Swallows and Amazons

A loud bang and smoke come from the area of Houseboat Bay. The children conclude that a sailboat is fighting the pirate who lives on the houseboat. Suddenly, the sailboat, helmed by two girls dressed in caps, shorts, and knickerbockers (baggy pants), sails straight to the island. The Walkers hide in case the girls, whose sailboat is called the Amazon, are enemies. As they near the island, the girls hoist a flag with a skull and two crossed bones, the sign of a pirate ship.

John instructs his siblings to watch for the girls from various places on the island. The Amazon turns, however, and sails expertly back toward the mainland. The Walkers quickly pack some food and follow the Amazon in the Swallow. As they pass Houseboat Bay, the houseboat’s occupant seems to shake his fist at them.

The Walker children near Holly Howe Farm, where they can see Mother, baby Vicky, and Vicky’s nurse. They decide not to tell Mother about the pirates. The children continue looking for the Amazon along the coastline and come to the steamboat pier in Rio Bay. They have no interest in the steamships, yachts, and motorboats coming and going in the bay. They only want to see “another little vessel as small as their own” (90), and they sail through the bay until they spot the Amazon. It disappears beneath a promontory (projecting cliff).

The Walkers come ashore at Rio to eat their provisions and buy ginger beer and rope. They say little to the “natives” of Rio for fear of giving information away. After a lively sail back to the island, they sit at the fire and wonder if they will ever see the pirates again—“If they were pirates” (95), Susan says disconsolately.

The following morning, John resolves to “do without the pirates” and goes to fetch the milk (96). Mrs. Dixon, the farmer’s wife, says that Mr. Turner from the houseboat has been asking about the Walkers and feels that they have been meddling with his houseboat. She advises John to leave the man and his parrot alone. As John remembers seeing the “pirate” shaking his fist at his crew, he is “Captain John” once more.

After breakfast, John calls a council and tells the others that the “pirates” are the enemy because they are trying to set the “natives” against them. Titty concludes that the houseboat’s occupant must be guarding a secret, perhaps treasure. Just as the children resolve to sink the houseboat, a long arrow with a green feather hits the saucepan sitting in the fire.

The children spread out to find the enemy and discover that the Swallow has disappeared from its landing place. Susan blows her whistle to signal that the others can move about, and they advance toward her, hooting like owls to show that they are safe. Roger finds a knife in the grass. Suddenly, they hear, “Hands up!” They throw themselves on the ground, and an arrow passes over their heads. As they look at their camp, they see a pirate flag planted there and two figures kneeling with bows and arrows inside their own tents.

The figures inside the tents are the “pirates”—the two girls from the Amazon. John shouts, “Swallows for ever!” (104), and the Walker children rush toward the girls. The older one suggests a “parley” (discussion of terms for peace). As the two sets of children face off, they notice that one of the girls (referred to as the “Amazons”) is bigger than John and that the other is about the same size.

John says that there is no use in parleying if the houseboat man has the Swallow, but the younger Amazon says that the man has nothing to do with the disappearance of the sailboat: “He’s a native, and very unfriendly” (105). Susan whispers to John that the girls must have taken the Swallow themselves, a fact that the girls confirm. John points out that their group stands between the girls and the harbor, so it’s the Amazon that is the prize.

When Titty wonders where the green feathers came from if the houseboat pirate didn’t give them to the girls, they explain that they took the feathers themselves. The older girl points out that they are all on the same side, so there is no point in fighting. The island is theirs and has been for years.

The children put down their weapons and fetch the flag from the Swallow so that both flags can fly during the parley. Roger remarks that he has their knife, and the older girl addresses the other as Peggy and calls her a “donkey” for losing the knife (106). She reveals that the man on the houseboat is their uncle Jim Turner, who was friendly last year but is now very unfriendly.

With both flags in place, the children introduce themselves. The elder Amazon is Nancy Blackett, “Master” of the Amazon, and her sister, Peggy, is the mate. Peggy points out that Nancy’s real name is Ruth. Uncle Jim, who gave the girls their boat, had pointed out that real Amazons were ruthless, prompting Ruth to change her name.

The Blackett girls live on the mainland and have been coming to the island for years. It is called Wild Cat Island, named by Jim for the two girls. While John protests that it’s the Walkers’ island now, Titty asks if Jim is a retired pirate. Nancy agrees and says that he is Captain Flint, the captain of the pirate ship in Treasure Island. She hints darkly that one day, they will capture his ship and make him walk the deck, and the Walkers agree to help.

They will be allies against Captain Flint and the “natives,” Nancy says, so ownership of the island won’t matter. The Blacketts agree to call the town Rio if the Walkers will call the island Wild Cat Island. The children further agree that they can fight each other when they wish, and the two captains sign a treaty.

Nancy proposes a toast: “Swallows and Amazons for ever, and death to Captain Flint!” (117). All the children drink to it, and Peggy begins telling them about her uncle.

Jim is a world traveler who got his parrot in Zanzibar. The previous year, he was friendly to his nieces, but this year, he has a book contract and wants to be left alone. The girls are forbidden from coming near him. They are very put out, and the explosion the previous day was caused by a firecracker that they put on the roof of his houseboat. Titty suggests taking his treasure and buying a big ship so that they can discover new continents.

They decide to have a battle starting the next day to see which sailboat will be the flagship of the fleet. The Blacketts explain where they keep the Amazon—in a boathouse on the nearby river. The girls call the river the Amazon, even though it has “another name on the map” (120). Nancy shows John how to line up the cross painted on the stump with the fork of a tree to sail straight into the harbor. The Blacketts depart for home and supper.

John hangs lanterns, called “leading lights,” at the two marks that can be used to guide the ships into the harbor in the dark. Night falls, and John demonstrates how to use the lights to enter the harbor. They see the charcoal burners, who are making coal from wood, in the hills. John sails into the harbor successfully, and he says that being able to sail at night will give them an advantage in the war with the Amazons.