The Treasure in the Forest by H. G. Wells [summary, exercise and analysis]

Treasure in the Forest is a story from class 12 compulsory English. The story ‘Treasure in the Forest ‘has been written by H.G. Wells. In this story, the writer’s main concern is to show how power and greed corrupt human beings. The following notes include summary and exercise of Treasure in the Forest. This note can also be helpful for analysis of the story ‘Treasure in the Forest’.
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Characters in “The Treasure in the Forest” Evan and Hooker: They are friends who travel for treasure.
Short summary of Treasure in the Forest The Treasure in the Forest is an ominous story where two friends undertake a risky journey in search of a mysterious treasure. The two friends had killed a Chinese and took a map from him which showed the way to the treasure. Following the map, the two friends successfully reached the place where the treasure they wanted was buried. But they couldn't make use of the treasure because they lost their life. Evan and Hooker died because they were not well prepared for the journey and they ignored the signals (dots) on the map. When Evans and Hooker reached the place, they found a dead body of a China man. The two friends simply ignored the dead body thinking that it might have been snake bitten.
Complete summary of Treasure in the Forest The story begins with the adventure of two friends: Evans and Hooker. They were heading towards the island where the treasure was hidden. The two friends looked tired. They had no food to eat and no water to drink. They started their journey quickly and without adequate preparation. Despite such difficulties, they dared to continue their journey. Hooker was pointing his fingers at the map to identify the location. He noticed some dots on the map. Hooker was not sure what those dots indicate. So, he asked Evan. Evan too could not figure out what those dots indicate. They both ignored the dots and moved ahead. They just dreamed of having the treasure and enjoying their life. Shortly, Evan slept on the canoe while Hooker was handling the paddle. They saw the reefs as shown on the map. They crossed the river and came across a river. They got out of the canoe and drank water from the river. Then, the two friends walked inside the forest. As they reached the spot where the treasure was buried, they saw a corpse. They were shocked to find that someone had already known about the treasure. The dead body looked like Chang-hi. But they confirmed that he wasn't Chang-hi because they had killed him. Evan and Hooker found that the dead body was blue and guessed that a snake might have bitten him. Then, Evan quickly checks the treasure. He saw golden ingots and got excited. Evan found that the treasure was safe. Evan, then, started to put the golden ingots in his coat. But soon, he got pricked by a thorn. However, he didn't care it continued putting the ingots. Hooker looked at the dead body. He was quite suspicious about the mysterious death of the dead body. Hooker told Evans that they must bury the dead body. Evans scolded Hooker and told him to stop being foolish. After having discussed it for a while, they decided to move toward their canoe. They both put the golden ingots in their coat. As they were leaving the spot, Evans got sudden pain in his whole body. He wanted to take a rest for a while. Hooker worried about his friend's sudden pain. Then, Evan shouted with great pain and crumpled on the ground until his feet touched his chest. Hooker was terrified. He asked Evan if he could help him. Evan shouted not to go closer to him and save himself from being suffered too. Evan suggested Hooker leave the golden ingots and return quickly. But Hooker was too terrified to act wisely. Soon, Hooker was also pricked by the thorns. He thought of saving his friend and taking the gold up to the canoe. As he tried to lift those ingots, he too got a sudden muscle cramp. Both friends lay there paralyzed. Finally, Hooker understood what those dots, which they ignored, meant. The dots indicated the poisonous thorns which had pickled them. The cause of the Chinaman's death, behind the palm tree, was also the same. They came to know that Chang-hi had put those poisonous thorns for the safety of the treasure. Hooker realized that Chang-hi was clever. Hooker cried for help but it was all useless. Since they were amidst the lonely forest, nobody came to help them. They had no options besides waiting for death to come.
The Treasure in the Forest [Lesson to learn] 👉 Greed leads to destruction 👉 Always plan and prepare well before undertaking any journey. 👉 A friend in need is a friend indeed. (Hooker didn't leave his friend Evans when he was in danger. Rather he too accepted death.)
Understanding the text The Treasure in the Forest Answer the following questions. a. Have you read any story about treasure hunting before? If yes, what is its title? b. Why do you think people take risk of treasure hunting?
About the writer 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), The War of the Worlds (1898), The First Men in the Moon (1901), and The Food of the Gods (1904). 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.
About the story The Treasure in the Forest 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.
The Treasure in the Forest [Original Text] The canoe was now approaching the land. The bay opened out, and a gap in the white surf of the reef marked where the little river ran out to the sea; the thicker and deeper green of the virgin forest showed its course down the distant hill slope. The forest here came close to the beach. Far beyond, dim and almost cloudlike in texture, rose the mountains, like suddenly frozen waves. The sea was still save for an almost imperceptible swell. The sky blazed. The man with the carved paddle stopped. "It should be somewhere here," he said. He shipped the paddle and held his arms out straight before him. The other man had been in the fore part of the canoe, closely scrutinising the land. He had a sheet of yellow paper on his knee. "Come and look at this, Evans," he said. Both men spoke in low tones, and their lips were hard and dry. The man called Evans came swaying along the canoe until he could look over his companion's shoulder. The paper had the appearance of a rough map. By much folding, it was creased and worn to the pitch of separation, and the second man held the discoloured fragments together where they had parted. On it one could dimly make out, in almost obliterated pencil, the outline of the bay. "Here," said Evans, "is the reef, and here is the gap." He ran his thumb-nail over the chart. "This curved and twisting line is the river--I could do with a drink now!--and this star is the place." "You see this dotted line," said the man with the map; "it is a straight line, and runs from the opening of the reef to a clump of palm-trees. The star comes just where it cuts the river. We must mark the place as we go into the lagoon." "It's queer," said Evans, after a pause, "what these little marks down here are for. It looks like the plan of a house or something; but what all these little dashes, pointing this way and that, may mean I can't get a notion. And what's the writing?" "Chinese," said the man with the map. "Of course! He was a Chinee," said Evans. "They all were," said the man with the map. They both sat for some minutes staring at the land, while the canoe drifted slowly. Then Evans looked towards the paddle. "Your turn with the paddle now, Hooker," said he. And his companion quietly folded up his map, put it in his pocket, passed Evans carefully, and began to paddle. His movements were languid, like those of a man whose strength was nearly exhausted. Evans sat with his eyes half-closed, watching the frothy breakwater of the coral creep nearer and nearer. The sky was like a furnace, for the sun was near the zenith. Though they were so near the Treasure he  did not feel the exaltation he  had anticipated. The intense excitement of the struggle for the plan, and the long night voyage from the mainland in the unprovisioned canoe had, to use his own expression, "taken it out of him." He tried to arouse himself by directing his mind to the ingots the Chinamen had spoken of, but it would not rest there; it came back headlong to the thought of sweet water rippling in the river, and to the almost unendurable dryness of his lips and throat. The rhythmic wash of the sea upon the reef was becoming audible now, and it had a pleasant sound in his ears; the water washed along the side of the canoe, and the paddle dripped between each stroke. Presently he began to doze.  He was still dimly conscious of the island, but a queer dream texture interwove with his sensations. Once again it was the night when he and Hooker had hit upon the Chinamen's secret; he saw the moonlit trees, the little fire burning, and the black figures of the three Chinamen--silvered on one side by moonlight, and on  the other glowing from the firelight--and heard them talking together in pigeon- English--for they came from different provinces. Hooker had caught the drift of their talk first, and had motioned to him to listen. Fragments of the conversation were inaudible, and fragments incomprehensible. A Spanish galleon from the Philippines hopelessly aground, and its treasure buried against the day of return, lay in the background of the story; a shipwrecked crew thinned by disease, a quarrel or so, and the needs of discipline, and at last taking to their boats never to be heard of again. Then Chang-hi, only a year since, wandering ashore, had happened upon the ingots hidden for two hundred years, had deserted his junk, and reburied them with infinite toil, single-handed but very safe. He laid great stress on the safety--   it was a secret of his. Now he wanted help to return and exhume them. Presently the little map fluttered and the voices sank. A fine story for two, stranded British wastrels to hear! Evans' dream shifted to the moment when he had Chang-hi's pigtail in his hand. The life of a Chinaman is scarcely sacred like a European's.  The cunning little face of Chang-hi, first keen and furious like a startled snake,  and then fearful, treacherous, and pitiful, became overwhelmingly prominent in  the dream. At the end Chang-hi had grinned, a most incomprehensible and startling grin. Abruptly things became very unpleasant, as they will do at times in dreams. Chang-hi gibbered and threatened him. He saw in his dream heaps and heaps of gold, and Chang-hi intervening and struggling to hold him back from it. He took Chang-hi by the pig-tail--how big the yellow brute was, and how he struggled and grinned! He kept growing bigger, too. Then the bright heaps of gold turned to a roaring furnace, and a vast devil, surprisingly like Chang-hi, but with a huge black tail, began to feed him with coals. They burnt his mouth horribly. Another devil was shouting his name: "Evans, Evans, you sleepy fool!"--or was it Hooker? He woke up. They were in the mouth of the lagoon. "There are the three palm-trees. It must be in a line with that clump of bushes," said his companion. "Mark that. If we, go to those bushes and then strike into the bush in a straight line from here, we shall come to it when we come to the stream." They could see now where the mouth of the stream opened out. At the sight of it Evans revived. "Hurry up, man," he said, "or by heaven I shall have to drink sea water!" He gnawed his hand and stared at the gleam of silver among the rocks and green tangle. Presently he turned almost fiercely upon Hooker. "Give me the paddle," he said. So they reached the river mouth. A little way up Hooker took some water in the hollow of his hand, tasted it, and spat it out. A little further he tried again. "This will do," he said, and they began drinking eagerly. "Curse this!" said Evans suddenly. "It's too slow." And, leaning dangerously over the fore part of the canoe, he began to suck up the water with his lips. Presently they made an end of drinking, and, running the canoe into a little creek, were about to land among the thick growth that overhung the water. "We shall have to scramble through this to the beach to find our bushes and get the line to the place," said Evans. "We had better paddle round," said Hooker. So they pushed out again into the river and paddled back down it to the sea, and along the shore to the place where the clump of bushes grew. Here they landed, pulled the light canoe far up the beach, and then went up towards the edge of the jungle until they could see the opening of the reef and the bushes in a straight line. Evans had taken a native implement out of the canoe. It was L-shaped, and the transverse piece was armed with polished stone. Hooker carried the paddle. "It is straight now in this direction," said he; "we must push through this till we strike the stream. Then we must prospect." They pushed through a close tangle of reeds, broad fronds, and young trees, and at first it was toilsome going, but very speedily the trees became larger and the ground beneath them opened out. The blaze of the sunlight was replaced by insensible degrees by cool shadow. The trees became at last vast pillars that rose up to a canopy of greenery far overhead. Dim white flowers hung from their stems, and ropy creepers swung from tree to tree. The shadow deepened. On the ground, blotched fungi and a red-brown incrustation became frequent. Evans shivered. "It seems almost cold here after the blaze outside." "I hope we are keeping to the straight," said Hooker. Presently they saw, far ahead, a gap in the sombre darkness where white shafts of hot sunlight smote into the forest. There also was brilliant green undergrowth and coloured flowers. Then they heard the rush of water. "Here is the river. We should be close to it now," said Hooker. The vegetation was thick by the river bank. Great plants, as yet unnamed, grew among the roots of the big trees, and spread rosettes of huge green fans towards the strip of sky. Many flowers and a creeper with shiny foliage clung to the exposed stems. On the water of the broad, quiet pool which the treasure-seekers now overlooked there floated big oval leaves and a waxen, pinkish-white flower not unlike a water-lily. Further, as the river bent away from them, the water suddenly frothed and became noisy in a rapid. "Well?" said Evans. "We have swerved a little from the straight," said Hooker. "That was to be expected." He turned and looked into the dim cool shadows of the silent forest behind them. "If we beat a little way up and down the stream we should come to something." "You said--" began Evans. "He said there was a heap of stones," said Hooker. The two men looked at each other for a moment. "Let us try a little down-stream first," said Evans. They advanced slowly, looking curiously about them. Suddenly Evans stopped. "What the devil's that?" he said. Hooker followed his finger. "Something blue," he said. It had come into view as they topped a gentle swell of the ground. Then he began to distinguish what it was. He advanced suddenly with hasty steps, until the body that belonged to the limp hand and arm had become visible. His grip tightened on the implement he carried. The thing was the figure of a Chinaman lying on his face. The abandon of the pose was unmistakable. The two men drew closer together, and stood staring silently at this ominous dead body. It lay in a clear space among the trees. Nearby was a spade after the Chinese pattern, and further off lay a scattered heap of stones, close to a freshly dug hole. "Somebody has been here before," said Hooker, clearing his throat. Then suddenly Evans began to swear and rave, and stamp upon the ground. Hooker turned white but said nothing. He advanced towards the prostrate body. He saw the neck was puffed and purple, and the hands and ankles swollen. "Pah!" he said, and suddenly turned away and went towards the excavation. He gave a cry of surprise. He shouted to Evans, who was following him slowly. "You fool! It's all right. It's here still." Then he turned again and looked at the dead Chinaman, and then again at the hole. Evans hurried to the hole. Already half exposed by the ill-fated wretch beside them lay a number of dull yellow bars. He bent down in the hole, and, clearing off the soil with his bare hands, hastily pulled one of the heavy masses out. As he did so a little thorn pricked his hand. He pulled the delicate spike out with his fingers and lifted the ingot. "Only gold or lead could weigh like this," he said exultantly. Hooker was still looking at the dead Chinaman. He was puzzled. "He stole a march on his friends," he said at last. "He came here alone, and some poisonous snake has killed him... I wonder how he found the place." Evans stood with the ingot in his hands. What did a dead Chinaman signify? "We shall have to take this stuff to the mainland piecemeal, and bury it there for a while. How shall we get it to the canoe?" He took his jacket off and spread it on the ground, and flung two or three ingots into it. Presently he found that another little thorn had punctured his skin. "This is as much as we can carry," said he. Then suddenly, with a queer rush of irritation, "What are you staring at?" Hooker turned to him. "I can't stand him ..." He nodded towards the corpse. "It's so like " "Rubbish!" said Evans. "All Chinamen are alike." Hooker looked into his face. "I'm going to bury that, anyhow, before I lend a hand with this stuff." "Don't be a fool, Hooker," said Evans, "Let that mass of corruption bide." Hooker hesitated, and then his eye went carefully over the brown soil about them. "It scares me somehow," he said. "The thing is," said Evans, "what to do with these ingots. Shall we re-bury them over here, or take them across the strait in the canoe?" Hooker thought. His puzzled gaze wandered among the tall tree-trunks, and up into the remote sunlit greenery overhead. He shivered again as his eye rested upon the blue figure of the Chinaman. He stared searchingly among the grey depths between the trees. "What's come to you, Hooker?" said Evans. "Have you lost your wits?" "Let's get the gold out of this place, anyhow," said Hooker. He took the ends of the collar of the coat in his hands, and Evans took the opposite corners, and they lifted the mass. "Which way?" said Evans. "To the canoe?" "It's queer," said Evans, when they had advanced only a few steps, "but my arms ache still with that paddling." "Curse it!" he said. "But they ache! I must rest." They let the coat down, Evans' face was white, and little drops of sweat stood out upon his forehead. "It's stuffy, somehow, in this forest." Then with an abrupt transition to unreasonable anger: "What is the good of waiting here all the day? Lend a hand, I say! You have done nothing but moon since we saw the dead Chinaman."  Hooker was looking steadfastly at his companion's face. He helped raise the coat bearing the ingots, and they went forward perhaps a hundred yards in silence. Evans began to breathe heavily. "Can't you speak?" he said. "What's the matter with you?" said Hooker. Evans stumbled, and then with a sudden curse flung the coat from him. He stood for a moment staring at Hooker, and then with a groan clutched at his own throat. "Don't come near me," he said, and went and leant against a tree. Then in a steadier voice, "I'll be better in a minute." Presently his grip upon the trunk loosened, and he slipped slowly down the stem of the tree until he was a crumpled heap at its foot. His hands were clenched convulsively. His face became distorted with pain. Hooker approached him. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" said Evans in a stifled voice. "Put the gold back on the coat." "Can't I do anything for you?" said Hooker. "Put the gold back on the coat." As Hooker handled the ingots he felt a little prick on the ball of his thumb. He looked at his hand and saw a slender thorn, perhaps two inches in length. Evans gave an inarticulate cry and rolled over. Hooker's jaw dropped. He stared at the thorn for a moment with dilated eyes. Then he looked at Evans, who was now crumpled together on the ground, his back bending and straightening spasmodically. Then he looked through the pillars of the trees and net-work of creeper stems, to where in the dim grey shadow the blue-clad body of the Chinaman was still indistinctly visible. He thought of the little dashes in the corner of the plan, and in a moment he understood. "God help me!" he said. For the thorns were similar to those the Dyaks poison and use in their blowing-tubes. He understood now what Chang-hi's assurance of the safety of his treasure meant. He understood that grin now. "Evans!" he cried. But Evans was silent and motionless, save for a horrible spasmodic twitching of his limbs. A profound silence brooded over the forest. Then Hooker began to suck furiously at the little pink spot on the ball of his thumb--sucking for dear life. Presently he felt a strange aching pain in his arms and shoulders, and his fingers seemed difficult to bend. Then he knew that sucking was no good. Abruptly he stopped, and sitting down by the pile of ingots, and resting his chin upon his hands and his elbows upon his knees, stared at the distorted but still quivering body of his companion. Chang-hi's grin came into his mind again. The dull pain spread towards his throat and grew slowly in intensity. Far above him a faint breeze stirred the greenery, and the white petals of some unknown flower came floating down through the gloom.
Glossary [Word meaning The Treasure in the Forest]
canoe (n.):	a small, light, narrow boat, pointed at both ends and moved using a paddle
imperceptible (adj.):	unable to be noticed or felt because of being very slight
obliterated (adj.):	removed all signs of something, either by destroying it or by covering it so that it cannot be seen
exaltation (n.):	a very strong feeling of happiness
unprovisioned (adj.):	without supplies of food and other necessary things
ingot (n.):	a piece of metal, usually in the shape of a narrow brick
silvered (adj.):	looked white like silver
pidgin (n.):	grammatically simplified language
galleon (n.):	a large sailing ship with three or four masts, used both in trade and war from the 15th to the 18th centuries
exhume (v.):	to dig out from the ground after it has been buried
wastrels (n.):	a person who does nothing positive with his life; good for nothing
gibber (v.):	to speak quickly in a way that cannot be understood
lagoon (n.):	an area of sea water separated from the sea by a reef
tangle (n.):	an untidy mass of things that are not in a state of order
implement (n.):	a tool that works by being moved by hand
transverse (adj.):	in a position or direction that is at an angle of 90° to something else
prospect (v.):	to search for gold, oil, or other valuable substances on or under the surface of the earth
canopy (n.):	a cover fixed over a seat or bed, etc.
incrustation (n):	a layer of material, such as dirt or a chemical, that forms on something, especially slowly
sombre (adj.):	dark and dull
shaft (n.):	a beam of light
rosette (n.):	an object or arrangement resembling a rose
swerve (v.):	change or cause to change direction abruptly
prostrate (adj.):	lying with the face down and arms stretched out, especially as a sign of respect or worship
moon (v.):	to move or spend time in a way that shows a lack of care and interest and no clear purpose
spasmodically (adv.):	related to a sudden involuntary muscular contraction
Question answer of The Treasure in the Forest Answer the following questions. a. Describe the expository scene of the story. b. What does the map look like and how do Evan and Hooker interpret it? c. How did Evan and Hooker know about the treasure? d. Describe Evan’s dream. e. What do the two treasure hunters see when they walk towards the island? f. In what condition did the treasure hunters find the dead man? g. How did the treasure hunters try to carry gold ingots to the canoe? h. How were Evan and Hooker poisoned?
Reference to the context a. How do you know the story is set on a tropical island? b. Why do you think Evan and Hooker took such a risk of finding the buried treasure in a desert island? c. Do you think the narrator of the story is racist? If yes, what made him feel superior to other races? d. What do you think is the moral of the story?
Reference beyond the text a. Interpret the story as a mystery story. b. Treasure hunting is a favorable subject of children’s story. Remember a treasure hunting story you read in your childhood and compare and contrast it with ‘The Treasure in the Forest.’