cutting thick branches to burn for charcoal, he cleared away some
undergrowth at the foot of a great rock, in which, near the ground,
there was a sort of hole, or opening. Into this hole Robinson
squeezed, not very easily, and found himself in a cave of good size,
high enough, at least, to stand up in. It was quite dark, of course,
to him coming in from the sunlight, and he turned his back to the
entrance to feel his way further in, when suddenly, from the back of
the cave he saw two great fiery eyes glaring at him. His very hair
bristled with fright, for he could only think that it must be the
Devil at least that he saw; and through the mouth of the cave he fled
with a yell.
But when he got into the bright sunshine he began to feel ashamed of
his panic, and to reason with himself that what he had seen must be
only his own fancy. So, taking up a big burning branch from his fire,
in he went again.
Before Robinson had taken three steps he stopped, in almost as great a
fright as at first. Close to him he heard a great sigh, as if of some
one in pain, then a sound like a muttering, as of words that he could
not understand; again another deep sigh. Cold sweat broke out all over
him, and he stepped back trembling, yet determined this time not to
run away.
Holding his torch well over his head, he looked around, and there on
the floor of the cave lay a huge old he goat, gasping for breath,
dying, seemingly of mere old age.
He stirred him with his toe to see if he could get him out of the
cave, but the poor beast could not rise, and Robinson left him to die
where he was.
Now that he had got over his fright, Robinson looked carefully about
him. The cave was small, not more than twelve feet across at its
widest, but he noticed at the far end another opening. This was so low
down, however, that he had to creep on his hands and knees to get in,
and without a better light than the burning torch, he could not see
how far it went. So he made up his mind to come again.
Robinson had long before this made a good supply of very fair candles
from the tallow of the goats he had killed, and next day he returned
to the cave with six of these, and his tinder-box to light them with.
In those days there were no matches, and men used to strike a light
with a flint and steel, and tinder, which was a stuff that caught fire
very easily from a spark.
Entering the cave, Robinson found, on lighting a candle, that the goat
was now dead. Moving it aside, to be buried later, he went down on his
hands and knees, and crawled about ten yards through the small
passage, till at last he found himself in a great chamber, the roof of
which was quite twenty feet high. On every side the walls reflected
the light of his candle, and glittered like gold, or almost like
diamonds, he thought. The floor was perfectly dry and level, even on
the walls there was no damp, and Robinson was delighted with his
discovery. Its only drawback was the low entrance; but, as he decided
to use the cave chiefly as a place to retreat to if he should ever be
attacked, that was in reality an advantage, because one man, if he had
firearms could easily defend it against hundreds.
At once Robinson set about storing in it all his powder, except three
or four pounds, all his lead for making bullets, and his spare guns
and muskets. When moving the powder, he thought he might as well open
a barrel which had drifted ashore out of the wreck 'after the
earthquake, and though water had got into it, there was not a great
deal of damage done, for the powder had crusted on the outside only,
and in the inside there was about sixty pounds weight, quite dry and
good. This, with what remained of the first lot, gave him a very large
supply, enough to last all his life.
For more than two-and-twenty years Robinson had now been in the
island, and he had grown quite used to it, and to his manner of
living. If he could only have been sure that no savages would come
near him, he felt almost that he would be content to spend all the
rest of his days there, to die at last, as the goat he found in the
cave had died, of old age.
At times, when his spirits were more than usually low, when the burden
of the lonely years pressed most heavily upon him, Robinson used to
think that surely if the savages could come to his land, he could go
to theirs. How far did they come? Where was their country? What kind
of boats had they? And so eager to go was he sometimes, that he forgot
to think of what he would do when he got there, or what would become
of him if he fell into the hands of the savages. His mind was utterly
taken up with the one thought of getting to the mainland, and even his
dreams were of little else.
One night, when he had put himself almost into a fever with the
trouble of his mind, he had lain long awake, tossing and moaning, but
at last he had fallen asleep. And he dreamed, not as he had usually
done of late, that he was sailing to the mainland, but that as he was
leaving his castle in the morning he saw on the shore two canoes and
eleven savages landing, and that they had with them another man, whom
they were just about to kill and eat, when suddenly the prisoner
jumped up and ran for his life. And in his dream Robinson fancied that
the man came running to hide in the thicket round the castle, and that
thereupon he went out to help him. Then in the dream, the savage
kneeled down, as if begging for mercy, and Robinson took him over the
ladder into the castle, saying to himself, "Now that I've got this
fellow, I can certainly go to the mainland, for he will show me what
course to steer, and where to go when we land." And he woke, with the
joyful feeling that now at last all was well. But when he was wide
awake, and knew that it was only a dream after all, poor Robinson was
more cast down than ever, and more unhappy than he had been during all
the years he had lived on the island.
The dream had, however, this result; that he saw his only plan to get
away was, if possible, to rescue some day one of the prisoners whom
the cannibals were about to kill, and in time get the man to help him
to navigate his canoe across the sea.
With this idea, he set himself to watch, more closely than ever he had
done before, for the savages to land, and during more than a year and
a half he went nearly every day to his lookout-place, and swept the
sea with his telescope, in the hope of seeing canoes coming. But none
came, and Robinson was getting terribly tired of the constant watch.
Still he did not give up, for he knew that sooner or later the savages
would land again.
Yet many months passed, and still they did not come, till one morning,
very early, almost to his surprise, he saw no fewer than five canoes
hauled up on the shore on his own side of the island. The savages who
had come in them were nowhere to be seen. Now, he knew that always
from four to six men came in each canoe, which meant that at least
twenty, and perhaps as many as thirty men had landed.
This was a greater number than he cared to face, so he kept inside his
castle, in great doubt what to do, but ready to fight, in case they
should attack him.
When he had waited a long time and still could hear nothing of the
savages, he climbed up his ladder and got to the top of the rock,
taking great care not to show himself against the skyline. Looking
through his glass, he saw that there were at least thirty savages,
dancing wildly round a fire.
As he looked, some of the men left the others, and going over to the
canoes dragged from' them two prisoners. One of these almost at once
fell forward on his face, knocked down from behind, as it seemed to
Robinson, with a wooden club, and two or three of the cannibals at
once cut him open to be ready for cooking, while for a moment or two
they left the other prisoner standing by himself.
Seeing a chance of escape, the man made a dash for his life, running
with tremendous speed along the sands straight for that part of the
beach near Robinson's castle.
Now this alarmed Robinson very much, for it seemed to him that the
whole of the savages started after the prisoner. He could not help
thinking it likely that, as in his dream, this man would take shelter
in the thicket round the castle, in which case Robinson was likely
soon to have more fighting than he would relish, for the whole body of
the cannibals would be on him at once.
As he watched the poor man racing for life, however, he was relieved
to see that he ran much faster than his pursuers, of whom only three
continued to run after him. If he could hold out for another mile or
two there was little doubt that he would escape. Between the castle
and the runners was the creek up which Robinson used to run his rafts
from the wreck, and when the escaped prisoner came to that, he plunged
in, and though the tide was full, with less than thirty powerful
strokes he reached the other side, and with long easy strides
continued his run. Of the men in pursuit, two also plunged in and swam
through, but less quickly than the man escaping, being more blown with
running, because of what they had eaten before starting. The third man
stopped altogether, and went back the way he came.
Seeing the turn things were taking, it seemed to Robinson that now had
come his chance to get a servant, and he resolved to try to save the
life of the man who was fleeing from the cannibals. At once he hurried
down the ladder, snatched up his two guns, and running as fast as he
could, got between the man and his pursuers, calling out to him at the
same time to stop. The man looked back, and the sight of Robinson
seemed to frighten him at first as much as did the men who were trying
to catch him. But Robinson again spoke, and signed to him with his
hand to come back, and in the meantime went slowly towards the other
men, who were now coming near. Then, rushing at the foremost, he
knocked him senseless with the butt of his gun, for it seemed to him
safer not to fire, lest the noise should bring the other cannibals
around.
The second man, seeing his comrade fall, hesitated, and stopped, but
Robinson saw when nearer to him that the savage had in his hands a bow
and arrow with which he was just about to shoot. There was then no
choice but to fire first, which Robinson did, killing the man on the
spot.
Thereupon the man who had been chased by the others was so terrified
by the flash and noise of the gun, and at seeing his enemy fall dead,
that he stood stock still, trembling, and it was with great difficulty
that Robinson coaxed him to come near. This at last he did, stopping
every few paces and kneeling down. At length, coming close to
Robinson, he again knelt, kissed the ground, and taking hold of
Robinson's foot, set it on his head as it rested on the sand.
While this was going on, Robinson noticed that the savage whom he had
knocked down had begun to move, and to come to his senses. To this he
drew the attention of the man whom he had rescued, who said some words
that Robinson could not understand, but which sounded pleasant to an
ear that had heard no voice but his own for more than twenty-five
years. Next he made a motion with his hand, as if asking for the
cutlass that hung at Robinson's belt, and when the weapon was given to
him he ran at his enemy, and with one clean blow cut off his head.
Then, laughing, he brought the head, and laid it with the cutlass at
Robinson's feet.
But what caused most wonder to the man was how the savage whom
Robinson shot had been killed at so great a distance, and he went to
look as the body, turning it over and over, and looking long at the
wound in the breast that the bullet had made, evidently much puzzled.
Robinson then turned to go away, beckoning to the savage to follow,
but the man made signs that he would bury the two bodies in the sand,
so that the others might not find them if they followed. With his
hands he soon scraped holes deep enough to cover the bodies, and in
less than a quarter of an hour there was hardly a trace left of what
had happened.
Calling him away, Robinson now took him, not to his castle, but to the
cave, where he gave him food and water; and then he made signs for him
to lie down and rest, pointing to a bundle of rice straw.
Soon the man was sound asleep. He was, Robinson thought, a handsome
and well-made man; the muscles of his arms and back and legs showed
great strength, and all his limbs were beautifully formed. As near as
Robinson could guess, he was about twenty-six years of age, with a
good and manly face, and long black hair. His nose and lips were like
those of a European, and his teeth were white and even. In color he
was not black, but of a sort of rich chocolate brown, the skin shining
with health, and pleasant to look upon.
VI
ROBINSON TRAINS FRIDAY, AND THEY BUILD A LARGE BOAT; THEY RESCUE TWO
PRISONERS FROM THE CANNIBALS
In a little while Robinson began to speak to him, and to try to teach
him things. First he made him understand that his name was to be
"Friday" (that being the day of the week when Robinson had saved him
from a horrible death). Then he taught him the meaning of "Yes," and
"No," and to call Robinson "Master."
Friday showed great quickness in learning. He seemed to be happy and
contented, and free from trouble, except that the clothes which
Robinson made him wear gave him at first great discomfort, for in
those warm parts of the world the natives are not used to clothes, but
always go about naked.
The day following that on which Robinson had saved Friday, they went
out together to see if there were any signs of the cannibals still
being on the island, but it was evident that they had gone away
without troubling about the two men whom Robinson had killed.
For some time Robinson did not trust Friday, and did not allow him to
sleep in the same part of his castle with himself, but kept him at
night in a little tent outside the fence.
Friday was quite faithful, never sulky nor lazy, but always merry, and
ready to do anything that Robinson told him.
At first when they went out in the woods together, Friday was
terrified each time that Robinson's gun was fired. He had never seen
anything like it, and it was more than he could understand how things
could be killed merely by the noise and the flash of fire.
Friday told Robinson much about his country, and about his people, who
he said were Caribs. And a great way "beyond the moon," by which he
meant to the west, he said that white men lived who had beards such as
Robinson wore. These white men, he said, had killed very many natives,
from which Robinson fancied that they must be Spaniards, who about
that time were very cruel to the people whose countries they had
taken.
Robinson asked if Friday could tell him how he might get over to where
the white men lived, and Friday said it would be very easy, if they
had a big canoe, and again Robinson began to make plans and to hope to
escape from the island.
Some time after this Robinson and Friday chanced to be on the high
hill at the east end of the island. The day was very clear. Friday
gazed long over the sea, and then began to jump and dance, pointing to
the dim blue coast. "There my country! See! There my people live!" he
said, his eyes sparkling with joy, and an eager light on his face.
After this, for a time Robinson was not easy in his mind about Friday.
He had little doubt that if he could get back to his tribe, he would
soon forget all he had been taught, might even return with a hundred
or two of his friends, and kill and eat his master. But in this
Robinson was very unjust to Friday, who had no such thoughts in his
mind as those of which he was suspected. And this Robinson soon found
out. One day he asked Friday if he would not be glad to be once more
in his own land.
"Yes" said Friday; "very glad."
"Would you eat man's flesh again?"
"No, never," said Friday.
Then Robinson asked why he did not go back. Friday said he would go if
Robinson came too.
Then Robinson, who thought if he could reach other white men, he would
finally reach England, began to build a boat in which to leave the
island. Together he and Friday went to work to fell a tree, and Friday
soon showed that he knew far better than Robinson the kind of tree
best suited for boat-making. Robinson showed him how to use tools, and
in a little more than a month the boat was finished. After the boat
was put into the water, Robinson was astonished at Friday's skill in
paddling so large a canoe.
"Will she do to go over in?" he asked, and Friday, grinning, said,
"Yes, even if big wind blow." But Robinson did not mean to depend on
paddling, and fitted the boat with a mast, sails and rudder.
Twenty-six years had passed since Robinson came to the island, and he
still went on digging and sowing. One morning he sent Friday down to
the beach for a turtle. Back he came in a great hurry, crying out,
"Master! Master! over yonder, one, two, three canoe." Loading his
guns, Robinson gave them to Friday to carry, while he armed himself
with muskets, a cutlass, and a hatchet.
When all was ready he went up the hill with his telescope, and saw
that there were in all twenty-one savages, with three prisoners, one
of whom was a white man.
Robinson knew the savages had landed on the island to kill and eat
their prisoners, so he resolved to prevent them if possible. To get at
the savages without being seen, they had to go nearly a mile out of
their way, and being heavily laden they could not go very fast.
Reaching the place, they saw, from behind a clump of bushes, the white
man bound hand and foot on the sand. There was no time to lose, and
their first shot killed three and wounded five of the savages.
Snatching up fresh guns, both fired again, before the savages who were
not hurt could get on their feet, for they were so taken by surprise,
that the poor wretches hardly knew what was happening. This time only
two dropped, but many more were wounded.
While Friday kept on firing, Robinson ran to the white prisoner and
cut his bonds. The man said he was a Spaniard and began to thank
Robinson for what he had done. Robinson handed him the cutlass and a
pistol, telling him, if he had any strength left, to go and do what he
could against the savages. As soon as the man got the weapons in his
hands, he ran with fury at the cannibals and cut two down, and with
equal fury attacked the rest. With the Spaniard to help them, Robinson
and Friday were soon able to clear the place of these dreadful
cannibals, many of whom jumped into the sea.
Friday advised Robinson to take a canoe and go after them lest they
return with hundreds of others to avenge the death of their friends.
So the two ran to the beach and began to shove off a canoe. But to
their surprise, on the bottom of the canoe lay another prisoner, an
old man, tied so hard, neck and heels, that even when his bonds were
cut he could not move.
No sooner did Friday look at him and hear him speak, than he began to
dance and shout and laugh, and then kneeling down, rubbed noses with
the savage (which is what these folks do instead of kissing each
other), and he was so excited that for some time he could not explain
what was the matter. As soon as he could speak, he told Robinson that
the man whom they had found was his father.
Both Friday's father and the Spaniard, who was worn out with fighting,
had to be carried up to the castle.
No cannibals were ever again known to visit this island.
VII
ARRIVAL OF AN ENGLISH SHIP; ROBINSON SAILS FOR HOME
Soon after this Robinson had a long talk with the Spaniard, who told
him how he and his comrades had been wrecked four years since, on that
part of the coast where Friday's tribe lived. He said that they were
well treated by the natives, but that they were put to very great
straits now for want of clothes, that their powder was finished, and
that they had lost all hope of ever getting back to their own country.
He himself, he said, had been captured in one of the many small wars
that are always taking place among the various tribes.
It struck Robinson that it might be possible for him to get these men
over to his island, provided that he could be sure of their good
faith, and that when they came, they did not take the island from him
by treachery. It was a risk, he thought, but then, if he got so many
men, it would not be difficult to build a small ship that could carry
them all to England.
So he asked the Spaniard if he would promise, and if he thought he
could get his comrades to take an oath that, if Robinson helped them,
they would look on him as their captain, and would swear to obey him
in all things. The Spaniard readily promised for himself, and said
that he was sure his comrades would keep faith.
It was arranged, therefore, that in about six months, when the next
harvest was reaped, and there would be plenty of food for so many
extra men, the Spaniard and Friday's father should go over to the
mainland in one of the canoes which had been taken from the savages.
Meantime, all hands set about the curing of very large quantities of
raisins, and much other work was done to be in readiness for the
coming of these men.
When the harvest was reaped, Robinson gave the Spaniard and Friday's
father each a musket and a supply of powder and bullets, and loaded
the canoe with food, enough to last them and the others about a
fortnight, and the two men set off for the mainland in fine weather,
and with a fair wind.
It was about eight days after this, and when Robinson had begun to
look out for their return, that one morning very early, when Robinson
was asleep, Friday came running in, shouting, "Master! Master! They
come." Up jumped Robinson, and hurrying on his clothes, ran out.
Looking towards the sea, he soon made out a sailing-boat making for
the shore, coming from the south end of the island, but still some
miles away. This was not the direction from which the Spaniard and his
comrades would come, nor were they likely to be in a sailing-boat. So
Robinson took his telescope, and went to the top of the hill to see if
he could make out who were on board, before they landed.
Hardly had he got on to the hill when he noticed a ship at anchor some
distance from the shore. She looked like an English vessel, he
thought, and the boat like an English long-boat.
This was a wonderful sight to Robinson, but yet he was not easy in his
mind. It was not a part of the world where an English ship was likely
to come, because in those days they were nearly all Spanish vessels
that traded in these seas, and the English and Spaniards were bitter
enemies. What could an English ship be doing here? There had been no
storm to drive her out of her course.
Robinson feared that if she was English there must be something wrong
about her. Perhaps, he thought, she was a pirate. So he was careful
not to show himself or Friday.
Presently, as he watched, he saw the men in the boat run her ashore
and draw her up on the beach, about half a mile from his castle. When
they had landed, he could easily see through his glass that they were
Englishmen.
There were eleven men, but three of them had their hands tied behind
their backs, and were evidently prisoners. When the first four or five
men had jumped ashore, they brought out these three, all the while
ill-treating them, and behaving as if they meant to kill their
prisoners. Friday was sure that they meant to eat them.
Soon, without further harming the three men, the others scattered
about among the trees near the shore, leaving the three sitting on the
ground very sad-looking, but with their hands now untied.
At the time the boat was run aground, it was just high-water, and the
two sailors who had been left in charge of her, and who had evidently
been drinking too much rum, went to sleep, and never noticed that the
tide was going out. When they woke, the boat was high and dry, and
with all the strength of the whole crew they could not move her,
because the sand at that part of the beach was very soft. This did not
seem to trouble any of them very much, for Robinson heard one of the
sailors shout, "Let her alone, Jack, can't ye? She'll float next
tide."
All forenoon Robinson watched, and when the hottest time of the day
had come, he noticed the sailors throw themselves down under the
trees, and go to sleep, some distance away from the three prisoners.
Then Robinson and Friday, taking their muskets and pistols, stole down
cautiously behind the three men, to try to speak to them without the
others knowing.
Robinson had put on his goatskin coat and the great hairy hat that he
had made for himself; and with his cutlass and pistols in his belt,
and a gun over each shoulder, he looked very fierce.
The men did not see him till he spoke, and they were so startled by
his wild look, and by the sight of two men armed to the teeth, that
they nearly ran away. But Robinson told them not to be alarmed; he was
an Englishman, and a friend, and would help them if they would show
him how it could be done.