Kitabı oku: «Робинзон Крузо / Robinson Crusoe», sayfa 4

But this hope of mine was soon taken away; for when he went to sea, he left me on shore to look after his little garden, and do the common domestic things about his house; and when he came home again from his cruise, he ordered me to lie in the cabin on board to look after the ship.

For two long years I had been a miserable slave of my patron, and all my thoughts were only about the escape and release. Most of time I spent on land, looking after the master’s household. I left the land only on the rare occasions, when my patron went on a fishing trip. He used constantly, once or twice a week, sometimes oftener if the weather was fair, to take the ship and go out into the road a-fishing. I proved very dexterous in catching fish; insomuch that sometimes patron took me and young boy Xury, as they called him, to row the boat and to help him fishing.

Two or three times we went into a long voyage that we were two leagues from the shore, because farther from the coast line we could caught larger fish. We usually went for such a trip by our English ship, that pirate, our master, had taken. We never went a-fishing without a compass and some provision. In the middle of the long-boat, in our ship, there were a state-room, and this cabin had been served as a buffet. In this buffet were stored baskets of sea biscuits, bread, rice and coffee. Every time there were about eight or ten bottles of the port wine and liquor as the master thought to drink. The reason of such aforesight and thrifty⁵⁹ of our master, was one incident that occurred shortly before.

It happened one time, that going a-fish in a calm morning, a fog rose so thick that, though we were not half a league from the shore, we lost sight of it; we laboured all day, and all the next night and we knew not whither or which way; and when the morning came we found we had pulled off to sea instead of pulling in for the shore; and that we were at least two leagues from the shore. However, we got well in again, thoughwith a great deal of labour⁶⁰ and some danger; for the wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning; but we were all very hungry.

But our patron, warned by this disaster, resolved to take more care of himself for the future, therefore took all the measures to stock up with provisions and drinks. In this way, that minor incident gave me a good turn.

Since then, my thoughts of escape became stronger than ever before. I began to prepare toflee.⁶¹

One day it happened that he had appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure or for fish, with two or threeMoors of some distinction in that place,⁶² and for whom he had provided extraordinarily, and had, therefore, sent on board the boat overnight a larger store of provisions than ordinary; and had ordered me to get ready three fusees with powder and shot, which were on board his ship, for that they designed some sport of fowling as well as fishing.

This moment my former notions of deliverance darted into my thoughts, for now I found I was likely to have a little ship at my command. I prepared to furnish myself, not for fishing business, but for a voyage.

All the gunpowder and bullets were kept on pirate’sman-of-war,⁶³ by which he usually went on looting. So, the master ordered the Moor, called Ismael, who guarded the ship, to give me everything for fowling. And then I went on a little trick. I called to Moor – “Moely,” said I (everyone called Ismael Muley, or Moely), “our patron’s guns are on board of his English ship, can you not get a little more powder and shot? It may be we kill some alcamies (a fowl like our curlews⁶⁴) for ourselves, for I know we must not presume to eat of our patron’s bread. We can divide all the prey equally!”

“Yes,” says he, “I’ll bring some;” and accordingly he brought a great leather pouch, which held a pound and a half of powder, or rather more; and another with shot, that had five or six pounds, with some bullets, and put all aboard the ship.

I conveyed also a great lump ofbeeswax⁶⁵ into the boat, which weighed about half a hundred-weight, a hatchet, a saw, and a hammer, all of which were of great use to us afterwards, especially the wax, to make candles.

I got all things ready and waited the next morning on a board, washed clean, ready to sail; when my patron came on board alone, and told me his guests had put off going from some business that fell out, and ordered me, with the boy, Xury, as usual, to go out with ship and catch them some fish, for that his friendswere to sup⁶⁶ at his house, and commanded that as soon as I got some fish I should bring it home to his house.

So, I went out to sea alone, out of the port to fish, on board of a ship full of supplies, furnished with everything needful, accompanied only by young Xury and Luck.

The castle, which is at the entrance of the port, knew who we were, and took no notice of us; and we were not above a mile out of the port before we set us down to fish.

After we had fished some time and caught nothing – for when I had fish on my hook I would not pull them up, I said to the Xury, “This will not do; our master will not be served; we must stand farther off.” He,thinking no harm,⁶⁷ agreed, and being in the head of the ship, set the sails.

When we were about two miles above the shore, I took the gun out of the cabin and went to Xury. When he saw the gun in my hands, a fear reflected on his face. I touched his shoulder and said to him,

“Xury, if you will be faithful to me, I’ll make you a great man; but if you will not be true to me, I must kill you.” The boy smiled in my face, the fear in his eyes immediately disappeared, and spoke so innocently that I could not distrust him, heswore to be faithful to me,⁶⁸ and go all over the world with me.

So, I enlisted the full support of Xury and became a full captain of our ship, and a master of one-person crew. In fear, that our ex-patron, pirate from Sallee, could sent us thechase,⁶⁹ I decided to make one trick: while our ship was in view from the coast line, I stood out directly to sea with the ship, that they might think me gone towards the Strait of Gibraltar⁷⁰ (as indeed any one must have been supposed to do).