正文预览

第7章 弑神者

　　I paused a while at his words, and looking steadily at him, "Whatdevil," said I, "sent you on this unlucky errand?" My nephewstared as if he had been frightened at first; but perceiving that Iwas not much displeased at the proposal, he recovered himself. "Ihope it may not be an unlucky proposal, sir," says he. "I daresayyou would be pleased to see your new colony there, where you oncereigned with more felicity than most of your brother monarchs inthe world." In a word, the scheme hit so exactly with my temper,that is to say, the prepossession I was under, and of which I havesaid so much, that I told him, in a few words, if he agreed withthe merchants, I would go with him; but I told him I would notpromise to go any further than my own island. "Why, sir," says he,"you don't want to be left there again, I hope?" "But," said I,"can you not take me up again on your return?" He told me it wouldnot be possible to do so; that the merchants would never allow himto come that way with a laden ship of such valu

in.

　　The Spaniards were often saying to one another, and to the twohonest Englishmen who remained behind, how quietly and comfortablythey lived, now these three turbulent fellows were gone. As fortheir coming again, that was the remotest thing from their thoughtsthat could be imagined; when, behold, after two-and-twenty days'absence, one of the Englishmen being abroad upon his planting work,sees three strange men coming towards him at a distance, with gunsupon their shoulders.

　　Our Chinese guards in the front, who had talked so big the daybefore, began to stagger; and the soldiers frequently looked behindthem, a certain sign in a soldier that he is just ready to runaway. My old pilot was of my mind; and being near me, called out,"Seignior Inglese, these fellows must be encouraged, or they willruin us all; for if the Tartars come on they will never stand it."- "If am of your mind," said I; "but what must be done?" - "Done?"says he, "let fifty of our men advance, and flank them on eachwing, and encourage them. They will fight like brave fellows inbrave company; but without this they will every man turn his back."Immediately I rode up to our leader and told him, who was exactlyof our mind; accordingly, fifty of us marched to the right wing,and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of rescue; and sowe marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make a body ofthemselves, and to guard the camels; only that, if need were, theyshould send a hundred men to assist the last fifty.

　　The chief Spaniard, whom I described so often, commanded the whole;and Will Atkins, who, though a dreadful fellow for wickedness, wasa most daring, bold fellow, commanded under him. The savages cameforward like lions; and our men, which was the worst of their fate,had no advantage in their situation; only that Will Atkins, who nowproved a most useful fellow, with six men, was planted just behinda small thicket of bushes as an advanced guard, with orders to letthe first of them pass by and then fire into the middle of them,and as soon as he had fired, to make his retreat as nimbly as hecould round a part of the wood, and so come in behind theSpaniards, where they stood, having a thicket of trees before them.

ge, I should be just in the same condition that I was left inhere at first, and from which I have been so wonderfullydelivered." He owned the case was very hard upon me as to myvoyage; but laid it home upon my conscience whether the blessing ofsaving thirty-seven souls was not worth venturing all I had in theworld for. I was not so sensible of that as he was. I replied tohim thus: "Why, sir, it is a valuable thing, indeed, to be aninstrument in God's hand to convert thirty-seven heathens to theknowledge of Christ: but as you are an ecclesiastic, and are givenover to the work, so it seems so naturally to fall in the way ofyour profession; how is it, then, that you do not rather offeryourself to undertake it than to press me to do it?"

hey might come and go; if they disturbed nobody,nobody would disturb them: and no doubt but they were oftenashore, and went away again; for I never heard that the planterswere ever attacked or disturbed any more.

at he couldnot miss.

　　The others had firearms with them too; but one of the two honestmen, bolder than his comrade, and made desperate by his danger,told them if they offered to move hand or foot they were dead men,and boldly commanded them to lay down their arms. They did not,indeed, lay down their arms, but seeing him so resolute, it broughtthem to a parley, and they consented to take their wounded man withthem and be gone: and, indeed, it seems the fellow was woundedsufficiently with the blow. However, they were much in the wrong,since they had the advantage, that they did not disarm themeffectually, as they might have done, and have gone immediately tothe Spaniards, and given them an account how the rogues had treatedthem; for the three villains studied nothing but revenge, and everyday gave them some intimation that they did so.