Chapter 8 - An English Ship

Friday and I took his father and the Spaniard back to our tent. We gave them rum, raisins and some cake. They fell asleep immediately, and we waited until the next day to hear their story.
Friday and his father spoke in a language I did not understand, but they looked very happy together. The Spaniard told me about his time with the natives.
"There were seventeen of us. The other sixteen are still on the island. It is not far from here."
"Do you think we can help the others escape?"
"If you give me a gun and some food, I'll go back with that native there and free my men. We have a boat, and we can take you away from this island and bring you back to Europe."
I was excited by the Spaniard's idea. I was very comfortable on the island, but I wanted to live again in a place with many people. Now, I knew how hard it is to be alone, away from your family and friends. Now, I wanted to go back and show them how much I loved them.
We all worked hard to build a boat for Friday's father and the Spaniard. We gave them large baskets of food, and I gave the Spaniard a gun.
"When we come back, I will fire the gun so you will know it is us."
"Good luck, and be careful at sea! It's dangerous around here."

Friday and his father said goodbye, and then Friday and I watched them as they sailed away.
We waited for eight days and then, one morning, I heard Friday running back to the tent.
"Master! Master! They are here!"
Friday and I went to the top of the hill. I saw one large ship on the sea and a smaller one coming towards the beach. I looked through the telescope at the large ship, and there was an English flag on top of it.
"That's an English ship!"
The men who got out of the smaller boat were all Englishmen, and they had three prisoners with them.
"They have prisoners, Master Robinson, and they are white men. What does that mean?"
"I don't know, Friday, but it can't be good. Come on, let's take a closer look."
Chapter 9 - We Leave the Island

Friday and I hid in the trees and watched as the English sailors drank brandy and sang songs. One of the prisoners was wearing the coat of a captain. I felt something was wrong because the sailors were very noisy. Luckily, they drank too much brandy and soon fell asleep.
The captain and his two men were surprised to see us. We untied them, and I quietly asked them who they were.
"I'm the captain of the English ship. These men took our ship and brought us here. If you help us capture them, I'll do anything you want."
"Well, I'm an Englishman like you. If we get back to your ship, I want you to help me return to England."
"Ofcourse I'll help you."
"All right, then. Take these guns and let's wake up the others."
Some of the sailors heard the 'click' of our guns. They woke up the others.
"All right, get up! Get up! You have two choices: you can die here, or you can come back to England as our prisoners."
"We're sorry, Captain. It was the brandy. We'll do whatever you say."
The captain and his men tied the sailors up. Then, he asked his men to watch them while I took the captain to our tent to eat. I told the captain my story, and it was difficult for him to believe me.
"You ate only fruit and vegetables?"
"No, I had a whole garden. I made the same things you have in England. There are goats here. I had cheese, milk and meat. I caught fish."
"But I still can't believe you lived here for so many years. You had no one to talk to and you had to do everything yourself."
"Captain, I learnt new things about life. I was feeling lonely but now that I have someone to talk to, I am much happier."
"I must say, Crusoe, you are a brave man."
The captain and I took some of his prisoners back to the boat with us because we needed their help to sail. The others stayed behind. The Spaniard and Friday's father never returned. I asked Friday if he wanted to stay and wait for them.
"No, Master Robinson. I will go with you. You are good to me. My life is safe with you. We don't know what will happen to the others. We might see them some day."
I was happy that Friday felt this way. When we left the beach to go back to the captain's ship, I felt two things: freedom, at last, from my prison, and a strange sadness because the island was also my home.
Chapter 10 - The Fight with Friday

When I was on the ship sailing back to England, I remembered why I love sailing so much. I love the sound of the waves and the smell of the salt in the air. It made me feel like I was in a dream.
Suddenly, I heard the captain's voice next to me: "Mr Crusoe, I want to talk to you about the native we have on board. People are not very friendly towards natives in Europe."
I realised that living on the island made me forget what life was like in Europe.
"Perhaps we can leave him with his people on another nearby island."
"I'll be happy to do anything you want, Mr Crusoe."
Friday sat alone at the front of the ship. I went and sat with him.
"Friday, life in Europe is very different. Maybe you should stay here with your own people."
" My people are always fighting, Master Robinson. They wanted to kill me. They will want to kill me again. No, I want to stay with you. You are my friend now."
I never saw how the natives lived on their islands but I had a clear picture of it in my head. I closed my eyes and I saw the natives, men and women. I saw their houses made from trees and leaves. The boat moved slowly through the water. I thought and I thought. Then, the boat stopped.
"We're here, Mr Crusoe."
I looked up and some of the captain's men held Friday by the arms.
"Master Robinson, don't leave me behind."
"I think it's better this way, Friday."
I said one thing, but I felt another. The captain's men took Friday to the beach of an island. I went with them. Suddenly, there were natives everywhere. They captured us. Now, I thought, my life will end.
Friday spoke to them in his language. He told us there was a way for us to leave. The natives wanted to see a fight to the death between Friday and me.
"But I can't."
"Go on, Crusoe. We will all die if you don't do it."
Friday said nothing. They made a large circle in the sand on the beach. Friday and I had to stay inside that circle and fight until one of us killed the other. We each had a knife and a spear. 'I can't,' I thought. But Friday looked very serious. It was impossible for me to hurt him. I felt it all over my body, "I can't! I can't!"
My own voice woke me up. Friday was next to me. We were still on the ship.
"What happened, Master Robinson?"
"I had a dream, a terrible dream."
That dream meant a lot to me. Friday's friendship was more important to me than anything in this world.
Friday and I sailed back to Lisbon. I found my old friend, the captain. He told me I could get a lot of money if I sold my land. I sold it, and I went back to England to see my parents. They were dead now, and that made me very sad. But now I knew many important things about life. My parents were right. I was not lucky at sea, and after all the years away from home, I realised that. Life is strange sometimes. It has its own way of teaching us what we need to learn.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16