CHAPTER FOURTEEN

We Fight a Battle

"Did he come from Heaven?" one of the prisoners whispered to another.

"All true help comes from Heaven," I said.

One of the men looked at me and said, "Are you really gong to help us? Is this a sign from God? Are you a real man, or an angel?

I smiled. "I think if God had sent an angel to help you, he would not be dressed in animal skins! And, would a real angel need guns?"

The men began to look less frightened.

"No, gentlemen, I am an Englishman, like you," I said. "I have lived on this island for many years. My servant and I have come to help you."

"Do you see that ship there?" one of the men said. He pointed out to sea at the large ship. I nodded.

"I am the ship's captain—or I was, until my men got angry and decided to fight against me." He looked at the other men with him. "This is my friend, and this is a passenger we had on the ship. My men told me they were going to kill us. But then they saw this island, and they decided it would be fun to leave us here, to die slowly! They thought no one lived here."

"Well, they were wrong, and they will be sorry for it!" I said. "Are they all asleep?"

"Yes, they drank too much," the captain's friend said. "But speak softly, sir. If they wake up and see you here, they will kill us all!"

"Do they have guns?" I asked.

"They have two guns, that is all," the captain said. He looked at the many guns and knives Friday and I had with us.

"Well then," I said, "do not worry. If they are drunk and sleeping, it will be easy to kill them. Or we could take them for prisoners!" I said, taking out my knife.

"Wait, sir. They don't all deserve to die," said the captain. "The two leaders, the ones who do not like me, are terrible men. They told everyone else to disobey me. But I think the others would return to their duties, if these two were gone."

"Which two men are they?" I asked, looking at the sleeping men. They were lying on the beach like dead people.

"I can't see them from here," the captain said.

"Well then," I said, "we will go into the woods and make a plan, so they don't hear us."

When we had gone into the woods, I said to the captain, "I will help you, if you do two things for me."

"We'll do anything you want!" said the captain. "You can become our leader, and we will sail to any part of the world you want to see!"

"Yes, certainly!" said the two other men.

"That is exactly what I want." I said. "While you are on this island, I am the leader. I have lived here for more than twenty-five years, and I know how to handle these men. You must do what I tell you. But if I need to, I will ask your opinions."

They all nodded.

"The second thing I ask is, if I help you rescue your ship, you must take me and my servant back to England."

Again, they all said yes.

"If we can rescue our ship, sir," said the captain, "We will owe you our lives."

I gave him and his companions some guns to shoot.

We all went back to the beach, where the men lay sleeping. "What do you think we should do?" I asked.

"Well, sir, I think you should be the leader here. Maybe you should decide what is best. But I don't want to kill anyone without good reason," said the captain. "However, I did tell you that the two men who tied us up are very terrible men."

Just then, two of the men stood up.

"Are those men the two bad ones?" I asked.

The captain said no.

"Captain, I don't care if these men are not so bad. We cannot let them get away. If they do, they will help the leaders to escape also. Do you want that to happen?" I said.

The captain was about to shoot them when suddenly the captain's friend and the passenger shot their guns. One of the men fell dead, and the other was very hurt. The captain walked over to where the hurt man stood, holding his side.

"It's too late to cry for help now!" he said. He hit him so hard that the man must have died immediately.

By this time, three of the other men had woken up. When they saw their dead friends, they begged us not to hurt them.

"We'll do anything you want. Please don't kill us," one of the men cried.

"We'll help you get the ship back," said another.

The captain looked at me.

"I will let you decide what to do," I said to the captain. "But if you let them live, their hands and feet will be tied while they are on my island."

While the captain and I tied up the men, Friday and the captain's friend got the smaller boat and the oars.

Now the other men had woken up, and ran over to us. When they saw the two dead bodies and the other men all tied up,they immediately surrendered to us.

Now we could get the ship back! Our victory was complete!

Finally the captain was able to ask me how I came to the island. He listened with amazement as I told him my story. I told him how I had learned to find and grow food, build a home, and make clothes and tools.

The captain could not believe I had done all this. "Sir, you are a truly wonderful man," is all he could say.

After I finished my story I took the captain and his friends to my house, where I gave them something to eat and drink.

These men were very interested in my house and how I had so cleverly made it and hidden it in the trees. Over time, the trees I had planted had grown and become a little forest. I had cut a path through this forest that led to my house.

"I also have a garden where I spend time," I told the captain.

When I described it to him, he said, "This sounds like a beautiful paradise, sir! I must see it!"

"Of course we can go and see the garden. But first we must get your ship back!" I said.

"I think it is impossible," he said sadly.

"Nothing is impossible!" I said.

"There are still twenty-six men on the ship," he said. "They fought against me, and they will not let us sail to England or America. In those countries, they would be killed like the criminals they are."

(end of section)