little supposing he was overheard.

[chong lee]

Hi,
The quote is from "Treasure Island".

Last sentence sounds as if "he suspects he was overheard but just little". But actually I know that it means "he does not suspect he was ovetheard not even little ".
Could you explain it?

Thanks

You may imagine how I felt when I heard this abominable old rogue addressing another in the very same words of flattery as he had used to myself. I think, if I had been able, that I would have killed him through the barrel. Meantime, he ran on, little supposing he was overheard.

 

[entangledbank]

Yes, 'little supposing' doesn't mean 'slightly supposing', it means 'not supposing'. We say 'little did he suspect' in the same way: it means that he didn't suspect, not that he only suspected a little.

 

[se16teddy]

See the adverbial sense 1 of little here: http://www.wordreference.com/definition/little

Little supposing he was overheard is a participial phrase qualifying he.

 

[chong lee]

Thank you, I got it.