eat.

I had no sleep that night: the farther I was from the occasion of my
fright, the greater my apprehensions were; which is something contrary
to the nature of such things, and especially to the usual practice of
all creatures in fear. But I was so embarrassed with my own frightful
ideas of the thing, that I formed nothing but dismal imaginations to
myself, even though I was now a great way off it. Sometimes I fancied it
must be the devil; and reason joined in with me upon this supposition.
For how should any other thing in human shape come into the place? Where
was the vessel that brought them? What marks were there of any other
footsteps? And how was it possible a man should come there? But then to
think that Satan should take human shape upon him in such a place where
there could be no manner of occasion for it, but to leave the print of
his foot behind him, and that even for no purpose too (for he could not
be sure I should see it:) this was an amazement the other way: I
considered that the devil might have found out abundance of other ways
to have terrified me, than this of the single print of a foot; that as I
lived quite on the other side of the island, he would never have been so
simple to leave a mark in a place where it was ten thousand to one
whether I should ever see it or not, and in the sand too, which the
first surge of the sea upon an high wind would have defaced entirely.
All this seemed inconsistent with the thing itself, and with all notions
we usually entertain of the subtlety of the devil.

Abundance of such things as these assisted to argue me out of all
apprehensions of its being the devil. And I presently concluded that it
must be some more dangerous creature; viz. that it must be some of the
savages of the main land over-against me, who had wandered out to sea in
their canoes, and, either driven by the currents, or by contrary winds,
had made the island, and had been on shore, but were gone away again to
sea, being as loath, perhaps, to have staid in this desolate island, as
I would have been to have had them.

While these reflections were rolling upon my mind, I was very thankful
in my thought, that I was so happy as not to be thereabouts at that
time, or that they did not see my boat, by which they would have
concluded, that some inhabitants had been in the place, and perhaps have
searched farther for me. Then terrible thoughts racked my imaginations
about their having found my boat, and