striking a deal to be set ashore.
Honor and Code of Conduct
The parley and exchange of parole highlight the importance of verbal agreements and honor, though Alan distrusts the captain's word due to past betrayal.
Friendship and Comradeship
Alan gives David a silver button as a keepsake, symbolizing their bond and mutual reliance after the battle.
Characters to notice
- David Balfour
Narrates the chapter; participates in the parley and treaty negotiations, feeling sympathy for the wounded captain.
- Alan Breck Stewart
Dominates the negotiation with Hoseason, gives David a silver button, and insists on being set ashore in his own country.
- Captain Hoseason
Appears at the window with his arm in a sling, pale and old; reluctantly agrees to Alan's terms after losing his first officer.
- Mr. Riach
Acts as intermediary for the parley, admits fear, and asks for brandy; helps enforce the treaty.
- Mr. Shuan
Mentioned as dead, having been killed in the previous battle.
Key passages
“And depend upon it, we shall hear more of them ere long. Ye may keep a man from the fighting, but never from his bottle.”
Alan predicts that the thirsty sailors will soon try to negotiate for alcohol, since you can stop a man from fighting but not from drinking.
Alan's remark foreshadows the brandy-for-water trade that concludes the chapter.
“I had them from my father, Duncan Stewart; and now give ye one of them to be a keepsake for last night’s work. And wherever ye go and show that button, the friends of Alan Breck will come around you.”
Alan gives David a silver button from his coat, saying it will identify David to Alan's allies wherever he goes.
This gift symbolizes Alan's trust and the bond formed during their fight.
“Set me on dry ground in Appin, or Ardgour, or in Morven, or Arisaig, or Morar; or, in brief, where ye please, within thirty miles of my own country; except in a country of the Campbells.”
Alan demands to be put ashore anywhere within thirty miles of his home, as long as it's not Campbell territory.
This shows Alan's deep distrust of the Campbells and his desire to return to safe ground.