The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe (26 page)

"Our case, sir" said he, "is too long to tell you while our murderers are so near us. But, in short, I, Hammond Burke, was commander of that ship and my men have mutinied against me. They have been hardly prevailed on not to murder me. At last, they have set me on shore in this desolate place, with these two men with me, one my mate, Turner, the other a passenger, Sir Wade Jemryn. We expected to perish, believing the place to be uninhabited, and know not yet what to think of it."

"Where are these brutes, your enemies?" said I. "Do you know where they are gone?"

"There they lie, sir," said he, pointing to a thicket of trees. "My heart trembles for fear they have seen us and heard you speak. If they have, they will murder us all."

"Have they any fire-arms?" said I.

"They had only two pieces, one of which they left in the boat."

"Well then," said I, "leave the rest to me. I see they are all asleep, it is an easy thing to kill them all, but shall we rather take them prisoners?"

Burke told me there were two desperate villains among them it was scarce safe to show any mercy to. But if they were secured, he believed all the rest would return to their duty. I asked him which they were? He told me he could not at that distance distinguish them, but he would obey my orders in any thing I would direct.

"Well," said I, "let us retreat out of their view or hearing, lest they awake, and we will resolve further." So they went back with me till the woods covered us from them.

"Look you, sir," said I, "if I venture upon your deliverance, my conditions are but two. First, while you stay in this island with me, you will not pretend to any authority here. If I put arms in your hands, you will, upon all occasions, give them up to me, and do no prejudice to me or mine upon this island, and be governed by my orders. Secondly, if the ship is or may be recovered, you will carry me and my man to England, passage free."

Burke gave me all the assurances the invention or faith of man could devise that he would comply with these most reasonable demands. Besides, he would owe his life to me and acknowledge it upon all occasions as long as he lived. "Well then," said I, "here are three muskets for you, with powder and ball. Tell me next what you think is proper to be done."

He offered to be wholly guided by me. I told him I thought it was hard venturing any thing, but the best method I could think of was to fire upon them at once as they lay, and if any were not killed at the first volley, and offer'd to submit, we might save them. He said he was loth to kill them if he could help it, but those two had been the authors of all the mutiny, and if they escaped we should be undone still. They would go on board and bring the whole ship's company and destroy us all. "Well then," said I, "necessity legitimates my advice, for it is the only way to save our lives." However, seeing him still cautious of shedding blood, I told him they should go themselves, and manage as they found convenient.

In the middle of this discourse we heard some of them awake and soon after we saw two of them on their feet. Asked I, "Are either of them the heads of the mutiny?"

"No," said Burke.

"Well then," said I, "you may let them escape. Providence seems to have awakened them on purpose to save themselves. Now if the rest escape you, it is your fault." Animated with this, the captain took the musket I had given him in his hand and a pistol in his belt, and his two comrades with him, with each a piece in his hand. The two men who were with him going first, made some noise, at which one of the seamen who was awake turned about, and seeing them coming, cried out to the rest. But it was too late then, for the moment he cried out they fired. They had so well aimed their shot at the men, one of them was killed on the spot and the other very much wounded. Not being dead, he started up on his feet, and called for help to the other. Captain Burke, stepping to him, told him, "It is too late to call for help. You should call upon God to forgive your villainy." With that word he knocked the man down with the stock of his musket, so he never spoke more.

There were three more in the company, and one of them was also wounded. By this time I was come. When they saw their danger, and that it was in vain to resist, they begged for mercy. Burke told them he would spare their lives if they would give him any assurance of their abhorrence of the treachery they had been guilty of, and would swear to be faithful to him in recovering the ship. They gave him all the protestations of their sincerity that could be desired, and he was willing to spare their lives, which I was not against, only I obliged him to keep them bound hand and foot while they were on the island.

While this was doing, I sent Friday with Turner, the captain's mate, to the boat with orders to secure her and bring away the oars and sails, which they did. By and by three straggling men that were (happily for them) parted from the rest, came back upon hearing the guns fired. Seeing the captain who before was their prisoner now their conqueror, they submitted to be bound also. And so our victory was complete.

It now remained that Captain Burke and I should inquire into one another's circumstances. I began first, and told him my whole history, leaving out certain particulars of my nature and the nature of the island, to be certain. Indeed, as my story is a whole collection of wonders e'en without these particulars, it affected him deeply. But when he reflected from thence upon himself, and how I seem'd to have been preserved there on purpose to save his life, the tears ran down his face and he could not speak a word more. After this communication was at an end, I carried him and his two men into my apartment, where I refresh'd them with such provisions as I had, and showed them all the contrivances I had made during my long, long inhabiting that cursed place.

Above all, Burke admired my fortification, and how I had conceal'd my retreat with the growth about my fence, which, having been now planted near twenty years, was become a little wood. I told him this was my castle and my residence, but I had a seat in the country, as most princes have, and I would show him that too another time.

At present our business was to consider how to recover the ship. He agreed with me, but told me he was at a loss what measures to take, for there were still six and twenty hands on board who would be hardened in it now by desperation, knowing if they were subdued they would be brought to the gallows as soon as they came to England or to any of the English colonies. Therefore, there would be no attacking them with so small a number as we were.

I mused for some time upon what he had said, and found it was a very rational conclusion. Therefore, something was to be resolv’d on speedily, as well to draw the men on board into some snare for their surprise as to prevent their landing upon us and destroying us. It occurred to me in a little while the ship's crew, wondering what was become of their comrades and of the boat, would come on shore in their other boat to look for them. Perhaps they might come armed and be too strong for us. Upon this, I told him the first thing we had to do was to stave the boat which lay upon the beach, so they might not carry her off, and leave her so far useless as not to be fit to swim. Accordingly we went on board, took the arms which were left on board out of her, and whatever else we found there.

When we had carried all these things on shore, we knock'd a great hole in her bottom, that if they had come strong enough to master us, yet they could not carry off the boat. Indeed, it was not much in my thoughts we could be able to recover the ship. My view was if they went away without the boat, I did not much question to make her fit again to carry us to the Leeward Islands, and call upon our friends the Spaniards in my way, for I had them still in my thoughts.

While we were thus preparing our designs, and had by main strength heaved the boat upon the beach so high the tyde would not float her off at high water mark, and besides, had broke a hole in her bottom too big to be stopped, we heard the ship fire a gun and saw her make a waft with her ensign as a signal for the boat to come on board. But no boat stirred. They fired several times, making other signals for the boat. At last, when all their signals and firing proved fruitless, we saw them, by the help of my glasses, hoist another boat out and row towards the shore. We found, as they approached, there were no less than ten men in her, and they had fire-arms with them.

As the ship lay almost two leagues from the shore, we had a full view of them as they came, and a plain sight even of their faces. Because the tyde having set them a little to the east of the other boat, they rowed up under shore to come to the same place where the other had landed and where the boat lay. Captain Burke knew the persons and characters of all the men in the boat, of whom, he said, there were three very honest fellows who he was sure were led into this conspiracy by the rest, being overpowered and frightened. As for the boatswain, Slaader, a Moorish pirate who it seemed was the chief officer among them, and all the rest, they were as outrageous as any of the ship's crew, and were no doubt made desperate in their new enterprise. Terribly apprehensive he was they would be too powerful for us.

I smiled at him. "Men in our circumstances are past the operation of fear," I told him. "And where, Sir, is your belief of my being preserved here on purpose to save your life, which elevated you a little while ago? For my part, there seems to me but one thing amiss in all the prospect of it."

"What is that?" said he.

"Why," said I, "it is, that as you say there are three or four honest fellows among them which should be spared. Had they been all of the wicked part of the crew, I should have thought God's providence had singled them out to deliver them into your hands. Depend upon it," I told him, "every man that comes ashore are our own, and shall die or live as they behave to us."

As I spoke this with a raised voice and cheerful countenance, I found it encouraged him. So we set vigorously to our business.

We had, upon the first appearance of the boat's coming from the ship, consider'd of separating our prisoners. We had, indeed, secured them effectually. Two of them, of whom Burke was less assured than ordinary, I sent with Friday, and one of the three deliver'd men to my cave, where they were remote enough and out of danger of being heard or discovered, or of finding their way out of the woods if they could have deliver'd themselves. Here they left them bound, but gave them provisions and promised them if they continued there quietly to give them their liberty in a day or two. If they attempted their escape, they should be kill'd by the beast of the island without mercy. As Friday's countenance can be most fierce if he wills it, they dreaded at the thought of something more bestial than he. They promised faithfully to bear their confinement with patience, and were very thankful they had such good usage as to have provisions and light left them.

The other prisoners had better usage. Two of them were kept pinioned, because the captain was not free to trust them. The other two were taken into my service, upon Burke's recommendation and upon their solemnly engaging to live and die with us. With them and the three honest men we were seven men well armed, and I made no doubt we should be able to deal well enough with the ten that were coming, considering the captain had said there were three or four honest men among them also.

As soon as the mutineers got to the place where their other boat lay, they ran their boat into the beach and came all on shore, hauling the boat up after them, which I was glad to see. I was afraid they would rather have left the boat at an anchor, some distance from the shore, with some hands in her to guard her, and so we should not be able to seize the boat. Being on shore, the first thing they did, they ran all to their other boat. It was easy to see they were under a great surprise to find her stript of all that was in her and a great hole in her bottom.

After they had mused a while upon this, they set up two or three great shouts, hallooing with all their might to try if they could make their companions hear, but all was to no purpose. Then they came all close in a ring and fired a volley of their small arms, and the echoes made the woods ring. But those in the cave we were sure could not hear and those in our keeping, tho’ they heard it well enough, yet durst give no answer to them. The men were so astonished at the surprise of this, they resolv’d to go all on board again and let them know the men were all murdered and the long-boat staved. Accordingly, they immediately launched their boat again and got all of them on board.

Captain Burke was amazed, and even confounded at this, believing they would go on board the ship again and set sail, giving their comrades over for lost, and so he should still lose the ship, which he was in hopes we should have recovered. But he was quickly as much frightened the other way.

They had not been long put off with the boat but we perceived them all coming on shore again. With this was a new measure in their conduct, which it seemed they consulted together upon, viz. to leave three men in the boat, and the rest to go up into the country to look for their fellows. This was a great disappointment to us, for now we were at a loss what to do. Our seizing those seven men on shore would be no advantage to us if we let the boat escape, because they would then row away to the ship and then the rest of them would be sure to weigh and set sail, so our recovering the ship would be lost. However, we had no remedy but to wait and see what the issue of things might present. The seven men came on shore and the three who remained in the boat put her off to a good distance from the shore, and came to an anchor to wait for them. Friday was quite sure he could reach the boat swimming, and of this I had no doubts, but were he to do so it was my belief those on the ship would observe his attack and, again, weigh and set sail. So it was impossible for us to come at them in the boat.

Those that came on shore kept close together, marching towards the top of the little hill under which my habitation lay. We could see them plainly, tho’ they could not perceive us. Slaader, who was the principal ringleader of the mutiny, was a large and fit man with hair like tar, much like all the Moors, and his tann'd skin had been ink'd with many pictures, as was common among the more superstitious sailors, which was many of them. Altho' I did not think of it at the time, I did realize upon reflection I had seen many of the symbols ink'd on Slaader's skin upon the trees and stones of this island in the past years.