that there were people in the place, and would then never give
over till they found me out. In this extremity I went back directly to
my castle, pulled up the ladder after me, having made all things without
look as wild and natural as I could.

Then I prepared myself within, putting myself in a posture of defence; I
loaded all my cannon, as I called them, that is to say, my muskets,
which were mounted upon my new fortification, and all my pistols, and
resolved to defend myself to the last gasp; not forgetting seriously to
recommend myself to the divine protection, and earnestly to pray to God
to deliver me out of the hands of the barbarians; and in this posture I
continued about two hours, but began to be mighty impatient for
intelligence abroad, for I had no spies to send out.

After sitting awhile longer, and musing what I should do in this case, I
was not able to bear sitting in ignorance longer; so setting up my
ladder to the side of the hill, where there was a flat place, as I
observed before, and then pulling the ladder up after me, I set it up
again, and mounted to the top of the hill; and pulling out my
perspective glass, which I had taken on purpose, I laid me down flat on
my belly on the ground, and began to look for the place. I presently
found there were no less than nine naked savages sitting round a small
fire they had made; not to warm them, for they had no need of that, the
weather being extreme hot; but, as I supposed, to dress some of their
barbarous diet of human flesh which they had brought with them, whether
alive or dead I could not know.

They had two canoes with them, which they had haled up upon the shore;
and as it was then tide of ebb, they seemed to me to wait the return of
the flood to go away again. It is not easy to imagine what confusion
this sight put me into, especially seeing them come on my side the
island, and so near me too; but when I observed their coming must be
always with the current of the ebb, I began afterwards to be more sedate
in my mind, being satisfied that I might go abroad with safety all the
time of tide of flood, if they were not on shore before; and having made
this observation, I went abroad about my harvest work with the more
composure.

As I expected, so it proved; for as soon as the tide made to the
westward, I saw them all take boat, and row (or paddle, as we call it)
all away: I should have observed, that for an hour and more before they
went off, they wen