The Fight, If There Were
One, Should Be Between The Two Parties.
I would hope to
prove, that when thieves fall out honest men come by their
own.
There is one adage whose truth I needed no further proof of.
Its first line apostrophises the 'Gods and little fishes.'
My chief need was for the garment which completes the rhyme.
Indians, having no use for corduroy small clothes, I speedily
donned mine. Next I quietly but quickly snatched up
William's rifle, and presented it to Robinson Crusoe, patting
him on the back as if with honours of knighthood. The
dispossessed was not well pleased, but Sir Robinson was; and,
to all appearances, he was a man of leading, if of darkness.
While words were passing between the two, I sauntered round
to the gentleman who sat cross-legged upon my weapon. He was
as heedless of me as I, outwardly, of him. When well within
reach, mindful that 'DE L'AUDACE' is no bad motto, in love
and war, I suddenly placed my foot upon his chest, tightened
the extensor muscle of my leg, and sent him heels over head.
In an instant the rifle was mine, and both barrels cocked.
After yesterday's immersion it might not have gone off, but
the offended Indian, though furious, doubtless inferred from
the histrionic attitude which I at once struck, that I felt
confident it would. With my rifle in hand, with my suite
looking to me to transfer the plunder to them, my position
was now secure. I put on a shirt - the only one left to me,
by the way - my shoes and stockings, and my shooting coat;
and picking out William's effects, divided these, with his
ammunition, his carpet-bag, and his blankets, amongst my
original friends. I was beginning to gather my own things
together, when Samson, leading my horse, unexpectedly rode
into the midst of us. The night was far advanced. The
Indians took their leave; and added to the obligation by
bequeathing us a large fresh salmon, which served us for many
a day to come.
As a postscript I may add that I found poor Mary's address on
one of her letters, and faithfully kept my promise as soon as
I reached pen and ink.
CHAPTER XXVIII
WHAT remains to be told will not take long. Hardships
naturally increased as the means of bearing them diminished.
I have said the salmon held out for many days. We cut it in
strips, and dried it as well as we could; but the flies and
maggots robbed us of a large portion of it. At length we
were reduced to two small hams; nothing else except a little
tea. Guessing the distance we had yet to go, and taking into
account our slow rate of travelling, I calculated the number
of days which, with the greatest economy, these could be made
to last. Allowing only one meal a day, and that of the
scantiest, I scored the hams as a cook scores a leg of roast
pork, determined under no circumstances to exceed the daily
ration.
No little discipline was requisite to adhere to this
resolution. Samson broke down under the exposure and
privation; superadded dysentery rendered him all but
helpless, and even affected his mind. The whole labour of
the camp then devolved on me. I never roused him in the
morning till the mules were packed - with all but his blanket
and the pannikin for his tea - and until I had saddled his
horse for him. Not till we halted at night did we get our
ration of ham. This he ate, or rather bolted, raw, like a
wild beast. My share I never touched till after I lay down
to sleep. And so tired have I been, that once or twice I
woke in the morning with my hand at my mouth, the unswallowed
morsel between my teeth. For three weeks we went on in this
way, never exchanging a word. I cannot say how I might have
behaved had Fred been in Samson's place. I hope I should
have been at least humane. But I was labouring for my life,
and was not over tender-hearted.
Certainly there was enough to try the patience of a better
man. Take an instance. Unable one morning to find my own
horse, I saddled his and started him off, so as not to waste
time, with his spare animal and the three mules. It so
happened that our line of march was rather tortuous, owing to
some hills we had to round. Still, as there were high
mountains in the distance which we were making for, it seemed
impossible that anyone could miss his way. It was twenty
minutes, perhaps, before I found my horse; this would give
him about a mile or more start of me. I hurried on, but
failed to overtake him. At the end of an hour I rode to the
top of a hill which commanded a view of the course he should
have taken. Not a moving speck was to be seen. I knew then
that he had gone astray. But in which direction?
My heart sank within me. The provisions and blankets were
with him. I do not think that at any point of my journey I
had ever felt fear - panic that is - till now. Starvation
stared me in the face. My wits refused to suggest a line of
action. I was stunned. I felt then what I have often felt
since, what I still feel, that it is possible to wrestle
successfully with every difficulty that man has overcome, but
not with that supreme difficulty - man's stupidity. It did
not then occur to me to give a name to the impatience that
seeks to gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles.
I turned back, retraced my steps till I came to the track of
the mules. Luckily the ground retained the footprints,
though sometimes these would be lost for a hundred yards or
so.
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