come they eat me, you go way." I could
not but love the lad for this kind speech. "Well," said I, "we will both
go, and if the wild men come we must kill them, they shall not eat you
or me."

I gave Xury some rum from the Turk's case to cheer him up, and we went
on shore. The boy went off with his gun, full a mile from the spot where
we stood, and came back with a hare that he had shot, which we were
glad to cook and eat; but the good news which he brought was that he had
found a spring, and had seen no wild men.

I made a guess that the Cape de Verd Isles were not far off, for I saw
the top of the Great Peak, which I knew was near them. My one hope was
that if I kept near the coast, I should find some ship that would take
us on board; and then, and not till then, should I feel a free man. In
a word, I put the whole of my fate on this chance, that I must meet with
some ship, or die.

On the coast we saw some men who stood to look at us. They were black,
and wore no clothes. I would have gone on shore to them, but Xury--who
knew best--said, "Not you go! Not you go!" So I brought the boat as near
the land as I could, that I might talk to them, and they kept up with me
a long way. I saw that one of them had a lance in his hand.

I made signs that they should bring me some food, and they on their part
made signs for me to stop my boat. So I let down the top of my sail, and
lay by, while two of them ran off; and in less than half an hour they
came back with some dry meat and a sort of corn which is grown in this
part of the world. This we should have been glad to get, but knew not
how to do so; for we durst not go on shore to them, nor did they dare
to come to us. At last they took a safe way for us all, for they brought
the food to the shore, where they set it, down, and then went a long way
off while we took it in. We made signs to show our thanks, for we had
not a thing that we could spare to give them.

But as good luck would have it, we were at hand to take a great prize
for them; for two wild beasts, of the same kind as the first I spoke of,
came in, full chase from the hills down to the sea.

They swam as if they had come for sport. The men flew from them in fear,
all but the one who held the lance. One of these beasts came near our
boat; so I lay in wait for him with my gun; and as soon as the brute was
in range, I shot him through the head. Twice he sank down in the sea,
and twice he came up; and then just swa