第97章

First he had brought me a Case of Bottles full of excellent Cordial Waters，six large Bottles of Madera Wine；the Bottles held two Quarts a-piece；two Pound of excellent good Tobacco，twelve good Pieces of the Ship's Beef，and six Pieces of Pork，with a Bag of Pease，and about a hundred Weight of Bisket.

He brought me also a Box of Sugar，a Box of Flower，a Bag full of Lemons，and two Bottles of Lime-Juice，and Abundance of other things：But besides these，and what was a thousand times more useful to me，he brought me six clean new Shirts，six very good Neckcloaths，two Pair of Gloves，one Pair of Shoes，a Hat，and one Pair of Stockings，and a very good Suit of Cloaths of his own，which had been worn but very little：In a Word，he cloathed me from Head to Foot.

It was a very kind and agreeable Present，as any one may imagine to one in my Circumstances：But never was any thing in the World of that Kind so unpleasant，awkard，and uneasy，as it was to me to wear such Cloaths at their first putting on.

After these Ceremonies past，and after all his good things were brought into my little Apartment，we began to consult what was to be done with the Prisoners we had；for it was worth considering，whether we might venture to take them away with us or no，especially two of them，who we knew to be incorrigible and refractory to the last Degree；and the Captain said，he knew they were such Rogues，that there was no obliging them，and if he did carry them away，it must be in Irons，as Malefactors to be delivered over to Justice at the first English Colony he could come at；and I found that the Captain himself was very anxious about it.

Upon this，I told him，that if he desir'd it，I durst undertake to bring the two Men he spoke of，to make it their own Request that he should leave them upon the Island：I should be very glad of that，says the Captain，with all my Heart.

Well，says I，I will send for them up，and talk with them for you；so I caused Friday and the two Hostages，for they were now discharg'd，their Comrades having perform'd their Promise；I say，I caused them to go to the Cave，and bring up the five Men pinion'd，as they were，to the Bower，and keep them there 'till I came.

After some time，I came thither dress'd in my new Habit，and now I was call'd Governour again；being all met，and the Captain with me，I caused the Men to be brought before me，and I told them，I had had a full Account of their villanous Behaviour to the Captain，and how they had run away with the Ship，and were preparing to commit farther Robberies，but that Providence had ensnar'd them in their own Ways，and that they were fallen into the Pit which they had digged for others.

I let them know，that by my Direction the Ship had been seiz'd，that she lay now in the Road；and they might see by and by，that their new Captain had receiv'd the Reward of his Villany；for that they might see him hanging at the Yard-Arm.

That as to them，I wanted to know what they had to say，why I should not execute them as Pirates taken in the Fact，as by my Commission they could not doubt I had Authority to do.

One of them answer'd in the Name of the rest，That they had nothing to say but this，That when they were taken，the Captain promis'd them their Lives，and they humbly implor'd my Mercy；But I told them，I knew not what Mercy to shew them；for as for my self，I had resolv'd to quit the Island with all my Men，and had taken Passage with the Captain to go for England：And as for the Captain，he could not carry them to England，other than as Prisoners in Irons to be try'd for Mutiny，and running away with the Ship；the Consequence of which，they must needs know，would be the Gallows；so that I could not tell which was best for them，unless they had a Mind to take their Fate in the Island；if they desir'd，that I did not care，as I had Liberty to leave it，I had some Inclination to give them their Lives，if they thought they could shift on Shore.

They seem'd very thankful for it，said they would much rather venture to stay there，than to be carry'd to England to be hang'd；so I left it on that Issue.

However，the Captain seem'd to make some Difficulty of it，as if he durst not leave them there：Upon this I seem'd a little angry with the Captain，and told him，That they were my Prisoners，not his；and that seeing I had offered them so much Favour，I would be as good as my Word；and that if he did not think fit to consent to it，I would set them at Liberty，as I found them；and if he did not like it，he might take them again if he could catch them.

Upon this they appear'd very thankful，and I accordingly set them at Liberty，and bad them retire into the Woods to the Place whence they came，and I would leave them some Fire Arms，some Ammunition，and some Directions how they should live very well，if they thought fit.

Upon this I prepar'd to go on Board the Ship，but told the Captain，that I would stay that Night to prepare my things，and desir'd him to go on Board in the mean time，and keep all right in the Ship，and send the Boat on Shore the next Day for me；ordering him in the mean time to cause the new Captain who was kill'd，to be hang'd at the Yard-Arm that these Men might see him.

When the Captain was gone，I sent for the Men up to me to my Apartment，and entred seriously into Discourse with them of their Circumstances，I told them，I thought they had made a right Choice；that if the Captain carry'd them away，they would certainly be hang'd. I shewed them the new Captain，hanging at the Yard-Arm of the Ship，and told them they had nothing less to expect.

When they had all declar'd their Willingness to stay，I then told them，I would let them into the Story of my living there，and put them into the Way of making it easy to them：Accordingly I gave them the whole History of the Place，and of my coming to it；shew'd them my Fortifications，the Way I made my Bread，planted my Corn，cured my Grapes；and in a Word，all that was necessary to make them easy：I told them the Story also of the sixteen Spaniards that were to be expected；for whom I left a Letter，and made them promise to treat them in common with themselves.