The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells, class 12 English summary,

 

The Treasure in the Forest

H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells, full Herbert George Wells, (1866-1946) was an English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian, best known for such science fiction novels. His first novel, The Time Machine (1895) was immediately successful, and so he added a series of science fiction novels that revealed him as a writer of marked originality and an immense richness of ideas. His science fiction novels include The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897). He also wrote many short stories, which were collected in The Stolen Bacillus (1895), The Plattner Story (1897), and Tales of Space and Time (1899). This story is taken from the collection The Country of the Blind and other Short Stories.

‘The Treasure in the Forest’ is an ominous adventure story in which two men search for Spanish treasure, letting greed get the better of their awareness. As the story moves ahead to show how power and greed corrupt human beings.

Characters

 Major Characters: Evans and his friend Hooker.

Other characters : Chang-hi  and Chinese men  

Plot Summary of the story

The story is full of mystery and adventure. Human greed is presented in the sequence of series which lead them to their own death. The story starts with the description of a beautiful green and virgin forest of an island which is adjacent to the sea. Hooker and his friend Evans has just arrived by a canoe (boat). They are tired because they have sailed whole night to arrive there. They are feeling tired and exhausted. Their mouth and throat are dried and they haven't taken any food since they left to that journey.

They had brought a yellow paper which looked like a rough map. They tried to see the location and its map. Evans explained that there was a reef (range of rock) and some gap in the map. They saw curved and twisted line and dotted line. The straight line started from opening of the reef to a clump of palm trees. There came a star just where the river was cut. They couldn't understand the meaning of Chinese words and dotted lines. It might be precaution for the safety journey which they didn't understand and ignore it and took their way. They have brought the map from the Chinese people.

They were very near to the treasure according to the map. Evans told to turn his paddle and took paper from him folded and put in his pocket.  They had intense excitement in their mind although they were very tired. Evans felt sleepy and tried to arouse himself by directing his mind to the ingots (gold brick), the Chinese men had spoken of about it. It was mid day and sun was burning, it warmed them. He started to doze soon by hearing the rhythmic wash of the sea.  But his consciousness was still dim but a queer (different) dream texture interwove with his sensations.

There was night in his dream when Evans and Hooker heard about the secret. They saw the figures of three Chinese people who are talking about a Spanish galleon (ship) (In the history in 1698 Spanish ship was sank in battle off the coast of Colombia, while it was laden with gold and silver). Chang-hi was wandering ashore for the ingots that were hidden since two hundred years.  It was reburied with single-hand (one person) with very safely way. Now he wanted to return and dig out them. Then presently little map fluttered. Then his dream sifted to the Chinese man Chang-hi who was furious to Evans. At the end Chang-hi grinned, a most incomprehensible grin. Abruptly the things became unpleasant he started to threaten him. He saw heaps and heaps of gold when Chang-he intervening and struggling to hold him back from it. Then Chang-hi started to grow as a giant and bright heap of gold turned into roaring furnace. He saw a man like Chang-hi growing as a devil with a tail and began to feed him with coal. Another devil was shouting his name and he woke up. Either it was devil or his friend Hooker calling him. Hooker was scolding him as 'a sleepy fool'.

 

There were three palm tree and they mark there for their returning sign. Then they went to the river mouth and drank water. Hooker gives the paddle to his friend to control their boat. They landed and pulled their boat at the beach and headed towards the bush. They walked until they could see the opening of the reef and the bushes in a straight line. They had walked through the dense forest into the shadows and felt cool. And then, reached to the river bank. They saw beautiful vegetation at the side of the river. They reached to a heap of stones. They found a gentle swell on the ground and tried to discover under the earth. They found a limb, then a dead body who looks like a Chinese men. Hooker surprised to the dead body but Evans got busy on his work. He started to remove heap of stones and found bit stuff and cleared off the soil with his bare hand. As he was doing, a little throne pricked his hand. He removed that throne and picked out an ingot from the whole. Hooker was puzzled in that dead body. He scolded his friend to help him. He removed his jacket and put in all the gold and headed towards their canoe. They guessed he came alone and a snake might have bitten him. Hooker told that the dead one was exactly like same to someone like Chang –hi. Evans was feeling so difficult and wished to rebury the gold. They took rest at the bottom of a tall tree. Evans felt that his hand was paining him. They walked about hundred miles in silence. Evans stumbled and then sudden curse flung the coat from him. He stood for a moment and gaze at his friend and then leaned against the tree. He told his friend not to come near him and not to touch him. He told Hooker to put the ingots into jacket. He didn't know what is happening on him. His hands are clenched and his face became distorted with pain.

As Hooker tried to handle the ingots he felt a little prick on the ball of his thumb. It was about two inch in length and removed from his hand. He looked at Evans who was bending and motionlessly laying on the ground and remembered the blue – clad body of the Chinese man. He understood the meaning of dashes in the corner.  The thrones were similar to those the Dyaks poisons and he sucked his wound but thought it would be worthless. Presently he felt a strange aching pain in his arms and shoulders, and his fingers seemed difficult to bend. Abruptly he stopped and sat down by the pile of ingots and rest in his chin upon his hands and his elbows up on his knees, stared at his friend and remembered Chang-hi's grin and dies as his friend.