Chapter 9 Chapter Eight (2)

I had a brief conversation with two of my newly arrived subjects.First, I asked Friday to ask his father what would become of the wildlings who escaped in the canoe, and asked him if he thought they would come back with a large number of wildlings, perhaps in such numbers that we would be overwhelmed.His first reaction was that the boat must not have escaped the gale that night; and the savages were either drowned or carried to other southern coasts.They would be eaten by the native savages if they were blown thither, and drowned if their boat were to be wrecked.As for what they might do if they did reach their shores safely, Friday's father said it was hard for him to say.However, as far as he was concerned, they were so frightened to death by our sudden attack, by our gunfire and fire, that he believed that when they returned, they would tell the people in their tribe that those who did not escape , is killed by thunderbolt and lightning, not by the enemy.As for the two who appeared before them, namely me and Friday, they must have thought it was the god or vengeful god who came down from the sky to destroy them, because he heard them convey it in the vernacular of their tribe. Pass it on.They couldn't imagine that people could breathe fire and set off mines, and they would beat people to death from a distance without even raising their hands.The old savage was right.For, as it turned out later, those wild men never dared to come to the island again.It seems that those four people escaped from the storm and returned to their tribe.The people in the tribe were terrified when they heard the report of the four of them.They all believed that anyone who came to this magic island would be burned to death by the gods.

Of course, I started out ignoring the above.So, for a long time, I was on the alert all day, with all my troops on the defensive.I feel that there are four of us now, even if they come to a hundred people, as long as they are in a flat and open place, I dare to fight with them. After a while, I didn't see the wildlings' canoes appearing, and my fear of their counterattack gradually disappeared, and I began to think about the old problem of going to the mainland by boat again.Another reason why I reconsidered this question is that Friday's father assured me that if I went to them, the whole clan would treat me very kindly on his behalf. .

However, after I had a serious conversation with the Spaniard, I temporarily put this idea away.Because he told me that there are currently sixteen Spaniards and Portuguese on their side.Since the shipwreck and they fled there, they did get along well with those savages, but the necessities of life were so scarce that they couldn't even survive.After inquiring about their voyage carefully, I found out that they took a Spanish ship and set off from the Rio de la Plata to Havana②, where they were going to unload the cargo in Havana. The ship was mainly loaded with cargo and silver. Any European goods can be shipped back.They had five Portuguese sailors on board, rescued from another shipwreck.Then their own ship was wrecked, and five of the Spaniards were drowned, and the rest, after many hardships and perils, nearly died of starvation when they reached the shores populated by cannibals; Worried about being eaten by those savages.

He also told me that they had some guns with them, but as they had neither powder nor cartridges, they were useless.It turned out that all their ammunition had been soaked in the sea, and the little that was left around them was used up when they first came ashore to hunt and satisfy their hunger. I asked him, in his opinion, what would happen to those people, and whether there was any plan to escape.He said that they had discussed this matter many times, but there was no ship, no shipbuilding tools, and no food, so they discussed and discussed, but there was always no result, and they often ended up with tears and disappointment. Asked him, if I made them a proposal for their escape, would it seem to him that they would accept it?If you let them all come to my island, can this matter be realized?I told him frankly that what I was most afraid of was that once I put my life in their hands, they might break their promises and repay their kindness with revenge.Because gratitude is not an inherent virtue in human nature, and people often do not act according to the favor they receive, but more often they act according to the benefit they hope to obtain.I also told him that if I helped them out of danger, they should take me as a prisoner and send me off to New Spain, which would be a very dangerous place for me.For an Englishman is bound to suffer religious persecution whenever he goes there, whether he goes there out of necessity or by accident.I said I would rather give my life to those savages, who would eat me alive, than to fall into the hands of those Spanish monks, and be tried by the Inquisition.I added that if they would not desert me, I believed that if they came to the island, and we had so many hands, we should be able to build a big ship to carry us all, or sail south to Brazil, or to Drive north to the West Indies or the Spanish coast.But if I put the arms into their hands, and they take me back by force, and take me to the Spaniards, will I not be rewarded for my kindness, and be in a worse place than before?

He answered me that they were in such a wretched position, and had suffered so much, that he was convinced that they would never feel ingratitude to any one who would help them escape.He spoke these words with the utmost sincerity and candor.At the same time he said he could go to them with the old niggers if I wanted to, and talk to them about it, and bring me back their answers.He said that he would make a good deal with them, asking them to take an oath to obey my leadership absolutely, and regard me as their commander and captain; at the same time, let them use the Bible and the Gospel to swear allegiance to me In the end, wherever I tell them to go to a Christian country, they must follow me without any objection, and absolutely obey my orders, until they send me to the place I appointed and land safely.Finally, he said that he must ask them to sign the covenant with their own hands, and bring the signing back to me.

Then he said to me that he would be the first to swear to me that he would never leave me without my order, and that if any treachery should happen to his countrymen, he would fight with me to the last drop of blood . He also told me that they were very civilized and honest people, and that they were in peril; that they had neither arms, nor clothing, nor food, and that their fate was entirely in the hands of the savages.They have no hope of returning to their homeland.Therefore, he can guarantee that as long as I am willing to save them from the catastrophe, they will definitely be willing to go through life and death with me.

On hearing his assurances, I resolved to do everything possible to risk their rescue, and to send the old savage and the Spaniard across to intercede with them first.But when we were ready to send them off, the Spaniard suddenly objected of his own accord.I was very pleased that his opinion was not only thoughtful, but sincere.So, following his advice, I postponed the rescue of his companion for a year and a half.The situation is this: the Spaniard has been living with us for some months.During this month I showed him the means by which I supported myself, in the providence of Heaven.At the same time, he also clearly saw how much my grain reserves were.Of course, this amount of food is more than enough for me to eat alone, but if I don’t practice strict savings, it won’t be enough for my family now, because the number of members in my family has increased to four.If several of his compatriots came from the other side, it would definitely not be enough to eat.According to him, there were still fourteen alive on their side.If we want to build a boat and sail to a Christian colony in America, how can this little grain be enough to feed the whole boat?Therefore, he told me that he thought it best to let him and Friday and his son cultivate some more land, sow all the grain I could save, and wait until after another crop was harvested before discussing this issue.In this way, when his compatriots come over, there will be enough food to eat.Because the lack of necessities of life often causes everyone to complain, or they will think that they have been thrown out of the fire pit and thrown into the sea. "You know," he said, "the Israelites were happy when they were delivered out of Egypt, but when they were short of bread in the wilderness, they even rebelled against the God who saved them." His concerns were perfectly legitimate, and his advice was very OK, so, not only do I have a great appreciation for his advice, but I'm also extremely satisfied with his loyalty.So, the four of us dug the ground together with those wooden tools.In less than a month, a large piece of land has been reclaimed, and the land has been tidied up just in time for the planting season.On this newly cleared land we planted twenty-two dendrobiums of barley and sixteen cans of rice—in short, we used all the grain we could save for seed.In fact, during the six months before the harvest we did not even have enough barley to eat.The six months are from the time we store the seed for sowing; and here in the tropics it does not take six months from sowing to reaping.

Now that we have quite a number of inhabitants, even if those wildlings come again, there is no need to be afraid, unless they come in a particularly large number.So we were free to travel all over the island as long as we had the chance.Since we all have escape and escape on our minds, we are all constantly thinking of ways, at least myself.For this purpose I marked several trees suitable for building ships, and had Friday and his sons cut them down.Then, I told the Spaniard of my intention to supervise and direct the work of Friday and his son.I showed them some boards I had whittled before, and told them how I had painstakingly whittled a big tree into boards, and told them to do the same.At last they managed to fashion twelve very large planks of oak, each about two feet wide, thirty-five feet long, and two to four inches thick.As for how hard work this work took, it can be imagined.

At the same time, I tried my best to breed my little flock.For this reason, I let Friday go out with the Spaniard on the first day, and Friday's father and I went out on the second day. Using this method of taking turns, we caught more than twenty kids and put them in the pen with the original sheep. .Because whenever we catch ewes, we keep the lambs and send them to the flock to be raised.In addition, and more importantly, when the season of drying grapes came, I asked everyone to collect a large number of grapes and hang them in the sun to dry.Had we been in Alicante, which is famous for its raisins, I believe we could have filled sixty to eighty barrels with raisins this time.Raisins and bread are the main foods in our daily life, and raisins are delicious and nutritious, which have played a great role in improving our lives.

The season of harvesting crops has come, and our harvest is good. Although this cannot be said to be a good harvest year on the island, the harvested food is enough to meet our needs.We planted 20 hu of barley, and now we have harvested and harvested more than 220 hu of barley; the proportion of rice harvest is similar.These stores, even if all sixteen Spaniards from yonder came to our side, would suffice to feed us till the next harvest; or, if we were going to sail, would be enough to carry on board.With this grain, we can drive anywhere in the world--I mean, anywhere in the American continent.

After we collected the harvested grain properly, everyone started weaving more rattan bark—that is, weaving some large baskets for storing grain.The Spaniard is a good hand at weaving cane, good and quick, and I'm sorry I didn't weave more cane before for defense, but I don't see the need. Now that we had provisions enough to supply the company I was expecting, I resolved to send the Spaniard to go to the Continent, to see if there was any way of helping those who remained there.Before I left, I gave him strict written instructions that no one should be brought to the island without first swearing in front of him and the old savage that he would never do any harm or attack me after going to the island. .Because I took them over with good intentions and prepared to save them from danger.At the same time, they are required to swear that when someone rebels, they must stand with me and defend me, and no matter where they go, they must absolutely obey my command.I asked them to write these conditions down and sign them.I know they have neither pen nor paper over there, how can they write it all down and sign it with their own hands?However, none of us have asked this point. The Spaniard and the old Savage, Friday's father, having taken these instructions from me, set off.The canoe they were in was, of course, one of the ones in which they had come to the island.To be more precise, they were brought to the island as captives by the wild men in one of the canoes, and the wild men brought them to the island to kill and eat them. I also gave each of them a musket, each with a flintlock, and gave them eight ammunition, with orders to use them sparingly, and to use them sparingly, unless they were in an emergency. It was a joyful job, because for the first time in twenty-seven years, it was the first time I had taken actual steps to save myself.I gave them plenty of bread and raisins, enough to feed them for several days, and enough for the Spaniards for seven or eight days.So I wished them a safe journey and sent them off.At the same time, I also agreed with them on the signal that should be hoisted on the ship when they come back.In this way, when they come back, I can recognize them long before they land. When they set off, the wind happened to be favorable.According to my estimate, it was a full moon day in the middle of October.As for the exact date, I have never been able to figure it out since I misremembered the calendar; I am not even sure whether the year is correct or not.But when I checked my records later, I found that the year was correct. After they left, I had just waited until the eighth day when an unexpected thing happened.It was so strange, so unexpected, perhaps unheard of in history.That morning, I was sleeping soundly in my hut, when suddenly Friday came running in, shouting, "Master, master, they're coming! They're coming!" I jumped out of bed at once, and, regardless of the danger, threw my clothes on. Put on your clothes, run through the grove (which is now a thick forest), and run out.When I say risk everything, I mean I ran out without a weapon.This is completely against my usual habits.When I looked out to sea, I was taken aback.Only four or five nautical miles away, there was a small boat sailing towards the shore with a pair of so-called "sheep shoulder sails".At that time, the wind happened to be favorable, and the boat was sent straight to the shore. Then I noticed that the boat was not coming from the direction of the mainland, but from the southernmost tip of the island.So I called Friday to me and told him not to leave me.Because these people are not the people we expected, and it is not clear whether they are friends or foes. Then I went home at once to get my telescope, to see who they were.I moved out the ladder and climbed to the top of the hill.Whenever I am worried about something and want to see it clearly without being discovered by others, I always climb up this mountain to have a look. As soon as I went up the hill, I saw a large ship moored south-southeast of me, about seven or eight nautical miles from where I was, and at most four or five nautical miles from the shore.I knew it was an English ship, and the boat looked like an English longboat. I can't describe the confusion I felt at the time.On the one hand, I saw a big ship, and I had reason to believe that there were my compatriots on board, who were my own people, and I felt an indescribable joy in my heart.On the other hand, however, a suspicion arose in me.I don't know where this suspicion came from, but it made me wary.First, I thought, why would an English ship come here?Because this is not the main route for the British to trade in the world.Next, I knew that there had been no storm of late to bring their ship to this place. If they are really British, they must have no good intentions in this area.Rather than fall into the hands of thieves and criminals, I would rather live on as I have been. There are times when a man knows perfectly well that there can be no danger, yet a mysterious hint warns us of the danger.No one can take such hints and warnings lightly.I believe that few who pay any attention to such matters can deny the possibility of such hints and warnings.At the same time, there is no doubt that this hint and warning comes from an unseen world, a communication with ghosts or angels.If the intimation is to warn us of danger, why should we not suppose that the intimation and warning come from some friendly messenger?As for whether the messenger is supreme or humble, it doesn't matter, what is important is that this kind of hint and warning is well-intentioned. The current situation fully proves that my thinking is completely correct.Wherever this mysterious warning came, without it I could not have been more careful, and I would have been in a worse position than I had been before. I have a good reason for saying this, and the circumstances I shall describe below fully demonstrate it. It wasn't long before I looked on the hill when I saw the boat approaching the island.They seemed to be looking for a bend in the river to bring the boat in and land.But they did not go too far along the coast, so that they did not discover the little creek where I had unloaded the raft, and were obliged to anchor the boat on the sand, half a mile from me.This is very fortunate for me.For, if they enter the bend of the river, they will land at my door.In that case, they will surely drive me from the castle, and maybe take all my things! When they landed, I saw that they were all Englishmen, at least mostly Englishmen.This makes me very happy.One or two of them looked like Dutchmen, but it turned out that they were not.There were eleven of them, three of whom appeared to be unarmed and seemed to be tied up.As soon as the boat docked, four or five people jumped ashore first, and then escorted three people off the boat.I saw one of them gesticulating, making all kinds of gestures of entreaty, grief, and disappointment, which went a little too far.The other two people I saw sometimes raised their hands and looked very distressed, but they were not as excited as the first person. When I saw this scene, I was really a little puzzled. I don't know what they are up to.Friday kept shouting to me in English from the side: "Ah, master, you see that the British also eat captives, just like the savages!" "Why, Friday," I said, "do you think they will eat those people?" "Yes," said Friday, "they will certainly eat them." "No, no," said I, "Friday, I see they will kill them, but they will never eat them, I can assure you!" "At this time, I didn't know what was happening before my eyes, but I just stood there, trembling at the dreadful scene, and always fearing that the three captives would be killed by them.I once saw a villain even take up a long knife, that sailors call a sniper, and cut at one of the poor fellows, before he fell down.It made me shudder with horror. I wished now that the Spaniard and the old savage were still with me, but they're gone together; and I wished I could somehow get in front of them unnoticed, within range of my bullet, Get those three out.Because I saw none of their gang had guns.But then I thought of another way. I saw the domineering gang of sailors, after having savagely abused the three, scatter about the island, as if wishing to see the surroundings.At the same time, I also found that the three captives moved freely, but all three of them sat down on the ground, looking preoccupied and desperate. This reminds me of my first experience when I went ashore.At that time, I raised my eyes and decided that I must die; I looked around in panic, and finally feared that I would be eaten by wild animals, so I perched on the tree all night in fear. It never occurred to me that night that Providence would send the storm and the tide to bring the ship close to the shore, and provide me with many of the necessaries of life by which I have since survived, and have lived to this day.Likewise, it never occurred to the three poor sufferers that they would be rescued, and that they would be rescued soon.Nor would it ever occur to them that just when they thought they were definitely dead or hopeless, they were in fact perfectly safe. How short-sighted we are sometimes!And how good are the reasons why we should have complete confidence in our Creator!The Creator never leaves his own creations to the brink of extinction.Even in the worst circumstances, he always gave them a chance; sometimes, their salvation was closer, much closer than they thought.Nay, they sometimes appear to be in a desperate situation, when in reality it is the means of rescue arranged for them. The tide was at its highest when these men came ashore.Some of them stood there negotiating with the captives, while others wandered around to see where they had come, accidentally missing the tide.As a result, the water receded far enough to ground their boat on the sand. There were originally two of them left in the boat.But, as I later learned, they both fell asleep from a little too much brandy.Later, one of them woke up first, and saw that the boat was stranded, and he couldn't push it, so he called out to those who were scattered everywhere.So they all ran to the boat at once to help.However, the boat was too heavy, and the coast in that area was soft and sandy, like flowing water.Therefore, no matter how hard they tried, they could not push the boat into the sea. Sailors are probably the most inconsiderate of all human beings.So, in this case, they simply gave up the job and went off to wander again.I heard one sailor speak loudly to another sailor, telling him to get off the boat: "Come on, Jack, don't mind it. The tide will come up and the boat will float." As soon as I heard these two words, I confirmed that they were Which country is it? So far, I have been hiding myself tightly, and dare not leave my castle except for the observation post on the top of the hill.I was glad to think that my castle was well fortified.I knew it would take at least ten hours for the boat to float.It was almost dark by then, and I could better observe their movements and eavesdrop on their conversations. In the meantime, I was ready for battle as before.This time, I am more careful than before, because I know that the enemies I have to deal with are completely different from before.Now, I have trained Friday to be a very good shooter. I ordered him to arm himself too.I took two fowling guns for myself, and gave him three muskets.The way I look now is really hideous and frightening: I wear a sheepskin jacket, which is scary enough, and I wear a big hat on my head, which is weird as I mentioned before.A knife without a scabbard hung as usual at his side, two pistols in his belt, and one on each shoulder. As I said above, I don't want to take any action before dark.Around two o'clock in the afternoon, the weather is the hottest.I found them all running in twos and threes into the woods, presumably going to sleep.The three poor people, deeply worried about their present situation, could not sleep, so they sat dumbfounded under the shade of a big tree, about a hundred yards away from me.Also, it looked like no one else could see where they were sitting. Seeing this situation, I decided to go over to find out about their situation.I walked over to them right away.As I said above, I was hideous in my appearance; and my servant Friday followed me a long way, also in full armor, and looked as terrible as I, but a little better, not like me, like a monster. I approached them quietly, and before they saw me, I called out to them in Spanish: "Gentlemen, who are you?" My strange appearance made me so terrified that I couldn't even speak.Seeing that they were about to run away, I said to them in English: "Gentlemen, don't be afraid. Maybe, you can't imagine, the person in front of you is your friend!" "He must have been sent from heaven, ' said one of them, taking off his hat and saluting me with seriousness. "For we are beyond human power to save our position." "All salvation is from heaven, sir," said I. "You seem to be in distress. Can you get a stranger to help you? When you went ashore, I have seen it long ago. When you pleaded with those tyrannical fellows, one of them even raised a knife to kill you! I have seen all this." The poor man was full of tears and trembling, looking very surprise.He replied, "Am I speaking to God, or to a man? Are you a man, or an angel?" "Don't worry about that, sir," I said, "if God really sent an angel to save You, he will be much better dressed than I am, and his weapons will be quite different. Please rest assured. I am a man, and an Englishman. You see, I have come to rescue you. I have but one servant .We all have arms. Tell us boldly, can we be of service to you? What has happened to you?" "Our business, sir," he said, "is a long story, and our murderer is near Very close. Now, to cut a long story short, sir. I was the captain of that ship, and my men rebelled. I had a hard time convincing them not to kill me. Finally, they escorted me to this island with these two men Come up. One of them is my first mate, and the other is a passenger. We thought, on this desert island, we will starve to death. We believe that this is a desert island with no human habitation, and we really don't know what to do!" "Where are your enemies, those thugs?" I asked. "Do you know where they are?" "They're lying there, sir," he said, pointing to a bush. "I'm shaking with fear right now that they'll see us and hear you. If that's the case, we're all dead!" "Do they have guns?" I asked.He replied that they had only two guns, one of which was left on board. "That's all right," I said, "I'll take care of everything. I see them all asleep now, and I could kill them all in one fell swoop.However, is it better to capture alive? "He told me that two of them were desperadoes and that they would never be spared. As long as these two villains were dealt with, the rest would go back to their jobs. I asked who they were. He Said that it was too far away to see clearly, but he was willing to obey my command. "Well then," I said, "let's step back so that they won't see or hear them when they wake up.Let's discuss the solution later. "So they happily followed me back, until they were hidden behind the woods." "Listen, sir," said I, "if I risk saving you, will you make two terms with me?" "He didn't wait for me to say the conditions, he said first, as long as the big ship is recovered, he and his ship will completely obey my command. If the ship cannot be recovered, he is willing to live and die with me, live and die together; I want Wherever I go. The other two said the same thing. "Well," I said, "I only have two conditions.First, during your stay on the island, you must not violate my sovereignty here; if I issue you weapons, you must return them to me whenever I ask you to return them.You must not oppose me or my people on this island, and you must submit completely to my management.Second, if the big ship is recovered, you must send me and my people back to England free of charge. "He made me all kinds of assurances, all the guarantees that could be expected and trusted. He also said that these requests of mine were completely reasonable and reasonable, and he would fully fulfill them; at the same time, he would also like to thank me for my The grace of saving lives will never be forgotten. "Well, then," said I, "I will give you three short guns, powder and cartridges. Now, you see, what is the next step?" He thanked me again and again, and said he would listen to my command.I told him that things are tricky now.However, I think it's best to fire at them now while they're asleep.If there were survivors after the first volley had been fired and were willing to surrender, their lives could be spared.As for how many people can be killed after shooting, we have to obey God's arrangement.