loosen his legs from about me by degrees. Finding
that he did not press me as before, I threw him upon the ground, where
he lay without motion; then I took up a great stone and crushed his
head.

I was extremely glad to be thus freed for ever from this troublesome
fellow. I now walked towards the beach, where I met the crew of a ship
that had cast anchor, to take water. They were surprised to see me, but
more so at the particulars of my adventures. "You fell," said they,
"into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first who ever
escaped strangling by his malicious tricks. He never quitted those he
had once made himself master of till he had destroyed them, and he has
made this island notorious by the number of men he has slain."

After having informed me of these things, they carried me with them to
the ship; the captain received me with great kindness when they told him
what had befallen me. He put out again to sea, and after some days'
sail, we arrived at the harbour of a great city, the houses of which
were built with hewn stone.

One of the merchants who had taken me into his friendship invited me to
go along with him and carried me to a place appointed for the
accommodation of foreign merchants. He gave me a large bag, and having
recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather
cocoa-nuts, desired them to take me with them. "Go," said he, "follow
them, and act as you see them do; but do not part from them, otherwise
you may endanger your life." Having thus spoken, he gave me provisions
for the journey, and I went with them.

We came to a thick forest of cocoa trees, very lofty, with trunks so
smooth that it was not possible to climb to the branches that bore the
fruit. When we entered the forest, we saw a great number of apes of
several sizes, who fled as soon as they perceived us and climbed up to
the tops of the trees with surprising swiftness.

The merchants gathered stones and threw them at the apes in the trees. I
did the same, and the apes, out of revenge, threw cocoa-nuts at us so
fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and
resentment. We gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw
stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags
with cocoa-nuts, which it had been impossible otherwise to have done. I
thus gradually collected as many cocoa-nuts as produced me a
considerable sum.

We sailed towards the islands, wher