CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Leaving the Island

When Friday and the captain's friend came back, it was night time. We saw all the men who had been searching return from the forest and walk along the beach in the moonlight. The men who were behind shouted to those in front to wait for them, because they were weak and tired.

When they came to the boat they saw that their two friends were gone. They began to call for them.

"This island is magic!" cried one.

"Or, it's haunted by ghosts," cried another.

"Let's attack now," Friday said to me.

"No, we should wait," I said. "We don't want to kill them all, and I don't want any of our men to be hurt. Let's see if they separate again."

But it became clear that they wanted to stay close together. I told Friday and the captain to go forward as close as they could without being seen. They did this, and then began to shoot.

The leader of the rebel men fell down dead. One of the others fell to the ground. He was seriously hurt and he died several hours later. The third man ran for his life.

We all ran forward to join Friday, and we came close to the group of men.

In the dark, the rebel men did not know how many men were in our group. I told one of the men to call out to the rebels and tell them to give up the fight.

"Hey, you! Tom Smith!" he called.

"Is that you, Robinson?" the man called Smith called back. What do you know; there was another Robinson on the island now!

"Yes, it's me! Put down your guns and give up, or else you are all dead men."

"Who are you with? Why should we give up to you?" said Tom Smith.

"I am with many men. Here is our captain, and some other men who have been hunting you. Your leader is dead. Give up, or you'll be killed!"

"Will you hurt us?" shouted Smith.

"Do you know who I am?" called the captain.

"Yes!"

"If your men put down their guns, we will not hurt them. I will only punish Will Atkins!"

The captain had told me that Will Atkins was the first man to fight against him, when the men had rebelled. He was the man who had first scared the captain, when I first saw them all on the island.

"Please, captain," cried Atkins. "Don't kill me!"

"Put down your guns. This island has a governor, and perhaps he will not hurt you." the captain shouted. He meant that I was the governor.

"Very well," said Smith. "Throw down your guns, men."

When we were sure that the men had given up the fight, the captain went to talk to them. I decided to stay out of sight. I thought: what governor would dress in goat skins?

I heard the captain tell the men that they were wrong to think that no one lived on the island.

"The island is ruled by an Englishman," he said. "He could kill you all, but he has promised that you shall be saved, as long as you are on his island. All except you, Will Atkins. You will be killed in the morning."

"What about the rest of us?" someone asked.

"You'll be taken back to England, and be punished for your crimes there," said the captain.

From my hiding place, I saw Atkins fall to his knees and beg the captain to save him. A moment later, the rest of the men also asked not to be sent back to England. They knew that they would die, if they went back there.

"We promise to be loyal to you. We'll do anything you say," One of them said, and everyone else cried out, "Yes!"

"Captain," I called, "the governor wants to speak to you!"

"Tell him that I am just coming," he replied. He turned to the men and said, "Don't try anything. Remember, you're surrounded!"

When he was with me, I told the captain that it would be easy for us to take back his ship. But first, we had to solve the problem of Will Atkins.

"Captain, tell Friday to take Will Atkins to my house. Tie him up with the other prisoners who are already there. Then, help him lead everyone else to the garden. Friday will watch all these men in the garden until morning."

When morning came, I took the captain to the garden, and hid myself while he talked to the men.

"If all you men help me to get back my ship," I heard him say, "the governor has promised me that he will ask for your freedom, when we return to England. If you don't help me, he will leave you to die in chains when you reach England!"

The men told the captain that they would help us. So we fixed the boat with the hole in it.

It was some time later when the two boats left the beach, traveling towards the large ship. The captain, his friend and five men were /in the first boat. The passenger was in the second boat. I forget his name, but the captain had made him the leader of some of the men.

Friday and I also stayed behind to make sure that the prisoners caused no trouble.

Later, I heard how the captain and his men got back the ship!

As soon as they got near the ship, the captain told the other Robinson to tell the men who were still on the ship that everyone had returned from the island. When the two boats were next to the ship, the captain and his friend climbed onto the ship. Before anyone could stop them, they hit two of the men and knocked them out. Quickly, the rest of the men in the little boats got onto the ship and controlled all the men on the deck.

There was one man on the ship who had made himself the "new captain." When he saw what was happening, this man locked himself in a room with some other people. The door was quickly broken down. But when the real captain and his friend went in, the men inside shot them. They hurt the captain's friend, but not very badly.

Although he was hurt, the captain's friend shot at the false captain. He killed him immediately. There was blood all over the room.

When they saw their leader was dead, everyone else on the ship gave up the fight. Everyone begged the captain not to kill or punish them.

As soon as the ship was his, the captain asked that seven guns be fired. This was the signal of success that I was waiting for!

I was so exhausted that I lay down and fell asleep. I did not move until I heard the captain's voice calling, "Governor!"

"My dear friend and rescuer," he said when I was awake. "There is your ship. For she is all yours, and so are we who belong to her."

I looked out to sea and saw the large, beautiful ship. It was about half a mile from the place where I had first arrived on the island, so many years ago.

After all this time, my time on the island was over. A few moments later I burst into tears.

When I had calmed down, the captain and I returned to the beach. One of the ship's little boats was waiting there.

"Bring the gifts I brought for the governor onto the beach," he called.

His men brought wonderful things! There were six large bottles of Madeira wine, two pounds of tobacco, twelve good pieces of ship's beef, six bottles of Port wine, a bag full of lemons, and a bottle of lime cordial!

Even better, he gave me clothes! I now had six new shirts, two pairs of gloves, a pair of shoes, a good hat and a pair of stockings. Everything fit me perfectly.

As you might imagine, these were wonderful gifts, but it was certainly strange to wear normal clothes after twenty-five years!

"You look just like a governor now!" the captain said when I was dressed.

I smiled and bowed to him. Suddenly I realized something. "What shall we do with the prisoners who are still in my house?"

"Well, they are such bad men that if we take them with us, they must be put in chains all the time. And we must give them to the leaders of the first English colony we reach."

"I'm sure they'll be killed," I said.

"Yes, they will." The captain's voice was sad. He was really too kind, that man!

"What if I tell them all they should stay here and live on this island?"

The captain thought for a moment and then said yes. I told him to go back to his ship and hang the body of the dead leader of the rebels where it could be seen. Then he should bring the ship closer into shore.

When that was done, I asked Friday to bring the prisoners in the house to me.

When they were before me, I pointed to the ship.

"Your captain has taken the ship, and you can see what he has done to the man who tried to fight him!"

They looked scared when they saw the dead body hanging from the ship.

"Is there any reason why you should not die too?" I asked.

When no one answered, I told them that I was going to leave the island with all my men. If we took them with us, the captain would have to keep them in chains all the way to England. There, they would be killed for their crimes.

"But I think you should stay here," I said. "If you learn how to survive on the island, you can live here very well. This is your only chance for life." I continued.

All the men wanted to stay on the island. So I asked the captain and his men to go back to the ship, and to come back in the morning.

"These prisoners won't dare to hurt me." I said to the captain.

When the captain had gone, I told those prisoners my true story—that I was no governor, but only a sailor like them who had been on the island for many years. I showed them where my garden was, and taught them how to plant corn and harvest it, how to make bread, and how to dry grapes.

I took them to my group of goats. I showed them how to get milk and make butter and cheese.

And when it was time for me to go to the ship, I gave them guns, powder and bullets.

Just before I left, I told them that the Spaniards would probably come here. These were the men who Friday's father and the Spaniard had gone to the mainland to get.

By the time I got to the ship, the water's tide had gone out, so we could not sail. We spent the night there.

When we were about to leave the next morning, two of the men we left behind,swam out to the ship.

"The others will murder us if we stay there. Please let us come with you!" they cried.

The captain agreed to take them with us. As soon as they were on the ship, he had them whipped so well that they behaved wonderfully all the way home!

Friday and I stood on the ship's deck and watched the island getting smaller and smaller as we sailed away from it. We both felt sad to leave the island, because it had been home for so long. All I had with me, apart from my new clothes, were my large goat skin hat and Polly, my parrot. She talked very well by now!

And so, on December 19, 1686, I left the island. I had been there for twenty-eight years, two months, and nineteen days. And by the time Friday and I reached England, I had been gone for thirty-five years.

(end of section)