Peter Pan

Hook paces the deck of his ship. “Hook was not his true name. To reveal who he really was would even at this date set the country in blaze; but as those who read between the lines must have already guessed, he had been at a famous public school; and its traditions still clung to him like garments with which indeed they are largely concerned” (121). He feels gloomy, as if Peter’s oath had boarded the ship. He notes that the children like Smee. He considers telling Smee, but decides it would be too brutal. Hook wonders why the children like Smee and concludes it must be due to good form.

Wendy tells the boys not to anger Hook and the crew. When the crew asks which boy will walk the plank first, Tootles steps forward. “[T]hough a somewhat silly boy, he knew that mothers alone are always willing to be the buffer. All the children know this about mothers, and despise them for it, but make constant use of it” (123). As the pirates prepare the planks, the boys “went white….But they tried to look brave when Wendy was brought up” (124).